Thursday, November 16, 2006
Near miss at work. Almost bought the farm.
I had to work graveyard shift last night 7pm to 7am. It started raining hard around 9pm and I had an equipment failure in the screen room that Evergreen Pulp pays me to operate. I went out and discovered that one of the drains was plugged up and the screen room was flooded. I opened the drain with a rake after wading through a lot of water. I then traced down the piece of equipment that failed. It looked operable. It is a conveyor that tranfers material to a chip hogging system. Along side the conveyor is a safety pull cord and safety box unit that was just replaced. I tripped the safety cord and reset it again to see if that was the issue. It would not start. The Shift Electrician came over and checked the circuit breakers and said it should run, and he manually jumped it and it in fact ran. He told me to reset the conveyor at the safety cord box again, and just as I was approaching the conveyor, it lit up in sparks and must have shorted out! I would have been holding onto a live electrical unit of 440 volts in inches of water if I had been there a moment sooner! God must have not called my number up yet. The Electricians were able to jumper out and bypass the safety box so we could run for the night. We were within a few minutes of having to shut down production, which is quite costly at Evergreen. So there you go. Life in the trenches mill worker wise can be scary. The job is not all glamour after all!
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20 comments:
Glad you're ok Richard. But for something major like this to hapen so soon after you announce running for state assembly against democrat powerhouse Wes Chesbro is just too much of a coincidence. I think it was sabotage. I hearken back to the Arcata City Council election in '04 when Mark Owens apartment was fire bombed and the arsonist was never caught. I sincerly hope you are taking every precaution to safegaurd your life because there are those in Humboldt who are so unscrupulous as to harm someone if they feel that the person is a threat to their well regulated house of cards.
You need a new job.
I agree with 3:57. Richard you are far too talented to be working graveyard at some pulp mill. You have people skills, political skills, and many other skills that people are willing to pay money for. I suggest you look into other ways of earning money such as consulting or maybe open your own business, or start a non-profit.
Richard that is a warning sign, not a sign from god he still wants you around. Do like Nick says and go reopen the Manila Market. You seem like a hot dog kinda guy...
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The damdest thing is - we will all die eventually.
Mortality sucks.
You may quote me.
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Hey, but don't think about THAT.
Life is good, so enjoy it, Don't mope around feeling gloomy.
Come to the Cabaret.
I can definitely see Richard as the owner of a grocery store.
Go for it Richard!
Yep 7:34,something like the peg house,with Richard grilling some tasty bar-b-q on the back patio.A place for unionists and laborers to hang out and have some grub and some brew.
Maybe like Del Peurto in Arcata?
Yeah, I can easily see Richard running that kind of place, and I know he'd enjoy doing it.
I see my stalker has returned.
We thought YOU were the Stalker Nick.
3:36 No Way to tell if the sabotage was meant for Richard-anyone could have happened by when it wasn't raining and noticed things were out of whack...
Just lucky you weren't kilt Richard!
Hey Richard...keep safe, we need you. Where would I get my pulp?
Nick said: "You have people skills, political skills, and many other skills that people are willing to pay money for. I suggest you look into other ways of earning money such as consulting or maybe open your own business, or start a non-profit."
I tried that. I ran for County Supervisor. I guess Bonnie and Nancy didn't agree with my agenda. It looks like they spent upwards of $300,000 for their "job interview." Whew! Lots a money!
I actually worked in the grocery business as a teenager. Worked for Duck's Market on Harrison back in the early 70's. I do not see that in my immediate future. Although a BBQ place would be cool. I would probably eat the profits away.
Nick Bravo said...
Maybe like Del Peurto in Arcata?
I pronounce: I thought the name was "Dal Porto."
That's based on my years of living, studying, and working in Arcata.
Richard,
I read your post a few days ago. Very sobering. Be careful. Be lucky. I do not recommend going into the restaurant business - the failure rate is incredible.
Despite our sometimes differing view of local politics, we are on the same side - and we took back the House AND the Senate. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
Thank you Anon 8:42 for correcting my spelling. It's been so long since I've eaten there I've forgotten how to spell their name.
I look forward to eating there a few times once I get back to Humboldt county.
Greg: Happy Thanksgiving to you and Carol Ann! I will be with Mike, Michelle and Mary this Turkey Day so it will be all good. Politics is taboo at our family gatherings. Mostly a time to catch up on the family youngsters.
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