guys we love to work with?

[bobbo]

1. The 24 hours a day of Rush Limbaugh on the Radio. And Glen Beck is goofier. The guy that believes in UN invisible helicopters and in one government conspiracy and owns enough firepower to supply a small african nation revolution. The guy whose highlight of the weekend is buying a claymore at a gunshow.
2. A guy who loves crank. Spends the whole day telling you how he preseves his teeth while beimg an addict.
3. The guy that asks if he can smoke and starts a joint befote going to the job. You have to work with him because he is the business managers son in law.
4. The guys who go to lunch at a korean liquor store. They roll their beer with paper towels or black tape. Theit nourishment is two 24s and a slim jim. Sit out in lawn chairs and harass apprentices. Having an apprentice wreck out a 50 with a bow saw on his hooks and hand line while he is on accessible street corner. 20 lawn chairs around him with lineman dogging every move.
5. The guy who you have to room with on storm who is comfortable in t a back bikini breifs and a porn collection. And loves to walk around swinging his junk in the banana hammock.
6The guys who act rough and tough, tatted head to toe with ego to the heavens. And when you get them doing the work they suck. But they play the part of a kickass lineman. They have all the war stories of primary fires and you come to find out they topped out a couple of years ago.
7. The ****head who is saying unsafe all the time checks the dates on the 20 kv. blankets and hoses when he is on the street light crew. The guy who believed you need back to back buckets on single phase tangent with a pole top pin and clevis.

If you can think of anymore morons and stories, just start with no.8 and I will keep adding. But just imagine this is 7 from the last three years. I jave almost 20 years in.

[Bighorn Ape]

this should be a sticky...pure gold! i can relate to about 3 or 4 of your examples.....not so much with the banana hammock...but ill bet Bren can relate to that one! haha

8. the guy that thinks he is god gift to linework. every story that he tells is exaggerated....."me and one other apprentice built a 20 mile line by ourselves in 1 month." while the other apprentice tells you it was 2 miles... oh these stories never end....i even built "2 miles" with him one time in a week....(it was actually 3 spans)

9. this is also the guy that is never wrong and any good idea that anybody ever came up with was suddenly his brilliant idea...

[cololinehand]

I have now room for guys 2-4. I hope that was "back in the day".

[rustyhook39]

I love working with the guy who sees that an underground service curves back towards the road before going to the house and makes us get the backhoe to dig it up and straightened out with no oups so that you hit the cap of a gas line then continues digging and hits the gas line. Ya love that guy.

[bobbo]

Human weakness is everywhere in this trade. Many drink and do drugs because their **** isn't together. Those are the giys with all the bravado and bull****. The guys that think they were born for this trade. And then you get out on the job they dont lay out or prebuild anything. And you get a headache because they arenscreaming for stuff that they should have had or should of layed out. The guys that give the apprentices thpe worst tiime and everybody else a headache. Seen 20 percent pf the trade like this. They really think they are the saviour to this trade bit they dont know much. But all the stickers on their trucks and a lineman on every shirt they own. 90 percent of this work is not super skill. Its just showing up everyday. Being where you should be and doing what you should be doing. I dont see that on the coasts. But I see it in the middle of the country.

[bobbo]

Worked with this grizzly old guy who smoked four packs a day and never talked. Badass lineman and amazing. I remember this guy ripped through an unmarked gas service and just kept on going. He had his own handline of 1/4 inch nylon and he never talked to anyone. He filled his bag with whatever he needed and go to town. Found put he was deaf after building a lot of the TVA property when he was younger. Being in Vietnam then around D9 cats for another 20 years he lost his hearing. He dressed as a vagrant but he was the best lineman I have seen my whole life. Spoke three words for two years. Always took the worst and toughest job. Tough.

[reppy007]

Worked with this grizzly old guy who smoked four packs a day and never talked. Badass lineman and amazing. I remember this guy ripped through an unmarked gas service and just kept on going. He had his own handline of 1/4 inch nylon and he never talked to anyone. He filled his bag with whatever he needed and go to town. Found put he was deaf after building a lot of the TVA property when he was younger. Being in Vietnam then around D9 cats for another 20 years he lost his hearing. He dressed as a vagrant but he was the best lineman I have seen my whole life. Spoke three words for two years. Always took the worst and toughest job. Tough.

How long did it take you to realize that he was deaf?Funny in a way,some of the best lineman Ive met are the quietest guys around,and dont think they arent listening to what is being said either.

[birdog37]

We had a pair of lineman that would go to a job that would require a little ingunewity.Every time they'd come back they'd say awe f... , no way.Ya that was there nick names.Loved to follow them just to prove it could be done.The doorbell brothers probably would of been a better name thou, ya you Guessed it,ding and dong..........

[bobbo]

How long did it take you to realize that he was deaf?Funny in a way,some of the best lineman Ive met are the quietest guys around,and dont think they arent listening to what is being said either.

He was one of those guys who wpuld get his work assignment and just go to town. If it was trenching, he would grab the low boy, chain the cat and backhoe up in five minutes is out the gate. Never talked.He was three steps ahead of everyone else. If he ever talked, he definitely had something to say that was really important. His attitude I try to emulate. Get it done. If you are standing around get out of my way. If you dont know ehat to do then shut up .