Phil's story reminds me of a funny situation that happened to me many years
ago when I lived back in Arizona. We very rarely had really bad storms in
Tempe, Arizona, which is just outside Phoenix. One day, however, one of
those rare storms developed with lots of heavy rain and high winds. Those
storms are terrible because usually the heavy rain is preceded by strong
winds, and when the wind blows out across the desert when everything is so
dry, you end up with a house full of really fine dust, no matter how tight
you think your house is. Then, comes the heavy rain. So, we were in the
midst of one of those storms, and I wanted to know how much sway there was
in my push-up pole that held my TA-33 Junior beam and rotor. The only way I
knew for a blind guy like me to find out the answer to that question was to
go up on the roof and put my hand on the mast while the wind was blowing and
see how much sway there was to the pole. That is exactly what I did. No, it
was definitely not a smart thing to do, but you know how crazy we hams are.
I got the ladder, climbed up to the roof, walked my way to the peak and
followed the peak across to where I had the push-up mast secured against
the house. I stood there, with my feet straddling the peak with my right
hand grasping the mast, feeling how much sway there was in the mast as the
winds blew! Yes, I imagine it did look pretty ridiculous. At least it did to
my neighbor, Susan. Susan drove her little Sunbeam sports car into her
driveway, and when she got out of her car, she must have looked up and saw
me on my roof, holding on to that pole, and she yelled up asking me: "Ron,
you aren't going to stand up there and hold up that pole through the whole
storm, are you?" Susan was known to during pretty heavily, especially in the
afternoons around cocktail hour time, and she usually started even a little
early. So, I suspect she had been drinking a bit, probably far more than she
should have been, considering she was out driving her little sports car.
Nevertheless, I can only imagine how strange that scene must have appeared
to her, seeing this blind guy up on his roof in the middle of one of
Arizona's really bad storms, holding up his antenna's mast so it wouldn't
blow down in the storm, or at least, that must be what she thought I was
doing!
At that time, I was a graduate student in the Ph.D. program at Arizona State
University, and Susan's husband was Chair of the Psychology Department; so,
I can only imagine what kinds of rumors must have floated around the campus
after Susan told about what she saw to her husband and various other people
they knew on the campus. Fortunately, since Susan was well known to have
drank many too many most of the time, I suspect some people might have
concluded she was in one of her drunken stupors and that no person in their
right mind would stand on their roof in the middle of a bad Arizona storm
holding up some pole from blowing down, especially a blind guy who probably
couldn't even climb a ladder, let alone accomplishing such feat as
straddling the peak of the roof and hold up a long, steel pole like
Hercules!!
Oh, by the way, I did have a little trouble getting back down off the roof
that day, but I was finally able to find the ladder again. Fortunately, the
wind had not blown it off the edge of the roof. Also, much to my surprise
and delight, the mast was not blowing around very much at all!! <lol> What
stupid things we used to do when we were young and invincible!!
Ron, K8HSY
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