Frank

Deflating windbags
April 29, 2008

You can be the smartest guy in the world, but go into a warehouse and, believe me, folks, the playin’ field gets flat pretty quick. This is a place where common sense trumps book learnin’. And sometimes common sense ain’t so common.

My mom always said I wasn’t the sharpest knife in her drawer, but I was always good for a laugh. I seem to get that a lot, even from people who aren’t my mom. But even I know there are some things you just don’t do.

You know those inflatable dunnage bags? They use ‘em in trailers and railcars to cushion loads. What do ya do on the receivin’ end when you’re done unloadin’ that stuff? Ya gotta deflate them bags of course. I know a guy who didn’t have time to wait for the air to escape through the bleeder valve. This old boy had just the thing to get the job done fast -- a claw hammer. He pulled that bad boy back and hit the bag with all he had. It wasn’t enough to rip the bag but the bounce-back was good enough to knock this poor guy out cold.

Usually if you survive that kinda thing you learn somethin’. Well, this same old boy found himself in the same situation a couple days later. He had a bunch of dunnage bags to deflate. Did he look for his hammer? He did not. Not when he had a nice big ol’ knife within strikin’ distance. He grabbed it, cocked his arm and jabbed that thing with all his might. The bag exploded, blew that knife back and stuck him right in the chest. Luckily, just a flesh wound.

Funny, huh? But I bet my buddy thinks that ol’ bleeder valve looks like a lot better option for lettin’ the air out of big windbags.

Speakin’ of windbags, be sure to blow off some of your own steam by sharin’ some of the dumb stuff you see people doin’ around your workplace. Even if the dumb guy is you, we don’t have to know. Let’s all learn by other people’s mistakes, I always say.

Posted by Frank on April 29, 2008 | Comments (0)