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Thursday, May 13, 2010
"There he is,...above my head,
hanging by a little thread....
Creepy-crawly,...creepy-crawly...creepy, creepy....crawly, crawly"
The Who
Boris The Spider
I was setting up the 6417 at work the other day.
It's a big, ol' evil fixture that was made in the 40's or somethin'. It's .060 out of flat and .010 out of round. It's a new contract but an old job.
The part itself is nothing spectacular....but it is a money maker.
I got the thing up with the crane and then over the other fixture that was already there. I labored for about two hours getting the thing flat and restrained within .005. It took a lot of effort and muscle to get it in....but I finally did it and got a good first piece.
I loaded the machine up with parts,....and then went and got some Dorito's out of the vending machine and took a walk to the back door....while listening to the machine do that good burn thing it does when things finally go right.
I had Annie Lennox's "Bare" album on....and settled in for the quiet, downhill slide of the rest of the night.
I stood at the back door and looked out over the horizon to the North East Ohio skyline. It was just about to get dark and I couldn't help but notice what a nice night it was.
Across the back garage door we have a locked spider gate. It is there too for security....to keep the scrap poachers out of the building....but gives one the illusion of bein' locked in a cage or jail when you are on the inside of said gate.
The actual "normal" door is right next to it....but one can't help but get a confined feeling when looking out of this caged garage door.
I became drawn to the gate itself,....as I stood there with my nose about two inches from it.
There was a rather large spider in it,.... weavin' it's web.
I studied what he was doin',...while eatin' my Dorito's,....and couldn't help but become more and more fascinated as I watched this spider craft this web.
It was like watchin' a master knitter. It's legs were goin' every which way in a certain repetitive rhythm.
I do not know if he noticed me,....and if he did, I don't think he (or she) really cared that I was watching because it seemed that he needed to get this thing done due to the fact that he was probably pretty hungry.
He had made this prototype of a web and was putting the missing pieces in. It's like he made the outline and then busied himself with putting the frosting on it.
All lines symmetrical. All bars spaced evenly apart.
He worked swiftly and I could tell he took pride in his work because he would stop to fix things that weren't "just right".
A co-worker noticed that I was spending more time than usual at the back gate and came over to find out what was so interesting on a run-of-the-mill Wednesday night.
I pointed out the spider and he, too, was taken with it.
At about ten o'clock at night, he was finished....and I was wrapping up a pretty good run on my machine.
He sat in the very center of his web and was waitin' for somethin' to get stuck in it....so he could get dinner.
I finished up my work and went home,...hopin' the spider would have somethin' to eat by the time I was in my living room,....downing my own burger and fries.
The next day I went to work and walked over to the gate at about the same time I did the night before.
There he was.....only about a foot higher,....weaving another web with the same intensity he had shown the night before.
It dawned on me that the gate gets opened about 15 times durin' day shift,....due to forklifts and deliveries and whatnot,....and I had come to the conclusion that the web he had spun the night before was not long for this world,....so there he was,....doin' it again.
We were now gunnin' for him.
At lunch time, a wicked storm moved in. As I sat there eatin' my cheese and crackers, I wondered how the spider was faring through this intense gale that enveloped our plant.
I walked over and saw him hangin' on for dear life, as a cold, wet wind blew, and I noticed that what he had worked on all day was now gone.
I wanted to help him....but I knew that was impossible.....because helpin' him would mean touchin' him....and I wasn't about to do that.
I mean,....it's a spider, right?
I don't wanna touch no spider. I gave up with playin' with spiders when I got out of sixth grade.
I told him to get inside until this thing blew over. That's about all I was willin' to do.
Give wise counsel.
He finally got a foothold and pulled himself into the nook of the gate. I went back finished my cheese and crackers and Kool-aid.
Since what I was workin' on that night was a quick run, I didn't pay a whole lot attention to him the second night.
I was busy. He was busy.
At break, I went over and checked on him.
He was curled up, waiting for the gate to dry off.
I stood there watching him for a bit. Then the other guy came over and we watched him together.
It occurred to me that the company had recently installed cameras at all exit points.....and there was a camera directly behind us, mounted high upon the wall.
(They were put there because some smart ass, who no longer works there, decided he was gonna unload all the company's scrap and put the profits into his own pocket,....hence, the installation of cameras.)
It dawned on me that the company COULD be watchin' me standin' there....watchin' a spider.
The irony of it all was sobering.
They're watchin' me work....while I watch the spider work.
I couldn't help but notice the parallels.
I labor. They watch. He labors. I watch. I won't help him. They won't help me. I hope for the best. The spider hopes for the best. I bust my butt to have it all torn down at the end of the day. The spider busts his butt to have it all torn down at the end of the day. I work. The company watches. The spider works. I watch the spider. I eat. The spider eats. They watch. I watch. The spider watches me. I give wise counsel. The company thinks it gives wise counsel. I won't give the spider what he needs. The company won't give me what I need. The spider ignores me. I ignore the company.....ad infinitum.
I guess now the ending of the Who song makes more sense now....more than it would had I put it at the top of this post.
I can't help but come to the conclusion that we are destined for the same fate.
"He's come to a sticky end,
don't think he will ever mend.
Never more will he crawl 'round,
he's embedded in the ground".
Anyway,....
hanging by a little thread....
Creepy-crawly,...creepy-crawly...creepy, creepy....crawly, crawly"
The Who
Boris The Spider
I was setting up the 6417 at work the other day.
It's a big, ol' evil fixture that was made in the 40's or somethin'. It's .060 out of flat and .010 out of round. It's a new contract but an old job.
The part itself is nothing spectacular....but it is a money maker.
I got the thing up with the crane and then over the other fixture that was already there. I labored for about two hours getting the thing flat and restrained within .005. It took a lot of effort and muscle to get it in....but I finally did it and got a good first piece.
I loaded the machine up with parts,....and then went and got some Dorito's out of the vending machine and took a walk to the back door....while listening to the machine do that good burn thing it does when things finally go right.
I had Annie Lennox's "Bare" album on....and settled in for the quiet, downhill slide of the rest of the night.
I stood at the back door and looked out over the horizon to the North East Ohio skyline. It was just about to get dark and I couldn't help but notice what a nice night it was.
Across the back garage door we have a locked spider gate. It is there too for security....to keep the scrap poachers out of the building....but gives one the illusion of bein' locked in a cage or jail when you are on the inside of said gate.
The actual "normal" door is right next to it....but one can't help but get a confined feeling when looking out of this caged garage door.
I became drawn to the gate itself,....as I stood there with my nose about two inches from it.
There was a rather large spider in it,.... weavin' it's web.
I studied what he was doin',...while eatin' my Dorito's,....and couldn't help but become more and more fascinated as I watched this spider craft this web.
It was like watchin' a master knitter. It's legs were goin' every which way in a certain repetitive rhythm.
I do not know if he noticed me,....and if he did, I don't think he (or she) really cared that I was watching because it seemed that he needed to get this thing done due to the fact that he was probably pretty hungry.
He had made this prototype of a web and was putting the missing pieces in. It's like he made the outline and then busied himself with putting the frosting on it.
All lines symmetrical. All bars spaced evenly apart.
He worked swiftly and I could tell he took pride in his work because he would stop to fix things that weren't "just right".
A co-worker noticed that I was spending more time than usual at the back gate and came over to find out what was so interesting on a run-of-the-mill Wednesday night.
I pointed out the spider and he, too, was taken with it.
At about ten o'clock at night, he was finished....and I was wrapping up a pretty good run on my machine.
He sat in the very center of his web and was waitin' for somethin' to get stuck in it....so he could get dinner.
I finished up my work and went home,...hopin' the spider would have somethin' to eat by the time I was in my living room,....downing my own burger and fries.
The next day I went to work and walked over to the gate at about the same time I did the night before.
There he was.....only about a foot higher,....weaving another web with the same intensity he had shown the night before.
It dawned on me that the gate gets opened about 15 times durin' day shift,....due to forklifts and deliveries and whatnot,....and I had come to the conclusion that the web he had spun the night before was not long for this world,....so there he was,....doin' it again.
We were now gunnin' for him.
At lunch time, a wicked storm moved in. As I sat there eatin' my cheese and crackers, I wondered how the spider was faring through this intense gale that enveloped our plant.
I walked over and saw him hangin' on for dear life, as a cold, wet wind blew, and I noticed that what he had worked on all day was now gone.
I wanted to help him....but I knew that was impossible.....because helpin' him would mean touchin' him....and I wasn't about to do that.
I mean,....it's a spider, right?
I don't wanna touch no spider. I gave up with playin' with spiders when I got out of sixth grade.
I told him to get inside until this thing blew over. That's about all I was willin' to do.
Give wise counsel.
He finally got a foothold and pulled himself into the nook of the gate. I went back finished my cheese and crackers and Kool-aid.
Since what I was workin' on that night was a quick run, I didn't pay a whole lot attention to him the second night.
I was busy. He was busy.
At break, I went over and checked on him.
He was curled up, waiting for the gate to dry off.
I stood there watching him for a bit. Then the other guy came over and we watched him together.
It occurred to me that the company had recently installed cameras at all exit points.....and there was a camera directly behind us, mounted high upon the wall.
(They were put there because some smart ass, who no longer works there, decided he was gonna unload all the company's scrap and put the profits into his own pocket,....hence, the installation of cameras.)
It dawned on me that the company COULD be watchin' me standin' there....watchin' a spider.
The irony of it all was sobering.
They're watchin' me work....while I watch the spider work.
I couldn't help but notice the parallels.
I labor. They watch. He labors. I watch. I won't help him. They won't help me. I hope for the best. The spider hopes for the best. I bust my butt to have it all torn down at the end of the day. The spider busts his butt to have it all torn down at the end of the day. I work. The company watches. The spider works. I watch the spider. I eat. The spider eats. They watch. I watch. The spider watches me. I give wise counsel. The company thinks it gives wise counsel. I won't give the spider what he needs. The company won't give me what I need. The spider ignores me. I ignore the company.....ad infinitum.
I guess now the ending of the Who song makes more sense now....more than it would had I put it at the top of this post.
I can't help but come to the conclusion that we are destined for the same fate.
"He's come to a sticky end,
don't think he will ever mend.
Never more will he crawl 'round,
he's embedded in the ground".
Anyway,....
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