wrote in message
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"BigWallop" wrote in message
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ROFLMAO !!!!! Now that's a memory worth holding on to. :-))
Thanks. Unlike another memory which would probably amuse others just as
much - but didn't me at the time :-)
When I was much younger I lived alone in a first floor flat. The flat of
the elderly woman below was slightly larger than mine so that there was a
small bit of sloping roof, over her bedroom, outside one of my windows.
Her
bedroom ceiling developed a very irritating leak and it was fairly obvious
that a small area between the roof and a ridge might be the cause. It
looked as if a good helping of mastic might solve the problem, at least
temporarily.
Neither of us had money to throw away, the landlord took about 5 years to
deal with any such problem, and I'm disinclined to ask friends to do a job
if I can manage it well enough myself, so I decided to try DIY. Lacking a
long enough ladder, the obvious route was to climb out of the window and
cross about 3 feet of roof. There was a sturdy concrete ridge I could sit
on to do the work. I wasn't stupid: I roped myself very securely to the
window so that I couldn't have fallen far, and asked the old lady to be
there while I did the job so there was someone to dial 999 if anything
went
wrong.
Everything went brilliantly until the time came to get myself back inside.
Then I panicked, I couldn't work out for the life of me how to stand up
from my safe little perch get back inside, and the three feet to the
window
seemed a mile. It must have taken about 10 minutes for me to talk myself
back to rational thought - it seemed like hours. But phoning for help
would
have seemed like a greater embarrassment even than falling - I could just
imagine all those macho firemen having a giggle behind my back at this
silly
panicking woman.
Once I got my head together, of course, the trip back to safety was very
easy and entirely uneventful. But I've never tried it again, and that
memory is one I'd rather forget!
Barbara
ROFLMAO !!!! I've been there, and like you, it is not a thought I like to
bring to the fore' to often. My kingdom for a video camera just to capture
the moment. :-)) LOL Those firemen guys must see some lovely sights mind.
My worst nightmare was realised when, not long after leaving school and
starting my apprenticeship, in the mines. Only months into the job, and
having taken all the usual banter and pranks from my elders, one Saturday
morning, quite early hours, a cry went up for everyone to drop to the floor
and keep still. Well, the way in which the cry went out, you just knew that
something major was in the offing. Suddenly a loud cracking and creaking
sound could be heard to echo through the rather narrow shaft in which we
were pulling cables.
Then, in one foul swoop, the ground fell away from below our feet and the
ceiling begun to sag with a very alarming bow. Yes, you've guest it, a
"minor" earth movement and the ends of the tunnel where we where, had sealed
over. Now, I panicked and wanted to run around screaming and thought I'd
start to haul stone and rubble out of the walls, until, just one firm hand
gripped my shoulder and told me to calm down and that help was only a few
feet away on the other side of the mass. I realised that my elder was
correct and started to breath a bit easier.
But what really calmed me down was the words he said in his usual slow
lumbering way " I hope this means we're getting over-time for this " he
said, "We've only got an hour to go 'till the end of the shift". Well I
fell on to my knees with laughter. Here we where, sitting in the shadow of
torch light, trapped under god knows how much fallen earth, and all that old
bugger could think about, was if he was getting extra money for being on
site longer than he should be.
From that day on, I've never really been afraid to show my emotions. Be it
fear followed with a cry for help, or a pain that needs verbal comforting.
So take it from me, if you ever find yourself in such a position again as
being stuck high up on a narrow ledge, just try to keep in mind that others
can help, and if you think you need them to come to the rescue, then scream
at the top of your voice to make sure you're heard. Because we were stuck
down there for three and a bit hours, and we had to wait to be check over by
doctors and nurses, then I missed my bus home and had to wait another hour
for the next one. But the salt was really rubbed in when I only got time
and a half for the first three hours over my finishing time.
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