Sunday, September 25, 2011

Tower Update

I'm sorry but this will be brief. I've just received word my younger brother has been taken to the emergency room with a life threatening illness. Not much I can do at present, other than prayer. So this will be a post of pictures and a few notes.

Now to bring you up to date. Since my last adventure with my group and the post I wrote of the trip, I've added a few new followers. To bring you nice people up to date allow me a moment of explanation. I had an idea many years ago of forming a group of like minded individuals to support and defend each the other in times of either man made or natural disaster. Simple, huh. Try it. But fighting all the odds against, I succeeded. This success was due to the hard work and time of the nice men and women that joined hands with me in this adventure. They are the individuals due all the credit. They took my dream and made it possible.




I am still very reluctant to expose much about our group. But, by using careful wording and revealing nothing of our location, preps, and other details, I believe it safe to chat with you good folks of our labors.

Recently we were given a tower, a damn fine antenna tower, a beauty, all we had to do was move it. Ever hand dug and moved a 40 foot tower that's had the base sunk into four feet of concrete. It isn't easy. By utilizing hundreds of feet of rope, pulleys, a jeep, shovels and muscles and a few carefully chosen curse words, we 'got 'er done' in record time.

I ask, please excuse my poor photography. Above is one of our new members, let's call him AF1. The tower (left in the picture) still has vines as decoration. Here we're just beginning to dig. Little did we know there was a huge ball of cement underground.

This fine looking feller is Senior Chief. He has just climbed the tower (harnessed) and is striking a pose. He's attached a strap and hardware. We used a block and tackle in a large pine, and three other ropes to ease the tower and antenna to the ground. We did not want the antenna (at the top of the tower) to be harmed. This is one nice and expensive gift (thousands) and treated it as such....as you can imagine.

Sorry for this blurred picture. This is Rebel steadying the ladder for ShooterSteve as Shooter secures the block and chain in the pine. From here we ran a rope to the western side of the tower.

We begin to dig.

Above (as is the rule for all my photos) here we have ShooterSteve (best master electrician in North Florida) and Senior Chief. I think they've spotted a squirrel and are debating the best course of action to bring it down. They chose sticks.

An hour or so later, success. It's down, and more importantly, with no damage. Now the work begins. Rebel used his Jeep, and with the help of our new friend, Tim, eased the beautiful tower down like an Angel's caress.

Above we find new recruit, AF1 and Senior Chief dancing an Irish jig in joy.

There she rest. After a couple of hours of tractor work (Thanks to my Father's loan of the tractor and my nephew Dusty's tractor skills, we had the tower with its sock of cement back at the Boar's Nest. I swear I lost ten pounds. The heat and humid conditions were awful. Time for lunch on the Boar's Nest deck. 

My Father, in his electric wheel chair, sits just off deck as the rest of us take a well deserved break and eat lunch. The fellow to the left of my father in the boys pants and slippers (we'll correct his dress soon) is AF2, soon to be an auxiliary member of our group.  He is the nice guy that gave us his antenna tower. The least we can do is add him to our group, he does qualify. He just needs to complete a few steps in the process. He will make a very nice addition.

Another random shot of the legs of AF1 and Senior Chief....at parade rest.


I need to post and run. I've a dinner to cook, calls to make. Little Bit and her parents and little brother, Sport Model, are eating dinner with us tonight. I shall make a Shrimp Etouffee today. The shrimp stock is simmering as I write. Ever peeled three pounds of shrimp. It's fun.

Hey, this has turned into a long article for one that began as a quick note. Please, have a good evening.

Stephen

16 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear about your brother, keep us updated when appropriate.

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  2. Thanks, Matt. Will do. Nothing yet.

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  3. Thanks for the update. Prayers for your brother, you, and family.

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  4. Yeah, #1 sending prayers for your brother. #2, congrats on the tower. Good luck getting that back up safely. The etouffe sounds awesome. I always freeze shrimp/crab/lobster shells for making stock. It's just the best way to get great stock.

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  5. Just now saw this - been at the range all day. Prayers for your brother on the way, sir.

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  6. My prayers are for your brother.

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  7. You and your brother got bumped to the top of my prayer list. I hope he is ok.

    Nice tower, though.

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  8. My friends. Thank you very much for your prayers and kind thoughts. Will post update in a moment.

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  9. Sounds like your adventure was a success! Sorry to hear about your younger brother, In My Prayers.

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  10. Prayers for you and yours! Nice of you to post in such a moment. Update us when you can.

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  11. Stephen, sorry to hear about your brother, sounds like I the tower job went good. Glad you didn't need to rent a cherry picker.

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  12. I'm glad you are feeling comfortable with telling more about your group. I've always been afraid I'd slip and say something that aggravated you. With more info out there, all be it in a perfectly sanitized and safe form, less chance of me committing a security faux pas in one of my postings.

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  13. Lila, thank you, Sweetheart.

    Duke, you missed out on much fun, and sweat, and hard work, and well, you know. But, it's done.

    Arsenius, no problem. You could never make me angry. I decided to write of the group in hopes others will learn. I am careful not to disclose locations, and other important subjects. Thanks.

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