Over five years ago
I went through the incredible six-month training program that led to my
certification as a docent for the Chicago Architecture Foundation. The program was filled with fascinating
speakers, challenging assignments, and awesome folks from all walks of life who
helped me to earn my docent’s name tag.
One of the speakers
I remember most vividly was a construction manager who ran through the process
of constructing one of the biggest projects that he had overseen, Prudential
Two, a project complicated by the narrowness of the site, the seamless connection
to the original Prudential building, and the transition from concrete to steel
as the 1992 tower reached its distinctive height.
At some point he
got sidetracked and began to talk about iron workers, and from his stories it
became pretty obvious that iron workers are different from most of us, just as house
cats are different from pumas. For that
difference they are paid extremely well.
My friend Cathy,
listening to the stories, finally raised her hand and asked a question, “My son
graduated from college a while ago and hasn’t found a job. How does a person go about getting a job as
an iron worker?”
The presenter
paused for quite a while. It was pretty
clear that he had a lot to say and was struggling with how to say it. Finally, he said evenly, “Lady, you don’t
want your son to be an iron worker.”
I got just one
small glimpse of the reason a while ago when I was taking pictures of the work
at the River Point site just across from Wolf Point. (For a look at the project,
click here.) Look at the photos below, and you will see an iron worker, 30 feet
in the air, safety harness securely fastened, standing with the sole of one
work boot balanced on the end of a length of #10 rebar, the other foot in thin
air, while the hook of a crane dangles just behind him.
All in a day’s
work. House cat and pumas . . . me and
them.
 |
| JWB Photo |
 |
| JWB Photo |
Posts
2 comments:
Efficiently written information. It will be profitable to anybody who utilizes it, counting me. Keep up the good work. For certain I will review out more posts day in and day out. 야설
Feel free to visit my blog : 야설
Excellent post! I will take a note of your site and continue checking for new data because its very helpful for me.
The information you have provided is very valuable to us.
먹튀검증
Post a Comment