Fatalities Yesterday

Date 03-26-2014 20:18

Got a text from a tower hand friend of mine yesterday telling me that so and so died yesterday(name omitted on purpose). I said, "What???" and he said that they were working a tower and it collapsed killing him instantly. Upon checking on the wireless website, kind of like AWS, I read that indeed there was an accident in Blaine, KS yesterday. Don't know any details other than they were doing a decom on a guy tower and something happened with the ginpole and it all came down like a house of cards. I worked with the one guy for about a week, seemed like a nice guy and worked with the other guy for about a month and he was a good guy.

I spent a lot of time last year and the beginning of this year climbing those things and been up pretty high. Walking across the driveway today I was thinking about those two guys and suddenly my mind was swirling, I'm falling, tower chasing me and all I could think of was those two friends and dear God what would you think? Stopped me in my tracks. I have been up to the height where these guys fell from and "safety" connected to the tower. Just really hit me today. I guess it's because in the past I see faceless names, Joe Joe died in Somewhere, USA today when he fell off a tower, read it and move on. This is different, I have faces I can picture, conversations and just hanging out on the job with these two guys even as short as it may have been.

Be careful out there ladies and gents, a blink of an eye and it's all over.

http://www.wirelessestimator.com/breaking_news.cfm

By Superflux (****)

Date 03-27-2014 00:12

Truly sad news and I pray for their families and other friends.
I've been in a similar situation having drug a job and two fatalities a couple months later. I did not know the men that died, but I did work with other members of that particular crew. Yes, it will eat away on you and hope you can come to a resolution and peace.
This life is a precious gift. Enjoy it, make the best of it, because just as you said... "a blink of an eye and it's all over."

By Sourdough (****)

Date 04-19-2014 04:11

Mortality becomes more realistic every year that goes by. The jobs we've worked over the years have been more dangerous than we thought they were when we were working them.

I'm pretty much done. 2 and 7 year old boys, I'm staying alive for those guys.

By lo-hi

Date 04-19-2014 11:51

Went to do some bracing on bar joists and the helper they gave me was in his late fifties. A real hustler and not your normal laborer. Seems he had his on ironworker and erection business in Boston, sold out when the slowdown happened and came north to retire and be with his daughter and grandson. So just to stay busy, and he said that he kind of missed the people he started working part time and local. A week later a staging plank broke and dropped him 20 feet. The injuries caused his death a week later. Life is short, not one minute is worth wasting on hate or anger.

By SCOTTN

Date 04-19-2014 13:15

I'm very sorry to hear that. My prayers are with the family. May God bless and comfort them.

The lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Psalms 34:18