Thought of the day .

[highup]

When I moved out west way back when I thought it was so weird that carpet guys worked out of pickups…

Until I realized it was true that it “never rains in Southern California”.

Although it still seemed less practical than a van… I remember hearing on the news more than once about a roll of carpet blocking the freeway…

You need to make that into a song it's got quite a ring to it.


Man, .....you guys ought to here this is on some good headphones.

 

[havasu]

Ironic that I, living in California, am listening to this song while looking outside, and seeing it rain.

 

[highup]

The sun is speaking through the clouds here on the sunny and warm Oregon coast. I listen to it again.

 

[JPfloor]

Ironic that I, living in California, am listening to this song while looking outside, and seeing it rain.

For the first six months living in Upland I couldn’t understand why Mountain Ave had drainage ditches on both sides with bridges over it…. Then February came and I understood…

 

[highup]

For the first six months living in Upland I couldn’t understand why Mountain Ave had drainage ditches on both sides with bridges over it…. Then February came and I understood…

I'm guessing the parched earth doesn't let rain soak in?

 

[havasu]

For the first six months living in Upland I couldn’t understand why Mountain Ave had drainage ditches on both sides with bridges over it…. Then February came and I understood…

Yep, we live two signals east of Mountain. When it rains good, both Mountain and Euclid turn into our own little Colorado River.

 

[JPfloor]

Yep, we live two signals east of Mountain. When it rains good, both Mountain and Euclid turn into our own little Colorado River.

At 18 years of age, in our almighty wisdom, my friend and I though it would be fun to try out my new canoe… That didn’t work out too well…

Did a lot of trout fishing up at Lytle creek. Open shooting was fun too. No rules except common sense back then. I imagine that’s changed by now.

 

[havasu]

I use to shoot at the top of Lytle Creek, but the last time i was getting shot at by nearby idiots, and put a bullet hole in my friend's truck. I now belong to a private shooting club, also in Lytle Creek, a mile from civilization. I saw on the news this morning that during a major rain event, 3 people were headed to our range (it's open 24 hours a day) in a lifted 4x4 jeep, and had to be rescued, since we need to cross Lytle Creek to get to the range.

 

[JPfloor]

I use to shoot at the top of Lytle Creek, but the last time i was getting shot at by nearby idiots, and put a bullet hole in my friend's truck.

Sounds about the way I remember it. Late 70s. I never got shot at but I sure could see that happening… Organized it wasn’t…Pull off the side of the road and start shooting… Plenty of drinking going on too. Bad combo.

 

[Floorist]

Sounds about the way I remember it. Late 70s. I never got shot at but I sure could see that happening… Organized it wasn’t…Pull off the side of the road and start shooting… Plenty of drinking going on too. Bad combo.

I could go down to my BILs farm, but too many cattle and horses. Don't want to scare them even though he told me it was ok. Some in my collection I have never shot.

 

[highup]

I could go down to my BILs farm, but too many cattle and horses. Don't want to scare them even though he told me it was ok. Some in my collection I have never shot.

If you have a collection of horses and cows.
Oh Rusty, now I'm wondering what other secrets you have kept from us.

 

[Floorist]

It used to be when you saw someone with their head bowed at the table, they were praying.......Now they are looking at their phone.

 

[Incognito]

It used to be when you saw someone with their head bowed at the table, they were praying.......Now they are looking at their phone.

You would not want to try to drive around here. Both interstate highway traffic jams and ALL redlights are time to check the phone and respond to the last text message. EVERY light........EVERY slowdown on the I-10 into Los Angeles and every other road. ALL day, EVERY day. 100%

It's no bad enough we have LITTLE OLD LADIES driving around on the public roads. They're looking at their cell phones!!!!

 

[highup]

It used to be when you saw someone with their head bowed at the table, they were praying.......Now they are looking at their phone.

......no doubt reading the online version of the new testament.

 

[Floorist]

NOMINATED THE BEST JOKE OF THE YEAR
A Russian arrives in New York City as a new immigrant to the United States . It's 11:00 AM on a Wednesday.
He stops the first person he sees walking down the street and says, "Thank you Mr. American for letting me come into this country, giving me housing, food stamps, free medical care, and a free education!"
The passerby says, "You are mistaken, I am a Mexican."
The man goes on and encounters another passerby. "Thank you for having such a beautiful country here in America .." The person says, "I not American, I Vietnamese." The new arrival walks farther, and the next person he sees he stops, shakes his hand, and says, "Thank you for wonderful America !
That person puts up his hand and says,
"I am from Middle East. I am not American."
He finally sees a nice lady and asks, "Are you an American?”
She says, "No, I am from Africa .."
Puzzled, he asks her, "Where are all the Americans?"
The African lady checks her watch and says:
"Probably at work."
IF YOU DON'T PASS THIS ON TO YOUR FRIENDS, BY TOMORROW, YOU WILL RECEIVE THREE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ABSOLUTELY FREE.

 

[Floorist]

Did you ever come close to punching a customer? I was cutting carpet around floor outlets in a new church. Preacher was watching me. I asked if the outlets were hot, he said no. Decided to cut them out with a wood handled knife. Melted the blade off on the first outlet. If not for my helper, I would have punched the preacher.

 

[DarisMulkin]

I never came close to punching a customer but almost slit ones throat. I was working in an auditorum alone and all of a sudden someone coughed or talked but anyway I just pivoted swinging my knife in the same motion. Almost got him. Told him don't ever do that again when someones back is to you. He assured me he wouldn't and then from then on he hollered from the door.

 

[Incognito]

Did you ever come close to punching a customer? I was cutting carpet around floor outlets in a new church. Preacher was watching me. I asked if the outlets were hot, he said no. Decided to cut them out with a wood handled knife. Melted the blade off on the first outlet. If not for my helper, I would have punched the preacher.

In commercial work the question would be; Did you ever go a whole day without coming close to punching someone?

These are the stories we love to tell. And they get bigger and better as the years pass.

 

[havasu]

In commercial work the question would be; Did you ever go a whole day without coming close to punching someone?

These are the stories we love to tell. And they get bigger and better as the years pass.

Seems this follows pretty much every profession.

 

[highup]

I'm not the punching type, but I came within seconds of walking off a job.
....not just any job. Customer was 4 days away from celebrating her daughter's wedding at their home.
Friends and relatives were coming from across the country. The home was being spruced up for months prior to impress the guests.
The homeless 30 miles south of me in Bandon Oregon. The caterers were from San Francisco.
.....yeh, I'm sure that wasn't cheap.
I started on a Tuesday in the wedding was Sunday. I was doing an expensive Karastan carpet and the designer had chosen a 9 inch wide woven border piece called callalily. It was 9 inches wide. I believe the designer's cost was $225 per lineal foot..... maybe yard, I don't recall. The living room was 18 by 29-ish. The border had a pattern in the middle and half inch wide stripes down both side with dots in the center of them. Being a woven carpet, even an 18 ft do you know this carpet isn't going to stretch, meaning attaching the border around this room has got to be done perfectly. 1/8 shy I'm in trouble and 1/8 in too big and part of the border disappears.
On top of that I have four days to complete this job before the wedding.
There was a floor level granite fireplace hearth, and that itself added four more mitered cuts.
It wasn't just the cuts that we're going to be difficult. Being a lily patterned border with stems and vines and such, a pattern had to be created as best possible at these miter joints. Very stressful. On the second day there the lady said to me, "you're going to finish this tomorrow are you" I chuckled under my breath and said definitely not.
She walked away from me straight to the phone and started chewing out the shop order with a purchased the flooring. We were not given a timeline, simply told to start on Tuesday which I did.
Here she was at the phone, verbally reaming the shop owner's *** as decorators and people bringing in flowers and preparing for the event could easily over hear her.
My plan was, if she came over to me and said just one critical word, my tools would go back into the bag and I would have told her she just got two days worth of free labor. I was dead serious. This was my plan. 5 minutes later, she came over and asked if I like a Pepsi.
She even let me work on Saturday so I could complete the hallway in which the carpet was stretched into the center of a marble hallway.
This was the same material as the border, but in broad loom. It was about an eighth of an inch thick and you couldn't tell the difference between this material and somebody's needlepoint artwork.
That job was many many years ago and I could date it to the exact day with a couple of Google clicks.
It was Friday June 17th, 1994. The caterers were already setting up tables in the living room that I had just completed. One of the caterers came running down the hall screaming in a San Francisco caterers voice, "hey guys, hey guys you got to come see this"
A bunch of us walked back into the den and on the TV screen we watched OJ Simpson doing his famous drive down the freeway.
I guess the wedding turned out great and six months later as I watch local TV, the Oregon State Police were shown at their home removing file cabinets and they are being investigated for fraud. They own the Ford dealership and we're pocketing the money that was supposed to have been sent for extended car warranties and such.
Yes, they were found guilty.
Though extremely stressful at the time such a fun memory now.