Okay, how is everyone today..this fine Wed?
Let me tell you it is gorgeous in K C right now pushing about 75....just beautiful weather.
Many of you know about my escapade with the Bonneville from hell, that they found full of bullet holes some two years ago......and then there was the "attack bird" story from earlier this summer and all I had was a hat to defend myself while stranded on I-70. (stupid bird)
Well, "The Banding Machine" debacle is from that same file of stories.
Let me take you back.....way back to 9 a m this morning.
I had 7 crates that needed to have the lids on them banded shut, so they were good to go for shipping on a bumpy long ride to North Carolina.
I've been here almost four years now, and am somewhat of an expert with the bander. Or so I thought.
It just so happens that in that span of four years I have never, not once, had to actually change the spool on it due to it running out of actual strapping (banding) material. And of course it was empty.
Damn, I thought, I'm reasonably intelligent, there's really no moving parts, how hard can this be? ( I should've known better)
So anyway, I go get the refill spool with the new banding material on it, unscrew the giant bolt holding the empty one on, cut the little tie thingy's holding the strapping material on the spool until you get it on the......uh........ooops.
WHRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!
Apparently the little tie thingys aren't supposed to be cut until AFTER the new spool is secured on the actual banding machine.
5,000 ft of strapping is unraveling at somewhere around the speed of sound.
By some act of divine intervention I am able to get some packing tape on the remaining strapping on the spool, and get it stopped.
At this point in the story you're probably thinking....well....not a huge deal... D C can just wrap the unraveled strapping back up, the tape will hold it in place...no prob!
All fine ideas, I was thinking the same thing as well.......and who walks thru the warehouse door for a surprise visit, take a guess......of course.... the director of our division!
Who actually is a pretty good guy, and we traded barbs at The K C T-Bones minor league game one afternoon on a team builder about Missouri/Iowa football and such.
I'm standing there in ankle deep unraveled strapping material, and I know he is going to have some smart aleck remark, and sure enough right on cue he says,
"First time changing the refill spool there, Dan?"
What a set up I thought to myself. He just left the door wide open for me for the perfect Bill Engvall "here's your sign" comeback.....and I had it to boy.....right there on the tip of my tongue.
AND IF I COULD REMEBER WHAT IT WAS I'D TELL YOU.
Somewhere between my brain and my jaw muscle actually saying the snappy comeback I had thought of.....the signal carrying it from my brain decided to take a detour inside my big boulbus head.....and it never got there.
So I started to say it, "Nope I'm........er....that is yeah....I'm......uh....I don't know what the hell I'm doin'."
Brilliant D C, just friggin' brilliant.
I guess next time I'll read the directions first!
Have a good weekend!
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D C
