Thursday, July 18, 2013

The cranes, the cranes!

I had been planning to issue a blistering screed condemning the inhumane working conditions in my office building, where the air conditioning has been on the fritz all summer, when a single press release transformed an annoyance into an adventure.

They're bringing in cranes--big ones! They'll have to block off roads and establish a perimeter to keep the gawking public away, but trust me, people will find a way to watch. Who wouldn't want to watch a 50-ton crane heft an immense chunk of HVAC equipment onto the roof of a building?

When the new library was just a great big hole in the middle of campus with a parade of cement mixers lining up to lay the foundation, people of all ages stood there all night long watching the Big Pour. It was part social event, part celebration of progress, and part outpouring of awe and wonder over the power of modern technology. All that heavy equipment! All those men! All that mud!

We'll have similar feelings next week when we watch those immense chillers lifted into the sky on what looks like a thin thread, plus we'll get to applaud the promise of cool air in a building that has served as a sauna all summer long. There's a really good reason you don't generally see photocopiers inside saunas--the pages stick together, and all that moisture can't be good for the inner workings of the machine. And what about mold? Don't get me started!

But soon all that discomfort will be a dim and distant memory. Make way for the heavy equipment! They may look like cranes to you, but to me they look like hope.

No comments: