CONTRACTORS CRANE SERVICE
The Lighter Side of Lifting
(Our attempt at humor)

Every now and then we hear a funny or amazing story relating to business or the construction trades. We thought this would be a great place to share them. Some of you may recognize reprints from "The Daily Sling" from way back. We hope you enjoy them.

This page works best with Netcape or Internet Explorer, other browsers may be limited.

This was one of a series of cartoon strips written by Jeff Roberts and Roger Lenack...Hey, you notice "we kept the day job," we're not in the L.A.Times, we're still in the crane biz!

The Sign Man

There was an old sign man named Leon,

Who one day had run out of neon.

The ozone was battered

When his new sign was shattered,

For instead he had filled it with freon.

As dispatcher, I ask pertinent questions of our clients in regard to lifting dimensions. I usually ask how the dimensions were obtained (estimated or measured) to determine how precise the numbers are. On one occasion a client stated the height of a building, and I responded by asking how he knew how tall it was. Without hesitation, he fired back, " I paced it off."

The city inspector completed his tour of the massive steel and glass office building on the 30th floor. He decided to use a vacant construction elevator to get back to ground level.

Descending alone, down the shaft affixed to the side of the structure, the elevator lurched and plunged into free-fall. Terrified, his mind began to race, searching for a means of escape from almost certain death!

Then, to his utter surprise, he saw something approaching from below at much greater speed than the ground itself -- a workman in a yellow hard hat was actually flying up toward the descending elevator! As the workman zoomed upward past the elevator platform, the inspector found the presence of mind to yell to him, "Hey, do you know anything about elevators?"

"No," shouted the workman, "Do you know anything about acetylene torches?"

...instead of tee-shirts, your company passes out monogrammed back-braces.

....the rungs on your extension ladders are all shaped like the letter "V."

...over 25 % of your design and construction costs are for building catapults.

...your employee application contains the question: "Have you ever built a pyramid?"

...two or more of your service vehicles carry nothing but rope and pulleys.

...your company song begins and ends with the words: "1,2,3, grunt!"

...you have a 900 lb. air conditioner to put on the roof, so you calculate how long it will take to bring it up in the elevator 75 lbs. at a time.

...this morning you put a sling around a ridge-beam, held the loop-end in the air and waited for a hook -- and you are still waiting.

...you feel that the 30-foot light-pole you installed would give better illumination standing vertically than horizontally.

...your wife insists the spa would be more fun if it were on the second-story deck rather than in the driveway by the mailbox.