I ran a steam boiler. Steamed Western Red Cedar chips. After I collected the oil I distilled it. It was worth $400 or so a gallon if I recall correctly. I was 19 years old and worked all alone. I got about 4 hours of training and off I went. Lol.
I was a Catcher who unloaded oil drums from a ship at a Dino Products refinery. It was like a Video Game "think Donkey Gong". The crane operator took barrels from the hold of the ship and placed each drum on a multi leveled ramp that would allow them to roll down to pier level and straight at me. Thus the Catcher title, barrels weighed in between 400 and 600 pounds. My only job was to catch each barrel in motion and flip it up on end. Then a Fork truck operator would move it to a ware house. Training time was 5 minutes. Only missed two all night long, Fork truck driver righted them. I was classed as Casual Labor. Some Union Dude did not show for work so I got a phone call to fill his place at 3 times his pay. And yes they took out union Dues from that check.
Quantico boat docks chase boat operator. I sat around all day looking out over the water waiting for the sails of our rented 19' Lightning's to vanish, and I'd take a Boston Whaler out and recover them. I had about 5 miles of the Potomac that I had to patrol. I forgot to mention that this was my full time job my first year in the Marine Corps. I put on a Service A uniform once a month to collect my pay, in cash, at Little Hall. It was my first personal experience being assigned according to "the needs of the Marine Corps." Although it was the most unusual, it sure wouldn't be my last odd duty assignment.
Watch Stander Command Center in &#*@(@*!&*!!))%#)(!(, My only duty was to sit there at my desk in my service blues and answer the one phone on my desk which would only be one caller to one receiver on my end! Was kind of fun as I got to see and hear all the inner workings of it all, but........... Boring as heck the rest of the time!
When I starter High School, a member of my Church, asked me if i would like to learn a Trade, and be his Apprentice.... He was a Stone & Rock Man, and had a couple of Quarry's up the the Cascade foothills... He also was a Certified Energetic Materials Worker (Blaster). He bought most of his Material from the US Army at Ft Lewis, in Big Surplus Lots... Much of the main Energetic, came in the form of M1 Demolition Block Chain... He taught me to melt the Blocks down, in a Double Boiler, and recast the result in Toilet Paper Tubes and Paper Towel Tubes, which he collected from his local Church Members... We saved all the DetCord that strung the Blocks together, and used them for Cap and Booster timing links... I worked for him on weekends, and after school, and learned the Demolition Trade, as well as the Quarrying Trade, while in High School.. I hated Math, in High School, but the Old Boy encouraged me to learn it, and taught me the applications of Math, in designing Quarrying and Drill Hole Placements, and Loadings... The use of Math has Significat application in Structure Demolition, and loading and Timing Designs... It isn’ Rocket Science, but it is a Requirement for a Good Blaster.... When I graduated, he took me to Olympia, Wa. and certified that I had completed my Apprenticeship and that allowed me to take the Blasters Test for my first Blasters License... I put myself thry College by working as a Blaster on weekends, on Road Construction, on a highway across the Tetons, West to East, and doing Demolition Jobs that came my way... Concrete Silos were one of my specialties... After College I left the Trade, but kept my Licenses current, and only took jobs that held some technical Interest, for me, or for a previous client... I let my last License expire when I moved to Alaska in ‘91.. At that time Alaska did not have a Blasters Licensing Program... One of my PAST Lifetime careers.... of which I have a few...
The best ones are those, where one uses only the amount of Energetics, to get the Job done, but not enough to cause collateral Damage... That is where the Math is critical... Any fool can use to much Powder, but only a Good Blaster gets the job done with a “Just Enough” Loading... It also saves the Client, Money...
While not nearly as energetic as BTPost's work, I made picture frames for a wildlife artist. Long, tedious hours, but filled my time...and payed well.
I caught chicken pox two weeks before I was to ship off to boot camp, after HS graduation.....due to being pretty sick, my ship date got moved to the fall. I had dumped my HS girlfriend, quit my stock-boy job at Kmart (actually a good job at 16-18 Y.O.), sold my car and packed 5 boxes of mementos to "save" for once I settled down in the service. I was waiting to ship off to boot camp, but needed to work and pull my weight for the family. I picked up a job working as ground crew for a hot air balloon company flying the Napa Valley area. We started at 5 AM, picked up the rich folk staying in local hotels at 7 AM and we were in the air by 8 or so. The folks would tip us for allowing them to help set up and tear down the balloon. We made a few bucks an hour and made about $40 to $60 in tips each day..... very nice at 18 Y.O. We were off by noon, since it was to warm to fly in the summertime, and sitting at the lake not long afterwards. Everytime they had a short load, one of us would get to jump aboard and fly for extra ballast..... If you have never taken a hot air balloon ride.... you really should, it is amazing. Loved that job and to this day, one of the best I ever had!! Loading trap at the rifle range as a 14 Y.O. was a lot of fun as well.
I was a milk maid for a few years. Got up at 4am and went to the barns while my husband and daughter slept. Got home in time for him to leave for work. Got cleaned up and left for my regular job as town clerk and got back as my daughter was getting off the school bus Then at 4pm headed back to the barn with my daughter in tow for the afternoon milking. Got home in time to make supper for my family then left for night classes at the university. Returned home around 10pm so I could start studying. My husband worked the farm on weekends and we were paid with all the milk we wanted, a steer and a pig every year for slaughter. Some if the happiest times of my life
Car thief from 15-18 for my (Now deceased) Cousins Chop Shop in STL. Jacked a FBI Spy Van from a hotel parking lot one night. Hey it was a year and model on the list. Cousin freaked out and told me dump it in the River Parked it at one my cousins competitors instead and made a call from the pay phone down the block. Cousins competitor was out of business the next day. Got 5 grand bonus money that week What can I say I was not always the angel that I am today. The couple of times I got busted (Always charged with joy riding) and had to spend a month or two in Juvy got sealed up when I turned 18 and joined the army for a life of excitement and adventure..............errr I mean a life of hurry up and wait.
Did something like that once,Was sent to help the casing shooter, He dropped 75# of I guess TNT down a well casing out in the marsh. We backed off as far as the cable on the crane allowed and he set off the charge! Killed ever fish in the canal and I thought he blew the bottom out of the barge,Luckily that wasn't the case.
Lucky for you we were in different AOs. Caught some car thieves breaking into my Van which contained my Race Bike and tools. Short story is one thief lost his leg from a 30/30 the other two were caught when they dropped off their Bud at the ER.
This is pretty tame - I was hired by the City of Tucson Parks and Wracks to work as "an Indian" They had a chunk of $ for one of those FedGov "Help the Pour and Needy kids" programs that they ran out in the hills west of the city center. In the evening there was a campfire and sing-along. My job - start the campfire with "Indian magic" BTW - I'm certain the guy that came up with this at the City Dept had been a Plans weenie in the Air Force. Anyway, the magic was pretty simple - take a bundle of strike anywhere matches, wrap with nichrome wire (from a dead toaster) - then pack the match bundle into a small bag holding 2 cups of HTH pool shock. Run the wire underground to a nearby spot where there was a 12V car battery. I'd dress up as an Indian (I had all the costume stuff from my time in the Scouts Order of the Arrow) Apply face paint and walk up to the campfire area in the dark. There I would put on the bells etc and wait for my cue. On cue - go out and do a pretty standard Hopi based routine while my confederate would provide color narration When walking up to the pile of firewood. I would call on the "Spirit in the Sky" and my buddy would hit the juice. The HTH would go off like a slap flare and while everyone was blinded by the flare (white hot BTW) I'd make my exit. I found it funny that a) my appearance would cause several of the kiddo to shout and that the fire starting was be seen as b) real magic. I took the job to get an 'in' at the City, but as it turned out, between college classes and working 3 jobs, never had time to follow up.... Still, a lot of fun and a free dinner to boot.
Your "indian" job reminded me of a skit we used as an attention gainer during the initial marksmanship training for young officers at The Basic School. We had a Staff Sergeant assigned to Weapons Training Battalion who had a glass eye. We would have him dress up in black pajamas and bandana and assault the instructors. He began firing (blanks) at the instructors from a distance. They explained that he hadn't hit them because he wasn't applying proper sight alignment and sight picture. As he came closer and closer, screaming foreign curses and continuing to fire, the students became focused on him. (Just a little distracting on a quiet morning in the Virginia woods.) As the attacker made his final assault, with a screaming charge from very close range, the Primary Marksmanship Instructor would calmly pick up his M16, and firing from an offhand position would very deliberately take aim and fire. On cue the pajama-clad assailant would bite a blood bag in his mouth and spray it all over the nearest students as he fell to a sliding stop from a full charge into a pile of leaves at the feet of the front row of students. At the cue "Body Count!" a couple instructors would grab the body of our actor and drag him away, across the front of the bleachers with our actors glass eye open and impossibly twisted to one side or the other. It was complete theater, but it got the students attention better than any two dimensional graphic ever could.
I had a steam powered sawmill for a few years until the doctors made me quit. Here is a short video produced by a friend. Since this video was taken I got a shed over the mill but no newer videos. It's all gone now, had to sell it. But I still have the engine and it's for sale.
