Galaska and Son, Splicers-r-Us

As Union Electricians, you never know who you will run in to on the job.  This is a father (Dr. Bob) and son (Junior) picture.  Dr. Bob works for Lake Erie Electric, while Junior works for the same contractor that I do, Call Henry.  Dr. Bob came out to do some splices and terminations on a contract job that Lake Erie won.  Since he may retire sometime in the next few years, Junior wanted to get a few pictures with his old man on the job. 

This is an Instructor/Student picture.  A little over a decade ago, Junior and I took the NJATC course in Medium Voltage Cable Splicing and Terminating.  Dr. Bob was the lead instructor and the bohunk on the far right, Bruce Marek, was the other instructor.  Bruce is now the shop steward for Call Henry.  It's a sad state of affairs that Junior and I will be taking the reigns over when these two men retire, especially since we never listen....

I even got to see my old buddy and splicing partner, Casey again.  He was assisting Dr. Bob with the splices and terminations.  Casey has been splicing for about 8 years now and will probably take over as lead splicer for Lake Erie when Dr. Bob retires.  I know, the sunglasses make me look like, well, a total dork.

One more picture to round out the post.  (Emphasis on "round"!)  Here are the Galaska family splicers.  On the left is Dr. Bob's brother, Kenny.  We call him "Unc" since he's Juniors uncle.  Well, to his face we call him "Sir" because he's also our foreman.  I'm probably gonna be cleaning out manholes for a year for my "round" ballbust, but it was worth it.  Crap, I gotta work with Junior tomorrow too!

Memorial Weekend

I had such a fun time last weekend! On Saturday, I went hiking with S. in the afternoon, then went to the dance that evening. On Sunday I went to my parents' house for a graduation party/ Memorial Day cookout.


We started with 4 on 4 volleyball. My niece took the pictures. Nice action shots, Shellyo! Anthonie goes up for the spike!



We sometimes pretend that we are real volleyball players, you know: bump, set, spike. It never really works out that way though. I ended up with a lot of sand in my butt crack before the day was over.


We took a break from V-ball to play some corn hole. Why it's called "corn hole" is beyond me. We had horseshoes, but never got the stakes driven in the ground. I guess corn hole is a suitable substitute. Bean bags don't clang though.


Anthonie is the young fella my niece had the graduation party for. He's a good looking kid. Pretty damn strong too. He's helped me around the house before. I just realized that I maybe should have kept my t-shirt untucked.... My dunlop disease is showing.


Dad couldn't sit still for too long before he had to get out in the garden to plant something. This is a great picture, Morg! Behind that stand of trees is where the quonset hut used to be.


That is one awesome row of prickers there Dad! Good thing you used that twine to make straight rows. I guess you'll be hoeing any sweet corn, tomatoes, or beans that accidentally pop up nearby. Well, good luck at the fair this year, maybe you'll get a blue ribbon for Best Weed. At least they are bigger than your watermelons....


Morgan and I have to play frisbee every summer. It's so much fun! Yes, I caught it.


Anyone else notice Morg's legs? I think he shaves his ankles. Nice catch, bro!


Remember that sand from earlier....

Bohemian Dance Night

I went swing-dancing Saturday night at the same place I went the first time. This time, I wasn't nervous at all! I had a really good time. I only danced with S. once, because there were so many guys asking her to dance, and I didn't really want to spoil her fun since I don't know what I'm doing. I shot home after the first lesson to get some ear-plugs, because the band seemed too loud. Maybe because I was right next to the speakers. Anyway, when I got home, my neighbor, Patty, expressed an interest in going, so I waited for her to get ready and we went. She had a lot of fun dancing too. I ended up dancing with 4 or 5 women, for about 10 dances, which isn't bad for me. I still don't feel like I know what I'm doing, though. There's another class starting up at the end of June with the folks who sponsored Saturday's dance. I'm planning on checking that out too. Everyone keeps telling me that I have to go out on the floor and "just do it", but if I don't feel that I've got a rudimentary understanding of what to do, I won't have as much fun. I think I'll ask S. to work with me while I wait for the next classes to begin. I am determined to learn how to do this, even if it takes forever!

Cedar Point

I went to Cedar Point yesterday with my friend, S. We had an incredible time! We rode all the cool rides that have come along since the last time I was there, 20 years ago, and a few of them twice. We jogged from ride to ride and only stopped long enough to eat a sandwich and for me to get a season pass. She already has one. I can't wait to go again!

Alpaca shearing time again!

Last Sunday was time for the annual haircut for the alpacas. This is a story that is best told in pictures. Let's start with a few from a month ago, when I was out cruising on my bike and stopped by Rick's farm.

Here are the ladies. Maggie and Lily are the two white ones. Don't ask me which is which. Felicia is the brown one.


And the gentlemen: Auggie and Dragster.


Auggie and Lily are Maggie's babies. Right now, Maggie is pregnant, I think by Dragster, but Lily is too young still. Look at those thick, heavy coats! You know that as summer comes and the temperatures rise, those animals are gonna cook. It kinda makes them look heavy too, doesn't it? From the picture, I'd put Auggie at 150 lbs, and Dragster close to 200 lbs....


Here, Lily is stretched out for her haircut. The ropes keep her from kicking, and it makes it easier to roll her as the shearer takes off the "fleece", which is the swath of fur around her torso. Oh, alpaca fur is referred to as "fiber".


My job was to get the animals ready for shearing. We had two mats set up. We wanted to have one ready to go when the shearer was ready, but didn't want them to be tied down for too long, especially the pregnant ones. I like this job because I don't have to worry about knowing which fiber is important and which is trash. The women decide that.

At first, I was trying to lay the animal down with a wrestling move. I'd grab the far front leg and pull it to me while leaning into it's shoulder, which would roll the animal over. I was depending on the guy behind me to do the same with the back feet. Once the animal was laying down, it became docile and it was easy to put the ropes on it's feet. Sometimes, the animal would spread it's hind legs when I went to roll it, which became a pain in the ass. So they told me how the Australians did it.

The Australians would lean over the top of the alpaca and, with two hands, grab the thick fur just in front of the hind legs and in front of the front legs. Then they'd lift the animal up in the air and set her down on her side.

Well, I tried that too... With the first alpaca I lifted that way, I nearly threw her through the ceiling! I must have lifted her to shoulder height, at least. All that thick fleece is misleading making the animal appear much heavier. Then, because I wasn't really sure of what I was doing, I sorta body-slammed the poor animal down on the mat. She was docile, all right.... That got me nervous looks from the alpaca farmers. Rick suggested that I be a little more gentle next time, and I was. It took a few animals before I was able to judge the weight well, but I didn't injure any of them.

The next one was a big male, and he ended up on top of me. When I went to flip him, I lost my balance and fell underneath. One of the pregnant females wasn't very happy about being on her side, and I ended up with a fat lip when she slammed her shoulder into the side of my face. I got spit on half a dozen times, and I tell you alpaca spit is some nasty smelling stuff. It's mostly grass, but grass that's been in their bellies for an hour, fermenting. Rick got kicked in the shins a number of times too. So, to make a long story short, we had a lot of fun!

So here is the lovely Lily with her new 'do. Isn't she loooovely.... I know she'll be cool at least.


Auggie must have lost 100 lbs! That poor guy. How's he going to impress the ladies without his mane? I guess he'll have to rely on his conversational skills.


You can see why I misjudged the first animal's weight when I flipped her.

Once more, for effect

Before:



After:



Man, does that crack me up!