dalesql

sometimes, in this field, you run into situations that just make you say, "What?"

I'm working on the festival, which opens in two days to the public. Today, we had a live rooster on the site, to participate in a very important religious ceremony in preparation for the edification and amazement of the assembled multitudes.

So, at one of the venues today, we had a 100 foot long telephone pole, a couple of trucks from the utility company to dig a hole for it to be planted. But they found lots of rocks, so it took all day several attempts, and more heavy construction vehicles to find a spot where they could successfully dig a ten foot deep hole in the field. (the field in question was created on the rubble of the old state prison, so it was full of the remnants of a lot of really thick, really strong concrete walls. )

Tomorrow morning, they will be blessing the hole with a live rooster, (which is currently spending the night in one of our production trailers), and once the hole is blessed, the pick up the pole and put it into the hole. Then two truckloads of concrete, high strength with quick cure chemicals.

Later in the afternoon they mount the extremely small stage (about twelve inches in diameter) to the top of the pole. More ceremony with that. Wind up four ropes about 100 feet long to the top of the pole and coming out through the outriggers of the rotating stage.

The performer stands on the extremely small stage, plays a flutelike instrument while four other performers tie the aforementioned ropes to their ankles, then fling themselves backward off the outriggers. the ropes start unwinding to slowly lower the four performers to the ground, headfirst. while the fifth one is standing on top of the very small stage, rotating, playing his flute and stepping from foot to foot.

There is, of course, no railings, lanyards or safety harnesses in sight, except the one worn by the guys on the boom lift putting the signs up over on the other end of the field.