 By George Miller March 10, 2003
Well about two A.M. the next morning, during a howling rainstorm, we heard a lot of shouting and banging coming from the rigging crew bunkhouse. The noise seemed to die down and then pick up again, so I went to the door of our bunkhouse to see what was up. Out there in the horizontal rain stood a line of young logger recruits, in full work attire, raingear, caulk boot, tin hats and all, waiting as if for an inspection, military style. I opened the door of our bunkhouse and stuck my head out. They looked at me, and I at them. Then I turned to go back to bed and one of them said, " Do you know about the camp policy of having a rigging drill and inspection the night before we go to work?" I had been at that camp for more than one season and I had never heard of a mandatory drill, or such an inspection, but I was amused that someone had instituted it. I told them I thought the inspector would be along shortly, then returned to several hours of good sleep. At breakfast that morning we found out that the fearsome Ghost Keeper had set the new drill and inspection in motion with loud commands and authoritative direction, then went back for his own several hours of good sleep. Of course the humiliated crew finally figured they were duped, then sneaked back to their beds for a small bit of rest before the first day of work. Our boss was impressed and tickled by the Ghost Keeper's power to get things done, and may have given him a raise in pay the first day of work.
|