Another Fun Day At Lualualei
or
Panic
at Fifty Feet
by
Chuck Kircher
The
trade winds were gently blowing across the lush green antenna fields of the NMO
transmitter site at Lualualei. It was another beautiful day in paradise and it
was the weekend. Larry and I were outside the transmitter building enjoying our
morning coffee and the sight of the sun rising over the Wai’anae range in the
distance. Most duty days at the site were Hawaiian style; pretty much laid back
and the weekends were no exception. Clean up chores were accomplished quickly,
maintenance of equipment done on a regular basis and the major task -- cutting
the grass in the antenna fields -- done without complaint. Almost all the ETs at
Lualualei could repair that precious riding mower as well as any of the
transmitters. And with acres of grass to cut, the mower required frequent
repairs.
Larry
and I were talking about what to do that weekend. One thing that Larry had
frequently talked about was climbing the low frequency antenna to take pictures
of the surrounding valley. The antenna was a three sided, erector set, 150 foot
tower resting on a concrete pedestal immediately adjacent to the transmitter
building. A ladder ran up the inside. From time to time the warning lights would
burn out and need replacement. I had been up the tower a few times to accomplish
the task and had told Larry about the fantastic view. We decided to make the
trek right after we checked to make sure that everything was online and humming.
Cameras
in hand, safety belts on and a bottle of water each, we were ready by mid
morning to begin the adventure. First, we had to get up on the roof of the
transmitter building. This was easy enough since the building was mostly
underground and it was a short step stool distance to the roof. We figured on
jumping from the roof to the antenna, precluding a nasty RF burn in case some
unsuspecting RM at Wahiawa keyed the transmitter at an inopportune moment. Larry
wanted me to lead the way since I had done it before and I willingly obliged.
With all the alacrity of youth, I jumped, climbed inside the tower and hooked my
safety belt to the track running up the ladder. I climbed upward to make room
for Larry. He hesitated for a moment and then jumped. Once inside, he belted in
and we were on our way up.
So
far, so good.
The
ladder did not go straight up the tower. At fifty-foot intervals it switched to
another side of the interior triangle. Upon reaching the first level, I unhooked
my belt, turned to the next section and hooked up again. Unconcerned I continued
up to the next level and did the same. At the very top, I took in the
spectacular vista. Looking down, I saw that Larry was still at the fifty foot
level.
‘Larry,
you okay?’ I yelled.
‘I
can’t release my belt!’ he called back.
‘Is
it stuck?’
‘No’
he cried, ‘ I CAN’T release it!’
‘If
it’s not stuck, why won’t it release?’ I responded quizzically.
‘You
don’t understand,’ he yelled, ‘I’m afraid of heights and can’t let
go.’
Only
then did I recognize that he had a grip on the ladder that would make a
contortionist proud. Great -- why didn’t he tell me this before we started.
‘Do you want to go down?’, I asked
‘Just
give me time and let me calm down.’
It
looked like I was in for a long wait so might as well enjoy the scenery, take a
few pictures and wait for Larry to make the next call.
After
a half hour, Larry still wasn’t moving and I felt I had best start down. If
transmitter troubles started, no one was in position to respond to the call from
the RMs. At the 100 foot level I asked Larry if he was ready to move yet. He
wasn’t sure. I came down to just above Larry and asked again. No, he still
wasn’t ready to let loose. So now what do I do? I could unhook my safety belt, squeeze past him, and then
what? Leave him stranded?
Call the Chief? I’m sure that would go over big. ‘Er, Chief, Larry and I
decided to climb the tower this morning and now Larry is stuck like the
proverbial cat in a tree and won’t budge.’
I
appealed to Larry’s sense of logic, ‘You
are belted in and it is only fifty feet!’ That didn’t work. How about his sense of survival, ‘It is
almost chow time and we have to drive down to the mess hall soon!’
Nope, fear of heights beats hunger. I was starting to get a little
panicky and had visions of Captain’s Mast, reduction in rank, plus who knows
what. How could this problem be resolved? Then
it hit me that maybe he needed a security blanket. I proposed that I unbelt
myself, climb down to him and we both climb down with him between me and the
ladder. Larry was willing to try it, so I came down, surrounded him, broke loose
his death grip on the ladder and we slowly moved together. It took almost a half
hour to come down those fifty feet as we had to stop periodically for a
breather. By the time we reached bottom, Larry was sweating enough for the both
of us.
Back on the ground,
Larry exclaimed, ‘Never again! Why did I ever want to do that? ’
Then he turned to me and asked, ‘ Did you get any good pictures up
there?’
Another Fun Day At Lualualei -or- Panic at Fifty Feet by Chuck Kircher - In which Larry surprises Chuck.