Cyrpent
12-22-2002, 12:16 AM
Sorry, all you barefoot and spike heel lovers, but this one is for the minority here that like rubber soles.
Recently I helped set up for a choir performance. For those of you who have not done this, the choir stands on a platform called risers, which is like a set of wide aluminum steps, so that each row of singers stands a bit higher than the row in front of them. There are several segments of risers and they link together to form a curve. It's always a bit tricky to link one to the next normally, and in this case, the church has a nice hardwood floor so they wanted extra protection. So we brought a set of strips of that rubber stuff that goes beneath carpets. I'm sure most of you here know exactly what that stuff is like - about a quarter inch thick and very spongy.
To set up the risers, two people would pick up a segment and hold it in place, but a couple inches off the floor, while two other people would position the strips underneath them. There was plenty of opportunities for pinched fingers and toes and we were all being careful.
Most of the setup people are guys, but there is one girl who always helps out (I know, you are all waiting for this bit). Okay, she's in her early twenties, about five ten or five eleven and stands up very straight, with a long neck, straight blonde hair down to the small of her back, and rather buxom. She was wearing a light jacket, jeans and chuckabee boots (the new kind that have come back in fashion recently). She's kind of tomboyish; if she were about fifteen years older, she'd be the girl of my dreams.
At one point I was positioning the strip under the risers that were being placed and as I moved it, her chuckabee boot came down within inches of my fingers. Keep in mind that the edge of the riser extends about a foot past the legs, so there was no way for the carriers to see the legs, which is why they needed someone else to guide them.
These risers are not too heavy but very ungainly and awkward, and as I said, a little tricky to hook together properly. The guy trying to hook them up was directing her and the other guy "'left, a little more, right" etc. Her boots were all over the place. I know they were brand new because they were squeaking against the hardwood floor. They had to be at least a size eleven, and as I was staring at that thick rubber sole, I couldn't resist.
I flattened my left hand and squeezed my fingers together so it wouldn't feel like fingers, and placed it on the floor next to the rubber strip. The toe of her boot nudged my hand a couple times, and the riser moved around quite a bit, and I had to pay attention to where it was going. Suddenly, while I wasn't looking, the ball of her foot came down squarely on my fingers and her considerable weight plus that of the riser was mashing my hand into the floor. It only lasted for a couple seconds and she was gone. And then she stepped on me twice more. The last time, she even lifted off her heels a bit as they slid the riser into place.
Unfortunately they got the thing hooked up and she stepped back, and I quickly peeled my flattened hand off the floor before she could think to see what she had been standing on. And if she had looked, she would have seen a bright red treadmark on the back of my hand that would just match the tread of her chuckabee boots. But you know, she didn't even look.
Cyrpent
Recently I helped set up for a choir performance. For those of you who have not done this, the choir stands on a platform called risers, which is like a set of wide aluminum steps, so that each row of singers stands a bit higher than the row in front of them. There are several segments of risers and they link together to form a curve. It's always a bit tricky to link one to the next normally, and in this case, the church has a nice hardwood floor so they wanted extra protection. So we brought a set of strips of that rubber stuff that goes beneath carpets. I'm sure most of you here know exactly what that stuff is like - about a quarter inch thick and very spongy.
To set up the risers, two people would pick up a segment and hold it in place, but a couple inches off the floor, while two other people would position the strips underneath them. There was plenty of opportunities for pinched fingers and toes and we were all being careful.
Most of the setup people are guys, but there is one girl who always helps out (I know, you are all waiting for this bit). Okay, she's in her early twenties, about five ten or five eleven and stands up very straight, with a long neck, straight blonde hair down to the small of her back, and rather buxom. She was wearing a light jacket, jeans and chuckabee boots (the new kind that have come back in fashion recently). She's kind of tomboyish; if she were about fifteen years older, she'd be the girl of my dreams.
At one point I was positioning the strip under the risers that were being placed and as I moved it, her chuckabee boot came down within inches of my fingers. Keep in mind that the edge of the riser extends about a foot past the legs, so there was no way for the carriers to see the legs, which is why they needed someone else to guide them.
These risers are not too heavy but very ungainly and awkward, and as I said, a little tricky to hook together properly. The guy trying to hook them up was directing her and the other guy "'left, a little more, right" etc. Her boots were all over the place. I know they were brand new because they were squeaking against the hardwood floor. They had to be at least a size eleven, and as I was staring at that thick rubber sole, I couldn't resist.
I flattened my left hand and squeezed my fingers together so it wouldn't feel like fingers, and placed it on the floor next to the rubber strip. The toe of her boot nudged my hand a couple times, and the riser moved around quite a bit, and I had to pay attention to where it was going. Suddenly, while I wasn't looking, the ball of her foot came down squarely on my fingers and her considerable weight plus that of the riser was mashing my hand into the floor. It only lasted for a couple seconds and she was gone. And then she stepped on me twice more. The last time, she even lifted off her heels a bit as they slid the riser into place.
Unfortunately they got the thing hooked up and she stepped back, and I quickly peeled my flattened hand off the floor before she could think to see what she had been standing on. And if she had looked, she would have seen a bright red treadmark on the back of my hand that would just match the tread of her chuckabee boots. But you know, she didn't even look.
Cyrpent