The Carnival Repair Man

Now I know that we all want summer but this is certainly pushing it!

Just on the other side of the fence where I have been parking at work for over the past eighteen years is an amusement company's ride repair facility. Throughout the spring and summer months, their parking lot is usually bare as most of the rides are lurking about at mall parking lots throughout the province of Ontario. In the fall, the parking lot is loaded with trucks bearing rides returning from their profit making racket. In the winter, the company moves the rides into their gargantuan facility in order to repair them. In the spring, the trucks return once more to cart the rides off to run the circuit once again. You can almost tell by what goes on across the way as to what season it is.

Just as it appeared that spring was just around the corner, a snow storm reared its ugly head and took away all hope for tomorrow. The storm was furious for a while to the point where I was worried as to how wet my clothes would become as the wet snow dumped on me on the way to my car.

As I walked through the stormy weather, my eyes caught a hold of something rather peculiar in the parking lot next door not to mention rather dangerous. High up on a tall Ferris wheel structure was a man fixing parts of the ride… in a friggin snow storm! I could hardly look up without drowning my eyes with flakes and here is this guy who looked to be in his fifties fixing this darn ride. Of all the things to do in a snow storm. I think it safe to say that Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board would have a hard time sanctioning such working practices had they witnessed what I had seen. Now I know that it is almost spring but c’mon folks, this is hardly justification for working under these conditions!

I stood there for awhile as I watched in shock. If I was a betting man, I would have bet good money that the chances that he might have fallen would have been high. Pulling my camera out of my car, I snapped a few shots because I have no doubt that you would have to see it to believe it. It was snowing so bad that I thought the snow would ruin my camera.

Anyways, evidently, the guy did not fall and the ride was fixed. Nothing like playing with fate! I’ll tell you one thing… You sure wouldn’t catch me up there… In good weather or bad.