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Re: Friday Funnies



Does anyone know where to obtain the recording of Gerard Hoffnung's 1958
reading of the Broklayer's Lament? A favorite disc jockey of mine in San
Francisco played it regularly duing his comedy hour in the 1970s, so I
know it's on a recording.

Kathy Sturdevant


On Fri, 27 Apr 2001 12:05:02 -0400 Tom Berry <tberry@HCEA.NET> writes:
> For all of you who were depressed by the "Death Notice" I posted
> yesterday,
> here's something a little lighter. Just envision Wile E. Coyote as a
> bricklayer. Comments by my brother follow.
>  _______________________________________________________
>
> This is a bricklayer's accident report that was printed in the
> newsletter of
> the English equivalent of the Workers' Compensation Board.
>
> So here, thanks to John Sedgwick for his Bricklayer's report:
>
> Dear Sir:
>
> I am writing in response to your request for additional information
> in Block
> #3 of the accident reporting form. I put "Poor Planning" as the
> cause of my
> accident. You asked for a fuller explanation and I trust the
> following
> details will be sufficient.
>
> I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was
> working alone
> on the roof of a new six-story building. When I completed my work, I
> found I
> had some bricks left over which when weighed later were found to
> weigh 240
> lbs. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I
> decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley which was
> attached to
> the side of the building at the sixth floor.
>
> Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the
> barrel
> out and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went down and untied the
> rope,
> holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 240 lbs of
> bricks. You
> will note on the accident reporting form that my weight is 135 lbs.
>
> Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I
> lost my
> presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say,
> I
> proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building.
>
> In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel which was now
> proceeding downward at an equally impressive speed. This explains
> the
> fractured skull, minor abrasions and the broken collarbone, as
> listed in
> Section 3 of the accident reporting form.
>
> Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping
> until the
> fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley
> which I
> mentioned in Paragraph 2 of this correspondence. Fortunately by this
> time I
> had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the
> rope,
> in spite of the excruciating pain I was now beginning to experience.
>
> At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit
> the
> ground, and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Now devoid of the
> weight of
> the bricks, the barrel weighed approximately 50 lbs. I refer you
> again to my
> weight.
>
> As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the
> building.
> In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This
> accounts for the two fractured ankles, broken tooth and severe
> lacerations
> of my legs and lower body.
>
> Here my luck began to change slightly. The encounter with the barrel
> seemed
> to slow me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell into the pile of
> bricks
> and fortunately only three vertebrae were cracked.
>
> I am sorry to report, however, as I lay there on the pile of bricks,
> in
> pain, unable to move and watching the empty barrel six stories above
> me, I
> again lost my composure and presence of mind and let go of the rope.
>
> Comments:
>
> This has been around forever & turns out to have quite a history.
> There is
> an Irish song version of it that has been recorded several times
> under the
> title "The Bricklayer's Song" or "Why Paddy's not at Work today." I
> once
> read a version of it that radio comic Fred Allen wrote as a letter
> to his
> insurance company that dates from around the early 1950s. There's
> even an
> urban legends website about it at
> http://www.snopes2.com/humor/letters/bricks.htm#sightings that
> traces it
> back to at least 1918!
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Thomas Berry, Archivist
> Historical Construction Equipment Association
> 16623 Liberty Hi Road
> Bowling Green, Ohio 43402
> Phone 419-352-5616
> Fax 419-352-6086
> tberry@wcnet.org
> http://www.hcea.net
>
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> Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

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      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
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Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
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Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>