[busterb]

Now back to some of the tales. I learned a few things while working offshore.
Never work, cut on a pipe because someone told you it was the right one. Check it, even if you have to go below decks and crawl the pipe. Be sure the pipe has an open end somewhere.
Because when you cut into the pipe and oil, paraffin starts to flow, and the smoke is thick enough to cut, something is going to happen. Which you might not like. When the air and fuel gets right, the shit WILL hit the fan.

While working on Chevron S-26 as a rig welder. This meant that you welded for rig, boat and production. The S-26 was a drill tender, an old LST.
Anyway someone from service co., maybe Schlumberger. And just how in hell did they ever make that name into slumber j?? Asked me to get a ball that was hung in a packer tool out. Ok. How? Well just heat it up and the ball will fall out. Yeah, fucking right.
We were down in one of the holes on ship. I put the heat to damn thing and thick smoke started to roll. I’m thinking, yep here we go again. Sure enough when the sob went off the rubber ball hit everything in hole but me, tool hit the other bulkhead and folks were running around in there drawers, “night shift workers” trying to jump overboard..
I wasn’t asked to return later. When I told a Chevron engineer to kiss my ass I was going to bed. I’d put in 116 hrs that week.

Next time, don’t remember where. I’m sure you’ve heard about an idle mine being??
I was working around a steel fab table we had on platform. Anyway we had something like 32oz Dixie cups for Kool-Aid . An empty was setting there, so I slapped the fire off torch and slid the cup to edge of table and gave it a good shot. Then I lit the torch and touched it. Oh Hell 1 second it was there then gone and I can’t hear shit.
More folks bailing out of bunkhouse in drawers. Almost got my ass ran off about that.