Friday the 13th
#4
One Friday the 13th, I had a drilling job on ArrowHhighway in Upland. Well, there are two Arrow Highways in Upland and I, my drill rig and crew, geologist, and mobile lab and technician were supposed to meet at the job site. I had to drive around and collect them all up. I was working for a bank whose borrower, the property owner, was in default on his loan and was trying to decide whether or not to begin foreclosure. My client wanted to know if the property, a convenience store with underground gasoline tanks and pumps, was contaminated. We start drilling and the owner shows up and threatens me with a shotgun. Apparently, the bank didn't tell him we were coming. I call 911 and three Upland Police squad cars come ripping up with red lights and sirens. They get this guy on the ground on his stomach. I call my client at the bank, put the guy on the phone, and he agrees to let us drill. I agree not to press charges (All I wanted to do was drill), the cops confiscate his weapons, give him a citation with a court appearance, and leave. Then the drill rig hits a water line that Underground Service Alert, the utility locator, missed. Water everywhere -- a huge mess! I call the local water companies and they all play stupid. The 911 operator tries to help, the cops hear the address, and three squad cars come ripping up again with red lights and sirens. I say "Hey, guys, it's just a water line this time." They leave and I finally get a plumber to fix the line. We hit giant rocks, typical for Upland, that my high torque rig is just bpuncing off. By now, we're running very late. We finish past dark and just as we're packed up and getting ready to leave. A huge gang fight breaks out in the street right in front of us. Must have been 50 guys. I saw guns brandished. We get away just in the nick of time. I tell myself I should have stayed in bed and I'm never again going out on a job site on Friday the 13th.