December Theme Day: Worker

Workers of all sorts can be seen around Indy, 

working all hours, all seasons, and in all sorts of weather. 

Here, a man checks messages on his phone 

while monitoring the ventilation system 

being used by his co-workers in tunnels 

just below the sidewalk.

Around the corner, construction workers empty 

rubbish from their renovation work 

in the building to the left.

The first day of every month is Theme Day 

for the bloggers of City Daily Photo.

To see how other photographers the world over 

have depicted the workers of their city,

just click on the link above, or on the CDP badge 

in the right hand column of this page.

Powdered Holes

After the work day is over, the people who actually keep 

the city functioning begin their shifts.

Under the glare of LED lights, utility workers

enter the netherworld of Indy's buildings

to maintain the heating, electrical and

telecommunications systems that the accountants,

attorneys, and administrative workers need

to perform their jobs.

I saw these men working near the intersection 

of Pennsylvania and Ohio Streets, where

they dug through several inches of asphalt and

concrete to lift the heavy steel covers,

giving them access to the steam ducts below.

It appears that, in addition to the near-daylight 

quality of the lighting, the men are using 

saws that somehow don't allow the concrete 

dust to blow all over. Instead, it's made

a tidy pile around the perimeter of the hole. 

Men at Work ... in Holes

This hole held technical equipment used by AT&T. 

The man administering the hole told me 

I'd missed the alligator that they'd removed earlier. 

I believed him about as much as he believed my story

that I was in charge of seeing that all hole

work was competently and completely done.

A few feet away, a pair of men was working to place a steel cover 

on an operational hole for another of the city's utilities.

Men in Holes, Part 793

Well, not 793 exactly, maybe more like 627, but if I see men working in a pit,

 I feel compelled to find out just what they are doing.

Inquiring minds want to know, ya know?

On the same day I watched men bringing old transformers out of a pit, 

I found these men just outside the Scottish Rite Cathedral.

They were working to repair some pipe; one man was welding 

while the others assisted to maneuver the pipe,

hold it in place, measure, cut and to assist with assisting.
(They all had some assigned task, really, just that as their role
was completed, they moved to helping out the others.) 

You've seen those bright red tool boxes on wheels? 

Like the ones race teams have in their trackside pit boxes?

Well, the rolling tool box for the welders is shown above.

It is a box truck, containing everything they need 

to dig, cut and weld pipe.

It's Spring, the Cranes Have Arrived

The downtown area is bustling with several construction sites 

at various stages of progress. Among them is this site just north of the

Capitol Building which will be made up of apartments and

a large grocery, a much-needed amenity for the residents of the

many downtown apartments and condos.

At the end of last year, the site had been scraped, 

preparing it for this orchard of concrete pillars that will grow upward,

acquiring floors, walls, and HVAC systems that will eventually

become homes. If you look at the tops of the pillars, you can see

the little re-bar shoots that will have concrete poured 

over them to become additional levels.

As ever, I was enthralled by the sight of men working in a hole.

They were removing old transformers that had been part

of an earlier building on that site.

What had initially caught my eye, of course, was the huge crane 

that had been installed on the site last winter. There are numerous 

other cranes that move in and out for various tasks, such as

the removal of the transformers. The top image pleases me

because of all the textures and patterns in the picture.

None of them is decorative, all are functional, primarily

adding strength to what would otherwise be a flat piece of steel,

and allow the poured concrete to flow around and amid

the various components.

It seems as though the cranes are always around, 

but they seem to take on additional urgency as the weather warms.

It may be that the people are more visible; like pilot birds in service

to their host, they attend to the needs of the cranes

in order to obtain what they themselves need.

Men at Work

Since the cold weather has eased somewhat in our area, it's been nice 

to get out to see all the activity taking place around town.

I like to see the variations I can find on "men in pits."

It's perverse, but while the idea of having a man in a pit is tempting,

it is definitely 'way too much of a high maintenance endeavor. 

First of all, I'd have to dig a suitable pit, one that a strong, 

sturdy man could not climb or jump out of. To make it deep enough

I'd have to bring in one of those steel retaining walls that prevent collapse.

Well, somebody would be certain to report the silly woman

(I only have one cat, so I can't actually be crazy) who'd

commissioned an excavation that would hold a lounge chair,

a large screen TV, and a cooler big enough to hold a beer keg

and a year's supply of wings. 

The men in the top hole were doing maintenance work on area 

telecommunications lines, while the man was digging a trench 

for new electrical conduits. I don't know what the other men on the crew 

were doing, perhaps providing him encouragement and entertainment.

These men were taking a late lunch. 

Business, of course.

They must be ad men because they're too happy 

and relaxed to be attorneys or accountants.

But no matter - whether they were wearing suits

or canvas coveralls, every man I saw was

good looking (and made great pit candidates).

Filling A Hole

One day last month, I was downtown for an appointment 

and found I had some extra time to look for photos. At the time,

the city was more active than usual, preparing for 

the Super Bowl. This group of men was working to fill an area

where some duct work had been repaired. 

The truck driver was carefully spotting his truck 

so as to better aim the concrete into the hole, with the crew

men working to quickly spread the concrete mixture

around and amid the new pipes and base layers.