Man Down in the mine......Ali from Nigeria to the rescue !!

[Rob/Windsor Ont.]

It's done nothing but rain here since I got off work yesterday at three-thirty P.M. so I thought I'd tell one more tale of humor from the mine dating back about twenty years. It involves a fellow that works with us that imigrated from Nigeria. His last name is Aliu and we all simply call him Ali. He somewhat resembles Louis Armstrong, with his big, round saucer eyes and plump round body. He's a good chap and learned to take us all in stride. I'll begin.....

The mine wasn't modernized as it is today and the old maintenance shop was not as well lit up except for a couple of drifts where the machinery would have to be moved into place to be worked on. When Ali was hired, it was a time when a lot of people were being brought on board due to many oldtimers retiring. Equipment waiting to be repaired was parked a drift or two away from the lighted areas and they would be brought in as their time came. Now one fine day my buddy Bob happened upon a gadget from a trick store. It was a battery operated hand that pulsated via the fingers opening and closing into a fist. This beautiful creation could surely not go to waste ! In the early morning, the "rumor" spread like wildfire that one of the new hirees went missing. Everybody was aware of this rumors' origin with the exception of Ali. It was the talk of the town and many of the boys underground made it a point to discuss the lost fellows plight and possible scenarios with our new friend from Nigeria. There was an LHD parked two drifts away in the darkness waiting for it's turn to be repaired. These are the machines with the large buckets used to haul the salt from the blasted faces to the feederbreakers. The bucket on this machine already possessed a half-full load of salt so our work for this project was made easy. Bob, myself and a few others proceeded with our task and begun to prepare the look of a man buried under the salt in this bucket. A pair of coveralls along with a slightly damaged hard hat and a broken pair of safety glasses were all that we would need to prepare our creation. It did not take us long to get the look that we desired. It was beautiful !! A strewn damaged hat accompanied with broken glasses and a slightly protruding arm with a gloved hand that was pulsating as if this fellow was still barely alive ! And buried in the salt in this bucket ! Well, break-time came and went and the time for this LHD to be repaired was upon us. The maintenance foreman duly instructed Ali to go fetch this machine and bring it under the lights. Most of the guys conveniently hovered around the foremans office with the exception of Bob and myself. We were hiding around the corner of this machine waiting to carry out part two of this prank. Here comes Ali with his miners light in hand approaching the LHD ! He could not miss our intended target as the bucket was the first thing he would see when rounding the corner. Oh my God !! Oh my God !! About faced and running to the foreman's office like a stallion. Hurry...hurry... I found him....Help!...Help!...Well, as Ali was gathering assistance for this "fellow", Bob and I quickly removed our handiwork before they could return. Here they all come running knowing what to expect with the exception of poor ole' Ali. With eyes as big as saucers Ali points to the bucket and it takes a second before he realizes that there is nothing there ! He was right here. I'm telling you I saw him. He was right here ! Poor guy ! You should've seen his face !! We all burst out laughing and Ali realized he had been roasted. And, of course, he was queried as to why he did not unbury this chap first before running for help . I panicked was his reply. You guys scared the chit outta me !!.... Welcome to the mine Ali !!

 

[Royal]

I love it!!

In a safety class, many years ago, I saw a block of scrap metal, probably a couple tons, that had come out of a scrap compactor. There was a guys boot and it was no joke. He had been cleaning the thing and someone dumped a load of scrap steel on him by mistake and it compressed him into the dang block. What the heck was his last seconds like and what the heck did they give his family to bury? Geesh

One time we had a forman that was a real dick. He thought he was a tough guy but we generally ate him alive. He rarely won.

He loved to catch someone goofing off and we loved to make him look stupid. God helped us along with that when he was born though.

We had a big locker room with two doors. One night nearing shift change a couple guys got a pair of coveralls and stuffed them with rags. Got a pair of boots and a hard hat etc and laid it on a bench in the locker room. They made it look just like a guy sleeping. The word was passed to everyone on the shift except this dick.

One of the booth cleaners went in to the office, all irate. He told the forman that he was sick and tired of not being able to change his cloths because someone was always sleeping on the bench in front of his locker. He played it up great!

The boss went charging in there and took a look. By golly he had the sucker this time. He quietly got everyone out of the locker room except the dummy sleeping. The boss did not wake him. Mebby he should have

The boss went out and called plant protection to send down a couple guards to throw the sucker out. He had the sucker cold!

Two guards came and one went to the back door and another went to the front with Warren-the dick. In they went. We all stood around outside waiting. Some of us were almost peeing our britches because no sound was coming from the locker room but we knew dang well what was going on in there. Three grown men were trying to figure out how to get out of that dang locker room without facing the gang that set them up.

Finally Warren came out to a loud din of laughing and hooting. He did not take it well but the more upset he got the more we laughed. The guards just laughed too and walked off shaking their heads.

It took that sucker a while to live that down and I will tell you, that locker room was a very safe place to catch a few after that.

 

[Rob/Windsor Ont.]

n/t

 

[Rob/Windsor Ont.]

n/t

 

[Ron J]

n/t

 

[Micheal_R]

n/t

 

[Wayne in BC]

"new guy" jokes pulled on me too

 

[Rob/Windsor Ont.]

n/t

 

[Rob/Windsor Ont.]

n/t

 

[Royal]

A thing they would pull on newbies in the Marines, in the air wing, was to send the new guy after turban blade polish- which didn't exsist or flight line- which is the concrete pad the aircraft sat on.

I remember the story that happened on a base in Japan, back in the fiftys. They sent a new guy after fifty feet of flight line. He snapped to and said Yes Sir and off he went. Everyone was laughing as he left. A couple hours later there was a loud noise outside the line shack. Everyone went out and there was the new guy, standing at attention with a dumptruck. He had dumped about fifty feet of broken concrete at their door step. He said, "Here is your flight line SIR! Is there anything else SIR?

This was suppose to be true and nobody screwed with him again

 

[Kelley (Texas)]

You folks really have a great time working in that salt mine. I have always enjoyed being around a group of folks that knew how to enjoy life and have fun. Stunts like you all do has a tendency of creating a tight knit group of friends...the type of folks that you like to ride fence with. This world would be a better place if there were more folks like you, Royal, Wayne, Mike, Sunny, Arkie John, Tom, WillyP, Orlando, Jim, Cierlast and all the others on this Forum...you know how to laugh! There is not another Forum like this Forum...This is a special place with special folks. Thanks for posting this humorous story, I really enjoyed it! Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)

 

[VT Dave]

n/t

 

[Wayne in BC]

n/t

 

[Sunny]

your crew, is a bunch of women!!!!! Funny story!

 

[Dan-MO]

Reminds me of another story....