Settings Things Straight

It's my turn, finally! Some of you may be confused about what it is I do all day or where it is I go to provide for my family. For those of you who know I do something with concrete, but are not exactly sure, I will elaborate. I operate a concrete boom pump for the largest concrete pump company in the U.S.; Brundage-Bone, Inc. The 'boom' refers to the extending arm on top of the truck through which the concrete is pumped, not the noise it may or may not make. It operates on hydraulics and electrics through a remote box that I wear like a harness around my torso. People wonder if it's like playing video games all day. At first I say, "You must be thinking of my friend Kurt's old job." Then I tell them, "Yeah, Atari. You should see my score on Missile Command." Ultimately I confess and tell them that it's more like a giant etch-a-sketch, except you can't flip-shake-erase if you mess up. When people hear 'concrete pump truck' they usually block out the word 'pump' and hear 'concrete truck'. What comes to mind hearing that is usually a cement mixer. This is not what I do. Mixers are vital to my job though. Having a cement mixer is the only way a concrete pump can pump concrete. Ironically, it's the only way a wood chuck can chuck wood, but that's beside the point. We are there to put the concrete in places a cement mixer can't - like patios behind a house, upper decks on buildings, and tall walls, just to name a few. I hope I've enlightened you a little bit about the world of concrete pumping or at least about Atari. This job has no doubt been a blessing for the last 4-and-a-half years. Pump on!! "For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 3:11