This week's column: Craning our necks
We can see the big blue crane in downtown Greensboro slowly turn in sweeping circles from the comfort of our office windows.
But to get a fuller appreciation of the thing, stroll down North Elm Street on a sunny day and look way up.
It is magnificent, fascinating and scary enough from ground level. Imagine being on the other end looking down.
But not to worry. Tower cranes aren't very likely to tip over because they're anchored in massive concrete pads that typically weigh 400,000 pounds.
Tower cranes can lift up to 18 metric tons, or 39,690 pounds. They are rolled to construction sites on tractor-trailers and delicately assembled, joint by joint, in a process that still seems impossibly tedious and brazenly defiant of the laws of physics.
And they are way cool.
Still, why the aw-shucks reaction to a fairly common, if hard-to-ignore, piece of construction equipment?
Partly because Greensboro hadn't seen a tower crane downtown for about 16 years. There have been no additions to the city skyline and, technically, there won't be this time either.
This latest crane "merely" is remaking the old Wachovia tower, not building a new skyscraper from scratch, as Raleigh plans to do and Charlotte seems to do every other day.
But in the context of all the other good things happening in the center city, who's complaining? Center Pointe, as the building will be called after its extreme makeover, not only will bring more people downtown but it should add new life to North Elm Street, which remains downright desolate when compared to the party zoo on South Elm.
Another reason for the crane's "wow" factor is the lasting allure of these life-sized toys to grown kids like me who still get a kick out of watching cranes and tractors and big, yellow whatchamacallits move dirt and stir dust.
When I was growing up in east Greensboro, a loud, beefy pair of earth movers lumbered into the woods one day near where Peeler School now stands. One of the drivers, a loud, beefy guy named Tom, let me, Reynolds Jennings and Ronnie Patterson take turns riding shotgun as he dug the machine into the wet, red clay, and the pungent aroma of the freshly turned earth stung our nostrils.
We had played as little kids with big, yellow metal Tonka trucks, bulldozers and steam shovels. Now that we were all grown up at 9 and 10, we could experience the real thing.
Lucky us. Chances are, Tom wouldn't be allowed to invite neighborhood kids for a ride-a-long today. No notarized releases and legal disclaimer forms? Somebody might sue.
As for the newest tower crane, I'll be content to admire it from afar, or as close as I can get during afternoon strolls. Not all of my co-workers have had to.
Way back in 1988, when two of those cranes operated at the same time on the First Union and Renaissance towers, a News & Record editor (who will remain unnamed) dispatched a writer and photographer to do more than admire the engineering from afar.
Taking careful hold of each rung of one of the steel beanstalks' never-ending ladders, James Parker and Tom Steadman climbed 15 stories of ladders all the way to the top and shared the cozy cab with the operator. (They didn't sign any legal forms either.)
Among the things they learned:
l This was a long climb. "By the last step," Steadman writes, "your haunches are burning, your lungs laboring."
1. The crane isn't as rigid as it appears. Steadman notes ominously in his account that "the entire apparatus is swaying in the wind."
2. Crane operators make good money, as much as $900 a week back then.
3. They pack a lunch. There's no climbing down for a leisurely meal, then back up. Who's got the time? More to the point, who's got the energy?
4. As for the call of Mother Nature, you don't climb all the way back down for that either. The operator pointed to a plastic, 5-gallon bucket behind the cab.
Like I said, these guys make good money.
Comments (14)
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It's noteworthy that the Center Pointe project will bring millions of dollars and hundreds of people into downtown Greensboro, yet is being built with zero tax dollars. Quite the contrary: Center Pointe will generate significant tax revenues for the city and county.
It just goes to show that the best economic development projects come from the private sector, not the government. The best thing the city could do would be for voters to reject the upcoming bonds and the City Council to lower taxes and cut red tape so that businesses can get to work.
Posted on November 6, 2006 10:05 AM
Allen, this only has a metaphorical relation to "craining one's neck", but just wanted to compliment you and Doug on letting the Eastern Guilford High students slide when they expressed a desire to stay together without getting farmed out to different schools. We were holding our breath waiting, betting on; "will they say it or not" meaning the stock Johnson/Clark response of "they'll make new friends" or "it will be a growth experience", or, and I believe it was one of Doug's favs- "you will all be getting split up after highschool to go to different colleges anyway, so it might as well happen now."
Anyway, thanks for holding back. We thank you. The Eastern Guilford Community I'm sure thanks you.
Posted on November 6, 2006 11:06 AM
Someone alert the authorities.
I'd like to know who kidnapped the Skeet Club Savage and commandeered his computer ...
Seriously, though, these kids have been through enough upheaval. They need and deserve to stay together.
We're in total agreement on that.
Posted on November 6, 2006 11:35 AM
Allen,
Then we can now assume that you are in favor of neighborhood schools because kids need and deserve to stay together, since it is best for them. I echo Savage's commendation of you.
Posted on November 6, 2006 4:34 PM
Ideally, yes. But not if neighborhood schools mean wholesale segregation.
Posted on November 6, 2006 4:39 PM
Allen,
Need I remind you that Southwest High School was 40/60 non-white to white attendance prior to redistricing? That doesn't sound segregated to me, yet you were in favor of both the Choice Plan and the HP redistricting scheme earlier this year.
I wish I knew why every student in the county, except those from High Point, deserve to stay together, but in High Point they should be ripped apart.
Posted on November 6, 2006 5:07 PM
I didn't mention Southwest specifically. I was referring to the general concept of neighbrhood schools. However, even Southwest would not have been that diverse if some kids from outside of the neighborhood hadn't been drawn into the district (depending on your definition of neighborhood).
Posted on November 6, 2006 5:21 PM
Allen,
Go back and look at the redistricting maps. They're still online at the GCS website. If you look at the 1999 redistricting - that's the map that was in effect for Southwest immediately prior to the Choice Plan. THAT map gave Southwest the 40/60 diversity - ALL neighborhood kids - no busing.
Please, I beg you to explore the facts before making assumptions.
The fact is that the North High Point area is VERY diverse - no need to bus in kids.
You perpetuate the myth that others in Guilford County have. Please check the facts.
Posted on November 6, 2006 7:17 PM
Allen,
If neighborhood schools are defined by segregation of the students, then Dudley is the most segregated neighborhood school in the county. It's time to break-up Dudley and end segregation.
Posted on November 6, 2006 7:30 PM
Quest:
How do you define "neighborhood"?
Posted on November 6, 2006 9:34 PM
Neighborhood you say? Something close by that you can walk to in under 30 minutes, drive to in under 5 minutes or in the case of a school bus in under 30 minutes with all of the local stops throughout the neighborhood.
Posted on November 6, 2006 10:14 PM
Now, Allen, how do you define "neighborhood". Is it any different than what Gatecity said, which seems pretty complete?
Posted on November 6, 2006 11:07 PM
Allen,
What difference does it make how "quest" defines neighborhood? Did you take his suggestion and research the facts?
It seems that facts always get in the way of your arguments.
Fact: Southwest was a diverse school before the board decided to rip apart friendships formed many years ago. Southwest was a diverse school because the neighborhoods surrounding that school are diverse.
For heaven's sake - this is a newspaper - do some research and stop accepting the "myths" as truth.
Posted on November 7, 2006 8:37 AM
How you define "neighborhood" makes every difference in the world. It determines the very essense of the term "neihgborhood school," which gets bounced around a lot today by black and white parents alike.
I'll get back on diversity at Southwest soon. I'll be tied up with the election for a little while, though.
Posted on November 7, 2006 7:28 PM