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September. So nostalgic for so many reasons but for me it shall always be my beloved Rod's birth month. September 10, 1945.
My daughter recently located a photo she took of us as we were leaving her home on one of our many business trips.
I Love this old pic of our Personal Telecommunications Team:
my beloved partners Rod and Tito (who became nicknamed by our
construction teams from coast to coast as "Cujo" for her vigorous mouthy
"greetings" to those who approached my window and caught her unawares.)
Those were GOOD times, up before dawn, destination could be a few hours
or a couple day's travel.
As Project Manager Rod directed the activities of all the
specialties required to complete the work assigned by our various client
corporations: AT&T, Cricket, T-Mobile, Verizon, all the biggies. We
worked new builds from clearing the plot, gravel pour, fencing,
erecting the cell tower, mounting antenna array, positioning and fully
equipping the telecom shelter that housed all the computerized brains
that controlled the antennae and tracked and documented the traffic for
billing, etc. These sites necessitated overnight stays. Always a chore
finding a pet accepting motel nearby.
We also managed colocations where our client corporation had
an agreement to mount their antennae on another company's cell tower.
These were usually much simpler. But watching the guys (a very few gals)
who climbed the big towers and their ground crew maneuver the antennae
arrays into position was exciting. Most deaths and serious injuries
involved in telecommunications arise from falls. We had more than one
good friend injured and, sadly, a couple fatalities. Fortunately none
occurred while we were on site. I always held my breath when Rod
climbed, rooftops, towers, control room sky platforms.
We had a lot of Generac power installs where alternate power
was needed to ensure the cell site continued to function when weather or
malfunction of the primary battery array required a backup source.
Interesting job overseeing the prep work (trenching per plotted diagrams
of the cell site, line installation, heavy equipment lifting and
positioning of the big Generac generator, and final testing before
restoration of the dirt and gravel over the lines etc.) Some sites were
really remote: mountaintops, or on a rancher's acreage. Many times our
work might be delayed as we waited out a herd of cattle Hell-bent on
grazing the approach to our target cell site.
My job was documentation. Tracking dates and times, cell site
drawings Before and After, becoming familiar with the antennae types
and specific directional locations, etc. Expenses had to be billed so I
had to maintain careful records. Some of our trips took several days
and, occasionally, involved multiple job locations with different
vendors and clients. I most enjoyed creating the cell site drawings. I
used specialty computer applications. Had to actually use a grid to show
exact distances for trenches, tower footings and directional
attenuation for each of the three faces, antenna mounts (these required
elevations vs ground plots). I learned a lot and loved the work.
Our work took us coast to coast: California, Nevada, Utah,
Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Alabama,
Missouri ... Made good friends, found some really good Mom n Pop cafes
and restaurants. Fond memories.
My time with both my beloved Rod and our precious baby girl
Tito will always evoke bittersweet memories but I shall always be
thankful God granted me the man, the time and those priceless memories.
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