Oct. 02, 2007 - 21:32 MST

FORERUNNER

Prior to yesterday's entry, we lived in the Tampa Florida area where I worked at the Florida Power Company power plant on Booth Point - Oldsmar, Florida.

I started out as an auxiliary operator in the basement, checking gages, taking readings and such and learning to make intelligent entries into the logbook for the next shift to read.

Wasn't long before I had a chance to become an assistant water analyst in the instrument department.

The Innocent meets scientific ways of doing things. Water and water purity is extremely important in a power plant that uses steam turbines. Consequently I had to gather water samples every morning from various points in the cycle and run tests on them. There was a handbook to follow, which covered water from all aspects, potable water on up and down. I spent much spare time in that book.

Also I had to take samples and ship them off to a lab in Pennsylvania which ran tests on our water too. It was required that my readings closely coincide with their readings.

A bit further on I was able to become an instrument mechanic and learn more about machinery and power plant operation and the requirements of same. One of the first things I learned was that water weight 8.33 pounds per gallon. Other things such as "head" allowing one to correct a guage reading to allow for the pressure of the water from above make the reading higher.

I learned so many things about the whole shebang, that through lack of use has escaped my memory now.

I learned about pressure, temperature and a bit about strength of materials and many other things.

Little did I know then that what I learned in the power plant was mere preparation to fit me for a job that was the most fascinating and enjoyable thing in the world.

But it did and thus, eventually being taken into the Test Lab in Denver.

So for ten years, the time was a future FORERUNNER . . . . . . . . . . .

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