Twenty-Two Feet Above Ground

A Story of Connection, Heights, and Unexpected Supervisors

by Greg Rank

22 FEET
🧑‍🔧

The Morning Climb

On a crisp Pacific Palisades morning, a telephone cable pressurization worker begins another day twenty-two feet above the ground. Mrs. Neemoi watches from her kitchen window as specialized equipment is unloaded - climbing spikes, safety harness, and tools most people never knew existed.

"The leather tool belt settled around my waist with familiar weight..."

When the Earth Moves

High above the ground, there's nowhere to run when an earthquake strikes. No doorway to duck under, no table to dive beneath. Just a worker, a wooden pole, and the earth moving beneath it like a restless sleeper.

"Twenty-two feet above the ground, there's nowhere to run."

An Unexpected Supervisor

A flash of iridescent green catches the worker's eye - a hummingbird hovering just inches away. This tiny creature, no bigger than a thumb, had mastered the art of defying gravity long before humans figured out how to climb poles.

"It was like having the world's smallest, most beautiful foreman keeping me company."

Connections That Matter

In the telephone cable pressurization business, the most important connections aren't always the ones you can see in a splice case. Sometimes they're the ones that happen when the earth shakes, the world holds its breath, and a tiny bird decides that maybe humans aren't so different from other creatures trying to make their way between ground and sky.

Copyright 2025 Greg Rank Big Song Entertainment

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🐦 Your Tiny Supervisor Says:

"I've been watching lineworkers for years, but you're the first one who took the time to have a conversation. Keep up the good work - those connections won't make themselves!"

Copyright 2025 Greg Rank Big Song Entertainment