I was a big pink house. Rather, I was wearing a PVC pipe and plastic sheeting apparatus extending up from my back that presented as a big pink house costume. It was at least a ten-foot cube, without a bottom of course, so I could walk. A series of strapping fit around me like a hiking backpack. Sticking up from the back, a piece of PVC went up to the crest of the roof and provided the point from which everything else was supported.

The thing flopped around like mad. It was more of a balancing act than anything. My job was to run down this blocked off street and throw pink raincoats to the people gathered around. Things weren't so easy. The main PVC support was too thin and immediately saw fit to buckle under the stress of the whole thing. I got a few pink raincoats off before that happened.

The whole shebang ended up in a pile on the street. I got out just fine. We needed a thicker, stronger pipe to put around the original one to shore it up. They passed on that. I figured that I should go find a raincoat for my self to mark the event. The only ones that I hadn't thrown out, were a lousy size XL and 2XL. If I'm wearing a pink raincoat, I already stand out enough, so much so that I don't need the extra squarefootage to make my case known. I passed.

When I woke up, I thought that maybe it needed multiple supports shoring up a central pole. You could use three or four anchored equally around the belt. These supports could travel up towards the top of the pole with their natural bend to meet at a central location. I would want to lash then all together there. Lashing is a tricky thing with PVC, but I love my rope.

posted by cliff

Comments