DAY 1, Crew A

   Be at the job site at 6:50, don't be late.  Evidently Flaggers are notoriously late because it was a noted event that Joseph and I were early.  This crew barely said good morning to us.  Maybe they're not morning people.  Maybe they didn't get enough coffee yet.  Maybe we're so far down the pecking order we're not even recognized.  Whatever the case may be, our supervisor was with us this first day of our flagging careers and we were shown to our spots.  We had our radios - they didn't work well, but we managed to tell each other when it was safe to send cars without incident.   Our supervisor could hear us, and we could hear her if she had to correct either of us.  It wasn't bad.  But the day went on and on...getting hotter and hotter.  All day.  Did I mention that it was hot?  But this crew didn't take a break, and we both ended up eating on the fly.

    About 7 hours into the shift I started seeing black dots floating in front of my eyes, and I kept blinking, trying to make them go away....Then I realized what was happening, (OMG, I'm going to faint!) and I said, "I'm going down!"  The supervisor was yelling "Flip your flag!" and "Get to the grass!  They'll run over you"  All I was thinking was Flip my flag?!?!?  I hope I don't chip my teeth!  But I got myself to the grass, and shade, (flipped my flag), while the supervisor and workers were yelling, "Put your knees up!" and "Don't get up!"  I was down for about 10 minutes.  They call this "First Day Flagger".  See, you can't lock your knees while you're standing there.  You have to rock from heel to toe, flex you knees, keep you knees bent a little, and walk a little around the area you're in.

    (When I came home I had to look it up.  It's called a vasovagal syncope, or common faint, and one of the triggers is standing too long with the knees locked.  Guys in the military have it happen...you see people in weddings go down [Great fodder for America's Funniest Home Videos], and kids in choir or band.  Apparently Flaggers, too!  This will make a good story in days to come.)

    I was fine for the next two hours, and you know, I didn't even get dirty.  Yay!  Clean stuff makes me happy!  At the end of the day (9 1/2 hours), I was admiring my clean clothes when I leaned over the back of a pick-up truck to sign my time sheet and I got a little bit of grease on my beautiful vest.  Ohhhhh! It got a good laugh from the dirty crew who had been down in the road all day! 

    My feet hurt so badly that I think my blisters have blisters!