When I worked at Glenbrook Country Club back in high school, one of my jobs was to bring two 50 lb. jugs of chlorine down to the pump house and dump them into our big old swimming pool. For those who haven't been there, let me paint a visual for you. The main building for the club was on top of a hill; about 600 feet (2 football fields) downhill was our picnic pavilion. To the left of the pavilion was our pumphouse, buried into the hill like a concrete World War 2 bunker. The challenge each morning was to get from the main building to the pumphouse (with 100 lbs of chlorine) before the "Evil Trio" would tear me apart.
The evil trio was a pack of wild dogs that lived in the dense woods that surrounded the country club. They were mangy and mean and had a penchant for early morning antics. Since I usually dumped the chlorine in before the parties began, I was their 7 AM wake up call. Remember that Wile. E Coyote cartoon where he and Sam the Sheepdog clock in and clock out to their jobs as "coyote" and "sheep dog"? It was similar to that, since the dogs never bothered me any other time.
They would emerge for different points in the wooded perimeter, usually as I was about halfway down the hill. My wobbly walk would turn into an arm-wrenching sprint for the pump house. Like any good action movie, they would be closing in on me as I fumbled for the keys to open the lock to the pump house. They never got me, but boy they came close.
Winded, I was prone to getting the chlorine on my clothes and shoes as I poured the heavy jugs into the pump water, which explains why all much of my apparel was stained with white blotches. I still have a "Roll the Bones" shirt from Rush out here in Colorado that has some of the blotches of honor.
Unlike the enemies in Mega Man, the trio was never there when I was done. I'm pretty sure it was all sport to them, much like the cat who chases the squirrel, eventually catching it and not knowing what to do. And so, out of breath and reeking of chlorine, I would carry the empty jugs back uphill and start my day.
I guess I should count my blessings; if I had a similar job out here I would have been chased by mountain lions or bears!
