AvroAnsonXIX
Really Really Experienced
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2021
- Posts
- 333
Strippers (Temp Agency Error)
Way back in time, we picked up physical paper copies of newspapers that were printed in Kendall in the wee hours of the morning and flew them out of TMB -- New Tamiami Airport -- to multiple locations in the Bahamas so that vacationers could read the Tribune, Post, or Times with their breakfast.
This was in the days before computerized printing. Color pages were run through multiple drums on the press. Each imparting a color -- four, black, yellow, blue, and red was typical -- that was a part of the finished product. Using screens, photographic quality was attainable.
To obtain these four colors, and those created by overprinting -- green was blue printed over yellow for instance -- the original photographic negatives were cut apart, indexed and used to expose the emulsion on, "burn," aluminum plates that picked up the ink on the offset press.
This was a process known as "color stripping," and those employees who did this work were called "color strippers." As stated before, this work occurred at night. Shifts typically ran 7 PM to 3 AM, IIRC.
Miami was a bilingual city -- bilingual meaning understanding just enough of two languages to create chaos and confusion in your second language -- and as the holidays approached the printing press operator needed more color strippers to handle the greater number of color pages due to increased advertising.
The temp agency sent over two very friendly young Jamaican ladies who were visibly confused when they arrived at the office building attached to the huge warehouse containing a multi-web printing press. But they asked where they were supposed to change and were directed to the women's wash room.
They emerged a short time later in high heels, bikinis, and feather boas and asked a now totally confused production supervisor where they were to perform. As a crowd of interested employees gathered it was quickly determined that the temp agency had misunderstood the request and sent "colored strippers" instead of "color strippers."
**It was 7:20 PM. A quick conversation with the night shift supervisor at the temp agency led to the two dancers being told they had to dance if they wanted to be paid for the evening. The shop manager had them dance in the office building, in some unoccupied cubicles and the male -- and open minded female -- employees had an early Christmas bonus that year.**
The pilot missed the party, but heard the whole tale when she asked why the newspapers for Paradise Island arrived 90 minutes late the next morning.
** True except for this paragraph.** IRL the temp service corrected the error they had made. But that wouldn't make as good of a story would it?
Way back in time, we picked up physical paper copies of newspapers that were printed in Kendall in the wee hours of the morning and flew them out of TMB -- New Tamiami Airport -- to multiple locations in the Bahamas so that vacationers could read the Tribune, Post, or Times with their breakfast.
This was in the days before computerized printing. Color pages were run through multiple drums on the press. Each imparting a color -- four, black, yellow, blue, and red was typical -- that was a part of the finished product. Using screens, photographic quality was attainable.
To obtain these four colors, and those created by overprinting -- green was blue printed over yellow for instance -- the original photographic negatives were cut apart, indexed and used to expose the emulsion on, "burn," aluminum plates that picked up the ink on the offset press.
This was a process known as "color stripping," and those employees who did this work were called "color strippers." As stated before, this work occurred at night. Shifts typically ran 7 PM to 3 AM, IIRC.
Miami was a bilingual city -- bilingual meaning understanding just enough of two languages to create chaos and confusion in your second language -- and as the holidays approached the printing press operator needed more color strippers to handle the greater number of color pages due to increased advertising.
The temp agency sent over two very friendly young Jamaican ladies who were visibly confused when they arrived at the office building attached to the huge warehouse containing a multi-web printing press. But they asked where they were supposed to change and were directed to the women's wash room.
They emerged a short time later in high heels, bikinis, and feather boas and asked a now totally confused production supervisor where they were to perform. As a crowd of interested employees gathered it was quickly determined that the temp agency had misunderstood the request and sent "colored strippers" instead of "color strippers."
**It was 7:20 PM. A quick conversation with the night shift supervisor at the temp agency led to the two dancers being told they had to dance if they wanted to be paid for the evening. The shop manager had them dance in the office building, in some unoccupied cubicles and the male -- and open minded female -- employees had an early Christmas bonus that year.**
The pilot missed the party, but heard the whole tale when she asked why the newspapers for Paradise Island arrived 90 minutes late the next morning.
** True except for this paragraph.** IRL the temp service corrected the error they had made. But that wouldn't make as good of a story would it?
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