Whenever I see the words "Washing windows" it always reminds me of a true story about an alcoholic window washer I knew when I was living and working in Palm Springs, Calif.
Jesse had himself a nice little cleaning business going for a couple of years when he first started. He would clean banks, restuarants and the like from about 6 in the morning till noon or so every day.
One day.......out of a clear blue sky, Jesse was awarded a contract to clean the windows of the Palm Springs airport control tower. This job paid great for what amounted to only 2 hours a day of work. Only trouble was.........Jesse was terrified of heights.
Every morning for six years, Jesse would wake up and drink a pint of vodka before climbing on that scaffold and hoisting himself to the top of the control tower. Jesse usta say "Ain't no way in hell I'm gonna go up there sober."
Well the day finally came when Jesse got religion, joined Alcoholics Anonymous and gave up the booze. I wasn't there when he took his first sober ride up to the top of that tower, but several friends told me about it. They said it was like watching a cat hanging onto a set of drapes when they started to hoist him up. He yelled, whimpered and shook all over till he reached the top. Once there, he reached out and made one pathetic swipe at the tower window and yelled "Gimme down from here." They said it took three men to pry Jesse off that scaffold when it finally reached the ground.
Jesse never drank anymore after that. He never went back to the airport either.
True story...........
