Alvins ancestors

[irlmin]

David Blaine did a stunt standing on a flag pole for a few Days it looks like that stunt was invented by our own Alvin's ancestors , see below ;

Alvin "Shipwreck" Kelly was the acknowledged master of flagpole-sitting, a public fad of the 1920s. Kelly would clamber to the top of a specially-prepared flagpole and remain there for days or even weeks, usually as a paid publicity stunt. Kelly set a world record by perching atop a flagpole for seven weeks at Atlantic City's Steel Pier in the summer of 1930. more to follow about our intrepid hero's ancestors .
G

[irlmin]

MORE ;

" Kelly apparently didn't bother with a permit. Instead, organizers just made the adjustments needed to the flagpole and Shipwreck scrambled up. Those adjustments apparently included the placement of a small platform on the top of the pole on which Shipwreck stood. A later account said the platform was 13 inches in diameter and made out of a car brake drum.

Shipwreck began his pole standing routine about 9 a.m. on Aug. 28, 1928, and promised to stay up for more than four days. When questioned about his impressions of the city after his first night atop the pole, Shipwreck said what surprised him most was the number of drunks on the street at night."

[irlmin]

It must have seemed a prayer answered when a barnstorming ex-sailor with a talent for sitting atop flagpoles blew into town from Dallas, Texas. His name was Alvin "Shipwreck" Kelly, and he was in the market for a sponsor.

A few weeks later, the Courier's front page shouted: "DAREDEVIL KELLY, CONTENT ON POLE, IN 100 HOUR ATTEMPT ON TOP OF COURIER-JOURNAL BUILDING, ROOSTING ON 10 INCH DISCS." Readers were at first bewildered. A stranger on a pole on the newspaper's roof -- so what? That view soon changed.

A resentful rain and a blustering wind the following morning presented a potentially disastrous situation that the editors were able to "spin" into gold. The paper proclaimed that the Texan, a veteran of the seven seas, was hanging tough in his 112-foot-high crow's nest, "battling a sou'wester."

Kelly, with a hero's finesse, sent down his first message. He wasn't abandoning ship, but just in case anyone thought him without peril, he noted: "The lightning has been terrific, and if I hadn't made a specialty of training my nerves I'd be coming down right now."

Curiosity picked up. Perhaps it was the storm, or the loneliness of his vigil, or maybe a sense in the populace that this man's suffering was too great to ignore. The townfolk became anxious, concerned for Kelly's safety. After all, he was a family man trying to set a record -- and by golly, they wanted him to know they were pulling for him.

The editors turned up the pressure. Every edition exploded with news of the man on the pole. They wrote that his vigil was the sole topic in streetcar vestibules, the first thought of children as they emerged from school, and despite the continuing torrents of rain, spectators faithfully watched him all through the night.

One of them, using his hands as a megaphone, shouted up to the Texan, "Hey, how's business?"

Delighting the vigil-keepers, Kelly responded, "Looking up!"
The track was rated heavy at post time and all 22 Thoroughbreds got away well. Misstep, who had closed at 20-to-1, made a rush for the rail, saved ground and held the lead to the head of the stretch. But Reigh Count responded nobly to jock Chuck Lang's urging and won, paying $2 ticketholders $6.12.

Kelly's laconic comment: "I liked Misstep's name, since in my business I sure know the meaning of that."

In Sunday's C-J, the ex-sailor was quoted as saying, "I've just finished reading the 12th Chapter of St. Mark. I think I'm all right now. A little tired, but not sleepy." When the more mundane wondered about his diet, the Courier divulged that Kelly was consuming approximately a half-gallon of tea, a like amount of coffee, and a few sips of orange juice every 12 hours. A rope and a pulley served as waiter.

On Monday, May 21st, the Courier proclaimed: "75,000 cheer Kelly as their heroic gob stays atop pole for 100 hours. . . . It was one of the greatest spectacles and largest gatherings ever seen in Louisville. After telling audiences that doctors had told him it was impossible to remain on a pole for 100 hours without sleep, Kelly said, 'You see I've done it.' Kelly told the crowd he will take a long rest with his family in Dallas. He was besieged by a throng of joyful women, some of whom cried at the thrill of meeting him. Others threw their arms around him and uttered those delightful little squeals that denote the most intense emotion. 'For such a son,' a matronly woman sighed."

His priorities in order, Kelly responded, "Now for a bath."

Some things never change !!

[1lightningd]

And his record still stands.

[Owen]

I don't believe the bit about the bath for one minute ...

[1lightningd]

Of course I have done a fair amount of pole sitting myself in my days with the E.S.B. ol:

[irlmin]

Of course I have done a fair amount of pole sitting myself in my days with the E.S.B. ol:

I don't doubt it , :roll: :roll:

[steve]

Of course I have done a fair amount of pole sitting myself in my days with the E.S.B. ol:

Speaking of which....you seem to be attracted to companies with 3 letter names! ESB, DHL :?: Where next? TNT, MTH ol: or maybe even RTE!!!

[1lightningd]

Who knows? Although I here the T.V. can add up to 10 pounds, but I dont think anyone would spot it anyway! ol:

[steve]

Thanks for the Brylcream logo Alv... I was looking for something but you hit the nail on the head (literally) ol: ol: ol:

[minidragon]

ol: ol: ol: ol