MINDLESS MUSINGS

Previously I used the image of Indiana Jones running from the giant boulder in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. Believe it or not I had another similar experience.

I was helping my father and his mate (Steve) working on a brewery truck. We were delivering kegs and I was down in the cellar. Steve was pulling the kegs off the truck and rolling them over to my dad. My dad then pushed them down a steep ramp into the cellar where I would roll them along the thin corridor and into the cool room.

The corridor was made even narrower because empty kegs were stacked up alongside one wall. There was literally only room for the keg. I would have to move backwards and slow the rolling keg down so I could step over it and push it along to the cool room.

Somehow my dad sent one keg down the ramp on a slight angle and all hell broke loose! The full keg bounced off the ramp and ended up bounding towards me ala “Raiders of the Lost Ark Boulder”. I had nowhere to go except to the cool room which was probably 25 metres away. I ran and I ran fast! That keg was chasing me the whole way like a guided missile, bouncing up and around to ensure I had nowhere to manoeuvre for escape in its direction. I couldn’t jump it and I couldn’t duck under it with any certainty. My only option was to run like hell away from it and into the cool room.

I finally reached the cool room and dived inside. I turned to see the killer keg bounce past the entrance. I heard it hit the wall when it had reached the end of the corridor. I sheepishly emerged from the cool room and saw my dad and Steve’s heads poking down the cellar door. As soon as they knew I was alright they burst into riotous laughter. I was in no mood for such antics and began hurling abuse at my father. They just kept laughing and told me to “get ready for the next one”.

To this day I wonder what happened to that keg. It must have been damaged, but I am certain we didn’t take it back. I do not think the publican witnessed my ‘boulder dash’ incident. Maybe they discovered a beaten up keg a few days later; or maybe they just had an odd tasting brew for a while when they hooked up my ‘attempted killer keg’.