Showerthought: Crane operators in Chicago all seem to know each other somehow

I was up on a job near the Sears Tower last Tuesday and noticed three different crane ops waving to each other across the skyline. It got me thinking about how small this trade really is even in a big city like Chicago. Do you guys find that most operators in your area end up crossing paths or is that just a Midwest thing?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_michael21d ago

It's funny how a niche thing like that ends up being a small world anywhere you look.

the_kim21d ago

Three years ago I randomly ran into someone at a comic convention who also collected weird 80s Japanese robot toys. Turns out he actually knew @the_michael from a forum we both used back in 2010. Its wild how you can meet someone online, then bump into their real friend years later without even trying. That kind of connection makes the whole hobby feel tighter and more personal than you'd expect. The world really does shrink when you stick with anything long enough, even something as random as obscure toy collecting.

wren80621d ago

Talking about "the world really does shrink," that is definitely true, but I gotta gently push back on calling the Sears Tower by that name since it's been the Willis Tower for years now lol. I know locals still call it Sears and always will, so it's not wrong in conversation, just worth knowing the official name for anyone new to Chicago. It does make sense though that a tiny group like crane operators would all know each other, same way obscure collectors find each other online and then in real life.