Hollywood Public Works

Light Meter by Lisa K. Berton

As I type this, there is a water pipe bursting through the street in front of my house. I’m not kidding. It’s the third time since last September. It’d be great if the local water department worked on the weekend, you know, beyond placing orange cones around the dirty water and sinking pavement. I do know of one such group of dedicated battlemen, Hollywood Public Works, sadly, they don’t make long distance house calls.

You may find this overall clad trio making sure everything is running smoothly on Hollywood Blvd. and the surrounding area in a city called…Hollywood…located in a larger…encompassing area known as Disney’s Hollywood Studios. That’s a lot of Hollywoods.

I witnessed a heroic effort to free Mr. Goobleman, the normally efficient boss who somehow or another got his left hand jammed in a letterbox. I documented the event with my trusty Canon PowerShot SX100 IS (set to Auto with forced flash*) in an effort to educate the private sector on how the public works during such a spectacle.

lkb-PublicWorks-maninback.jpg
Worn down yellow cones are set up to secure the work area from civilians. I would imagine watching the happenings from behind doesn’t give you full perspective. Also, you and/or your body parts might need to be digitally erased from photographic documentation. Don’t take it personally, it’s just hard to explain additional extremeties poking out.

lkb-PublicWorks-Bungee.jpg
Sparky Sparks, a caring man no doubt, appears to have been educated by Wile E. Coyote with this attempt to trip Boss Goobleman backwards hoping that Goobleman’s fall will force his hand free.

lkb-PublicWorks-pull.jpg
Frederick Lewenowsky and Sparky Sparks have opposing ideas on when to pull Goobleman. Where’s Count Von Count when you need him?

lkb-PublicWorks-Stark.jpg
There’s plenty of action to photograph when Hollywood Public Works is at hard at work but a nice tight shot of individuals will give you an up-close look into their minds or possibly just their hats.

lkb-PublicWorks-Rasberry.jpg
The original photograph showed all three fellas giving everyone the rasberry, however, cropping it like this made for a much stronger message. That message being, sometimes onlookers make the shot. Thank you Mrs. Welleye Never.

lkb-PublicWorks-staff.jpg
I read online at StudiosCentral.com that Goobleman and Lewenowsky were laid off earlier this year, so much for union negotiations.

*I turned on my flash becaue the workers moved closer to me a few times, putting them within range of the flash. Using the flash freezes their actions and facial expressions as well as brightens up shadows.

Written while reliving my teen years with Osmonds – Second Generation.

Trending Now

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

2 Replies to “Hollywood Public Works”

  1. I’ve run into this act in the bar area of 50’s Prime Time on a rainy day and they are hilarious.

  2. Bring back Goobleman and Lewenowsky! I’ve watched their slap stick capers many a time on Hollywood Boulevard. My family adores these guys. Thank you for the memories and the smiles.