When I worked a summer job doing carpentry, we had this one guy who was just the most accident-prone individual I have ever met. “Accident-prone” and carpentry mix like fire and the Hindenburg. It didn’t help that he was kind of an idiot about most things; not fundamentally stupid, but liable in nearly all aspects of life to what you might call “bad decisions”. Listening to him bitch about his “misfortunes” on a daily basis got real old, real fast.
One day he discovers if he pulls back the spring-tension safety mechanism on the pneumatic nail gun, he can shoot a stream of 10 penny nails Uzi-style. The other carpenters looked on with a mixture of contempt and dread. I immediately scoped out a thick wall to hide behind.
So the guy was mostly working, but occasionally letting loose with a salvo of nails, and snickering with glee whenever he hit a loose piece of plank or whatever. The rest of us rolled our eyes and kept behind him as much as possible.
As his enthusiams increased, he got the bright idea to play “quick-draw”. He would whip himself around occasionally, brandishing the nail gun as if warding off a surprise attack, and causing one carpenter to finally shout out “Will you put that gawddahmn thing down, you stupid fuckin’ ahsshole!*” Of course he just stifled a giggle and ignored the order. I guess after deciding he’d perfected his desperado flourish, he felt ready to pull the trigger. He whistled the “Good, Bad, Ugly” theme, spun around once more, and straffed the air with nails.
Apparently he got disoriented from all the spinning, because what he aimed for was about 45 degrees off from his intended target. What he aimed for was his baby, a seemingly mint, cherry-red 1975 Ford F350 pickup he’d rebuilt himself. I’m surprised he actually allowed himself the risk of driving it on the road, he loved it so much. When it dawned on him he’d peppered his Most Prized Posession with a hail of high-velocity metal spikes, he dropped the gun like a hot brick, put his hands on his head, and screamed “OHHH FUCKIN’ SHIIIIIT!”
As he dashed off to his truck, wailing like a man on fire, and the rest of us pretty much wet ourselves with mirth. It was the only time in my life I lost my balance and fell over from laughing so hard.
Gawd, the guy was a tool, but that moment made it almost worth it to have him around.
*thick Maine accent.