Northern Maine, October 21, 2017- In what could only be described as a stunning upset, a wayward clam digger sat for -and passed- a national crane operator exam. It appears that the hipboot clad senior citizen wandered into a classroom in Maine and unknowingly took a test that resulted in his being under consideration for a crane operator’s position in the industry at large.
“We had no idea who this guy was, but we had the room, so we gave him the seat in class,” said John Longboom, administrator of the educational process. “The only thing we could figure was he came for the free coffee and got comfortable, so he stayed.”
The test was sponsored by the Journeyman’s Industrial Board, or JIB, a nationally recognized certification agency in industrial affairs. “We had no idea how a clam digger could pass this test,” said Donald Drumpawl, executive director of JIB. ” It was when we took a careful look at his test booklet that we became aware of just what happened.”
Apparently, the operational questions were replaced by similar questions regarding small boats, and the load chart questions were actually based on a tide chart. “It really was a case of knowing how to pick something up without tipping over and what time low tide is. That’s all the information this guy could process,” Drumpawl explained.