August 1st, 1986 was on a Friday. That was my first day of work at Wizard Publications, home of BMX Action and FREESTYLIN' magazines. It also happened to be the day before the BMX Action Ten Year Anniversary party. I flew in Thursday night, as I recall, and after doing the basic new job paperwork Friday morning, I was helping get ready for the party. There were a bunch of rental tables set up in the warehouse, and one of the jobs I got was to sweep the warehouse. So I took the push broom and started pushing it in a straight line across the warehouse.
I heard a noise behind me, and it was none other than Bob Osborn, the Wizard, the Great and All Powerful Oz of BMX, my brand new boss, telling me I was sweeping all wrong. Loudly. It scared the crap out of me. On my first day as an editorial assistant at the magazines I was in trouble for sweeping the floor. I didn't know what to do. Andy J.peaked his head out of his office, wondering how the new guy managed to get in trouble on his first morning.
Oz asked me if I'd ever swept before. I nodded stupidly. Then he said something like, "I was a fireman, I'll show you the right way to sweep." I handed him the broom, and he demonstrated how I should sweep one stroke, then step sideways, sweep the next stroke, and keep doing that across the small warehouse. By the end, I'd have one long line of dirt that I could sweep into a pile and scoop up. So I started sweeping the way he taught me. He watched for a minute to make sure I got the idea, and then went about his business.
In the years since, I've swept parking lots for freestyle contests, big warehouses, huge stages on movie lots, and even an airplane hanger we used as a stage. I learned to sweep switch to help fight fatigue on the big jobs. I used Oz's fireman sweeping technique every time, and taught it to my crew on the set of American Gladiators. Oz scared the hell out of me that first day, but I'm glad he took the time to show a BMX kid the way firefighters sweep. It really came in handy.
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