Into each life some rain must fall
May 19, 2022 6:07 PM   Subscribe

Johnny Cash was born in Kingsland, Arkansas, and so the city put his silhouette on the town water tower. On Monday, a man was arrested for shooting a hole in the water tower.
posted by MtDewd (48 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
How high's the water, mama?
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:18 PM on May 19, 2022 [10 favorites]


when i was just a baby my mama told me "son,
always be a good boy, don't ever play with guns"
but i shot a man in the ding dong just to watch him pee
posted by phooky at 6:23 PM on May 19, 2022 [49 favorites]


Sunday Monday Morning Coming Down
posted by Hardcore Poser at 6:27 PM on May 19, 2022 [6 favorites]


How much lead did that add to their water supply?
posted by nickggully at 6:33 PM on May 19, 2022 [1 favorite]


The video from the local news states that the water tower was previously shot in 1993, before Cash’s silhouette was painted on it. I guess from time to time the tree of freedom must be watered with…water?
posted by TedW at 6:34 PM on May 19, 2022 [5 favorites]


I don't know why everyone's acting so surprised. If a man sings to you of an ambition to have a river "dump [his] blues down in the gulf" you can only expect this sort of thing.
posted by howfar at 6:36 PM on May 19, 2022


Its Johhny Cash

"Keep a-movin', Dan
Don't you listen to him, Dan
He's a devil, not a man
And he spreads the burnin' sand with water"
posted by clavdivs at 6:45 PM on May 19, 2022 [3 favorites]


How much lead did that add to their water supply?

Just a wee bit.
posted by jquinby at 6:45 PM on May 19, 2022 [28 favorites]


Does metafilter hate Cash?
Please advise!
posted by Jody Tresidder at 6:48 PM on May 19, 2022


I don't think that's a very helpful question.
posted by howfar at 6:52 PM on May 19, 2022


I wish it wasn't wasting 30,000 gallons of water a day.
posted by ZaphodB at 6:56 PM on May 19, 2022 [7 favorites]


“But I shot a man water tower in Reno Kingsland, Arkansas just to watch him die it dry.”
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:59 PM on May 19, 2022 [19 favorites]


Products | flexsealproducts.com - should fix it right up.

BTW, Johnny Cash is Goth As Fuck as determined by USENET alt.gothic circa 1990.
posted by zengargoyle at 7:00 PM on May 19, 2022 [10 favorites]


And, whomever wasn't that good of a shot. Quite off optimal placement.
posted by zengargoyle at 7:03 PM on May 19, 2022 [4 favorites]


There was windage, Jerry! WINDAGE!
posted by bartleby at 7:29 PM on May 19, 2022 [5 favorites]


I've peed everywhere, man
I've peed everywhere, man
I've wet the deserts bare, man
Whizzed off a mountain fair, man
Of micturition I've had my share, man
I've peed everywhere
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 7:34 PM on May 19, 2022 [18 favorites]


One should never be surprised when objects are shot in the South. Road signs are a favorite target, but just about anything made of metal and not containing a person is fair game. Usually people have the sense not to use a weapon that will actually make a hole in whatever random metal thing they are shooting, though.
posted by wierdo at 7:37 PM on May 19, 2022


"Pwy yw Johnny Cash."

-DCI Tom Mathias, 'Y Gwyll'. ''Pontarfynach"
posted by clavdivs at 7:44 PM on May 19, 2022


Quite off optimal placement.

Depends on whether he dressed left or right.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:47 PM on May 19, 2022 [6 favorites]


Really, this makes me wonder why people don't shoot water towers more often? Road signs, junked cars, old appliances, sure, but this seems less common.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:51 PM on May 19, 2022 [1 favorite]


Serious question - have any of the news sources stated what caliber the rifle was?
posted by ITravelMontana at 7:58 PM on May 19, 2022


luvin .44
posted by clavdivs at 8:05 PM on May 19, 2022 [4 favorites]


I'm also wondering what it took to pierce a water tank like that. I'm thinking like .50 caliber. That tank is probably pretty thick and that's a pretty big hole. Most things aren't going through that. I used to Metallic silhouette shooting - Wikipedia with rather high powered firearms but still nothing that would punch through what I guess a water tower tank thickness would be. That's probably not even copper jacketed lead. Maybe steel or armor piercing big caliber. Or.... those tanks aren't as thick as I think they are.
posted by zengargoyle at 8:31 PM on May 19, 2022 [1 favorite]




I sure wish I could celebrate this as a spot of tomfoolery, but I'm far too familiar with small municipal budget challenges.. water scarcity issues.. and just the general attitude of the type of shitheel who thinks shooting things is funny.. I just can't
posted by elkevelvet at 9:18 PM on May 19, 2022 [18 favorites]


List of lakes of Cleveland County, Arkansas - Wikipedia - I don't think they have water scarcity. Water towers are not storage (mostly), they're there to provide water pressure by pumping water up and letting gravity provide the pressure instead of pumping full time. Let the pressure drop down below the hole, patch it up. Still a bit stupid, but you notice that the gist of the reports are discoloration and pressure, not OMG NO WATER!!!! PITA for sure, not really that big of a deal to patch a hole.
posted by zengargoyle at 9:51 PM on May 19, 2022 [4 favorites]


Yeah, water shortages aren't much of a problem east of the line where average annual precipitation exceeds 36 inches, aside from truly exceptional droughts or temporary issues with a specific water source.

That said, when your municipal budget is smaller than the actual household income of a large fraction of US taxpayers, a $5,000 repair bill is a good chunk of the emergency fund the city (hopefully) has.
posted by wierdo at 10:44 PM on May 19, 2022 [2 favorites]


A Go Fund Me should cover the $5k. It was funny, give us money! Actually $5k sounds pretty cheap considering... Rough guess, 10 hour job, so $500/hr, 5 people total, each about $100/hr, consulting wise that's a$50k/yr job. Factor in regulations and such and bringing people into town to get the job done. Sounds sorta cheap. Not that hard to actually fix. Most of the cost would be re-coating the inside of the tank to ensure water purity and time taken to flush the system (or time spent avoiding having to flush the system). And testing and inspection and all of that. I'm surprised that it's only $5k, probably low-balling.

Otherwise, you just need a curved piece of steel with some goo on one side and someone to plug it from the inside to stop the water flowing out, the pressure will keep that in place, Then another curved bit of steel on the outside and some welding.

(Way too much digging on water tower construction. Dad was in the industry so I grew up with containment tanks and bridges and all things steel. It just seems like an easy fix and not much of a big deal to me. Aside from the actual cost.)

So, it's still sorta funny.
posted by zengargoyle at 11:54 PM on May 19, 2022 [6 favorites]


Does metafilter hate Cash?

Hate is a big word. But it strongly prefers PayPal, Stripe or Personal Checks.
posted by Too-Ticky at 3:24 AM on May 20, 2022 [8 favorites]


A Go Fund Me should cover the $5k.

Hear me out, this may be a little wild... but since they know who did it, why should others have to pay for the damage?
posted by Too-Ticky at 3:27 AM on May 20, 2022 [4 favorites]


luvin .44
posted by clavdivs

Folks, we have a winner.
posted by Optamystic at 3:30 AM on May 20, 2022 [2 favorites]


Also this probably means they'll have to paint over the silhouette to keep this from becoming a regular occurrence.
posted by rikschell at 4:19 AM on May 20, 2022


Manneken Man in Black Pis
posted by dywypi at 4:39 AM on May 20, 2022


I'm just glad no one was hurt.
posted by box at 5:24 AM on May 20, 2022 [1 favorite]


I shot a water tower in Kingsland
Just to watch it leak...
posted by pianoblack at 5:27 AM on May 20, 2022 [1 favorite]


$5000 repair bill? Flex Tape ain't but $15 at the Wal Mart.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:34 AM on May 20, 2022 [1 favorite]


nothing worse than a killjoy, guess my capacity to appreciate this in any form is tempered by the vandalism I deal with on the weekly in a public park I help maintain

as far as water scarcity, I don't think any assumptions can be made moving forward. from what I can tell, the southern tip of Arkansas is definitely experiencing drought, or is historically prone to drought conditions. I live in an area where water scarcity wasn't a thought in anyone's head.. we are seeing historic levels drop beyond any imagining, and industry impact to water is massive..

once water scarcity bites, as it will, places with water will be sharing that water one way or another. in short, the image of perfectly good water streaming out of a tank so that someone could "make silhouette pee" just strikes me as very 2022, but not funny.
https://www.myarkansaspbs.org/programs/troubledwater
posted by elkevelvet at 7:22 AM on May 20, 2022 [1 favorite]


Just a few years ago Georgia had a drought bad enough that they were starting to worry about municipal water supplies. I would not count on the East always being safe on that point.
posted by tavella at 7:34 AM on May 20, 2022 [2 favorites]


Washington Post article on the topic.
Over the course of about six days, the water tower version of the Man in Black streamed roughly 180,000 gallons onto the ground below.

“It looks like he's peeing off a water tower — man, people are going wild with it,” Neal said.

The official in charge of water operations told Neal that, because the water was safe to drink, the best option was to keep it pumping to Kingsland’s 866 residents until they could get someone to fix the damage, which would take nearly a week.

“So we just let him flow, man,” Neal said, adding, “Johnny was going.”

Doing so cost Kingsland about $200 a day, the mayor added. On Tuesday, it shut off the water so workers could start repairs the following morning. Neal said he expects those to take a few days and cost up to $5,000 — a surprise expenditure striking less than a year after Kingsland shelled out $300,000 to refurbish the tower.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:37 AM on May 20, 2022 [2 favorites]


Paging Mr. Brinker, Mr. Hans Brinker.
posted by Pembquist at 9:21 AM on May 20, 2022 [1 favorite]


i... hurt myself today
to see if i still pee... rain
posted by glonous keming at 9:37 AM on May 20, 2022 [2 favorites]


Does metafilter hate Cash?
Please advise!
Much less than crypto.

(Personally, I love his music. I suspect he was probably not a very nice person.)

[Edit: I see someone else made the same joke already. Cheers!]
posted by eotvos at 10:23 AM on May 20, 2022 [1 favorite]


Well, he had some moments during his addict period where he wasn't too great. I think he shaped up later in life as far as I know.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:54 AM on May 20, 2022 [1 favorite]




I wouldn't say water towers aren't storage. I have designed a few.

The problem with lakes is, well, you can't drink them. That's raw water. After it leaves the water treatment plant it's finished water and you store it in a tank. Not having finished water storage is a Bad Thing.

For this particular town they apparently use groundwater, not a lake, and that tank must set the pressure for the system, so not having pressure is a Bad Thing too. Now all their pressure comes from the well pump. They also have to completely drain the tank to patch it, then disinfect it before you can place it back into service, so it's days of work.
posted by The Monster at the End of this Thread at 11:22 AM on May 20, 2022 [2 favorites]


I saw this on the blue and waited a day to come back to what I knew was going to be wonderful puns.
posted by BlunderingArtist at 12:00 PM on May 20, 2022


I bet there's rich folks joking in a fancy mefite car.
They're probably drinking coffee and sharing many grars.
If they freed me from this website
If that water tower was was mine
I bet I'd find denser cladding that would really make it shine.

(I agree both that this is genuinely bad and also that it's undeniably funny.) [edit: I don't mean the post. I mean shooting at public infrastructure.]
posted by eotvos at 3:22 PM on May 20, 2022 [4 favorites]


I think they should put in some sort of timed tap and connect it to some sort of motion detector so Johnny whizzes on people passing by. Make it a feature.
posted by zengargoyle at 5:18 PM on May 20, 2022 [2 favorites]


« Older Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast: Room for All   |   Exploring the incredible tombs of Westminster... Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments