The Driller
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
  • EDUCATION
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
  • SUBMIT
  • ABOUT
  • SIGN UP
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Water
  • Geothermal
  • Construction
  • Environmental
  • Mining
  • All Industry News
  • EQUIPMENT
  • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
  • Consumables
  • Pumps
  • Featured Products
  • VIDEOS
  • Newscast
  • Drill Talks
  • Ask Brock
  • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
  • Drilling Business Insights
  • Reference Desk
  • Sponsored Insights
  • EVENTS
  • Conferences & Demo Days
  • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
  • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
  • Contact
  • Advertise
The Driller
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
The Driller
  • NEWS
    • Water
    • Geothermal
    • Construction
    • Environmental
    • Mining
    • All Industry News
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
    • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
    • Consumables
    • Pumps
    • Featured Products
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
    • Newscast
    • Drill Talks
    • Ask Brock
    • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
    • Drilling Business Insights
    • Reference Desk
    • Sponsored Insights
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
    • Conferences & Demo Days
    • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
    • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP

My Friend Mike

By Howard "Porky" Cutter MGWC
December 1, 2004
Howard "Porky" Cutter reminisces about a former helper.

In 1966, I delivered a new Failing CFD-1 from Enid, Okla., to the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. I had to go over the inventory, as no one at Georgia Tech knew one part from another. Before leaving, I applied for the job as driller. Before I got home on the bus, I had a letter offering me a position as a research technician (driller).

About 1967, I was working for the Georgia Institute of Technology in south Georgia. My friend and associate we'll call Mike was my driller's assistant. Mike turned out to be a good friend to our sons, Bess and myself.

Mike taught both of our sons to swim while we were staying in a motel in Adel, Ga. He taught them to dive without holding their nose. He always gave the boys a rough time and they loved it. I guess that's the reason they are such good swimmers today.

When we weren't working, Mike would spend much of his time in our motel room wrestling and cutting up with our sons. Bess would have to send Mike home an hour before bedtime so she could get the boys to settle down.

Our sons had bought a real life-like rubber snake. Once when the maids came to clean our room, Mike was playing with this rubber snake. He'd talk to the snake and say, “You rascal, you'd like to bite me, wouldn't you?” The maids asked, “What kind of snake is that?” Mike said, “It's just an old rubber snake.” The maids said, “We've never seen one of those around here. What do you do with it when you aren't holding it?” Mike said, “We just let it run loose in the room.” The next day and for days after, when the maids came to clean our room, before they would enter, they would ask us, “Where's that snake?” When Mike was there, he would call, “Snake, snake, where's that darn snake?” These maids always were afraid to come in our room after that.

In the evening, when we would go to the motel restaurant to eat, we would go by Mike's room to see if he wanted to go with us. Once we went by his room and he wasn't there, but his motel key was in the door. We could see Mike in the restaurant, so we decided to have some fun - we put the key in Bess' purse and didn't say anything to Mike. We had dinner together and went back to our respective rooms. We got to Mike's room and he discovered his key was missing.

There was a large group of young cheerleaders staying at the motel. I suggested to Mike that maybe one of the cheerleaders took his key. Mike asked every cheerleader he saw if they took his key - of course they had not. Mike told a group of several cheerleaders that he would give $20 to get into his room. One of the cheerleaders asked, “Really?” Mike said “Yes, really.” So the cheerleader went to the motel office and got the manager to open his door. When the manager left, the cheerleader put out her hand to Mike and said, “Give me my $20.” Mike stuttered a little and said, “No, I meant $20 to get my key.” The cheerleader asked, “You're not going to give me my money?” Mike said, “No …” She closed the door, and Mike still couldn't get into his room. Mike had to get the manager to let him in his room again. A few days later when things cooled down a little, we put Mike's key back in his door. To this day, I'm not sure Mike knows where his key went or where it came from.

I left Georgia Tech in 1967 and Mike stayed on. I started my own business in Adel. One weekend, Mike came by to visit on his way back to Alabama for the weekend. He asked Chris (“Piglet”) if he wanted to go home with him. He wanted to go, so Mike loaded Piglet in his truck beside him and whispered to us that he would drive Piglet around the block, knowing Piglet would change his mind when they were out of our sight. Wrong, Piglet was set on going. Mike brought Piglet back and told him, “Not this time, maybe another time.” Piglet started crying and didn't want to get out of the truck. Mike asked Bess' brother, Ervin to get Piglet out of the truck. Ervin said, “You got him in, you get him out.” Mike set Piglet out of the truck and Piglet really started crying. At age four, Piglet was serious about going home with Mike. Mike gave Piglet a dollar, that didn't work; two dollars didn't work. At five dollars, Piglet began to stop crying. Before Mike drove away, several of Piglet's friends asked Piglet if he would give them a dollar. Piglet started handing out dollars - easy come, easy go. Mike knew better than to ask Piglet to go home with him again.

Over the many years, we hadn't seen or heard from Mike. Then about a year ago, after reading my “Porky's Hole Thoughts” articles, Mike called to say he had retired and moved back to Alabama.

I tried to call Mike to get his permission to use his last name in this article, but his number apparently has changed. Perhaps he will read this article and give me a call.

In the last month, two grade school classmates have found my articles on the Internet and gave me a call. Maybe that will be another story.
ND

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Howard cutter 200px
Howard "Porky" Cutter, MGWC, is a regular contributor to The Driller. For more Porky columns, visit www.thedriller.com/porky.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • geotechnical drilling rig

    6 Onsite Phrases Environmental Drillers Hate

    Here are six phrases that highlight common frustrations...
    Geotechnical Investigation
    By: Jeff Garby
  • Wayne Nash

    Pipe Stuck? Common Causes and Solutions for Drillers

    If you have drilled for any length of time, sooner or...
    Opinions
    By: Wayne Nash
  • submersible pumps, water well pumps

    Selecting and Sizing Submersible Pump Cable

    This article helps pump installers and servicers decide...
    Equipment
    By: Bob Pelikan
You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Subscribe For Free!
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • Manage My Preferences

The Driller Newscast, Episode 147: Global Geothermal Collaboration at NY-GEO 2025

The Driller Newscast, Episode 147: Global Geothermal Collaboration at NY-GEO 2025

The Driller Newscast: Coiled Tubing Drilling and the Future of Geothermal

The Driller Newscast: Coiled Tubing Drilling and the Future of Geothermal

The Driller Newscast: New York Geo Talks 2025 Conference with Hands-on Driller Education

The Driller Newscast: New York Geo Talks 2025 Conference with Hands-on Driller Education

The Driller Newscast: 21st Century Drillers | Part 1 DEMAND

The Driller Newscast: 21st Century Drillers | Part 1 DEMAND

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the The Driller audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of The Driller or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • demo of a DM450 drilling rig during a customer factory visit
    Sponsored byGeoprobe

    Built for You: Smarter Drill Rigs, Stronger Support, Bigger Opportunities

Popular Stories

MainPhotoTwoBrothers.jpg

Two Brothers' Journey Through the Drilling Industry

Tariffs

Tariffs Shake Up the Drilling Industry

AI and Drought Concerns

AI’s Growing Thirst for Water and Power

The Driller Classifieds

COMPRESSORS

EAST WEST MACHINERY & DRILLING IS BUYING AND SELLING AIR COMPRESSORS, AIR BOOSTERS, AIR ENDS & PARTS
Company: East West Machinery

DRILL RIGS

LOOKING FOR LATE MODEL TOPHEADS & DRILLTECH D25'S
Company: Spikes’s Rig Sales

DRILL RIG PARTS

MEETING DRILLERS NEEDS AROUND THE WORLD
Company: East West Machinery

ELEVATORS

SEMCO INC. PIPE ELEVATORS
Company: Semco Inc.

GROUTERS

GROUTING EQUIPMENT - GROUT PUMPS & GROUT HOSE REELS
Company: Geo-Loop Inc.

PUMP HOISTS

SEMCO INC. - BASIC PUMP HOISTS
Company: Semco Inc.

WELL PACKERS

LANSAS PRODUCTS - INFLATABLE WELL PACKERS
Company: Vanderlans Lansas Products

WELL SCREENS

WELL SCREENS & SLOTTED PIPE
Company: Alloy Screen Works

Products

Water Quality Engineering: Physical / Chemical Treatment Processes

Water Quality Engineering: Physical / Chemical Treatment Processes

By carefully explaining both the underlying theory and the underlying mathematics, this text enables readers to fully grasp the fundamentals of physical and chemical treatment processes for water and wastewater.

See More Products

Subscribe to The Driller Newscast

Related Articles

  • Porky's Hole Thoughts: My First Drill

    See More
  • Porky's Hole Thoughts: A Friend Lost

    See More
  • Porky's Hole Thoughts: Remembering an Industry Friend

    See More
×

Dig deeper into the drilling and water supply industry!

Build your knowledge with The Driller, covering the people, equipment and technologies across drilling markets.

SIGN UP NOW
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
    • Classifieds
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eNewsletters
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

The Driller
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
The Driller
  • NEWS
    • Water
    • Geothermal
    • Construction
    • Environmental
    • Mining
    • All Industry News
  • CLASSIFIEDS
  • EQUIPMENT
    • Rigs & Heavy Equipment
    • Consumables
    • Pumps
    • Featured Products
  • SAFETY
  • VIDEOS
    • Newscast
    • Drill Talks
    • Ask Brock
    • Emerging Drillers
  • EDUCATION
    • Drilling Business Insights
    • Reference Desk
    • Sponsored Insights
  • SOURCEBOOK
  • EVENTS
    • Conferences & Demo Days
    • Newscast LIVE
  • SUBMIT
    • Drillers @Work
  • ABOUT
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP