HOW VICIOUS RUMORS GET STARTED
Back in the days when we were remodeling the Cathedral of the Assumption in downtown Louisville, we had to dig under the foundation on the back corner to stabilize the walls do that we could add a sacristy, a chapel and a dining room for the homeless, we had a horrible crack develop that almost brought down the whole building in a pile of rubble.
I remember standing on Muhammad Ali Street watching little puffs of smoke coming from the brick wall as it cracked around the big window of the Assumption. It started at the top, went around the side and under the window and all the way to the ground before it stopped. Along with the puffs of smoke coming from the cracking brick work, there was that low crunching sound that remined me of the sound of a dentist pulling a tooth!
It took the whole city, practically, to the rescue the situation and hold the building together with steel beam bracing and quickly poured concrete. They ended up having to take down over 22,000 home-made bricks around the window and relay them. That left a huge hole in the wall around the big window. You could stand in the center isle of the church and see several high rises behind it all at one time!
During all this, one of our local radio comedians, had a sketch on his morning program entitled, "I hear they are doing "crack" behind the Cathedral on Fifth Street!" ("Crack," of course, is also a free base form of cocaine that can be smoked!) I was not offended by his humor. It actually broke the fever of so much stress that had been building around the "cracked wall!"
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