Boxing Day

I had no sooner gotten to work at the PGCBF* this morning and patted Babu on the rump before Larry the loader was leading her away toward the hungry end of the Boxinator.

"You'll have to ride Raymond's mount for awhile today. My Elephant is sick," He said. "They have to send out for Elephant Tonic."

"Elephant Tonic?" I asked suspiciously. Surely Larry was shining me on.

"Shouldn't be more than half an hour," He called back to me as I watched Babu's yellow butt trundle away through the Sea of Bubbles.

Now the funny thing about the PGCBF* is, that in the center of it, for some reason I'm not privy to, they are holding captive about a zillion rolls of Bubble Wrap.

Some of the rolls are so large around that two grown men could reach around them and not touch fingertips. Each roll is about four feet high and wrapped in a king-sized plastic bag, color coded by product and tied on the end with a twist-tie like your average loaf of Mrs. Baird's. Stacked four or five high they look like giant Smarties growing out of the ground.

But the fun part is that for all their girth, they weigh practically nothing. They are just bubbles, after all. One can easily slide a twenty foot tower across the warehouse floor with one hand. Or just as easily one can topple massive columns like Sampson.
Ah the feeling of power! (Plus they make a rather satisfying popping sound when Babu steps on them.)

I gave a half-hearted wave to Babu and turned around to find myself eyeball to eyeball with Sasha, Old Raymond's mount. She squinted at me dubiously.

"Listen," I growled. "You don't like me and I don't like you. But we have a job to do, so let's just try to get along."

I climbed aboard and gave the command, "Forward, Sasha!"

"I said FORWARD, dammit!"

Sasha kept walking backward. I kept muttering curses. After about ten minutes of frustration we were beginning to learn to work together. It isn't that she is a bad elephant, she has just worked with Old Raymond for so long that it is hard for her to adjust to a new handler. And where I'm concerned, she is sure no Babu.

Word 'round the campfire is that once a long time ago Old Raymond and Sasha stepped on a fellow and killed him. To hear Larry the Loader tell it, "Old Raymond don't mean no harm, but you got to watch yo' ass or he'll step on it for sure."

It wasn't long before Old Raymond showed up to take Sasha away from me and I was once more relegated to broom duty. I'm rated on both kinds of brooms, both the dust mop variety and the push broom variety. The dust mop is a bit unwieldy, but they might be surprised to know I can fly the push broom well enough for a game of Whiffle-Quidditch.

It was almost lunch time before I got Babu back. (Half an hour my ass.) And what a happy reunion it was. Old Raymond and I swooped and scooped units off the line to load onto trucks. Our animals worked in synchronized precision, handing off pallets to each other with their trunks as Old Raymond and I chatted casually.

At the beginning of week three, I'm starting to be accepted by the other handlers, and feel like I'm part of the team. Before you know it, I'll have a month under my belt. I know that doesn't sound like much, but the journey of a thousand miles, and all that, right?

So Babu, Here's to you. I couldn't do it without you.

*People's Glorious Cardboard Box Factory

Comments

[Little Blossom]

yayness. So Babu is all fixed now? No more issues anytime soon? That would be sweeeeeeet! Seems Babu makes thinks easier around PGCBF for you. Dont drown in your work. It may seem like its no big deal and you like your work, but you can still be overworked! Take a break! Come see your peoples! We DO miss you! *mwah*
--your blossom