Mango Bob Read Online Free Page B

around eighty ton stamping presses are required to wear restraining chains – handcuffs - to keep their hands out of harm's way.
     
    It's either that, or people get hurt. Arms crushed, workers decapitated. I've seen it happen more than one.
     
    That's why management says 'safety is job one'. Unfortunately, the reality was far different.
     
    Those working on the plant floor use drugs and booze to numb the noise, grime and monotony of the assembly line. They'd toke up before coming to work, toke up at lunch, and toke up again on final break to avoid 'harshing their mellow'.
     
    Others were into alcohol.
     
    They'd start the shift with a tall boy, sneak another beer or two at first break, and another two for lunch. Then pop a cold one before they left the parking lot at the end of the day.
     
    No matter how they did it, the goal was to numb themselves from the life on the plant floor.
     
    Fact is, everybody who worked at the plant wanted to be somewhere else. It didn't matter where, as long as it was far away from the plant floor and stamping presses.
     
    Me? I didn't drink or do drugs. Instead, I was a dreamer. I wanted to live on a beach in Florida. Maybe get paid to arrange beach umbrellas for some fancy hotel. Maybe get a job serving rum flavored drinks at a water-front bar.
     
    Four weeks ago, we all got our wish. The announcement came down from corporate headquarters - the plant was closing. All the equipment was being shipped to Mexico.
     
    All employees of the plant, including me, would be given the freedom to do something else. Freedom as in 'everyone was being terminated.'
     
    An interesting term – terminated. Something that would come back to haunt at least one of the corporate managers who made the decision to close the plant.
     
    But that's another story.
     

9
     
    So I'm living in a tent. By choice.
     
    And going through a quickie divorce, as mandated by the soon to be ex-wife.
     
    And working the final two weeks of my corporate job – without any future job prospects.
     
    And I was one of the lucky ones.
     
    See, corporate headquarters wanted a few of the office staff to stay around until the final day of plant closing.
     
    These few people would be needed to make sure office equipment, office records, computers, and miscellaneous items were properly packed and shipped to the new plant.
     
    As the computer manager, I was one of the ones tapped to stay until the very end.
     
    Just me, Molly from human resources, John Colbert, head of plant security, and Allison James, in accounting.
     
    Allison was nearing sixty. She was retiring after this. Said no one was going to hire her anyway, might as well make the best of it. Her husband still worked in town, so they'd get by all right.
     
    John from security had lined up a job in inventory control at the local Walmart – which he was happy about.
     
    Which left me and Molly.
     
    Molly from human resources was about my age, middle thirties, happily married with two young sons. She hadn't even started looking for a new job yet. And wasn't sure she was going to.
     
    Her plan was to take a few months off and be a stay-at-home mom while she worked out her future.
     
    In the final days at the plant, Molly and I spent quite a bit of time together, going through checklists to make sure all the sensitive personnel files were inventoried and shipped to corporate headquarters.
     
    When I told Molly I was living in a tent and why, she was cool about it. She knew I could afford better, but she also understood the emotional challenge of facing divorce and job loss.
     
    She told me that living in a tent for a week or two might be a good experience for me.
     
    According to Molly, “Living in a tent will give you a whole new perspective. And maybe help you discover what's important in your life.”
     
    I don't know if she really believed this or not, but she sounded like she meant it. She said she'd been through some tough times and a divorce herself.