Now It's My Job and It's Fun

 Now it’s my job and it’s fun
by Arlene Levin
(c) 2023

The small cup shaped park is nestled at the bottom of a rich “forested” ravine.  One side is quite steep with stairs leading up to the street above.  Two sides gently rise from the park floor while the remaining section drops sharply down to the lucky houses below.

Ormskirk is a community park.  The playground has the usual, brightly coloured swings and slides, teeter totters and rocking horses but there are constant surprises.                             

Walking through the park almost daily Kimmy, my dog and I delight in seeing what’s new.  Neighbors bring play things and leave them for all to enjoy.  I’ve seen a plastic house big enough for a child to play in.  There are small bicycles and even a child size table with chairs for a make-believe “tea party”.

In the sand there are toy dump trucks and tractors, bulldozers and forklifts.  In miniature, children can play endlessly with all the equipment on a construction site. 

As children and now all grown up...can anyone walk by a construction site and resist stopping to see one of those huge shovels pick up a haul of dirt.  From the cab of the machine the controller pushes levers.  They go up and down, forward and back and the huge shovel delicately scoops up the dirt.   Is the load put on a truck that hauls it away...to where?  And, at that destination there is probably another machine. In that cab the controller sits with levers in hand to accept the load and move it, store it, crush it. Whatever it takes.

I think about the children at the park playing in the wet sand with the toy trucks and earth movers.  I think about the grown men, sitting in the cab of those giant machines.  Were they the kids in the sand playing with construction toys?  Are they the now adults moving the levers.  This is a question I’ve had for a long time.  But how do I get the answer?  “Quite simply” I thought, “I must ask an operator. But how do I get close enough?”  I’ve been looking for an opportunity for years.  

Fast forward to now. There's a construction site across from my condo.  “Yes, but how do I get close enough? I can’t just walk through the dusty front gate!”  This is still my challenge.  

Then one warm May morning Kimmy and I bounced out and on to the street for our first walk of the day.  Sitting right there on the street, not in the construction site...but right there on the street was a huge front loader waiting to start the day.  AND there was someone in the cab.   “Well” I thought” “At long last,  this is my chance.”

So Kimmy and I walked up to the big earth mover and stood at the cab’s side door.  Noticed, the driver leaned over and opened the window.  I smiled and after a “good morning” greeting I began.

I couldn’t hold myself back, my question was about to be answered.  “Did you play with this kind of truck when you were a kid?”  Judging by the surprised expression on his face you could say my question was unexpected.  He seemed to think for a moment and then smiled, a big smile and said, “Well, as a kid I did play with a front-loader similar to this”.   I thought about the park, the trucks in the sand and the children that played with them. Unceremoniously I blurted out, “Well then, are you actually living a childhood dream?”  He laughed and said, “Well I guess you could say that. I enjoy what I’m doing, that’s for sure. Now it’s my job and it’s fun!” 

I told him, “I’ve wondered about you great land movers for a long time. I thought that might be the case but you are the first I was able to ask. You know, it’s kinda difficult to get onto your construction sites to chat with you guys.”   I could tell by his expression he was amused.  With a grin he said “Well I’m glad I was able to help”.  And I replied, “Thank you for doing this work and thank you for answering my long dangling question”. 

“I knew it,” I thought, “and if this is true for one then it will be true for many”. A great feeling of satisfaction washed over me, I finally got my answer. I smiled again, waved at my benefactor and started to walk away.   In return he gave me a thumbs up and a warm smiling nod.  With that, Kimmy and I happily continued our stroll up the street into an exquisite sun drenched summer morning.