A PLETHORA OF PIT BOSSES - February 21, 2012

After sorting out the previous day's level of production, a few of us chatted about how and when we might be able to realign the teams in order to become more productive, and whether or not members of the team would spend to gentle suggestions as to how they might adapt, just a bit.  After full consideration, we determined everyone would seek his or her own level of comfort and would also most likely not change teams, so, as my friend, Bob Weel from Anchorage, Alaska would say, "onward and upward!" Pacing ourselves seemed to work well and actually we did become more productive. We got into a great rhythm on our end of the dam, and we just seemed to be firing on all burners. Since it had been almost oppressively hot the first day, we decided to try to arrive at 7:00 in the morning, and begin work and work in the cooler part of the day, then take a longer lunch and return in the latter part of the afternoon. Having arrived later than we had planned (and had assured Dinesh that we would arrive at that hour) when 11:30 rolled around, the local ladies stopped, lined up and began eating their lunches.   One or two of the ladies also reached inside a fold in the skirts or blouses and pulled out a small pipe. I stopped to watch what they were ding, while they cleaned out and then refilled the pipe with who knows what.  They lit the pipes and began puffing on them. Seeing my fascination with the pipe, they gestured for me to join them. So as not to offend any of them, I obliged.  I did not put m mouth on the pipe, but took it in my hand, with my thumb and index finger wrapped around the mouth, and then puffed a few times. Not knowing what they and now I were smoking was probably for the better! Skew of the team members joked about getting high at work,  but truly, the heat and exertion contributed to my wanting to take a break ow and then, far more than anything else. We, however, continued working, until it was time for us to break for our lunch. Back to the tent village, either by walking or taking the "TING" and once more, the boys greeted us with the wet washcloths and beer, wine or soft drinks. Linda Bertuzzi decided that we could benefit from clearing the dust out of our eyes, and requested the kitchen staff to bring some thinly sliced cucumbers that we all placed on our eyelids, and enjoyed the spa-like cool and relief of the cukes on our eyes. Another fantastic lunch and then it was siesta time. We struggled to rise up from our beds to return to work, but somehow we made it. A full afternoon for us, but the local ladies all of a sudden stopped work, lined up and started to march away. Goverdahn shouted to them to stop but they kept walking. Finally, one of the ladies turned around and shouted back that THEY had arrived early to accommodate us, and although we had arrived late, there was no reason for them to work overtime, but that our team could work on until we had completed a full day. Back for wet washcloths, beer, wine, Scotch, soft drinks and another fantastic dinner, and you guessed it, hot water bottles in our beds. Of course, the hyena and the jackals were also adding their voices to the night.