Music: "I'll Stand By You," -Carrie Underwood
12:20p
My heart is heavy and hurting today. This past Friday, Oklahoma was once again struck by tornadoes, and flooding, less than two weeks after the F5 monster hit Moore. I came home Friday night from work, hoping to see John for a few minutes, and give him the clothes and other items for the tornado victims. When he told me he wasn't coming, I was confused. He then told me that there will be more people that need it after today. I had no clue what he meant, then he told me to turn on Fox news. Those poor people, now storm-weary after the week before, were now having to run for cover once again. This time, John's home of El Reno had been struck. As I talked to him, he was racing from Louisiana to Oklahoma. I stayed up until nearly 10, glued to the TV and in complete shock. I finally had to reluctantly go to bed. I spent all day worried about him, wondering if his house was okay and his family and friends. On Saturday morning, after putting my stuff on a machine, I went back up to the break room, hoping John would call me to tell me he made it safely. I didn't hear from him. I spent the entire day trying to keep focused on work, but my mind was elsewhere. I kept going down the wrong isle, mixing up numbers, and realizing I wasn't moving near as fast as normal. I was falling behind, and so was my production. At least Eric was nice enough to give me a few doors on C dock to be responsible for, but the freight was so badly mixed, and that was another cause. But I wanted to hear John's voice, to know everything was okay. Everyone noticed I wasn't in my normal good mood.
I came home that night, and had just sat down to eat, when John called me. He was alright, just shaken up and obviously upset. His house had gotten hit, but I didn't know how bad. His friends were okay and had survived. I couldn't talk to him long, but I was glad to hear from him. I didn't get the chance to see any pictures before going to bed, but I knew the tornado was violent. Storm chasing teams had even felt the brunt of the storm...TWC's team's SUV was rolled and flipped over, but thankfully all of the crew inside survived. Their vehicle was completely flattened. Meanwhile, Sean Casey had gotten an intercept, they were all okay. Reed Timmer's Dominator's hood was ripped off in the winds (Ebay, anyone?). But I forgot another crew that had been in the field, as well.....
Sunday, after a really bad day at work (I'll get to that later), I came home completely beat down and angry. I had just turned on the race (Dover..one of my favorite tracks), and had my iPod turned on and was checking facebook. The very first thing I saw was from Sean Casey, and my mouth dropped.
Storm research pioneer, chaser and engineer Tim Samaras had been killed by the violent F3 tornado. Tim's son, Paul, and Tim's long-time friend and chase partner, Carl Young, also lost their lives. During the storm, meteorologists from the local affiliate had told people to 'get in their cars and run from the tornado if they wanted to survive.' The result? A MASSIVE gridlock along the highway as people tried to run. Tim and his crew were in this traffic jam while chasing the storm. John informed me that at the last minute, the tornado took a sudden turn towards them, and there was no way out. There was nothing left of their vehicle (I saw the picture this morning). I could not believe what I had just read. I cried. I looked up to these men for the work they had done, spent years watching them on "Storm Chasers", and had hoped to one day meet Tim and talk shop. These men were some of the most kind, intelligent, safest chasers out there. They were always so cautious. This is a huge blow to the weather community, and a great loss. From what happened with John, to reading this news, I was very saddened and upset. I did not eat dinner, instead stayed glued to facebook and the TV as they aired a special on the tornadoes. I popped in one of my favorite eps of SC's featuring all three of the chase teams (Tim's, Sean's, Reed's) and fell asleep. Today I am remembering these men for what they did and contributed. I hope to be like them someday, in some form. Rest in peace, you'll never be forgotten.
John sent me pictures this morning of his property. He did sustain some damage, but I could not tell how much, as the pic was taken from further back. He is now back in LA, and I can't wait to see him again. This is now personal, and I've never been on this side of things before. I now know someone who was affected, and now learning of this great loss, it hits too close to home. I have said this so many times, and I'll say it again, but never say it can't happen to you, because it can, and it will. Count your blessings, tell your friends and family how much they mean to you, because tomorrow you might not have that chance. So, if you're reading this and I know you personally, family/friend alike, I love you and am so grateful to have you in my life. You're there for a reason. I only hope I mean something to someone, and I must because they're still there.
I only wish things had turned out differently. Why someone would get on TV and tell people to get in their cars and 'run away' is beyond me. Lesson: if you know a tornado is coming, DON'T. GET. ON. THE. ROAD! Get into an inside room, as far from the outside and from windows as possible! I keep a watch on storms for a reason, not just to learn, but to keep myself and friends and family safe. Chasing can be so dangerous, and only pros should do it. Sometimes you get into situations you can't control, and unfortunately in Tim's case, it happened, and he's one of the best there is. If you think you can outrun a tornado in a car, you are completely stupid. Hope this sad tragedy can be learned from.
Okay, so back to work. Started out as a good day. I like having Richard for a manager. He's totally cool. He pretty much let the haulers run rampant all day, not giving us any specified docks/doors. So we all pretty much unspokenly picked our own docks. You bet your ass I picked C dock! haha. Everything was going well, production was easier to focus on now that I knew for sure John was okay. I came back from lunch and figured I'd help out on D dock, as they were getting backed up (what else is new). An RSR named James was in an isle working on putting pallets up. Most all of the freight was going to that isle, so I decided to leave the isle alone and let him work and catch up (too bad the other haulers don't share that notion). Once he was down to the last few, I picked up two pallets and headed for the isle. James was right in front, so I went the next isle down and decided to back them in on the opposite side, respecting his space. I stopped, and prepared to back in, when the next thing I know, there's an orderfiller almost standing on the platform with me. There was a manager right there in the isle when it happened, doing a safety walk. Har har God has a great sense of humor. "I do a safety blitz and this is what ya'll do". is what the manager said. Pedro, a hauler from my area saw what happened. When I asked him later, he told me he saw the orderfiller come up to the stop sign, he honked (I did hear a horn), but he did not look before pulling out. The manager saw this, too. HAD the orderfiller dipshit looked, he would have seen me...I was RIGHT. THERE.
So the manager walks up and gets our names (I know the guy's brother), and tells us that because of all of the accidents that had been happening, there's zero tolerance right now. So the manager tells the guy "I understand you're on production, but you need to be respectful of others' space." Manager looks at me. "As do you". He told the guy first, and I knew the accident wasn't my fault. The biggest peeve? Not taking an occurrence, which I understand and even though it isn't fair, with all the accidents happening lately, it's walmart's rule. No, that wasn't it. Thank God my PTL is clean!!! No, it was the fact that the guy didn't even APOLOGIZE! Didn't own up to it, didn't take responsibility for it! Now, I know I have to be aware, too, and I'm always looking around. Hell, I'll sit at a stop sign for two God damn minutes if I have to, because I DON'T. TRUST. ANYONE. I wasn't really as shaken up as I was the last time I'd gotten hit (two hits in three weeks....UGH). I was more angry at that fact that this idiot didn't even say 'sorry.'
I swear, orderfillers are THE most, irresponsible, inconsiderate, INCOMPETENT, morons I've ever seen in my life. Who on Earth is training these fools? Well, now, I have ZERO respect for any orderfiller whatsoever. I'll let you have your space, that's fine, but don't look at me, don't come near me, don't talk to me. I'll be nice when my job calls for it, but that's it. I learned from a friend who takes part in safety meetings that people are complaining about the orderfillers, but the haulers as well.
She wouldn't say about what. Probably thought I'd get pissed, but I'm more curious than anything. I have nothing to be guilty for, as I do my job, and I do it right. I still want to know, though....
So with that out of the way, I continued on and tried to stay out of that guy's way. After break, I was asked to go clear out 10am's on D dock. All long hauls. Fuck. After that accident, my production took a nosedive. Okay, let's not add to the occurrences! Please! Richard promised that as soon as we cleared those pallets out, we could haul whatever we wanted. I busted my ass to clear out the freight so I could go back to regular hauling. Thank God we stayed a little later, because at the end of the night, when I calculated how many short hauls I'd done (goal is 220), I was shocked, but was able to actually breathe for the first time since before the accident. I made 221. I had just barely made it, after 13 hours of hauling. I was drained, mentally and physically. Even my voice was ragged. I wasn't expecting the news awaiting me when I got home, but that just reminds me that there are bigger things than jerks wrecking people irresponsibly. He's getting written up, too, that makes me feel better. Stupid fuck.
But all that is behind me now, hopefully he'll learn his lesson and come back and apologize. I'm trying to take my mind off of things today. I'm going to try to go and swim and relax and just focus on enjoying the next four days.
Please pray for these people in Oklahoma. Pray for their recovery, and hopefully they'll get a break from this chaos and start the rebuilding and healing process.
Until next time....
No comments:
Post a Comment