nh1
remembering
Bob Strassman
Mrs. Lyet's Class
When Clover asked him how he was doing, he sighed deeply, taking a deep breath. Mrs. Lyet's Class
"I hope so. Just reminded of my time in the mines, that's all. As long as you're doing ok and nobody's hurt. That's whats important. Safety first and all."
He glanced around. After a few moments, he had realized what had happened as he saw the ice glaze over Tiffany's mouth and was pretty shocked. He had seen people being hurt on the job. He had seen lots of people have lifelong injuries from their work. He could only cringe at the thought of the possibility of Tiffany getting permanently injured from ripping off the ice.
It definitely changed you, he thought. He knew he wasn't the most stable of individuals when it came to high powered conflict. But he liked to think, he cared about people staying safe and being protected. It definitely changed your view of the world seeing a person be healthy one day and face severe injury due to a simple mistake or from something that happened on the job sight. Before the mine got much safer, it was something he saw with more regularity than he would have liked.
He turned to glare at Del. You don't risk the lives of your coworkers. Ever. It was an ironclad rule. In dangerous situations, you need to develop trust. Because when your life or safety is on the line, you need to know that the person standing next to you cares just as much about you staying safe as themselves. To put others safety at risk was inexcusable. He had seen the effects on people when safety was handled like an afterthought.
He shook his head at he turned his eyes to glare down, taking deep breaths. How could this kid know about what it means to have a friend loose an arm. Or have another friend loose a leg. Knowing that all it took was one wrong push of a lever and the crane could come down the wrong way. That one guy a little to inebriated to work heavy machinery would cause harm to others.
And it wasn't just that. The guilt gnawed at you. He could still remember the look on some of the faces of those who were responsible. Sometimes, it inspired them to change their lives. Knowing they caused someone irreparable harm. Or they sank deeper into guilt. becoming morose or quitting work altogether. It was a dangerous road. As he shook his head, he could only hope the school trained its people better.
It was always a sign. When the employees of any operation were away from the bosses. How did they act? What did they do when the choice was between safety measures that were uncomfortable but necessary, or just winging it. After seeing a few different crews, he had seen both.
He could only conclude one thing. This place wasn't as great as they said. In his short time, everything had been the picture of professionalism and goodness. However, if teachers were falling asleep while students could be handicapped for life? This was beyond reckless. And for the perpetrator to be a teachers aid? Someone who had demonstrated to the staff that they were a safe and responsible student to carry out their guidelines? Or were the guidelines so lax that such a thing was accepted? When you smell smoke you better believe that theirs a fire.
And in all honesty, the smoke was thick. He had seen more trash talking and arguing from some miners. If just a little instigating and pushing of buttons led to this? It would be just insane on a job site. He could only imagine the tongue thrashing some of his coworkers brought out on a daily basis. If he had then decided to pick up a sledgehammer and start swinging it around? Maybe smashing someones face in? He would be fired. Done. Gone. What the heck were they teaching these guys?
He sighed before turning to clover, to whisper. "I know I'm not the smartest about these sorts of things. But that can't be right. To possibly injure someone forever over a stupid classroom argument? Aren't they supposed to be training heroes? Half of the job is dealing with trashtalkers and irreverent people. And to bust out a move like this over something like letters? I get people's mail is important but this is crazy....I don't know about you clover but I'm telling you right now. I don't care what they tell you, safety is number one. You see something going down you get out of there ok? You keep you head down. In my old job, you don't even step into a forklift without safety precautions and we're out here playing with fire, or ice, as the supervisors asleep at the job. You keep your head down. Ok? I don't want to have to wait in the hospital for you while they stitch you up. Whatever happens I got your back. You know that? Anybody makes you feel unsafe or starts firing stuff off willy nilly, you can tell me ok? I've got your back whatever happens. Obviously, the teacher's aid isn't going to help."
He sighed as he finished his whisper rant as he rubbed his eyes. Obviously, his feelings of being trapped hadn't helped his mood, but this was serious. Safety! People could die or something out here. He rubbed his eyes again as he tried to collect himself. Hopefully someone could rescue this clown show before somebody got hurt....