At about 2:30 I answer the phone:
Hi! I’m on my way home.
Okay, see you in a bit.
Okay, I’m just going to do this and that and that and then I’ll be home.
Good, but how come so early?
Oh, there was a little incident earlier.
I’ve learned that we have different definitions of both little and incident.
What kind of incident?
Oh, I rolled the Bobcat today.
And you’re okay? It’s okay?
Oh, yeah. No big deal. It was slow enough that I had time to turn it off before I landed at the bottom.
At the bottom of what? Did you hit anything on the way down?
No.
And you’re not hurt?
Oh, no. Not like I’ve never done this before. I’m fine.
The Bobcat is a tool, and he operates it with a finesse that is beautiful to watch. Like all of his tools, however, he expects it to work as hard as he does. Sometimes, though, the laws of physics and geology have had enough and find it necessary to toss him around to remind him who’s boss.
Tonight I talked to C1, who called to see if Captain OCD had gotten the Bobcat started again. Apparently, they talked a number of times today. Here’s the first of their conversations:
What kind of hydraulic fluid does the Bobcat take?
Use 10-30 if you can’t get the Bobcat stuff.
Okay then. I’ll go get some.
Why do you need hydraulic fluid?
Oh, there was a bit of a mishap earlier.
What kind of mishap?
Just a small one. I rolled the Bobcat.
Did you get hurt?
Nah, just hit my head and I’m going to be sore. You know, the usual when you roll a machine and you’re still in it.
If I’d rolled a machine while operating it, it would have been a significant part of my day.
