Todd, otherwise known as PawPaw, likes to make me jump. The other day I was standing next to the driller watching the guys on the board, the platform up the mast. He knew I wasn’t watching and pressed the call button on the intercom. The buzzer was right next to my ear.
Today he gave me a packet that he claimed was rattlesnake eggs. I was rather incredulous, but I took it. As soon as it left his hands it started moving and making a fluttering noise. He had bent a paperclip into an arc and strung a washer between two rubber bands on the ends. Then he’d twisted the washer until the bands were tight and put it in a small paper envelope. When pressure was taken off the washer it spun back to its static position, sounding like a rattlesnake tail in the process.
Today’s Exploit:
Tonight one of the toolpushers asked me if I wanted pork chops for dinner. Normally I would say no to pork chops, but for some reason tonight I said yes. I thought it would be a buffet setup with all the guys going through taking a plate.
It turns out he’d invited me to eat with them. Just me, just them. When I got to the trailer they had already set the table and served everything except the meat. I wasn’t sure what to do at first. It took a while to process the setup.
My first complete thought was that this would be A.K.W.A.R.D.
Some history on these toolpushers: I have never really talked to either one. They were here my first week, before I left my box, and returned last week. Johnny’s older and doesn’t seem to care one way or the other, but Jared seems to avoid me if at all possible. This led to me never having a conversation with either of them until tonight. Luckily it turned out to be not bad, and I even stayed after we’d cleaned up to visit. Everyone in the oilfield has a story about Wyoming, and they all think it’s of utmost importance to tell me. Mostly it’s okay, but it really makes me miss the cool weather.
Of course, now I’m leaving this rig because I made more friends.
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