Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
“OK John, we will, but I hope we don't get fired.”
“Trust me, you won't get fired. I'll get a couple of dumpsters in here, and you can put all
that old shot into them ready for removal.” He turned smartly and left again.
Nervously, Gavin fired up the Bobcat and I picked up my shovel, and we started our clean-
ing job again. Within minutes the office door flew open and a very angry Carole came hurt-
ling down the stairs with surprising swiftness, her pudgy legs pumping comically up and
down. Her pale lips were pursed tightly, and she went straight up to Gavin yelling loudly in
his face, her round glasses glittering through the dust. “Just what the hell do you mean by
this? Get off that bloody machine right this instant!”
At this point I would have done the same thing as Gavin; he completely lost his composure
and fear of Carole. She now became an adversary. No longer was she the boss's wife who
could hire and fire and command at will. Fear and a feeling of inferiority and belittlement
in front of the coworkers in the yard now gave way to a flood of pent-up anger, and tossing
all cares to the wind he yelled, “No, I bloody well won't turn this fuckin' thing off! I have
been hired by John Anderton to do a job of work, and quite frankly that is exactly what I
am going to do. If you have a problem with that I suggest you go and speak to John Ander-
ton yourself!”
He gunned the engine and Carole hastily backed off, a hint of shock clouded her round, red
face for a brief moment.
“You listen to me you asshole! I am ordering you to get off that God damned machine right
now, and you are both fired!”
Gavin put his foot down on the accelerator and roared off in a cloud of old shot dust and
anti-fouling and fetched up into the piled heap in the middle of the yard. He took a full
scoop and reversing, swung about and deposited the bucket into the dumpster, creating a
cloud of acrid dust right next to Carole. She coughed and glared angrily at him while he
pretended not to notice and resumed attacking the pile.
I busied myself with my shovel, enjoying this little showdown immensely, as were the other
lads who were openly standing about watching Carole lose complete face. She angrily spun
about after glowering through the dust cloud and stalked off up her stairs and retreated in-
to the sanctuary of her office, slamming the door so hard we could hear it through all the
noise. “Right on, you guys!” was the chorus from the yard workers.
We continued working as if in a nightmare. We weren't sure what to expect next, and the
adrenaline kept us working fitfully on. What happened next was completely unexpected
and rather unfortunate, but I believe it secured our names in the annals of the Keehi boat-
yard for all time. Gavin had somehow misjudged the angle of heel that the Bobcat could
