Big Fat Fella Stuck

As Snooky Jones drove up the access road in his pick-up, he kept shaking his head. He thought, “Taking care of this one is going to take some doing.” The crew had called him on the radio, beside themselves and needing help. No sooner had he turned the motor off and went to get out of the truck, when Eugene, Nick and Eddie started on him.

“We hope you have some good ideas ‘cause we are about out of them,” said Eugene.
“I can’t believe he did this. What in Christ’s name was he thinking?” interjected Nick.
“Why in the hell did he try this on such a hot day?” asked Eddie.
“Full Slab sure did a good one this time, didn’t he?” responded Snooky, while rubbing the back of his head with his left hand. Then he raised his eyes to take in the spectacle before him.
What Snooky saw down the hill was a circle of men standing around the raised concrete structure of the pressure reducing valve vault. A large misplaced moving object sticking out of the top of the vault drew his eyes forward in their sockets. After the confounded sight sank in, he knew that when everyone stood around it meant there was nothing they would or could do and that his job was to get them going again. “Tell me what to do. Just tell me what to do.” He could hear those often repeated demands from The Grand Toby playing over in his mind until Sleepy Warren strolled over to the group and broke his ruminations. Sleepy didn’t say anything; he came over to hear what was being said.
Eugene then commenced to give Snooky a summary of the situation. Sleepy leaned in. ” We come to check the pumping station on our regular visit and Full Slab says he’ll check the 36 inch reducin’ valve. So me and Nick went about our business at the station, while he went to the vault. I don’t suppose it was more than ten minutes when we hear him yelling.”
Nick interrupted Eugene. “Yea, he was yelling something fierce for us to come over to him. We knowed somethin’ was wrong since it wasn’t like Full Slab to be going on like that. When Eugene and I got up to him, we could see he was in a bad way. He said he was stuck and couldn’t get up out of there.”
“Stuck?” Snooky asked and confirmed.
Nick answered. “Oh he’s plenty stuck. He’s wedged in there right good.”
Snooky let the word stuck go round and round in his head until he felt a need to learn more so he could figure out what could be done.” What have you tried to get him out of there?”
Eugene took the lead. “First me and Nick each took an arm and pulled all we had, but that didn’t budge nothin’. That damn guy is a hellava hunk of meat. Then we tied a rope round him and tried pulling him with the truck. We had to quit that when he said it was hurtin’ him too much. He said it was cuttin’ into his chest.”
“Have you tried a comealong?” asked Snooky.
“We don’t have one on the truck,” replied Eugene.
Then Eddie said, “Me and Buck got one on our truck. You want me to get it?”
Snooky looked over to him and said, ” Yea, bring it down to the vault and we’ll meet you there.”
The group broke up; Eddie and Sleepy Warren went for the comealong and Snooky walked down towards the scene with Eugene and Nick. Some of the other crews were around the vault, perhaps a half dozen men. Snooky quickly took notice of who was there and became troubled by the presence of The Grand Toby. Besides being three measures too full of self-confidence, he’s four measures short on brains and know-how. Worse, he’s too excitable and excitement was not what Snooky or the rest of them needed right now. All eyes turned to Snooky as he walked up. He immediately addressed Full Slab. “How are you doing big fella?”
“I’ve bin doin’ better,” came the answer in a firm, even voice.
“Don’t worry about a thing. We’ll have you out of there in no time. Are you in any pain?” said Snooky.
” I’m ok. Just how you gonna to get me out of here?”
“Eddie and Sleepy Warren are bringing a comealong to hoist you up.”
” I sure hope that does it, ‘cause I’m getting tired and hot.”
“Just hang in there, we’ll have you out right away.” Snooky paused to ask an important question. ” Just how did this happen big fella?”
After a moment of pressing his lips together, Full Slab answered. ” I was goin’ down to check on the sump pump in the vault and got stuck here in the manway. I knowed it’d be a tight fit, but just last month, I got in and outta here so I figured I’d make it this time. Once I got stuck, I tried to work myself loose, ‘cept the more I pushed and pulled, the tighter I got stuck. Then I must have got swollen up or something ‘cause I can’t hardly move now. I didn’t mean for this to happen, you know I’m a good worker.” He then hesitated before saying, ” I know you’ll get me out.”

Snooky was pleased to see that a tarp had been rigged up above Full Slab to keep him out of the sun and he had plenty of water to drink from a cooler placed beside him. A tap came on Snooky’s shoulder. It was The Grand Toby; he immediately began to brace himself for the expected onslaught.
“This is ridiculous,” The Grand Toby began. “That damn Slob Bob got no business working here. He’s too damn fat.”
Snooky heard people call Full Slab, Slob Bob before. It was the derogatory name given him almost always behind his back by a select few. With the exception of the big shots up at headquarters, who called him by his given name, Bob Dawkins, everybody else at work called him Full Slab. He got that name, the story goes, by eating a slab of bacon one day. Nobody knew if he really did that, but given his size - some say he brags of being a quarter of a ton, and the way he eats, it certainly seemed possible.
“You shoulda heard what he had for breakfast today,” continued The Grand Toby.
“That sonafabitch told us he stopped at Breakfast Delight and had a ham and cheese omelet, biscuits and gravy, hash browns, a double side of those greasy links, AND a stack of flapjacks. Says he can’t resist those buttered buckwheat pancakes with hot maple syrup. Have you ever seen the size of their flapjacks? You could feed them to a horse with a shovel. And it’d take more than one shovel full. What a goddamn pig!” After shaking his head for several seconds, during which time Snooky said nothing, having learned that not engaging him in an exchange was the best way to limit the length of time he had to listen to his outbursts, The Grand Toby changed the subject. ” How in the hell are we goin’ to get him out without hurtin’ him? They already tried pullin’ him out and he wouldn’t budge.”
Snooky began to walk away and responded, ” We’ll get him out just fine. Take it easy and how about giving us a hand?”
Eddie and Sleepy Warren just walked by with the comealong and were now attaching it to the overhead metal crossbar used to lift heavy parts in and out of the vault. They had to take away the tarp that kept the sun off Full Slab since it was resting on the crossbar. While this was going on, Eugene and Nick were putting a harness on Full Slab. Hawk came over and squirted gear oil inside the manway perimeter where Full Slab was wedged in.
“That’s a good idea,” said Snooky.
Full Slab seemed energized by the action. ” I hope this works, I’m getting hungry. What I wouldn’t do for a bowl of fried chicken and some of Tammy’s baked beans and potato salad. Ouwee! That Tammy can make some food. You ought to have her peach cobbler with homemade ice cream. You talk about good! Oh, my-o-my, I can taste it. And she got the sweetest iced tea anywhere. She closes at 7, so if you get me out of here soon, I can still get on down there.”
“Ok, take it easy now. We’re ready to hitch the harness to the comealong,” announced Eugene.
“I’m ready, go ahead,” answered Full Slab.
“Ok, I’m going to start cranking now,” went Eddie.
The first few cranks took up the slack on the cable, then the bull ring of the harness began to rise up, but Full Slab was not going with it. The more the crank turned, the more Full Slab’s teeth clinched and face contorted. Finally he yelled out, “Stop. Stop. This ain’t gonna work.” Eddie cranked the comealong in reverse to take the tension off the cable.”Oh man, I thought it’d pull my shoulders loose. That really hurt.”
Snooky came over closer to Full Slab, “We’ll have to try something else, hang in there big fella.”
Everybody was sweating in the heat, especially Full Slab who just drained his big water cup. “Hand me another towel will ya?”
Sleepy Warren brought a towel and took the large soaked towel from him.

While Full Slab got more comfortable, The Grand Toby again approached Snooky. “Look, I got an idea. Why don’t we try that bar assembly? We can hitch it to the comealong with the kingpin latch, and a clevis on each end of the bar will pull him up from two points instead of one. We can run a sling through each clevis from each side of the harness. This will distribute the lifting to two points instead of everything being on one point.”
Pleased that he was being constructive, Snooky said, ” That sounds like it might work, why don’t you run that by Full Slab and the others to see if it’s worth a shot.”
“Hey Slab, I got an idea that will get you out of there,” shouted The Grand Toby.
“What’d ya have in mind?”
” Instead of trying to lift ya with everythin’ goin’ through one point, we’ll use the bar assembly to hitch you to two points. They’ll be a clevis on each side of the bar.”
“I don’t know. I’m still sore from that last one.”
“Look, if you don’t go along with this, we’ll never get ya out. Do you want to stay stuck? You have to do this.”
“Alright, but be careful and when I tell ya to stop, ya stop.”
The Grand Toby then turned to the group and said, “Listen, we’re going to pull him up with a bar assembly hitched to the comealong. I’m pretty sure, I have a bar assembly, but I’m not sure about slings. We need two slings. I need everyone to check their trucks for slings. Bring any that you got.”
Snooky noticed that The Grand Toby’s plan met with no disagreement. A few minutes later, several slings and two bar assemblies were on hand. Eugene, Nick and Eddie got busy hooking up the assembly to the comealong.
The Grand Toby checked their work and pronounced it ready. ” Start cranking.”
Eddie began cranking again and everyone stood around and watched. Full Slab braced himself with an intense, distant look on his face. Once the slack was taken up in the cable, the harness pulled on Full Slab’s torso, while the bar assembly remained level, indicating an even division of the pulling force on each shoulder. Pain became more exaggerated on Full Slab’s face with each turn of the crank. It seemed he was determined to gut this out. Then it snapped.
“Shit! The goddamn sling broke,” yelled The Grand Toby.
Eddie stopped the cranking and everyone either looked away or at Snooky, who made no eye contact, his own eyes fixed on Full Slab, who was looking dejected.
The Grand Toby’s frustration spilled out. “If this isn’t a bunch of crap. I don’t know how the hell we’re goin’ to get him out of there. I can’t believe how tight he’s stuck, how’d the hell he get himself in like that?”
Full Slab answered with his own frustration. “I thought I could make it. Last month I got in and out of this vault. Besides, I think I’ve swelled up since I got stuck. This daggone heat’s something.”
Snooky walked over closer to Full Slab and said, “Don’t worry, we’ll get ya out. I have an idea, but it is going to take some time. Do you want us to call the am-bu-lance?”
“No, no, you don’t need to do that. I’m ok. Just give me some more water.”
Sleepy Warren and Buck got him water and put the tarp back up over the crossbar to shield the sun, Snooky motioned for the others to follow him back to the trucks. The Grand Toby tagged along to say,” Look, I’ve had enough. I can’t stay late this evening ‘cause I got somethin’ I gotta do. I’m going to head back to the shop.”
This was good news to Snooky and he said, “Ok, go on back. We’ll take care of this.”
Eugene came over to Snooky. “We need to think up something quick ‘cause the longer this goes on, the worse shape he’s goin’ to be in.”
“I know, I know,” said Snooky.
“You should have seen him earlier over in the pumpin’ station. We were standin’ there talking about how hot it is and how to keep cool, and I’m watching him wiping his face and arms continuously with that towel of his. This kind of weather, he must soak a half dozen of’em a day. When he walked over to the door, I looked at where he was standin’ and there was a puddle. He’d sweat that much in just a few minutes. My god, I never seen nobody sweat like that…. And, he ain’t getting’ any smaller. I was lookin’ at a picture taken a couple of years ago and he was a deal smaller then. I thought, he’d always been this big, but that picture told me different.”
“I hear he weighs 500 pounds.” said Snooky.
“Easy. The man just eats, eats, eats and talks about eating.”
“He better start talking about something else or he won’t be talking about anything soon.” Snooky hesitated and looked away. Then he continued, “Ok, what do you think about breaking up the vault platform and getting him out that way? Do we have the right equipment here?”
Eugene thought for a moment and while he did, the eyes and ears of the others joined the conversation. “The concrete won’t be a problem, even if we have to use the jackhammer Sleepy has. But that metal manway will be another matter.”
“Ok, bring the jackhammer. Does any one have a cutting torch to cut the manway?” inquired Snooky.
Hawk spoke up, “I’ve got one… How we gonna cut that manway without hurtin’ Full Slab?”
“We’re going to have to be very careful,” said Snooky.
Snooky then turned to Eugene; ” We’re going to need a crane. Call on the radio and have Dick Tipple bring the hydro-crane over here. And tell him to bring Hacky. We’re going to need him.”
“What’s the crane for?”
“I figure we’ll need it to get hold of Full Slab. Once we break up the concrete, the crossbar that we used with the comealong will be loose.”
“Good point,” replied Eugene and then he turned to go make the call.

While the additional equipment was being gathered, Snooky told Full Slab of the plan. He was game. Then he walked over to the parked trucks and noticed that his boss Ralph and Ralph’s boss, Mr.Stashek were getting out of their car. The men were in the process of going back to the vault with equipment.
“The control center told me what was going on. I wanted to see it for myself. When do you expect to have him out?” Ralph said as Snooky got close to him.
“We should have him out in a couple of hours.” Snooky answered while making eye contact with both men.
Mr.Stashek addressed Snooky; ” It’s good to see you again. I think it’s been months since I last saw you. You’re looking well…Ralph told me about what happened on the way out here. Is Bob hurt or in any pain?”
“No, he’s ok. We asked him if he wanted any medical assistance, he said no.”
“Snooky, why don’t you tell us how this happened and what we are going to do to get him out,” asserted Ralph.
Snooky knew this was being asked mainly for Mr. Stashek’s benefit. While Ralph had been to college and could handle the paperwork and management stuff, he also had an understanding of the work of the crews. Mr.Stashek was another matter, he was as removed from the scene as how he looked and smelled. His shirt and tie, creased pants, polished shoes and rings on soft hands, set him apart. So did the cologne he always had on and so did the magnificent looking fresh haircut that oozed authority. Talking calmly and confidently, Snooky patiently summarized the situation.
They seemed satisfied with what he said, except Mr.Stashek wondered how much repair work would be needed afterwards. Snooky answered him.” Don’t worry, we’ll be careful. I don’t see us having to cut that big a hole in the manway, and whatever we cut out, we can reweld back in place.”
“If you have to do much jackhammering, you better isolate the vault so the water line in it is not active.” Ralph stated.
“That’s a good thought, we’ll be sure to do it.”
Snooky, Ralph and Mr.Stashek joined everyone else at the vault. Sleepy Warren was nearly ready with the jackhammer.
“You better give this to Slab so nothing flies up in his face,” said Eugene as he handed a face shield to Sleepy. Dick Tipple was setting up the crane and Hacky had the cutting torch equipment on hand.
Snooky walked over to Hacky. “We need to talk about how you’ll cut that manway without hurting Full Slab.”
“I been eyeing that some and I think what I’ll do is cut most of the way with the torch see, then I’ll take a chisel to the rest of it.”
“All right then, what about the heat? That metal is going to get hot, how will you keep him, from getting burned?”
“We should keep that from happenin’ by pouring water down behind where I’m cuttin’. One thing we got going for us is that fella got’s plenty of paddin’.”
The conversation came to an end when Sleepy Warren started hammering. It was too loud to hear anything so watching was what they did. He worked on an area about four feet wide and a two feet deep marked off at Full Slab’s rear with a persistence punctuated by occasional streams of tobacco juice discharged from the chaw of Beechnut in his mouth. This didn’t keep the dust down, just marked the territory. When he finished and all the loose concrete removed, no rebar was cut or displaced. Everybody knew Sleepy was the best hammer man they had.
Hacky then got the torch going on the exposed section of manway. Snooky thought of all the beads he’d run on jobs over the years fixing broken parts. This was a different kind of fix though. While Hacky cut, Nick and Eddie poured the water. After cutting a section, Hacky shutdown the torch and said to Full Slab,” You doin ok there fella?”
“I’m doing good. Don’t feel no heat.”
Hacky then turned to the others and said,” Hand me that three inch chisel and large ballpeen hammer.”
He took the chisel and carefully struck it with the hammer until the cut section could be taken off. It took a lot of acetylene cutting, and chisel work to open up the manway and Hacky kept at it with a steady, purposeful pace. When the last section had been removed, he rounded off the edges of the cuts with the hammer. It was now time for the crane.
Ralph turned to Snooky and said, “This ought to work. Hacky did a real nice job. It’s getting late and we need to get back. It looks like you’ll have him out soon. I’ll check with the control center before I go home and make sure everything went ok.”
“Take care, and good job.” Said Mr.Stashek, then he waved to the men and departed with Ralph.
Snooky was not disappointed they left. Dick Tipple doesn’t need too many bosses gawking at him. It certainly was good they weren’t around the time he was trying to pull out a 48-inch sluice gate that was stuck closed. The crane was pulling with about all it had, while the Windsor boys were banging on the gate with sledges, when the gate let loose. It flew up like it had been launched from a catapult, till it reached the end of the length of cable, then it recoiled back, hitting the crane boom with a loud bang not five feet from where Dick was sitting. That crane did some shaking, and so did Dick when he got down out of the cab. He said that was the only time he’d ever been scared shitless.
Finally the big moment had arrived. The ring on the harness was attached to the crane’s cable. Eugene, Nick and Eddie were with Full Slab and Sleepy Warren set himself up to signal Dick Tipple operating the crane. He had the boom at a flatter angle than usual so he could not only lift Full Slab up but could also pull him through the cut out notch. Once all the slack was taken up, Sleepy rubbed his thumb against his index and middle finger to tell Dick to go slow, real slow. Meantime, Eugene, Nick and Eddie pushed and pulled on Full Slab.
It was working, he was coming loose. Once Eugene gave the signal that he was out of the manway, Sleepy signaled to Dick to raise the boom so Full Slab could be lifted clear of the vault. There were a couple of cheers, the most pronounced from Full Slab himself, but relief was the prevailing mood. Snooky’s own relief was marginalized with what had just taken place. While being swung around at the end of the crane’s cable, Full Slab looked like an oversized, human headache ball. Dick set him down beside the vault and he just sat there on the ground with a smile on his face. He was soaking wet.
“You ok?” asked Snooky.
“I think so, just let me sit here a spell. How about some iced tea?”
They removed the harness and brought tea to him. While he took a long drink, Snooky addressed the group. “Nice job fellas. I knew we could do it. Why don’t you gather up your equipment and head on back to the shop so you can get home before it’s too late.”
After the men came by and gave Full Slab some needling, back pats and laughs, they did as Snooky said.
Eugene stayed back with Snooky, who was standing beside Full Slab.” Can you give me a hand? I’d like to get up.”
Snooky and Eugene each grabbed an arm and helped him get up. He was a tad unstable at first, but soon steadied himself.
“You sure you’re ok?” asked Snooky.
“I’m a little stiff, but it’s no big deal. What’s a big deal is how hungry I am. It’s hap past seven and I haven’t eaten since lunch and all I had then was a bowl of chilli, a basket of onion rings, a plate of ribs and a cheeseburger. I’m starved. Can you take me down to the diner so I can get something good and quick? They got a workin’ man-sized meatloaf dinner with potatoes, dumplings and that good thick dark gravy I think I’ll get, along with some macaroni and cheese, maybe even a pulled pork platter. I’ll wash it down with a double vanilla milkshake. Then I’ll have a nice helping of strawberry shortcake with whipped cream for dessert. I’m so hungry I could eat a slab of bacon.”
Snooky, who had been looking at the ground all the while Full Slab went on, looked up and noticed that Eugene was looking at him. It was not a good time to say what he had to say, but he was paid to say what people needed to hear, rather than what they wanted to hear. He started slowly and firmly. “Look big fella, what happened today should be a wake up call for you. I know it was for me. I’m afraid you can’t work out here anymore. You’re in no condition for this kind of work.”
Before Snooky could continue, Full Slab interrupted him. “Don’t worry, nothin’ like this will happen again. I can do this kind of work; I’ve been doing it for 15 years. I’ve learned my lesson. I won’t get stuck anywhere again. Don’t worry…”
Snooky cut him off, “It’s about more than getting stuck. It’s about working in all kinds of conditions, in all kinds of weather, and doing hard strenuous work. You’re too big and too out of shape for that.” After a pause for consideration, he went on, “How old are you?”
“I’m 37″
“Well the rate you’re going, you’ll not going to see 38. You’ve got to cut down on your eating. You have to lose weight. You’re killing yourself.”
“Snooky’s right Slab, you’re going to have to stop eating so much. When we have lunch together, I can’t believe how much you eat. I couldn’t begin to eat half of what you do in a whole day.”
“I know I eat a lot, but it gives me some much pleasure. I just love…”
Snooky stopped him again. “Did you get a lot of pleasure out of what happened today? Will you get a lot of pleasure when you have a heart attack? Wake up!” Not a word was spoken for a number of seconds until Snooky said, “I want you to take the rest of the week off so you can go see a doctor and get on a diet. Starting next Monday, you’ll be working in the shop ordering parts and helping with inventory.”
Quick came the reply. “You know I hate working in the shop. Please give me another chance. Please, I won’t foul up again.”
“I’m giving you a chance and you better take it. And you can save your words, my decision is final.”
Full Slab looked away then returned and went, “How long will I have to work there?”
“It’ll be temporary for a few months until you lose weight and can go back out into the field, or you don’t lose weight and you lose your job with this company. The choice is yours.”
Full Slab walked away and Eugene stayed with Snooky. “Somebody’s goin’ to have to talk with his wife.”
“You’re right, that’d be a good idea.”
“You’d never know she’d be married to him. She’s just an itty-bitty woman, can’t weigh a hundred pounds soaking wet. I’ve known her since high school. She’s part of the problem ya know. I think she takes as much pleasure watching him eat as he does eating. I’ve talked to her about it and she says he’s so happy, and such a good man, she doesn’t want to make him change.”
Snooky shook his head once and said. “I better talk to her.”

Later in the stuck week, Snooky drove out to Full Slab’s house, or more correctly mobile home domicile. He lived in a decent trailer park that enforced the rules. Geraldine, Full Slab’s wife, had taken the afternoon off. The kids were in school.
Geraldine answered the door. “Come on in.”
“Thank you.” Snooky noted she was a tiny woman with a warm, broad smile. She directed him to the living room to the left of the door.
Motioning to the couch she said, “Please have a seat.”
Full Slab, already sitting in an oversized, overstuffed Laz-Boy, made eye contact but did not get up. The large TV was off, the remote sat on the right arm of the chair. “Hey boss.” They shook hands.
Geraldine, standing over towards the adjacent kitchen said, “Can I get ya something to drink? How about some ice tea?”
“That’d be fine ma’am. Thank you.”
While she was in the kitchen neither man spoke and Snooky looked around the busy, bordering on untidy, living room of hung pictures, framed inspirational messages, magazines, and shoes along the wall.
“Here ya go.” After she extended the ice tea to Snooky, she turned and placed a large bag of Wise potato chips beside a big glass on a tray next to the Laz-Boy, then sat down on the couch next to Snooky.
“I wanta thank you for taking the time to meet with me. If I didn’t think this was important I wouldn’t have asked you.”
“No problem. He told me what happened. He’s so embarrassed.”
“Boss, like I told ya, this won’t ever happen again. I can assure ya that.”
“He says you’re assigning him to the shop. Ya know how much he likes to be out in the field. Do ya really have to do that Mr. Jones?”
“Yes ma’am I do. He’s not in any shape for fieldwork right now. I’m doing it for his own good before he really gets hurt.”
“Ya don’t know how unhappy that’ll make him. Please reconsider.”
Snooky paused and Full Slab opened the bag of chips. “Honey, could ya bring me in some French onion dip please?”
From the kitchen, “Ya know he’s a good worker. Don’t worry he won’t let it happen again.
“She’s right. I won’t screw up again. I’ve learned my lesson.”
Snooky waited until she returned and gave Full Slab his dip. “He’s way too big. There’s no getting around it. He’s got to lose weight. It’s that simple.”
“Do ya mind if I smoke?”
“That’s ok.”
As she took out a cigarette and lighter, Full Slab ate groups of dipped chips one after another. One hand held the bag, while the other reached in and took the chips on a dive into the plastic container resting on his prodigious girth. He didn’t even look at what he was doing.
“He’s tried to lose weight. And he did lose weight, but it made him so unhappy. He’s a wonderful husband and father. Ya won’t meet a nicer man. It was so sad to see him when he tried to lose weight. I couldn’t stand to see him that way. He was so miserable. I wanted him happy again.”
She stopped and brought the cigarette to her mouth and inhaled deeply.
“Hey boss, ya want some chips?”
Snooky looked over at the bag aiming his way. “No thanks.” Then he turned to her, “What does his doctor say about his weight?”
“Well the last time he went - sure the doctor told him to lose weight. But that was several years ago. He’s been feeling good so he hasn’t been back to see him”
“Yea, why go to the doctor if I’m feeling good?”
Snooky tilted his head down and exhaled.” Because it’ll only be a matter of time before all this eating catches up with you. Didn’t what happened this week mean anything to you?” He turned towards her and she picked up another cigarette.” Look if he doesn’t go see a doctor soon, I’ll order a physical from one of our doctors.”
The loud words silenced the conversation. As the silence became uncomfortable, Full Slab leaned forward, rocked back and forth a couple of times and pushed himself up out of the Laz-Boy. Grabbing his glass, he said, “Does anybody want some ice tea?”
“That’s ok. I better get back to work.” He rose from the couch and took a step towards the door.
“Well thanks for coming Mr. Jones. It was nice seein’ ya.” They shook hands.
“I’ll be seeing ya boss.” They too shook hands.
When Snooky got to the door, he turned and said, “I hope you’ll think about what I said.”
“We will. We will.”

A few months later Snooky was in Ralph’s office when Mr.Stashek walked in and shook his hand. “It’s good to see you again. Hey, I heard about that guy who was stuck in that vault. That was sure some situation that you had to deal with. And I was pleased to hear what you did for that guy. One of the real strengths of this company is that we care and are there for our people” Mr.Stashek turned his eyes from Snooky to Ralph as if to make sure he took in what he just said, then asked, “Are you going down to the viewing tonight?”