I moved earth today. Red dirt, roots, and rocks the size of layer cakes. Shredded hillside. I sat astride a tremendous yellow machine and guided it to bite after bite. I could tell you this tale in numbers. Volume per scoop. Weight capacity. Horsepower. Wheel-size. Maximum speed. I have some of these numbers. But it would not tell you the story.
Ever drive past a construction site and had an urge to see if they forgot the keys? Or just to go sit up in the saddle of one of those dirt-blasted beasts? Well one drove up to my door today and asked me to drive. It was a thrill. Control of several tons of machine with the strength of scores of men. I ate the hillside. I conquered nature.
It also quickly became monotony. The machine is the latest apotheosis of manual labor. It has an air-conditioned glass cabin with a CD player and full radio. It has five speeds and lots of pickup. It corners better than a Ford. Even the dirt is protected: The shovel bounces with bumps so not a grain falls free. Adjusting it is a breeze. Lever up, lever down, tip up, tip down. The basics are mastered in a single try and most fine tuning with maybe a few days work. Undoubtedly there are artists out there, but functional use is straightforward.
During my hour in the backhoe, I started each trip at the dirt pile. I started by lowering the scoop and lay its flat jaw on the earth. Then I would floor the machine into the crumbling hillside. As I hit resistance, I would angle the jaw upward. I would trade throttle for lift until my scoop was full. Then I would navigate the machine down a wide track, past some beehives and into my landlord’s future motor cross track. Stopping in front of the latest berm, I would raise my load high and drop it continue the line. Then I would lift it higher still to lose the remaining dirt and would suddenly be struck. As the giant shovel lifted well above the cabin height, I realized what a monstrosity I was in. A modern-day dinosaur. Monotonous, maybe, but also monstrous.
whoa, you have a blog, too? guess i’m not the only nerd on the block. why did you get to move earth?
What’s the URL, nerd?
whoa, that was poetic.
I write news all day, lousy poetic-idiotic prose all night. What can I say?