Breakin' in Easy at the Beet Harvest...

"OK here's the deal... the tub comes down the conveyor like that one... you grab it, pull out its tag, check it for rocks, pull it on here, don't get caught in that chain, make sure it's clear, read the weight here, Don't CLIMB on ANYTHING! read the weight there, check it here, write it on there, throw it over there if it's wrong, shove it to the end, DON'T CLIMB on ANYTHING! stick the ticket in this, every third one, make sure it's straight! wait till it gets HERE then PUSH THAT BUTTON! grab the empty tub hang it on the chain, oops! you put it on back'ards! pull another tub... Hurry! Here comes four more!... go! Go! GO!"

"HUH? Where's the tub? I count what and put it where? Climb up on where? I didn't hear you! over all the machinery!" ;)

Inside the "Lab" the gals are wrappin', blenderizing, filtering and weighing and who knows what else to them poor sliced diced and beat up sugar beets.

Clear down at the other end of the line, on past the washer and dryer :) is where the bags of test beets come in. A nice shiny spot that looks kinda like what you'd expect a southern grease monkeys 75 year old backwoods auto repair shop to look like... if he's sittin' barefoot on a bench with a beer in one hand, a chunk of grass hangin' out of his mouth, no shirt and his other hand in his coveralls...

Yes sir... don't think "Brewery tour" when you think sugar beet factories. No stainless steel or polished copper vats here. Dust, noise and hub bub.

So... for a guy that's been pretty much keeping to the quieter and more serene parts of the west the past 37 months or so... it's a mite of an eye opener! but then... not so far different than the majority of his life...

Though... that "lab" is a lot quieter than a 105 mm. Howitzer! About like a set of corrals when you're sortin' off calves and ever'body's bawlin' for their mommas.

I guess you could describe the doin's as a bit of an organized cluster F... andango. ;) It's one of those deals where, when you only do something for a short while once a year... it takes a bit to get back in the rhythm... Especially when you're startin' off the first night with a crew that's never danced to that tune before!

Ended up the night at the far end loading the beets, where they come in for testing, into the tubs going up the conveyor to the washer for a bath. I think I'll push for that job in the future. It's a lot quieter out there!

... and a fella can actually see the sky... guess I'm gonna have to keep on paying my taxes right... just bein' inside that building with no windows to see out... tells me prison isn't a place I'd do well. ;)

So... this week, whatever work they've got for us will be there in the "Lab"... we'll orientate for the stacking yard at the end of the week and then next it's pilin' beets. Oh Yes... an Orgy of anticipation!

and why am I doin' this? ... um... tires, batteries, windshields and debt... pieces and parts...

...To Keep it Keepin' On...
Brian