Misfits…… mischievous….. black sheep and crocodiles 🐊 drawn to the danger and common lifestyle of chaos…

walking the high wire to connect a container ….a block nestled among the others they are stacked next to

traveling from all corners of the world and containing all the vices one could ever explore …. unloaded by men imitating ants 🐜…. the “coming and going” the Dance of the Docks……

the men you work with do not play …. One misstep and you will pay…..some come to work and don’t leave at the end of the day

say what you mean….and mean what you say

because you language will either convict you or invite you into the inner circles of the business transactions that occur late at night when the flood lights are illuminating the ship and the ants 🐜 pause occasionally and the forklifts engage in an exchange of pulls from different hidden containers that are the buttress of sustaining workers for 24-36 hour shifts that are carefully drafted into a logbook riddled with more secrets that the pyramids.

Charley……..,

” I can do this in any situation my mental state finds itself in. Because it’s always one step away from being pulled from the dock because your forklift is still engaged with the pallet and the crane operator isn’t paying attention to the signalman. To close to the rails and your load shifts and you are flipping over onto the tracks. You never turn your back on a 5,000 lb. newsprint cylinder being released and rolling into line to be loaded on the train….. it will roll over you ….. you will be a cripple if you live. You settle disagreements…… because the guy pissed off at you will have and opportunity to settle the score. Loudmouths don’t last and don’t think about starting something you have limited information about the other party involved….. the smaller the guy the bigger the knife. You will either fit in or fall out….. don’t push it….. the murderer you befriend may become your best friend….. remember anyone can have a bad day.”

He was right I worked side beside Steve for several years through many long nights…. Climbing out of the cab of a 40 foot lift to connect a container to be  transported to the dock. He had served 19 years for Murder…..he found his wife in bed with his “worst” friend …..

everyone’s education is different 🦍

oboe the hobo