Ch. 30
Gateway to the West
I drove west down I -71 towards Columbus Ohio
and then west towards St. Louis on i-70. Our second goal was to go to Wichita, and see the wheat fields of Kansas,
but we had planned on a short layover and a chance to visit the Arch in St. Louis.
We were going to a RV camp big enough to handle the Road Warrior as it said
easy in, easy out maneuvering for large RV’s. Most RV camps feature this as
people are more often dragging cars behind their motorhomes into these places
and want to be able to just pull in and straight out. Some parks just
specialize in the large campers alone. For about seventy dollars a night all three
of us can stay in the Road Warrior and have all the amenities of home including
a shower, toilet, air conditioning, etc., and that also includes satellite
internet and TV courtesy of the Road Warrior. Also e don’t have to run the
generator as they have electrical, water and sewer hookups available.
We were headed to a place in Oxford Missouri,
just past St. Louis which offered 105 parking spaces dedicated to large campers
and we had already pre-registered over the internet and received information on
our parking spot including a video scene capture showing the view. We were
located on a small lake and we would have lake front access when we arrived.
Armed with all this information and due
to the proximity of the Arch we decided to go ahead and try it. Ann made the
arrangements early before starting the trip to assure we would have a space. In
a worst case scenario we had a backup plan and that was head for a Wal-Mart
parking lot if they are filled. When out here on the road it always helps to
have a backup plan.
I drove most of the trip sitting in the
front alone and after their sleep Ann came up and sat beside me in the
passenger seat and offered me a drink. I said I could use some coffee. We had some
brewed and stored in a steel thermos and
she served it to me with just a hint of the cream just like I like it. Enough
moo to make it milky is fine with me. She also offered me a piece of warm bread
soaked in butter and fresh strawberry freezer jam which I couldn’t refuse also.
I am constantly trying to lose weight and will
only be so glad to see the rest of Sue’s bread go quickly hoping that Lee and Ann
will eat it so I don’t. They are younger and can handle the weight better,
besides I have worked hard at trying to lose and needed no incentive to gain it
back. But Sue’s homemade bread was so good. As I ate , I wondered how Babe was
doing and hoped her and Susie would adjust quickly and not be too hard on Sadie.
Bobby said he would bring them into the house at night and they would sleep at
the foot of their bed.
I was glad to hear of this. I really don’t
know how much cash Ann gave Bobby but from the feel of the envelope I am sure
it was stuffed when I handed it to them. I didn’t inquire but knew Ann would
take care of them and only wanted the best for Susie and Babe, and with the
money and knowing Bobby and Sue we could assure that it was one less thing to worry
about while on the trip.
Ann eventually went to the rear of the Road
Warrior and stretched out across the bed as it was dark outside and night
driving offers little to see except an occasional street light at exit ramps. I
was used to driving alone for long distances on interstates as I once worked
for an oilfield company called Schlumberger. Yes the very one, former vice president
Dick Cheny worked for. Could easily understand why they called him Dick instead
of Richard after learning more of his philosophy of life after entering the
political field. Had I known the ass was my boss I probably would have left the
place much earlier. And it explained a few things as to why I was never able to
make any money working for them.
We had this sliding pay scale and it seemed
the longer you worked the less you got paid. Guess you didn’t need much as they
constantly were hounding you to go to work. I would work four days on and two
off and under grueling conditions where safety was an afterthought, and hardly
practiced in those days of oilfield wildcatting. The boom was on around Ohio at
the time and even though I was blessed to get half my time off when working it never
ended up that way as I would sometimes be out for five days and then had to return
to work after one day and sometimes I would miss my days off all together, which
meant I had to wait for my next cycle of days off. We also worked on an on call
basis meaning we were available 24 hours a day when on call. I dreaded the telephone
in those days. Nancy our dispatcher was relentless trying to edge us out of bed
and head us to the shop where I would load up the truck with the specialty of
the day. Whatever that may be, nuclear sources, dynamite, or maybe just a
temperature tool, on a long wheel based tandem axle cab-over international
truck and with these huge oilfield pipe bumpers and a winch. This thing was the Cadillac of trucks, having
spared no expense on this, Sclumberger would go to all ends outfitting the
truck with wire line capable of reaching depths up to twenty thousand feet deep
on an oil well. It would also sport an
in house photo lab to develop film rolls we would take of the various rock
strata. Our purpose was to identify where the oil was and how much there was of
it. We would head out for parts unknown, as most oil wells are drilled in the rural
areas, we would never know where we were going to end up.
One time I started out for New York state,
lost a temperature tool down a well, then headed for West Virginia and dropped
a truck off there. Then back to Wooster, Ohio in the course of four days, two
of them belonging to me as they were my days off. Then I was back at work after
returning from that little trip. Before it was over with I had worked one hundred
and fourteen hours in that one week. I thought I was going to make a fortune
but thanks to Mr. Cheney, and I am sure his sliding pay scale, designed to
classically screw me. I ended up
exhausted and underpaid having made little better than minimum wage at the time,
a whopping two dollars and sixty five cents an hour, or a total of about four
hundred dollars for over one week of work in take home pay. They actually
penalized you for working too much but at the same time insisted you work. You couldn’t
leave to come home on your days off, as they didn’t have anyone to cover you. Well
I worked that job for a couple of years and ended up with some stories and that
was about all. You never had time to meet a woman as I was married to my truck.
They owned me. It was an experience and I can’t say a good one. But still it
made me more than qualified for the task I was up to now.
Lee finally came up and we talked of the
times I spent in the oilfield as knocked off one mile marker than the next as I
was suddenly closer to our destination and though it seemed like forever ten
hrs. later I was pulling off the interstate and heading down an exit ramp to Phils
RV. Camp at Oxford, Missouri.
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