My Little Pony: Worker Birds
Chapter 3: Who You Are
Happiness is not getting what you want, but enjoying what you already have. I am not the fastest flyer nor the strongest in lifting or pulling heavy loads but I am happy with what I am already blessed with. There are two things that make me the happiest, getting behind the wheel or controls of the shovel or truck and seeing Gabby and Gilda.
When you see the smiles on their beaks, you know they will do their best and they enjoy what they do on the site. Today, I was in one of the dump trucks for the shift and Gabby was at the controls of the shovel. Our trucks are recognizable by the copper bodies and black dump boxes. Our mighty Northwest 100DH is orange, black, and white
"Easy now, Gabby, gently," I said from the two way radio in the cab,
"No sweat, I got this," radioed back Gabby picking up a big scoop,
A clatter of dirt and rocks fell into the truck, "Good work, Gabby," I replied,
Gabby and Gilda are probably the happiest griffons I have ever met. Gabby is a do-it-all griffon with a can do attitude and never backs down from a challenge. When she needs help, she will ask for it. With Gilda, I see a great willingness to learn and fix the mistakes she has done in the past. She also brings hard work to the site and a little bit of sass.
With our machines, our job is called 'ground work'. It is our job to even out the surface so it is nice and flat. My friends and I dig cellars for buildings or trenches for pipes and shoulders for the roadways. Practically all forms of work on a construction site involve some form of digging. That is why you will see a shovel on almost every construction site.
"Keep it up, Gabby, keep it up Gilda," I radioed to my workers and friends,
Gilda was coming in to get her dump truck filled, "Anyone getting hungry?"
"I'm getting there, but I'm sure we can all wait until lunch," I replied,
I live by the old saying: 'Don't hold off for tomorrow what can get done today'. With Gilda dumping the last dump truck full of dirt for the morning shift, it was time for lunch as the horn blew. There was always something new to look forward to at the food trucks just outside of the construction site. Today it was sushi and rice bowls for lunch.
It was karaage with rice and an unagi roll on the side for me. It was an unagi bowl with gyoza for Gabby, and a salmon teriyaki bowl with a California Roll on the side for Gilda. We eat well on our lunch break just like the ponies do. It's fun to sit around the machines and talk and have a laugh. I will never ever trade in the machines or my workers.
"Hey Heloise, could you work with the 'Big 500' this shift?" asked Long Haul,
"Sure, no problem," I said with a wink and grin to the stallion worker,
"Don't you worry, this Peterbilt is in good hooves," Long Haul assured me.
I climbed up the ladder, and into the cab of the hydraulic shovel. It was time to see what a five cubic yard bucket can do. The engines rumbled to life, and the machine moved along on it's wide heavy tracks in the digging site of the cellar. I cast the bucket out, and pulled back to dig out a huge scoop of dirt and put it into a waiting dump truck.
In no time, the truck's dump box was filled with rocks and dirt. I tapped the load with the bucket to signal that the truck is good to go. Before a truck can leave the site, they have to go through the tire bath. This way rocks and dirt are cleaned off their tires which can damage cars on the roads. The number one concern on a construction site is safety.
"How's our 'Big 500' treatin' yah, Big Bird?" asked Rivet from a truck cab,
"Very well, but our shovel might get a little jealous," I replied jokingly,
"I'm sure she won't mind, it's only the last half of the shift," said Rivet,
It is very kind of them to let us use their machines to help get the job done. It makes me feel great that everyone is treated fairly too. As I said earlier, I treat my workers as I would treat myself. It gave me an idea to help out Gilda and Gabby since neither of them seem to have a place to live. I have two guest rooms upstairs in my house.
At the end of the shift, I went up to my two workers, "Come, fly with me," I asked of them, and took them home to my house in Ponyville. After showing them around my place, and led them upstairs to the two guest rooms, "you ladies can stay as long as you like, my house is your house," I said to them, I have always had a giving heart to the needy.
"Heloise, I...I don't know," Gabby said looking away from me in shame,
"You've done so much for us, we have nothing to give in return," said Gilda,
"You two have given me two great workers and two great friends," I replied,
Their eyes watered and on the verge of crying. They looked at me and grinned thankfully. I hugged them both in a hug. Gabby and Gilda nuzzled their cheeks to mine, "I could not ask for anything better," I said to them, and ruffled the soft feathers on the tops of their heads, "come now you two, it is late and you both need your rest for tomorrow,"