I used to work with a young fellow whom we shall call Billy. He was a very likable young fellow of about 17, and I really enjoyed working with him, possibly because he had an affinity for getting into the most hilarious situations.
My cousin (the one from Lindsay) and I were repacking zucchini. Repacking zucchini was one of the most detested jobs at Stoll Family Farms. It was very time consuming, you had to pick up every blink’in zucchini and scrutinize it to make sure it didn’t have spots plus if it had a runny nose you had to chop it off. In short it was boring as a wet rag in a dark hole.
As I was saying, Lindsay Cousin and I were working away, bored to death in a doghouse. I faintly heard some racket from Billy’s direction but I paid it no heed. It was quite normal for Billy to make a tremendous amount of noise. It was when he didn’t make noise that it was time to pay attention.
My Littlest Uncle was working away in the cooler on some other job of great gravity. All was relatively quiet except for the dull roar emanating from Billy’s general location. But no one paid him any mind.
My Other Uncle’s Oldest Daughter, (I called her Queen Anne when I wanted to annoy her and so she will be called in this story) had to leave the cooler on some errand of importance. In her travels she passed Billy in the midst of his difficulty. He was having trouble with his pallet cart. It simply would not go into the skid. He pushed harder, harder yet, and again. Pulled the cart out and took a run at the skid. Still no go. How long this had been going on no one really knew, Billy was not one to give up easily. However, Queen Anne passing in her travels took one look at the situation and immediately divined where the trouble lay.
But….. Now what? For her to accost the boisterous Billy might be construed as showing an interest in him. That would never do. Dear me!! What a situation. Billy kept hammering. Queen Anne, after a moments reflection, fled to the cooler and agitatedly said to the Littlest Uncle,”Why doesn’t he look at the other end of the skid??!!” Littlest Uncle left his job of great gravity and followed Queen Anne outside to where Billy was doggedly determined to blast his pallet cart through the skid with dynamite if that was what it took.
Littlest Uncle got a look of great amusement on his face, then concealed it (barely) with a look of great compassion and took Billy by the hand,” Come let me help you,” he said. He led Billy around to the other end of the skid, and behold, the problem, another pallet cart was inserted into that end keeping Billy’s cart out.
Billy let out a great roar of disgust. All that hard work for nothing.
And we…. Lindsay Cousin and I, we literally laughed ourselves into oblivion. There is something about going from utter lethargy to utter hilarity in several seconds that is dangerous to human existence.