THE FORKIE PHILOSOPHER

There was a cacophony of noise and activity in the yard as usual. I was helping my father and his mate on the brewery truck again. We were in the depot at Clyde loading up with cartons of beer on pallets for the day. I was up on top of the pallets that were sitting on the truck. I was placing the corners on the edges of each pallet so that the ropes wouldn’t damage the cartons. There was no OH&S to speak of in those days and I was just carelessly walking around up there with no concern about my own personal safety. It was easily 1 story high up there, but I was totally mindless to any danger.

Until it happened…

With all the buzz and bustle going on down on ground level it was easy to get lost in the commotion. My dad was tossing the ropes up to me and Steve was I didn’t know where. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a puff of smoke blow out of the exhaust pipe at the front of the truck. In that split second my mind registered that something was about to go seriously wrong. I dove down onto the cartons of beer I was standing on just before the truck pulled away. The jolt would have easily been enough to knock me flying had I not hit the deck.

It was purely by chance that I saw that puff of smoke. Obviously my dad was unaware that Steve was going to move the truck because he would have surely warned me. Man that was close!

I cannot remember anything else about that incident. I don’t recall finding out what made Steve move the truck in such a rush without checking on me and my father’s whereabouts beforehand.

Shit I was a long way up; a long way down to fall. I don’t remember feeling any sensations that alerted me to the fact that the truck had started up. I didn’t feel any vibrations and with all the racket going on around the busy yard I didn’t hear the motor kick in.

It was sheer luck that I saw that puff of smoke; that glorious puff of smoke. Only for that puff of smoke did I avoid a massive drop; but like they say: “It’s not the fall that gets you; it’s the sudden stop at the end”. Glad I avoided that sudden stop.

Another lucky day.