Have you ever experienced racism?
I have always tried to look on the
bright side of things, even when I was little, I would always cheer for the hero
and absolutely detest the villain. Even when the villain had the odds in their favor,
I knew eventually their time would run out. Growing up my grandmother would
always find ways to show my sisters and I stories from the bible. One of the
first books I read growing up was the book of Job, I remember being upset how god
would just let the devil destroy the life of one of his servants. My young mind
tried to grasp the idea as I read the book, being frustrated as Job was brought
to rock bottom. Even the ending when God restored all Job had lost, he did not do
it because Job deserved it, God gave it to Job as a gift. Since reading the book
the first time I have since read it at least 50 times if not more, each time
with better understanding. Trust. The book is about trusting in a God that knows exactly
what we have been through, what we are going through and what we will go through.
Dear Reader.
Working in the oilfield having a
holiday off is rare. You basically try to make up lost time with family and events
on scheduled days off. One day while starting my work week (which consisted of
seven days on call followed by two days off.) Our crew was told a yard in Louisiana
was terribly busy and could not keep up with the customers requesting service for
their oilwells. We were to travel to Louisiana to assist with servicing several
oilwells in the area. We gathered our equipment, packed our bags and began our six-hour
journey on a chilly Christmas eve. Cigarettes and sunflower seeds were my solution
to the boredom that comes with such a long distance through rural country and
the stress of driving an overweight vehicle through a remarkably busy downtown Houston,
Tx for the first time.
As we approach the Texas Louisiana state
line, the supervisor over our CB radio informs the convoy, “we will need to
pull over at a truck stop before crossing the state line.” The convoy pulls
over and gathers around to find out some of the vehicles in our group will need
an updated IFTA-registration. Essentially, when your vehicle is
IFTA-registered, you record the distance traveled in each state or province and
pay the appropriate fuel taxes. A mechanic from the yard we were to assist was
headed our way with the updated registration. Four hours until we are on the
road again. We finally reach our destination. The manager of the yard greeted
us and gave us details of the service needed for the customers oilwell and informed
us the customer will not be needing service until the next day. Christmas day.
The crew
and I were able to rest before the call to head to location which came in around
3 a.m. as we headed towards the destination my tire blows out. I cannot begin
to describe the frustration that had been building since having to miss time
with my family on this holiday. The tire on my vehicle was a “super single” not
a common tire, so the dispatch had to not only find the special tire but also
had to find a towing company willing to come help on Christmas day. 4 hours
later a towing service finally arrives, and he does not look happy. He throws
his seat belt off, lights a cigar and spits on the ground as he slams his door.
I offer a hello which he completely ignores, I try to make small talk with him,
and he just looks at me as if I am not there. After putting the tire on and literally
throwing tools back into the fleet vehicle he turns towards me, spits on the
ground and hands me a receipt. “Here, boy.” The disgust in his tone was something
I had never felt before.
The location
of the oilwell was off a county road surround by large trees, trees that appeared
to be as tall as buildings and so thick you could not see beyond them. Even
with the extremely high lumen lights installed on the oil rig it still could not
be seen from the county road. The oil rig was in the middle of running casing
pipe down freshly drilled out earth. The third-party company tasked for that
process had just finished up and were leaving location. Their crew could be seen
from our approach, they looked exhausted and were covered in a mixture of
drilling fluids, dirt and sweat. A hard day’s work completed. Our convoy parked
the equipment and gathered for a safety meeting. As I am walking towards the meeting
area, I cross paths with a worker from the oilrig. He looks me up and down,
spits and says out loud, “I thought we got rid of all of them? They’re like
roaches the further south you go! Make sure y’alls cars are locked!” he laughed
as the others from his crew caught up from behind him. It stopped me in my
tracks. For the first time in my life, I felt empty, absolutely nothing. Not mad
or sad just blank. Those words cut me in half. From everything I went through
to get to that location to every day I had lived had led me to that moment, to
be belittled on Christmas day. Trust.
Job 11:17 Life will be brighter
than noonday, and darkness will become like morning.
Sincerely Yours
Timothy.
