Git in the Truck
09/14/09 @ 16:17

“It’s gonna come a turd floater”, said Bob. He’s the imaginary monkey who lives out in our truck. Bob’s been in the oilfield his whole life and sometimes has a crude way of expressing himself. Being a former school teacher I cringe at his language. I am a lady living in the oilfield so I just pretend I am hard of hearing. I thought he was crazy because the thunder clouds build up on the horizon and threaten but never produce one drop of rain. This location is so remote you have to go through 8 gates just to reach the highway. It’s 125 miles round trip just to get to the nearest grocery store and back to the rig. It is bone dry and desolate. It’s also majestic and beautiful in its own way. Sure enough Bob was right. We awakened at 4:00 am to the sound of furious rain beating on the shakey trailer, always sensitive to turbulent weather. Like a weather vane you become alerted to all movement and sound. The thunder boomed, lightening blazed wide and white, vicious striking the ground very near the rig. I jumped 2 feet high. Always a lover of bad weather even I was frightened. The boss told me the drilling rig was “grounded”. Even so, he shut the rig down. Being “hand oriented”, he didn’t want anyone hurt. Big bold signs were printed up and posted everywhere with the RULES. The boldest red letters read…NO DRILLING RIG IS WORTH DYING FOR. These mandatory rules posted everywhere were meant to let the rancher-owner of these 18 sections of land know we wanted to follow his rules: PICK UP ALL TRASH, CLOSE ALL GATES, STAY ON THE ROAD, AND DRIVE 25 MPH. “LOAD UP”, said the company man. This meaning, “GIT IN THE TRUCK”, NOW. Being the good swamper I am I hurriedly ran to the truck. The rain was coming straight down and deep puddles were everywhere. It was so thick you could barely see the rig. The water had come up quick and we needed to check the draws to see if the trucks could get through. We splashed down the ruts filled with caliche flavored water reflecting the churning buttermilk colored cloud cover. We crossed over several draws rushing with debris and rocks. Both of us being West Texas kids we marveled at the water, being rare in these parts. It was exciting! Days earlier on my mile walk up the road I had felt sorry for the sparse wildlife…..all we’ve seen have looked scrawny and thirsty. The land is harsh, dry and forbidding. As I looked over the vast horizon I thought of the ocean this country used to be millions of years ago. There are 3 drilling rigs in sight. I thought to myself they looked like the masts of ships on the ocean. You can see the curvature of the earth. As we splashed along the road the boss said, “The animals will get a drink today”, voicing the same thought I had in my own mind. Our fancy truck with its all wheel drive carried us safely across numerous high water crossings. Actually our truck is a loaded 2007 Cadillac Escalade, huge and flashy. I have had the thought if everything falls apart I could qualify to drive a school bus. When I go to town I get second looks, not at me, but at the dazzling white diamond and cashmere interior “truck” I drive! Listen, you need some luxury way out here where you spend a lot of time bouncing down rocky dirt roads. Loaded with cameras we make a continuous history of where ever we are. Like Lewis and Clark we document and record our travels. The computer allows us to take photos that capture in real time the flora and fawna. My company man husband is consumed with technology and sits in front of the computer hour upon hour filling out columns of figures. In these days one must make peace with the computer. The necessary reports are tricky and maddening at times. I marvel that he never loses his temper. He never threatens to smash it. The never ending reports have to be perfect. The “suits” in town have to justify their investment. It’s a never ending dialog of drill pipe, collars, cement, flow line, drill bits, compressors, mud, etc.etc. The list of rig stuff is endless. The language is eventually learned over years and years of experience. I am new to the oil field and wonder if I will ever understand it all. When I ask the boss a question he gives me a long answer so complicated I sometimes doze off. It rained off and on all week. The mesquite trees have greened up and in the valleys beautiful grass grows. It’s amazing to see this dry country come to life. We’ve seen rabbits, skunks, deer and a few tiny rock squirrels. Bless their little hearts, they are so happy to have a drink and something green to eat. Bob was right. It did come a “turd floater”. By The Company Man’s Wife