Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Just another



       Isn't this just a wonderful tag Donna made.

          Just another Dayyyyyyyy, remember that song?  Love it.  Anyway.  Today is another day.
 
        Got some comments on my turkey chopping entry.  In this town there were certain jobs everyone did at least once and some their entire life.  The turkey plant was one of them.  You would go down and stand on the dock.  They would come out and say...you, and you, and you.  If picked you started work then and there.   Since people quit fairly often they needed new people daily.

        I had no idea what to expect.  Into this big plant I go.  I think I was about 18.  Coming down this long belt hanging by their feet were dead turkeys.  Bare naked turkeys. 

    First they put me on this one machine which was like a huge emery board.  I was shown how to rapidly slide the turkey across it so it gently lifted the skin off of it.  I tried it and promptly lost all the skin on my knuckles.  Job hazard they said.  So lets try you on something else.  This is where I started feeling like Lucy on the candy line.  Aging myself I know.  

    The turkey would come by  hanging by their feet.  I was suppose to reach out, grab the neck and with my handy little hand held chainsaw thingy cut the head off the neck.  They demonstrated.  Looked easy enough.  I gave it a shot.  It seemed like the line sped up, maybe just my imagination, but it seemed that way.  I reached up and grabbed the turkey neck and gave it a swipe.  Cut most of it but the head dangled by a piece of skin.  I followed it down the line grabbing it and finally finishing the job only to find four more had passed me by.  Wow, that fast.  Long and short of it, I was terrible at it. 

    Finally lunch.  Wearing our long white coats, covered in blood and other things to terrible to mention we filed into the lunchroom.  Old timers reached into their brown sack lunch and happily munched away talking about who knows what.   I slumped into a chair and tried not to lose my breakfast.  I made it through the day and never went back. 

  The good thing about this experience is it taught me the value of a higher education.  Not that there was anything wrong with that job and you made good money if you stuck it out.  And not that my present job is without blood and gore.  I simply didn't have my heart in it and couldn't eat turkey for years.




        After this job I became a keebler elf.  Yup...can you imagine.  Worked all night packing cookies.   Didn't eat store bought cookies for years after that.  I am so impressionable.

          Today we are going to the vet.   Rick is ill so I have to handle trying to get her chunky self up on the table.  I am afraid we have let her get porky.  Weirdly enough the lumps under her arms are smaller.  Maybe it was just an infection?  Hope so...Hope so.

         With Rick being ill I will have to do something I rarely do.  Cook!  Yikes.  I have no specialties he asks weakly for when ill.  Frozen pizza anyone?  So I have to see what I can do.  Surprise him.  Domestic goddess I am not.

     Went to my MIL's yesterday.  BIL's things are starting to disappear.  He is actually packing and moving things to the storage unit. Maybe he got his papers. Some things he wasn't suppose to take are going but at this point I just don't care.  Except the auctioneer has listed it.  It will just have to be.

      Later this afternoon I have to go to a client and friend that I was selling some things for.  I have to return her items.  We will go through them and I might buy some back to sell in the auction.  If I make a good enough profit I will share it with her.  We shall see.

       Its my last day off.  They go by so fast.  I still have so much to do at my MIL's.  I am making Rick a list.  Its up to him now to finish.

         Well. time to get ready for Zoeys trip.   Please let this be OK.  I love my dog.

          

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Julie,

I am praying that Zoey comes back home from the vets with just an infection that antibiotics can sort out.  Please God!
I know how much love we have for our pets.  They are like children to us.
Another prayer for Rick too so that he gets well soon.  
Good luck with the frozen pizza.  You will manage o.k.
Meanwhile...sending  you a special hug.  Zoey too.
Hugs
Jeanie xxx

Anonymous said...

I don't think I would like working at a poultry plant myself. I hope that Rick will soon be well and that Zoey will be ok. Helen

Anonymous said...

I hope Zoey's OK ! BTW, I did the tag thingy that you sent me.

Jimmy
http://journal.aol.com/jimsulliv3/jimmys-journal/

Anonymous said...

LOL...my mother grew up on a farm.  Her and her sister had to wring the chicken and turkeys necks.  My mother will not eat poultry to this day at all because of that.  I'm praying for your Zoey....Chris

Anonymous said...

I never had to necessarily do a factory butcher job...but I'm well aware how to quarter a pig, strip a chicken in 10 min. and do all the gory farm stuff. Somethings you never forget. Glad to see your BIL is finally getting the hint. Too bad he can't do it honestly in the end and is taking things he shouldn't...then again did we expect any thing less from him? (Hugs) Indigo