Parable Road 4 (Divisions)

“I can’t take this anymore!”

The voice of my wife in my ear grows louder as I survey the semi-trailers parked in the loading docks of the distribution center.

“Don’t worry dear, I’ll be home soon, I’ll deal with those calves then.”

“I hope so, I don’t think I can handle any more of this.”

“Yes, yes, I understand dear. I just have to wait for my trailer to be unloaded and then I can get out of here.”

“Well, don’t take too long!”

“I’ll do what I can. Now, I really have to go. Love you, bye.”

I remove the phone from my ear and hit the end call button. The door swings open before me and I walk into the large room full of boxes, conveyor belts, and people. As I do, the sound of two men arguing screams for my attention.

“I don’t know how you can believe something like that!”

“I don’t know how you can’t believe it!”

“Why people like you can’t see facts?”

“Oh really? I’ve been wondering the same thing!”

“You just follow your leader blindly.”

“Ha! You’re one to talk!”

I survey the room.

The conveyor belt carrying parcels from the trailer into the bowels of the distribution center is running empty as the shouting carries on.

The people standing at the side of the conveyor belt, waiting to sort the parcels, are chattering amongst themselves and glaring at the workers in the trailer.

There is a lot of anger in this room.

I know I’m not supposed to get involved with the sorting process. I did my work. I hauled the trailer here. That’s my job.

Still, I don’t have time to stand around. I have to get home.

The foreman doesn’t seem to be around to get things moving. That’s typical for him. The more someone knows, the less they do. That’s why the people who know everything do nothing.

Still, something needs to be done.

Those two workers are on opposite sides of their pet issue but they have something in common. They are doing a lot of talking and accomplishing a lot of nothing.

As I walk toward these men the sounds of rage grow ever louder. Their voices clanging together in a symphony with the sounds of the conveyor belts and other machinery in the room.

If the foreman doesn’t want to do his job, I will. Let the consequences come.

“People like you make me sick!”

“You don’t care if you destroy this country, do you?”

“Destroy this country? You’ve gotta stop getting your information from those idiots on YouTube!”

“And you’ve got to open your eyes and start looking at the facts!”

“You call all those things facts? No wonder this country is in trouble!”

“Well, with enough gullible people like you, no wonder that imbecile will win the election!”

“Alright! Alright! Hold it!” I yell as I step between the two scruffy-looking young men. “What’s the problem here?”

Silence greets this question.

“We’ve got another job today! Can either of you guess what that is?”

Silence continues.

“We need to get this trailer unloaded!” I roll up my shirt sleeves. “Come on! I don’t have all day!” With that, I grab a box from the floor of the trailer and place it on the conveyor belt, sending it off toward the line of sorting staff.

“I’m not going to have to do all this myself, am I?”

The two men glance at each other, shrug, and then start working on either side of me. One on the right and one on the left. It’s interesting, when we work together it doesn’t take long to get the trailer full of boxes unloaded.

As we reach the last box lying in front of the trailer, I see the foreman heading toward us, sipping coffee and glaring at the clipboard in his hand.

Wonderful. I can always use more trouble in my life.

“Alright, which of you boys wants to do the honors?” Silence greets me again. So, I pick up the last box and place it on the conveyor belt.

“There, you see, that wasn’t that hard, was it?”

“I suppose not,” the man on my right grumbles as he glares at his partner.

“It’s amazing what can happen when we set aside the small things and get to work on the big job at hand.”

“If you say so,” the man on my left mutters as he eyes his enemy.

“Well, you boys think about that for a while, maybe it’ll make sense after a few years,” I say as I turn my attention to the foreman standing outside the trailer.

A silhouette of frowning condemnation.

“Ben, I want to talk to you.”

“What is it?” I ask as I walk toward the officious-looking man in a white hard hat.

“Tell me something. What is your job here at Parable Trucking?”

“Driving truck sir.”

“Is it unloading the trailers?”

“No sir!”

“Well, then, what were you doing in there?”

“Getting some work done for a change, sir.”

“Really? Well, you know what the rules say. If you notice a problem, fill out a report and then I’ll review it at the end of the week. If disciplinary action needs to be taken, I’ll do it then.”

“What problem?”

“Huh? I don’t understand you.”

“Look at the trailer, what do you see?”

The foreman looks into the trailer, then shakes his head in confusion. “I don’t know what you’re trying to say, the trailer is empty.”

“Exactly. There’s no problem to report, is there? The job is done.”

“Yes, I suppose it is.”

“Now that my trailer is unloaded, I’ll be headed home.”

“Alright, but if I catch you doing this again I’ll have to write you up,” the foreman proclaims as he scribbles on his clipboard.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say. “Don’t work too hard Bill.”

“Yeah, yeah, you to Ben.”

As I walk away from the scene of my crime, I hear the sounds of those two men restarting their argument. Well, what can I do?

I have to hurry home.

My wife is waiting.

I hope I’ll be able to solve whatever problems she has for me.