Bruce Finds His Rainbow. Part 2

On the Tuesday Bruce was easily on time and Bree was clocked in before 7.30. With Brucey, Geoff and Bill he again went to the unloading dock where he was surprised at the empty spaces where they had filled up with yesterdays’ unloading.

He asked Brucey where all the boxes and racks had gone and Brucey told him that there was a late shift that started at 4.30pm, a half an hour after he had gone home. This shift moved the unloaded goods that were sorted by colour tags and took them to the bigger racks where they were stored by colour tag and also by stock number. This allowed the next section to only have to look for the items they wanted. As there were no trucks in the bay yet Brucey asked the foreman if he could take Bree on a quick tour. The foreman nodded and made sure that Brucey had his pager with him if they were needed.

Brucey pointed out how the colour codes were broken down into smaller groups by number and then into smaller groups again. He told Bree that the second shift was very good at putting everything in the right place and worked until they finished the job, maybe into the early hours. They then came to an open area where there were both men and women working. The men had the orange hi-vis and the women were in bright yellow. “That’s so the men don’t cuss with the women around” Brucey explained.

This section sorted orders for the various stores. At one end it concentrated on big chain-stores and everything was pulled from the racks by box and piled into stacks to be put into the trucks for delivery. At the other end it concentrated on smaller stores or multiple store deliveries. Bree could see that there were open boxes and half-full racks here as the girls packed cartons with the smaller quantities needed. There was a complete crew of men doing the truck loading. Brucey said that Bree would be putting time in all of the sections inside six months as the company wanted all the better employees to be able to fit in anywhere.

Just then the pager beeped and they went back to the unloading dock where they spent the day as before. This time Bree was able to take note of the numbers on the boxes as well as the colour tags and tried to put similar numbers together. He was tired but happy when it was time to go home. Wednesday the foreman tapped him on the shoulder and said that the afternoon shift had left a note to thank him for his diligence in stacking and told him that he had latched on to it quicker than any other employee. When they finished on Wednesday there was a big hamper by the change-room door and Bree was told to put his shirt and pants in it as all the work clothes were sent to a laundry. When he looked he saw that his pants also had Bree embroidered on the back pocket.

The week passed quickly and Bruce had a pleasant Saturday by taking himself to the pictures. He was amazed that he noticed colour more while he was in the town centre. The movie was more vivid than ever but also noticed the girls with brighter coats and dresses for the first time. It made him wonder if he had been colour blind and was now getting better. The following week was much the same as the week before except Thursday morning when he put his freshly laundered shirt on. The washing had taken much of the newness out of it and he was surprised by how much softer it was. Even his pants felt better when he pulled them on.

At the end of his third week Mr Jackson asked to speak to him in the office as he clocked off. He was a little afraid as he was enjoying the work and the social connection with his unloading crew. Mr Jackson immediately put his mind at rest when he told Bruce how everyone was happy with him and that it was time he took things further. He asked Bruce if he would like to learn how to drive a forklift and, when Bruce said he would, it was arranged for Bruce to attend a training school in the town on the Thursday and Friday of the next week, followed by Monday and Tuesday of the week after. When he passed his test he would be driving a forklift at times the rest of that week. Mr Jackson then asked him if he would like to spend some time on the late shift after that as much of that work was done with a forklift. He said yes immediately and was happier when he was told that the later work attracted an extra loading on his pay.

He found the first three days of the next week went very slowly but eventually the Wednesday afternoon came around and he took his work clothes home with him. Thursday morning his mother was amazed to see her son resplendent in his orange dayglow shirt and wearing an orange cap with his hair bunched into a small pony tail popping out of the hole where the adjustment was. He had to explain why he had Bree embroidered on the shirt and on the back pocket of the pants and he left her sitting at the kitchen table having a reviving cup of tea.

He could cycle to the training centre and was able to take his bike into a secure area before checking in with the receptionist. Everyone around him today was wearing hi-vis, some with reflective stripes. All of Thursday morning was taken up with class work – from how the electric forklifts worked and how to maintain them, to the rules of operation. In the afternoon he was put on one for the first time. He had not told anyone that he had never driven before and had been afraid that he would crash into everything in sight. However, he was amazed that he had good skills at driving the things around but needed to spend a lot of time gauging the clearances when he was putting boxes into training racks; especially as the height went up. The trainer told him that he was doing well and everyone had the same problem at first.

One of his distractions that afternoon was the brightness of all the surroundings. Training areas are always very brightly painted so that it impossible to miss obstacles and the colours were almost too much for him to take in at once. The Friday was better for him as he got used to it. That day he practised working in tight places and trying to turn the forklift ninety degrees from an approach to a loading position with less and less room to turn. This was done by having a room divider screen that was moved closer to the rack with every try. He was sweating freely by days end and put his shirt into the washer as soon as he got home.

On Saturday morning a neighbour popped in to ask why they had an orange shirt hanging on the line and, after his mother had given her a cup of tea and told her that her son needed it for work, she went away muttering to herself about standards going to the dogs. His mother did comment to him that the shirt was a very good one, probably much dearer to buy than anything she would look for. Bruce was now so taken with the feel of his work clothes he thought he would wear them all the time if he could. His old, grey, clothes seemed so much rougher than he remembered.

On the Monday the first part of the day was taken with practise on a flat-bed electric cart, the sort they used for moving smaller boxes around in the warehouse. The afternoon was a side-line on caring for and driving a motor powered forklift which seemed so much more rudimentary than the silent and smooth electric ones. Tuesday was exam time, first a written exam on the care, maintenance and usage of forklifts, followed by various practical tests. At the end of it he was given a certificate of competency to display, as well as a forklift driver licence to put in his wallet. He went home a very happy and was feeling a sense of achievement, something he had never felt before. He was now someone!

On Wednesday he was partnered with Alex, a new employee in his second week and was driving forklift on the third unloading bay. They worked well together with Bree making sure that Alex was out of the way whenever he moved the forklift. During the day he developed a real sense of his surroundings and they had unloaded six trucks before it was time to go home. When he put his work clothes in the hamper that day he was surprised to find Mr Jackson waiting for him again, handing him a new issue of shirts that had reflective stripes on them and Bree in large reflective letters on the back. He explained that these would be used when Bree went onto late shift as they operated under reduced light in the evenings. He told Bruce that he should be wearing these when he started the shift at 4.30pm on Monday. Thursday and Friday went well and all the men he had worked with wished him well for his stint on the late shift the following few weeks.

He had an interesting weekend as he took himself to the cinema in the next town where they were showing a new picture he was looking forward to. He went by bus and was surrounded by people wearing colourful coats, dresses and shirts. The movie was a kaleidoscope of colourful effects and he had to sit afterwards, drinking a cup of tea with his eyes closed, before the flashes behind his eyes faded and he could find his way home again. Before he got on the bus he had a walk in the shopping area, taking note of the clothes. He found himself in a mens shop, buying a muted red shirt in a good material, knowing his mother would consider him a sissy if he wore it.

Monday morning he woke up at the normal time and suddenly realised that he had all day to himself as he didn’t start until 4.30, but that he had to pace himself as he may not be back to his bed until the early hours, something he had not experienced in his sheltered life.

Marianne G 2021