Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Extra (08/29/13)
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TITLE: On the River's Edge | Previous Challenge Entry
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09/01/13 -
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“It says here, you’re The Man, Kenny.” He hands the badge back to Kenneth and tells him to go suit up in the tent down by the river.
As Kenneth walks down the gravel path leading to the river’s edge, he can’t help but notice as workers to the left and right of him are stopping what they’re doing and nodding to him. He soon arrives at the tent and checks in with another foreman.
“So, you’re the one we’ve been waiting for? You’ve traveled a long way to get here Buddy and we appreciate it. Let me introduce you to your crew.” This foreman is a lanky man with a beard and a deep scar above his right eye. He begins to make introductions to other men that are already suited up.
Kenneth nods to each man and begins to suit up himself. The foreman continues to tell the crew of underwater welders their scope of work and tells them how long they have to complete their task.
“I’d like to say something if I can, Sir.” Kenneth puts his hand on the foreman’s shoulder as he zips his wetsuit with the other.
“I never go under without praying and I’d like to do so now.” Kenneth bows his head and begins to pray, “Dear Lord, thank you for the opportunity you have given us to be here today and do this job. Thank you for the skilled men that are in this room right now and be with us all as we go under. I pray for our safety. Amen.”
The men all grab their gear and begin walking out the tent down the path to the river. Kenneth can hear a few of the men talking about him. It’s the same everywhere he goes. The story of how he saved a crew in the warm Gulf waters off the coast of Louisiana follows him wherever he goes. He is hailed as some sort of hero. He knows God saved those men though, not him.
At the river’s bank they all stop and Kenneth looks around. To the right of them is a crane. Its lift is about two hundred feet and from the scope chart he saw when he came earlier it will be lifting the top off the number three flair tower. The tip of the flair alone weighs about sixty thousand pounds. It seems a safe distance.
“Alright men, let’s go.” Kenneth jumps in first and his crew follows him. They swim down until they reach the pipework. They each go the connection they have been assigned and begin to weld. They have thirty minutes to get the job done.
As Kenneth welds the joints of the pipe, his mind is in prayer. He tells God that this load is too heavy for him to bear. He wants his wife’s cancer to go away and his work to be closer to home. His oldest son is in jail for drugs and his youngest is straying too. In his mind, he asks God to just take it all away from him and let him know it will be okay.
Soon their work is done and they all swim slowly to the top. Kenneth’s mind is still jumbled with thoughts of all his problems. He finally arrives to the surface and looks around to count heads. All men are on top and accounted for, so that’s good news.
As Kenneth gets out of the water, he hears the line snap on the crane and sees the flair tip fall and begin to slide down the hill towards the river. It picks up speed as it gets closer. Seconds later, it rushes past Kenneth and crashes into the water about ten feet from him. He turns to shine his flashlight on it as it floats in the water and then begins to sink. He notices the wording on it as it goes down and he reads it aloud.
“H.O.P.E.”
He catches his breath and sits on the bank watching it sink and realizes that God answered him. Like the crane, his load was too much. It was extra weight he couldn’t bear alone but God gave him hope.
“Are you okay?” One of the workers yells out to him.
Kenneth smiles and yells back, “I am now.”
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