I have often wondered, why is it that some people are good at some things, and other people are good at others? It must be having a knack for something is somehow rewarded or praised. And reward and praise become a form of encouragement. Let’s hear it for the amygdala, which zones in on the praise and then tells the one engaging in the task, “keep going, you are doing amazingly well.”

Last night Pete went and retrieved the 30 or so boxes of books that we stored in our friend Alex’s garage. He then put all these boxes, the bulk of them being very heavy in the rear of the truck bed. And this morning he packed up the library shelving and parts on a pallet behind the books

Pete Adjusting Library Shelving for Barrow at NAC

in the bed of the truck. Most everything was wrapped in plastic and tied in place to the pallet. There were several frames – he put them on top of the truck and tied them with the ropes we use to secure our sea kayaks.

I assisted by removing the shelving from the shed where we put it all last November. I then put what I pulled out where Pete could access it, thus making it easier for him to do his job.

The truckload was quite heavy, but finally, we arrived at our destination, Northern Air Cargo. There we pulled into the loading bay, where a fellow with a forklift came and took the plastic wrapped pallet (containing the shelving) out of the rear of the truck. We then untied the sea kayak ropes, lifted the frames off the top of the truck, and placed them on a second pallet. Then I pulled the boxes of books out of the rear of the truck and Pete put them on a third pallet. The forklift guy, he made a few minor adjustments so that he could get the forks on the forklift in between the pallet slats.

From beginning to end, there was not a single glitch. I later asked, and Pete told me that, yes, he had envisioned how he was going to get all the materials ready for shipping. What he did not say, and what I suspect, is that in addition to figuring out how to get the materials ready, he also figured out the order in which they would be loaded and unloaded.

This is very impressive, as was the fact that the forklift guy clearly knew what he was doing.

The woman doing the paperwork also appeared to know what she was doing.

Me, I just tended to small details that surfaced during the course of the day. I did not think in advance of what the packing/loading/unloading procedure would involve. If asked, I would have told you that we had shelving in Tinni’s hay shed, but beyond that, I would have drawn a blank. Pete, he knew exactly what was in there.

My above observations merely support my speculations. It has to be that we have inherent talents and that those around us foster them. For now, this answer will have to suffice.

Next: 104. 4/16/22: Mud Season