Our work load was light coming into winter, so the son and I decided to sign up for a 3 week gig at a local fundraising company helping to pack fruit.
I wasn’t 100% sure what I was getting myself into, except for a few details. Mom used to work on the line 30 years ago. She said it was fast paced, it only lasted three weeks and she loved it.
Second thing I’d heard was they were always looking for guys to do the heavy lifting.
I’ve been there 5 days now and here’s what I’ve found out so far….
It is fast paced.
Very fast paced.
Reminds me a lot of when I was a young boy growing up on the farm, in the haymow stacking bales. The 50 pound bales of hay would come off the elevator, and my brother and I would do our best to keep up, stacking, one after another. I have a thing for stacking bales in a tidy orderly way. Must be a mental condition. 😉 . I always enjoyed the challenge of being able to keep up with the elevator. …
Back to the fruit packing gig….
There are 2 of us responsible for keeping 8 ladies supplied with boxes of fruit….Grapefruit, oranges, apples, green and red pears.
The fruit come in 35 to 40 pound cases.
Let’s go with 35 pounds just for fun. I am at the building for a solid 7 hours. We take a 30 minute lunch and two 15 minute breaks, leaving me with 6 hours of nonstop motion. I would guesstimate I handed between 3 and 4 cases of fruit every minute I am on the clock. In addition to lifting cases of fruit, I am also responsible for breaking down the empty boxes and lids.
The temperature in the warehouse is (I’m guessing) 40 to 45 degrees. I’ve broken a sweat in the first hour every day.
6 hours X 60 minutes = 360 minutes of “exercise”
360 x 3 boxes per minute = 1080 boxes handled (at a bare minimum).
1080 x 35 pounds = 37800 pounds
37800 divided by 2000 = 18.9 ton of fruit. Per day.
Keep in mind I am rounding down. It could be 3.5 boxes per minute, and some of them are 40 pounds each. putting that total weight up to 47,250 pounds or 23.625 ton.
Per day.
I know. Hard to believe it myself.
Only things I’ve noticed physically so far is I’m a little stiffer than normal first thing in the morning, and ready for bed a little earlier. Other than that I still feel great.
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My wife told me last night she’s noticed a difference in my countenance this past week when I get home. She said I look more relaxed. Here’s what’s interesting. I love my regular job as a carpenter. I enjoy going to work 90% of the time. Not quite sure what to attribute the difference in my countenance that she’s picking up, other than maybe that same flushed euphoric feeling I would get when I used to work in the haymow in 110 degree temperature to prove to myself I could do the job and do it well.
Why do people do other physical acts of endurance, like run a marathon, or climb a mountain?
The guy in charge of gathering up the broken down boxes whispered to me, “Do you know they have 4 young guys on line one, doing what just two of you are doing on your line? … and you’re keeping up.. Someone said maybe they should send one of the 4 over to your line, but decided they needed him more over there. You are a beast.”
(That’s me in the back left hand side)
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