Stocker Hands

 This is a repost from my old blog that is no more.  I wanted to get it back up here.

First posted May 24, 2009.

Yesterday I dropped our baby.  On my part, it was a stupid overestimation of his ability, combined with my lack of attention for what is most important. 

Like he’s done a thousand times before, he was sitting on my left arm.  We were in the yard and I was trying to set up his playpen.  He doesn’t love the grass yet so I didn’t want to set him down.  He’s always pretty good about staying up there.  But, he’s also still a little young, so I normally hold onto his leg with my left hand to help him with balance.  For some reason I wasn’t doing this.  I’m not sure why.  Maybe I was using both hands on the playpen.  It wasn’t opening up correctly and I was getting frustrated.  I admit it held more of my attention than it should have.  The reason I know this, is I have no idea exactly how he fell.  I assume he moved one way at the very same moment I moved the other.

In a split second he was completely airborne, his stretched out body falling toward the ground.  His eyes opened wide with surprise.  Instantly my attention shifted from the playpen to the baby.  I needed to act fast. 

After high school I worked in a grocery store as a stock clerk, or stocker as we were called.  There I would drop things all the time: cans, boxes, jars, etc.  Over time, I learned a few things about falling objects: one, catch it if you can, two, if you can’t catch it, get your foot under it, and three, if you can’t get under it, kick it before it hits the ground. 

Obviously catching is ideal.  But, because everything happens so fast, catching it is also the hardest of the three options.  In the 18 months I stocked groceries, I worked hard to develop what I’ve always referred to as, “stocker hands.”  Stocker Hands need to be quick and accurate or product will be wasted. 

An object pulled by gravity falls the first 32 feet in one second.  In a fall of three feet, you have just over 2/5 of a second before it hits the ground.  At four feet, an object will strike the ground in just over ½ a second.  Adding to the complexity of catching, normally your hand is above the thing when it falls.  You have to get under it quickly, or you have to grab it from above.  To catch from below, you need to be faster than from above.  But catching from above is preferred because it is safer and more accurate than grabbing.  Decisions, decisions.   

If you can’t catch it, stop with your foot.  One thing to keep in mind, especially with hard or heavy objects, is that your foot may get smashed in the process.  But if you lift your toes, it keeps them from being compressed between the object and the ground.  This takes some of the sting out of the impact. 

And if all else fails, kick the falling object just as it hits the ground.  This absorbs and transfers the downward motion laterally, usually saving the item from being dented or breaking.  One word of caution here is to be careful to not kick the object too hard, as this can do more damage than good.

So my son - my baby, who trusts his dad completely and, through no fault of his own - is falling.  He’s about 3 ½ feet from the ground and will land squarely on his back. 

Time slowed down as I recognized he was gone.  I dropped the playpen, turned my attention and my body to face him, assessed the situation, bent down and reached toward him.  I extended both hands under his little falling body, and caught him about 18 inches off the ground.  A little help from the calculator tells me all this happened in about 1/3 of a second. 

Over the years, for one reason or another, I have appreciated stocker hands on numerous occasions.  I’ve dropped tools, jars, chainsaws, whatever.  But, if I only caught one thing in my life, and let fall everything else I ever dropped, this was the one catch I am so, so thankful I made.

Clark

Fall – Photo Set 6 of 6 – Snow

This was taken on the first snow day of the year.  I was headed back to the office after a meeting.  I was on the freeway and kept looking up at the mountains and the snow and the way the sun came through the clouds and lit up the snow and rocks and trees.  The mountain was calling me and I couldn't resist a little side trip up the canyon to take a few photos.  I never did get that perfect shot of the light on the new snow, but I had to get back to work so I left.  What a blessing it is to have mountains like this so close to home. 

I took this a week or so later, the same morning as the school bus photo (post 5 of 6).  Nancy and the kids had spent fall break at the family cabin.  I drove up separately and then left a day early to make it to work about three hours away.  It doesn't take much ice on the road and a brewing storm like this to make me wish I had just taken the day off.  On top of this exciting drive, the heater in my car was acting up, so I had to endure temperatures inside the car in the 30's and 40's.  I drove most of the way with one hand on the wheel, while the other warmed up in my coat pocket.  Then, when I couldn't feel the one I was driving with, I switched hands.

This was taken later that same snowy morning.  A few days earlier at about this same spot, I pulled over and made a post on Facebook that said something like, "Evanston Wyoming in the rear view mirror means I'm headed someplace else."  I lived in Evanston the last two and a half years of high school.  I was always happiest when Evanston was in the rear view mirror and I left for the last time the very day of graduation. 

A storm like this can strike in Evanston anytime of the year.  In fact, it snowed there on the 4th of July both summers I lived there.  I once got stuck in a storm like this while on my bicycle.  I was several miles from home with no jacket.  It was not a happy day. 

This photo was taken specifically for my friends from Evanston, especially those that right now are shrugging their shoulders and saying, "Yah, so?"

How about you?  What kind of places have you lived where you were either super happy to be there or super happy to see it fading in the rear view?

Clark

Fall – Photo Set 5 of 6 – Random

This one was shot out the window at breakneck speed on a narrow road in the mountains.  I thought I was going to die. 

 

We spent the weekend at the lake about a month ago and I left early to make it to work on time about two and a half hours away.  I was standing on the side of the road taking photos of some ducks in a pond when this bus blasted past me.  My mom drove bus one winter in the early 80's.  Some days I would get up early to ride with her along the whole route.  Those drivers have to get up way too early every day.

This same morning I ended up hitting a major storm (see photo set 6 of 6) and it took me several hours to get to work.

 

I did say this is the random batch of photos.  I went out to the garden a few weeks ago to did up the potatoes and found these on the vine.  I was thrilled since it was getting so cold at night and I thought we had already pulled in what we were going to get this year.  We still have a couple of these but it won't be long now until they are all just a memory. 

How about you?  What are some of your favorite things to eat in the Fall?

Clark

Fall – Photo Set 4 of 6 – Harvest

This barn is about two blocks from downtown Paris, Idaho.  Its a beautiful little town near Bear Lake.

I couldn't resist this shot of a farmer clearing the last stubble of his corn fields.  This is right next door to the pumpkins from a few days ago.

This house is at one of the many points in Wyoming where the old Mormon Trail meets up with I-80.  I first became acquainted with the house when I was about 16 years old.  I have loved it ever since and look for it every time I pass this way.  A small cave near the house proudly displays the initials PPP, presumably carved about 161 years ago by Parley P. Pratt, teacher, historian, author, and friend of Joseph Smith Jr.

How about you?  What are some of your favorite places in this wide world?

Clark

Fall - Photo Set 3 of 6 - Soccer

We are down to the last two soccer games of the year.  The temperature should be in the low 40's for the first one and in the high 40's for the second.  One word, BRRR.

I've been encouraging the team I coach to wear their costumes.  I saw a few of those costumes today at the school.  Picture an Egyptian, a foot ball player, and Annie as forwards, with a kitty cat in the goalie box.  I'm thinking Frankenstein might also make an appearance.  It should be a great time.

 
Our youngest player, featured here in the thick of the struggle, is already done for the season.

I really enjoy going to the games and spending time with my kids, but I must admit, I'm pretty excited for that last game of the season to end.  Why?  Because that's when the trick-or-treating starts!

How about you?  What 'season' do you really look forward to the end of?

Clark

Fall – Photo Set 2 of 6 – Pumpkins

It snowed all day today.  Suddenly my planned entries featuring photos of fall colors seem just a tad bit dated.  After another storm tomorrow, the weatherman says it will be in the 50’s next week.  I rarely believe what the weatherman tells me, but, in this case, I will hope it’s the truth.  Either way, I will keep posting as planned.

The first two photos are of a pumpkin patch I passed a few days ago.  I actually pass by this way every couple weeks or so.  I had noticed the field a few times in the past, with its expanse of vines and huge, green leaves.  If I looked carefully, I could occasionally make out the orange shape of a growing pumpkin.  The last time I went by, someone had cut back the vines a few days before in preparation for the big harvest.  I had absolutely no idea there were so many pumpkins in there.

While I was taking photos, a group of men were filling large pumpkin delivery boxes.  The boxes were loaded on long, flatbed semi trailers, about 14 boxes per trailer.  They had a long day of work ahead of them.

Ohp, how did this one get in there?

A fun shot of one of my pumpkins, up on the table, spinning his new toy on the lazy susan.

How about you?  Besides spinning pumpkins, of course, what do you enjoy most about Fall?

Clark

Fall - Photo Set 1 of 6 - Leaves

Fall has always been my favorite time of year.  Fall is all about the senses: the colors of the sunsets and the changing leaves, the feel of the cool evening air and a warm jacket, the taste of good, home cooking, and the sound of crunching leaves or migrating birds all make fall amazing for me.  But, of all the reasons, the smell of fall is what pushes this one over the top and makes it my favorite time of year.  I love good smells: the smell of clean skin or a fresh rose, the smell of a baby's hair, and the smell of cookies or bread baking; These are a few of my favorite things. 

I also love how closely the sense of smell is associated with memory.  The other day I was walking around the block, taking great, deep breaths of crisp air when a memory slowly came to mind of a small apartment complex I lived in with my mom and next oldest brother.  Our back door opened to a grassy area with a wide creek running through the middle of it.  Along the sides of the creek were maple trees.  Lots of them.  Suddenly I was there again, standing next to the creek, watching my mom's cousin lasso my tricycle and pull it out of the water.  A short time earlier, I had been riding it on the small patio behind our apartment.  When I ventured onto the grass, the gradual slope of the hill took me quickly toward the creek.  Fortunately, I jumped off just before my tricycle tumbled into the cold, fast-moving water.  I hadn't thought about that experience for years. 

Today has been kind of a hard day.  Sometimes I think too much.  Sometimes I don't do enough.  Sometimes I feel like I'm being pulled down a gradual hill, faster, faster, faster, toward a wide, cold, fast moving place that I don't want to be.

I'm much too young for a midlife crisis, but I wonder if this is what it feels like.  Should I jump?  Can I jump?  How bad will jumping hurt compared to going in the drink? 

All of a sudden I have the words to an old song by The Clash going through my head.  "Should I stay or should I go?  If I stay it will be trouble.  If I go it will be double. 

"So come on and let me know . . . Should I cool it or should I blow?"

While you think about that, here are a couple other photos of fall colors to enjoy.  I can't give you the smells that go along with the photos, but if you know the song above, you should at least have a little tune running around in your head.

This was on a narrow, two lane, but very busy road in the mountains.  We were driving slow and cars were piling up behind us.  Nancy was driving so I could hang my camera out the window and shoot.  We pulled over for a second at a wide spot in the road and I looked back to see this lone orange/red maple, lit up perfectly in the afternoon sun. 

This was on the same drive, near the top of the pass.  What an amazing view of the back of the mountain.  Photos rarely do a scene like this justice.  If I had a panorama camera about 5 frames wide and 3 tall, you might get a little feel for what this view was like.

How about you?  What's your favorite Season?  What's your favorite Sense?  What's your midlife crisis going to be like?

Clark