English

29.12.2006

CLOSE TO DEATH THE SECOND TIME 3

 

CLOSE TO DEATH THE SECOND TIME

                      lll

 

 

       The only job I was able to get at the time I became unemployed was at a fish-factory called Heimir ltd. in my hometown of Keflavik. 

 

 I wasn't feeling too happy when I  applied for a job there. 

 

  My mind shuddered thinking about the time when I was working at a fish-factory called Brynjolfur ltd. in Njardvik after having tried my skills as a teacher at Hornafjordur. 

 

  Because of the stinking odour I had to wash and scrub my body and clothes every night.

 

  Usually I had to undress in the lobby thus preventing the smell entering other parts of our apartment. 

 

        Life in Brynjolfur could be quite difficult most of the time, even though the employees didn't get any productivity bonuses, but just the normal low wages. 

 

 Usually we were making stock-fish and salt-fish, but for a couple of weeks in the winter-season everybody was freezing capelan-eggs.

       Most days the process began upstairs where the fish, mostly dead-bledded fish (that died in the nets) was beheaded, then two strong Valkyries pushed it down a glide having ripped out the intestines. 

 

 We the lads that were supposed to hang the fish up in the fish-hovels stood beneath the glide and worked our hearts out pairing the fish with a loop-string. 

 

       Once I happened to be standing all alone beneath the glide trying in vain to pair every fish with a loop, but as I have only two hands the burden was just too much for me to keep up with the people upstairs who also were working their hearts out even though I´d pleaded them to slow down a bit or two. 

 

      Once I got so very pissed off that I decided to demonstrate in the only way that came to mind at the moment;

 

 I pushed loads of un-paired fish into the tub. 

 

 Just at that moment the owner/manager happened to walk by and noticed all the un-paired fish in the tubs and became furious of course and scolded me like I were a child.

        I waited until he'd had his outflow so that I could explain calmly my position. 

 

 When I was through and he had heard my side of the story, he begged my pardon and subsequently I got aid.

        I had one happy memory from this period. 

 

        Off and on everyone was working in the biggest hall on the ground-floor packing salted cod (bacalao) so it could be exported. 

 

 An authorized valuator came to classify the bacalao into its right category according to quality and size and he stood at one side of a planket and sent it subsequently to either of the two needlewomen standing on each side of that same planket. 

 

 The two ladies stitched together marked sack-cloth around the fish. 

 

      One fine day when the foreman approached me and ordered me to remove those heavy sacks, weighing somewhere between 60 - 70 kiloes off the sewing-planket and stack them on pallets, I shuddered with horror at first, because I remembered that recently I had been humiliated by my teenage-sister, when she beat me in arm-wrestling.
 

    -What is that Oli?  Are you more of a sissie, than Addi, said the foreman relating to the laddie that I was supposed to relieve.

 

  I looked at Addi who was both shorter and seemed to carry less vigor than me.

         -Hell no, I murmured to myself, as I didn´t want to be known as some sissie in the house. 

 

 Ok, I'll see what I'm able to do, but I can´t promise you anything.   

 

         For starters I had the snail's speed, feeling very apprehensive for destroying what I'd accomplished in building up my broken down body.  

 

         Slow and easy I bent over the ponderous bag. 

 

 I was quite aware of the great suspence in the air. 

 

 Certain everyone was following my movements. 

 

 I looked up, but nobody was watching me, everybody seemed to be rapt in what they were supposed to. 

 

         Took a firm hold around my task and with great ease I raised my back still holding the bag in my arms.

 

  And guess what? 

 

        A heavy load had been lifted from my mind, when I realized that the bag wouldn't be too heavy a load for me. 

 

       My ego got an extra-kick, when I heard how violently my fellow staff applauded for me. 

 

 I bowed in gratitude and began what I was supposed to do. 

 

 In a short while I had emptied the table, in spite of the fact that before I began the task seemed quite invincible. 

 

       Suddenly I had become like every other employee, without a need for some special treatment. 

 

  I was so happy having received this proof of greater ability, that I didn't accept the relief when my time was out.