Chapter 5 - Page 57 - Building A Village

   Jim gave up. “OK, Jackie. I appreciate your help. Maybe someday, I can return the favor.”

   When they arrived at the entrance to the lumber company, Jim could see stacks of logs all around the yard. Heavy equipment unloaded more logs on one side of the yard, while forklifts loaded evenly cut planks onto trucks on the other side of the yard. Jim realized it was a mill, with the sole purpose of cutting whole logs into planks. Jackie told him the planks were shipped to other companies, to do the finishing work.

   A long roof protruded from a large warehouse in the center of the yard to rest on wooden poles. Building and roof sat on a two foot high slab of concrete. In the center of the floor under the roof, a large saw blade spun, squaring off tree trunks. Dump trucks waited at a nearby dock to be loaded with the sawdust that blew across the factory floor. On the other side of the sawmill, flatbed trucks waited at another dock to be loaded with planks. Forklifts raced back and forth with stacks of wood.

   Jackie pulled his car up to some stairs next to the loading dock and they got out and walked over to a forklift operator who stopped to see what they wanted. Jim asked where they could find Shorty and the forklift operator pointed to a small black man on a different forklift. Jim and Jackie walked toward the thin man, who was loading lumber on a flatbed truck. When he saw them approaching, he stopped what he was doing, shut off the forklift motor, and waited for them on the forklift.

   Jim and Jackie shook hands with him, then Jim asked, “Are you Shorty?”

   “Yes sir. What can I do for you?”

   “I understand you have a jeep for sale.”