3:30-Midnight shift
working on conveyor belts after the day shift went home
making sure things move just right
pretty sweet, no manager looking over your shoulder
work at your own pace, plenty of space
sometimes asked to work in the freezer section
where they kept hamburger patties and other meats
that sucked, he didn’t come to Florida to work in the damn cold
but that wasn’t too frequent so it was ok
it was quiet and remote and if you ever had a medical event
you’d freeze to death before anybody ever found your sorry ass
sometimes he worked in the section where they selected the candy
pick up a few bars here and there, Hershey, Goodbar, M & M’s, some Skittles
no one would know
I guess they would care if they found out
but there wasn’t too many to find out at those hours
just the muscular black guys who loaded the trucks
and they didn’t give a damn
they’d argue about who was the best boxer ever
one guy said Ali and another guy said Joe Lewis
I piped in with Marciano and one guy said
“you damn white people with your Marciano”
then we’d just bust out laughing
they they’d go down by the box crusher and drink some port
at ‘lunch’ time; the manager on duty for them just looked the other way
as long as the work got done on time
while the giant fans blew hot air in the summer
some radio station playing dead songs warmed overover the loudspeakers
again and again there was no end
