World's Strongest Man

Mar 2

My recent job change is giving me the opportunity to work with a dedicated team of volunteers set on helping farmers and ranchers in need. While I’m not happy that so many in Oklahoma and Texas have suffered loss in the recent wildfires, hauling hay and fencing supplies to those folks has given me the opportunity to meet a couple of the volunteers that frequently work with my new employer.

One gentleman in particular had driven a tractor-trailer loaded with round hay bales from North Dakota to Texas. Plans changed, as they often do in agriculture, and he ended up parking his truck near me so I could give him a ride to the airport and fly home.

Red pickup truck towing a trailer with large hay bales in a grassy field under a blue sky. Trees in the background. Rural setting.

When he embarked on this trip the plan hadn’t included flying so he ended up having some items with him that the Federal Aviation Administration wouldn’t approve of. Like any experienced truck driver, he had brought along a variety of tools in case something needed fixed during his travels. All in all that’s a solid plan as long as you don’t have to figure out how to get it all home on an airplane.

So the tool bag was put in my car when he arrived until we could figure out what to do with it and how to eventually get it back to him in North Dakota. It was decided that I would put it in the cab of the truck and when the truck arrived back where it belonged so would the tool bag. I just had to move it from my car to the truck.

I consider myself as retired farm kid strong. I can still move a 50-pound sack of feed or a 44-pound bag of dog food so I didn’t think this tool bag was going to be an issue. I was wrong. I knew this as soon as I tried to pull the bag toward me from where it rested in the cargo area of my SUV. I think he had several lead weights in there. Possibly some magnets that were drawn the core of the earth.

A person in a blue plaid shirt carries a black toolbox with yellow latches outdoors. Background is blurred, suggesting an urban setting.

No, I didn’t look because I feel like a man’s tool bag is the equivalent of a woman’s purse. If you don’t want to consider the possibilities of what’s in there don’t go digging through it.

There was a brief moment when I considered calling my husband to come move the bag from my car to the truck but my pride wouldn’t allow that. I finally got it onto the floorboard and scooted it into a place where it wouldn’t trip the driver as he got behind the wheel. I also decided that the volunteer who packed that tool bag should try out for the World’s Strongest Man competition.