Now really and truly I did not actually go and hire out as an oilfield hand as Dawg explained it to me.

I just became or was what Dawg, Wildman, and Bull call a swamper, whatever that terminology is for an oilfield hand.

MY FIRST DAY

It started out simple enough just taking the big ring of gate keys Dawg remembering and knowing exactly which key fit which gate, that man has not lost a thing in his mind at all from his stroke.

Of course he pumped as they call it these leases himself until he had to retire, and WildMan and Bull took the leases over.

But I would unlock the gates and close them back and we would make our rounds checking wells, and gauging tanks, reading gas meter runs, and onto the next lease.

That was pretty much simple enough for me to help with, and being out in the country and doing this was something I loved and liked.

Now all the bouncing around in that big 4x4 Dawg has was not that much fun.

Then Bull called us and that is when things changed drastically for me being this so called Swamper.

It seems Bull had a new well going online as their terminology of all this was, and so he wanted Dawg and I to help lay what they call a flow line or something like that.

As we drove to the location and well, Dawg explained to me what we would be doing.

I know his many professional talents and knowledge of the oilfield is vast and tremendous, but had no idea he was what they call a certified poly pipe welder.

We went to the yard and got the poly-pipe spooler trailer, Dawg used the backhoe and lifted the whole spool up and put on trailer, then we put what they call the standards in the middle to hold the pipe on the trailer.

Then loaded up a generator and some gig thing Dawg called it and off we went.

Drove to the well site and cut the straps that had the whole spool of I think it was 3 inch poly pipe and pulled some off and hooked up the gig, started the generator and and did the first weld.

Took the connection he welded to the spool of poly pipe and used some kind of clamps and an electric impact wrench and tightened it all up.

We slowly pulled the spool trailer forwards laying the pipe out and kept it in a place out of the way.

Then tied the poly pipe to a t post that was used to fence off what they call a pit or something like that and off we went across the pasture with that trailer of poly pipe.

We got to the end and lay the pipe on some boards and went back to the yard got another spool of poly pipe loaded and back where the last one lay out.

Then cut the bands that held the whole spool of the pipe on the trailer pulled some off and again did that thing with the gig and I had to move the poly pipe this way and that to make the two ends to be welded flush and straight with each other.

Dawg got it welded together and waited for it to cool took the gig off and back onto the bed of his truck and off we went again.

This made it all the way to what they call something where all the wells tie together and go to what separates the oil, gas, and water and did yet another of those connections and hooked it all up after poly welding it all.

I must confess at that point I was already tired and give out, but Dawg laughed at me and said well Jackie only have 3 more wells to this to today.

I swear those men are tireless when it comes to getting jobs done.

Dawg laughed at me about it all and WildMan and Bull alike asked me what it felt like to be a worm, which is some terminology they use for a new hand in the oilfield whatever that is.

We put everything where it needed to go back at the yard, and Dawg and I drove about checking wells and he got the readings of the oil holder things I think he called tanks?

By the time we got home it was dark and I was so tired and give out, Dawg helped me into the house.

We did this same thing for 3 days straight and today is now Sunday and I’m staying home and doing the house work and homebody thing.