This is a story about Ricky. Ricky works in a place where everyone works in teams , to work alone is too problematic and now , with his partner off sick , Ricky has to try and get the job done , he has bills to pay . There is lifting to be done and the only way for one to do what two once did is to use his body to help balance the weight , painful but effective .
There are more intricate tasks as well , One partner need only hold steady a machine piece while the other feeds in another , it is frustrating work to do alone , without a steadying grip . There are seals to be opened , broken by the combined torque of two working teammates , work that is unnecessarily difficult for only one .
This all makes for monotonous , long days for Ricky , Every aspect of his routine has changed and he had become something different , like a weight lifter without a spotter , a surgeon with failing eyes . In his memory there lived the knowledge of so many tasks being mastered as they were achieved .
It was into this foggy confusion that Ricky learned that there would not be a sunny day when his team was suddenly whole again , it would not be quick . Ricky was told that he would be getting a trainee , one unfamiliar with the work , that he must train and if he were patient , mold into a fitting team member .
When it came to be time to meet , it became apparent that the new guy was clumsy , was essentially useless , this was going to take a long , long time . Larry , the trainee , was certainly strong enough but should the lifting be any more complicated than straight up and down , say , placing the object on a higher level of to one side , suddenly Larry was confused and muddled . When it came time to hold tight a component for more intricate work , Larry was able to grip competently but seemed unable to hold it at the right angle for Ricky to do the fine work .
Torque , Larry would grip , nod that he had his part ready but when Ricky twisted it was with absolutely no resistance . Over a very long time , Larry got stronger and though it strained him greatly , he could apply some torque , could turn the pieces so that they could mesh together properly . People praised Ricky for his patience and hard work over the very long training time . I wonder myself sometimes if Ricky even truly remembers what the symbiotic work of a full team felt like , if he was now working to a different form of that original .
" Who cares , as long as it works right ? " Ricky would answer .
CAST of STORY :
Ricky - Phil's right hand
Larry - Phil's affected left hand
As the Tasks - lifting a laundry basket , zipping up a zipper , opening a jar or a tube of toothpaste .
Written and narrated by - Some Hack .
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