Chapter 24
Feed the Rounder
I was dying everyday on the machines. I prayed. “Please god get me out of here.” There was no way I could do another two years. I was losing my mind.
I found a picture old guy with grey hair. His hands were folded as he praying. There was a Bible (not one of ours) and a loaf of bread on a table next to him. I hung it up on top my locker for all to see. I had no idea why I did.
One day my floor overseer Phill Gouckinbil saw it and said. "What is this brother Casarona? This guy is not a witness! Because that is not a new world translation bible on his table."
I said. "I thought he was. That he was one of the anointed ones, celebrating the pass over behind the iron curtain and that was the only bible he could get."
"Mmmmm." He said as he walked away.
I had nothing to lose. I was already at one of the worst jobs in the factory.
It must have worked. I got a job change two weeks later to the east freight elevator in building one. I thought I died and went to haven. I could walk around and even go to the bathroom anytime I wanted, without having to get permission. I was my own boss. Maybe there is a god after all.
My job was to move people and freight from the different floors in the oldest building in the factory complex.
That is where I meet the sixth floor press room animals, Great guys.
Just below the press room is the 5th floor ink room. These guys were "The Mash unit" of the factory. These guys got away with murder. They even had a place they could hide and one of them could take a nap, as the others were on look out. Their overseer was Norm Brecky. I really cool guy I thought, until Jimmy Olsen killed himself. Anyway he would go to bat, for his boys “The Inkies” which he did so more than once. These guys even took coffee breaks, unheard of.
A few months had passed. I was getting comfortable again, maybe a little too comfortable. I was starting to lose some of my “fear of man.” However, the bindery was just a building away over a sky bridge.
One day, I was down by glue room which is on the other end of the ink room. I was standing there with Mike Stillman and two other guys. Mike had this big wooden paddle about six feet long. He was beating the harden glue with this paddle it. It made a sound like a whip hitting bare flesh.
He would yell out. "Feed the rounder.” This was the machine from hell, I worked on in the bindery.
Slap..........”Feed the rounder.”..........SLAP! ”Please don't beat me, brother overseer!
“Feed the rounder.”...........Slap!"
We were all laughing. Just then walking up from behind us was none other than "Liver lips Linderman." The overseer of the whole bindery! He stood there for a minute quaking and finally said.
"Just what do think, would have happened if it was a tour group that had come over that bridge instead of me?"
Mike just stood there, with his paddle over his shoulder and said. "Well, I guess they would think we were normal, like everyone else!" Oh my god, I can’t believe what Mike just said!
Remember rule number one, never defend yourself.
Linderman stood there with smoke coming out of his ears and with a hateful look. He didn’t know what to say. How dare we stand up to him? He finally said. "You, you .......have done a very bad thing.” He turned and walked off. We are totally screwed, I thought.
That was it, I thought, bindery here we come…. back to hell!
But no, Norm came through again. He saved us.
That is, what is so nice about Bethel, it’s the love!
There is an old Bethel story that goes like this.
Phone rings in 5th floor bindery, new boy picks it up and says.
"This is Jack's mule barn, which Jack ass do you want?"
On the other end of the phone. "Do you know who this is?”
New boy. “No”
On the other end of the phone. "This is Max Larson factory overseer!”
New boy says. "Well, do you know this is?"
Max Larson says. "No!"
New boy says, "Good" and then hangs up. True Story.