Continued from
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"Ah, it's because of the new guy!" someone said. For special reasons, the 10:30 to 11:00 break had been extended to 11:50. It also happened to be the day that the head rabbi flew in from Lakewood to check up on things and to test the two new shochets. It was a very pleasant break. The mashgichim utilized the extra time to learn and discuss various things about kashrus, shchita, even Shobbos. The eighteen year old emerged from the office and all congratulated him for passing the test. It was only ten minutes later the boy was heading out to the kill floor along with the mashgiach doing the simonim (checking the shchita). That gave the lung checkers, the numbers man, and the NK stamper fifteen minutes to get to their stations and the young man an additional five to get to his hanging tenders station.
Except
He didn't know where to find it
The young man waited for his tour guide rabbi so he could lead him to his station. He followed his guide as before like a duckling, inside the plant, around the corner, through a door, and continued in a somewhat narrow passage way, the line with workers on one side and some big machinery or something on the other. At that point one of the workers started shouting, "Rabbi! Rabbi!" It didn't seem his tour guide could hear so the young man tapped him on his shoulder. The worker caught up. He wasn't calling after the "tour guide", he was calling after him. It was a friendly looking black man in a blue helmet like all the other line workers who came right up and said,
"Rabbi"
"Your glasses"
The young man's eyes widened in shock and being startled. His hands went right to his face. He had to get out....now.
The young man tipped his helmet down and walked speedily back, looking down and praying nobody would notice. He just had to make it to the door.
Too late
The young man went past a white helmeted USDA officer who immediately spotted him. "Rabbi!" he called "Rabbi!" The young man pretended not to hear. "Rabbi!" The young man could sense the officer going after him. "Rabbi! Hey who is that guy!?" The young man continued. After all there were ear plugs for a reason. The scene would have been a rabbi power walking down the floor head down, helmet tipped like a crook and shortly after a USDA officer angrily right after him.
Dead end
The young man reached the end. The door in front of him, he could see, lead to where they did the packaging, and it was filled with USDA. In front of him was a worker with a cart giving the young man a bewildered stare. "How do I get out!?" the young man blurted, trying his best not to sound panicky. "This door." The worker replied.
It was the door right next to him
The young man almost burst through the door in his blind escape. He went right to the loading dock, out the door and straight to the rabbi's lounge. He grabbed his glasses and put them on. He let out a sigh of relief. "That's enough excitement for my first day." he said to himself,
but the young man had no idea what the rest of this day had in mind for him.
His first day was just warming up
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