I used to work with this old guy named Mel in my early twenties at a graveyard job in a cold storage warehouse doing freight handling. He would bike to work 20 km down a dark highway to get to our shift at 1 am, he owned a car just preferred to bike, which I respect. This guy was in his 70s, consumed nothing but a cheese sandwich for lunch, coffee, and smoked heavily. Despite this he was in seemingly great shape and was fastest, hardest worker in the whole place. At Christmas time we would unload 20 lbs boxes of mandarin oranges from 53 foot trailers packed top to bottom, front to back onto pallets, this guy would go faster by himself than two people. He always said it’s just about the technique and how you position your body.

I knew him in my early twenties before going back to school and he was the only person at that job with a brain so we talked a lot about space and technology and all that. I moved away for school so it’s been like 13 years since I last saw him so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s dead given his age and how much he smoked but I always wondered what happened to him and if he’s still kicking around. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if this guy made it to 100.