Who are your heroes? Here's a few of mine … these guys do not know that I admire their work ethics, they also probably do not know that I wrote something about them.
At first glance, he looks just like the average, ordinary guy, but he's not, once you get to know him better …
Brocoy works as a forklift operator, he lifts about five or six copper anodes, which are all arranged neatly in a row, drives over to the weighing scale and then delivers them over to the back of the Refinery building where they'd be processed into copper cathodes.
Day in and day out, one finds 'Brocs' over at the anode yard with his forklift. He works overtime sometimes when his reliever goes absent and he works on his rest day too, when the opportunity presents itself … no big deal really.
The finished product, called copper cathodes, which he loads on trailers for transport over to the shipyard, find their way way to places such as China, South Korea, etc.
He is mild mannered and a good family man … and I admire the guy, know why? Well, for one thing, his long hours spent on his sometimes monotonous routine paid off when his eldest daughter graduated from college and now has a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering. He's got two more kids in college now.
By the way, he's my friend, and my hero.
George is originally from Bohol, He's an okay guy too, he's appointed as leadman in the Converter Furnace section of the Smelter Dept. You got only one ladle crane operator for the incoming shift? No problemo, let's call in old reliable George.
When one whole crew lacks one furnace operator or in some instances, a leadman for the shift because of one reason or another, all the supervisor has to do is call in George. That's how reliable and dedicated he is to his job. He is my friend and my hero, too.
Ernie's job is claiming I might say. He's a ladle crane operator … do not let that big belly fool you, he's first rate. When I was still working as a control room operator at the Converter Furnace section, we sometimes trade insults good-naturally over the radio. You see, one of my responsibilities was to coordinate with the ladle crane operator and the other control room operators of the other sections in the Smelter Department regarding the smooth flow of the copper smelting process. He is dedicated to his job and His skills earn him top money. He is also my friend and my hero.
These guys are all good family men and such kind of men are plenty where I used to be employed. I can not name them all because there are too many of them.
It is said that we Filipinos are willingly in need of heroes … maybe if we look carefully around us, we just might find our hero. These guys also have something in common: In their own small way, they make a positive impact on the economy.