Riding With Jimmy

Riding With Jimmy

 

When I was on the Phillips Petroleum engineers training program, I was able to spend time with personnel in the various job areas in the oil field. This story reflects some of my experiences with a field operator.

 

Riding With Jimmy

 

In 1966, I was on the Phillips Petroleum Engineers training program. I got to ride around with and assist the field operator who took care of the pumping oil wells in a certain part of the oil fields around Borger, Texas for a week. Jimmy was the name of the operator I was riding with. Jimmy would stop for coffee at a local cafe for about an hour every morning before hitting the field. We were making the rounds one morning and there was a car parked at one of the well sites. We pulled up and got out and walked over to the car and looked in. In the back seat, there was a man on top of a woman going at it. They never looked up. We watched for a while and then went to the well and started our well check procedures. In about ten minutes, the car started up and drove away. I asked Jimmy if he finds people pumping at the pumping oil well sites very often and he said no this was only the third or fourth time.

 

On another day, we were working the wells and we came upon two huge Hereford Bulls standing face to face staring at each other. Jimmy pulled up and parked and told me we were about to see a bull fight. After a while the two bulls ran together at full speed an rammed their heads together and pushed on each other with their feet kicking dirt high into the air, They then backed off and started staring at each other again. They repeated the procedure several times and Jimmy told me it was about over. He said in a minute, the bulls are going to run together again and one of them will turn and run. The other one will hook him in the butt with his horn and it will be over. Sure enough it happened just like he said and we went on about our business. The bull fight impressed me so much that I decided I wanted to preserve the memory. My Mom was an excellent artist and she loved to do oil paintings. The next time I saw her I asked her to paint me an oil painting of two hereford bulls fighting in their natural habitat. She finished the painting in a couple of weeks and gave it to me. I still have the painting hanging on the wall in our den today.

 

In a couple of months when the training administrator ask me which training job I liked the best, I told him the field operator. He asked why and I said I got to see some very interesting things and left it at that. Phillips Petroleum did have an excellent training program. The items discussed herein were just side benefits.

 

Two of these big Hereford bulls fighting makes a good show.
Riding with Jimmy

Oil painting of Hereford bulls fighting painted by my Mom. In my den today.

 

Thanks for reading Riding With Jimmy,

Hawg Jaw Bill