Even before he was old...
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Even before he was old enough to speak, Danny had loved construction equipment. Through the years his parents had been treated to squeals of delight whenever they drove past heavy dozers and tractors at work reshaping the landscape. On every occasion that called for a present, Danny would ask for some sort of toy earth-moving equipment. Trips to the public library ended with checked out books about tractors and steamshovels, sheepsfoot rollers and cranes. If you said "caterpillar" to most children, they would think of the larval stage of a butterfly; but "caterpillar" to Danny meant machines, big machines. Now Danny waited nervously outside the foreman's trailer in the construction yard. He was applying for his first summer job. Probably he'd get stuck out on some lonely section of highway for three months holding a flag in his hand -- if he was lucky. But he'd be around the heavy equipment. "Can I help you, son?" the foreman growled, emerging from the trailer, startling Danny out of his daydream. "Ah ... er ... yessir! I hope so, sir! I heard you were hiring for summer crews." "Yep!" the foreman answered. "Know anything about building highways, son?" he asked. "Not a lot," Danny began. The foreman's face twisted into an annoyed scowl. "But I know equipment!" Danny added. "Izzat so?" the foreman spat. "We'll just see about that." He began to fire questions at Danny who answered just as fast as they came, forgetting his nervousness. All the years of fascination with heavy machinery had prepared him well. "This kid has promise," the foreman thought as he offered Danny the job. "Maybe, one of these days, we'll teach him to drive these critters." -- Stewart
