Shell ROTELLA® 'Unsung' Documentary

ROTELLA Transcript—A Hardworking Series/Shell Rotella—Unsung: Mike Hawes at Kitt Peak National Observatory

[Title] Mike Hawes at Kitt Peak National Observatory is Unsung: A Hardworking Series by Shell Rotella

Description: Interviewee discusses his 20-year employment at an observatory.

[Background music plays] Keyboards. Sound of a large automatic metal door being raised. Native American flute is added to the music.

[In vision]

As music begins, a large automatic metal door is raised. We see the sunrise in the distance and then the inside of a control room is shown. We see the subject of the video, Mike Hawes, as he pushes buttons and speaks into a handheld radio.

Mike: Coming open.

[In vision]

Like curtains opening, large metal housing panels begin to part, and we see the domes of multiple observatories in the distance as the sun rises. The opened panels reveal observation equipment.

As Mike begins to speak, fast-forwarded video reveals a night sky over the observatories, with stars moving across it.

Mike: When you think about the size of the universe, how big it is, we’re just a dust mote, you know.

[In vision]

Heavy-duty telescopic equipment is positioned as Mike speaks. Again, we see fast-forwarded video of stars spinning in a night sky over the main observatory. Dawn arrives and the scene changes to a daytime sky. Mike looks at a telescopic mirror.

Mike: Our product is science, the collection of photons. We try and make sure the telescopes operate, that the astronomers get their sky time. We’re supposed to have these telescopes going. It helps promote their science. We’re pretty much the nuts and bolts guys.

[In vision]

Peaceful music continues, and we begin to hear birds chirping softly as the title appears.

[Super]

Unsung

[Card]

A life in the day of hard work.

[In vision]

Music stops. Screen goes to black. A new super appears.

[Super]

A Shell Rotella^® hardworking experience.

[In vision]

Soft music, now with a guitar, resumes. Birds chirp. Another super.

[Super]

The United States’ National Observatory sits atop Kitt Peak, a desert sky city 50 miles outside Tucson, Arizona.

[In vision]

Music becomes more up-tempo. We see life on the Kitt Peak Observatory campus. A shuttle bus moves past a parking lot. Mike Hawes leaves the facility and heads toward his work truck in the parking lot, hops in and drives away. In the distance, a number of domes can be seen.

Mike: My name is Mike Hawes and I’m the facilities supervisor at Kitt Peak National Observatory. We’re kind of like the sky city here. I mean, we’re kind of self-contained.

[In vision]

A panoramic view of Kitt Peak, the numerous observatory buildings and the Arizona desert and mountains in the distance. Mike appears on-camera. As he speaks, we continue to see life on the campus: a worker in the building, up-close meters, a work truck making its way down the mountain, a gas station, the kitchen, garage interior, heavy-duty trucks and loaders in the parking lot.

[Super]

Mike Hawes

[Card]

Facilities Supervisor, Kitt Peak

Mike: On the mountain, we have 24 telescopes, which means that I have a crew of people that keep all of Kitt Peak running—that’s water, roads, buildings. You have the kitchen. We have a regular garage. You know, we have a lot of vehicles up here. We have heavy equipment.

[In vision]

A sign on the control panel:

DANGER

DO NOT OPERATE TELESCOPE OR DOME

MAINTENANCE IN PROGRESS

[In vision]

Music stops. Mike and coworkers performing maintenance on the equipment, at one point spinning and adjusting the giant attached mirror. A crane begins to lift and move the mirror.

Coworker: Okay, you ready to turn down?

Mike: Yeah.

Mike: Telescopes are machines. They’re…big fancy machines. They all have their own quirks. They don’t like to be turned off—they like to be used. You really want to keep them going. You know, you can’t be thinking about what a great weekend you had when you’re messing with this stuff. You break something…most everything is one of a kind you’d have to get machined…and remade.

[In vision]

Workers performing maintenance on the mirror.

Mike: When we take something apart, we try and put it back to within a thousandth of an inch or better, down in the micron-range type of stuff. That’s how precise we need to be.

[In vision]

Mike, with a flashlight in his mouth pointing at the inside of the equipment, making adjustments. A worker checks oil levels on the equipment.

Coworker’s voice: …last time. Couldn’t get it to move. Transmission was locked.

[In vision]

Cut to Mike’s office. An array of personal pictures on the wall. A key rack with dozens of keys hanging. Close-up of a military group photo with Mike’s image highlighted.

Mike: You know, I’m 61. I’ve probably had, I don’t know, six careers at least. When I retire in eight months, it’ll be almost 20.

[In vision]

Mike at his desk, on the phone. Cut to close-ups of family photos on the wall.

Mike (to listener on the phone): …and he has no means of getting a babysitter or whatever. So, he has to take care of his kids. So, I think we’re just gonna have to go ahead. Thanks. Bye.

[In vision]

Mike on a handheld.

Mike: José Montes!

José (off-camera): I’m coming to the office right now.

Mike: Okeydokey.

[In vision]

Mike working at his desk.

Mike: The most challenging part of my job is taking care of people.

[In vision]

Speaking to José, who is standing in the doorway.

Mike: Hey, after lunch they’re gonna want to transport the mirror back.

José: Okay. Already?

Mike: Yeah, but after lunch, after lunch. They already shot it, so we’ll do it after lunch. All righty?

José: Okay.

[In vision]

Mike working at his desk.

Mike: My guys know that I have an open-door policy. We can sit and talk and, one way or another, I deal with the issue.

[In vision]

Close-up of a picture from 20 years prior. A younger-looking Mike Hawes is seated in a control room with two other coworkers. Cut to current workers scaling the telescope to perform maintenance.

Mike: When I started work here, I was one of the youngsters. Now I’m old. We’re training up these new guys because, you know, eventually, I’m gonna retire and there’s gonna have to be the young guys that come in and take care of this stuff.

[In vision]

Mike, in the control room again.

Mike (to a coworker): What I may do is swap and have Vic go up with you this time, and then when it comes to go in, put Keith up with you, and that way both of you get experience on it.

[In vision]

Coworkers shown putting the mirror back in place at the top of the rigging. The mirror is mechanically adjusted back into position.

Mike: When I go to hire people, I look at how they’re going to fit in with everybody else, because people can learn anything. It’s all…it’s only a matter training. You can’t have a smooth-working machine if you’ve got a bad cog somewhere.

Mike (to himself): Yeah, that looks pretty good.

[In vision]

The panel door closes on the dome. The soft Native American music resumes. Birds chirp. Panorama of the hills of Kitt Peak. Cut to video of Mike and his wife in hiking gear as they proceed along a dry creek-bed. Then, close-up of Mike speaking to the camera. Then, back to the two of them hiking.

Mike: When I was a millwright, I got really sick. My wife thought I was gonna die. We decided that, you know, life is too short to just sit around and say, “Oh, I’ll do it later on.” We better start having adventures now.

[In vision]

The sun sets over Kitt Peak as we see various equipment and buildings. Again, we see spinning stars in a night sky. Cut to Mike as he plays a Native American flute. Screen fades to black as guitar plays.

Mike: I look up and see the stars and that, and I think, “Jeez, they’re getting a good clear night tonight.” Hell, it makes me happy being able to provide them with a telescope that works. This has worked out to be a really wonderful job, and I think they’ll remember that we were always pretty happy. You know, we had a happy crew. And you know, life is good.

[Super]

How do you work hard?

[Card]

Experience the complete Unsung series at youtube.com/shellrotellat

[Image]

Bottle of Shell ROTELLA^® T6 engine oil

[Super]

Shell ROTELLA

The engine oil that works as hard as you.

[Shell logo]

[Super]

Filmed on location at Kitt Peak National Observatory in the Schuk Toak District on the Tohono O’odham Nation National Optical Astronomy Observatory Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy National Science Foundation.

[End card]

[Shell logo]

[Music fades out]

ROTELLA Transcript—A Hardworking Series/Shell Rotella—Unsung: Chad Snow in New York

[Title] NYC Ironworker Chad Snow is Unsung: A Hardworking Series by Shell Rotella

Description: Interviewee discusses his life as a New York City ironworker as well as his Mohawk background.

[Background music plays] Drums thumping. Sounds of a large city, construction, car horn honking.

[In vision]

As drumming begins, we see the metal beams of a building under construction. In the distance, a view of the Manhattan skyline. Chad Snow, the subject of the video, hollers something to a coworker.

Chad: Everybody’s below us. We’re always the first ones up.

[In vision]

Keyboards join the drumming. Chad is many stories up on a new construction project, balancing carefully as he walks. Cut to close-up of a beam being moved by a crane.

Chad: I get a rush. Just thrilling to be up high and get a view that other people don’t usually get to have. But you have to be careful. The steel’s unforgivable. You know, one long step could be your last step.

[Super]

Unsung

[Card]

A life in the day of hard work.

[In vision]

Screen fades to black. A new super appears.

[Super]

A Shell Rotella^® hardworking experience.

[In vision]

Drumming continues. Beams up close, and downward and upward shots of the construction site. A coworker speaks into a heavy-duty handheld.

Coworker: Almost there. A little touch right. Hold swing.

[In vision]

Various workers on the beams, performing their duties. As Chad speaks, a body-based camera films his precarious perch and his movements high above the ground.

Chad: We’re the first ones on a site and we put up, like, the skeleton to the buildings. Now, my job is to direct steel. Fashion it. Bolt it. Most of the dangerous work.

[Super]

For more than 100 years, members of the Mohawk Tribe have walked the high steel in New York City, bolting together the city’s skyscrapers and bridges.

[In vision]

Music stops. Chad Snow speaks to the camera.

[Super]

Chad Snow

[Card]

Connector, Iron Workers Union

Chad: My father was an ironworker. My grandfather and my great-grandfather were ironworkers. And I’m proud to be Mohawk.

[In vision]

Music again. Video of Chad as he directs the manipulation of beams at the site. We see his coworkers performing their duties.

Chad: Got a long heritage of ironworkers. The gang I’m with now, everybody’s worked together a long time, 20 years off and on, and we all know each other’s moves. We’ve been connecting for probably around 25 years. I had a map when I started, where I used to put X’s on the jobs I was on. I got too many X’s and I just stopped after a while.

[In vision]

We see a shot of the Manhattan Bridge as well as the new Freedom Tower. Shots of the skyline. Chad eventually descends in a cage elevator. Music fades out.

I broke in in Battery Park. I worked on the Manhattan Bridge. The first 7 World Trade Center, the one that fell when the towers went down. I like New York City and the five boroughs. Once you do make it here, you feel very successful, but kind of lonely.

[Super]

The Mohawk skywalkers commute nearly 400 miles to work in New York City, often leaving their families behind in Canada.

[In vision]

In and out of a car, we see Chad as he crosses a major bridge. He speaks as he drives. Eventually, we see the Saint Lawrence River and the location marker sign for his city.

Chad: During the week, I live in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. My grandfather worked on this bridge. Friday to Sunday, I live in Montreal, Canada. Kahnawake. It’s an Indian Reserve on the Saint Lawrence River, just on the outskirts of Montreal.

[In vision]

As the drumming resumes with chanting, we begin to see images of life in and around Kahnawake. A tribal flag appears and then we see members of Chad’s tribe as they perform a ritualistic dance. Spectators surround the dancers.

Chad: It’s a tight-knit community, very proud people.

[In vision]

Chad, his wife and one of their daughters are observing the ceremony from the bleachers.

Chad: We respect the land and animals and everything that’s been given to us by the Great Creator.

[In vision]

Music changes to an upbeat guitar. We see a memorial to previous tribal members who were ironworkers.

Chad: The reserve was mostly all ironworkers at one time. That’s passed down generation to generation. You’re kind of told that you have to be the best. Times have changed and there’s not as many ironworkers as there used to be. People went to school. More entrepreneurs.

[In vision]

The Saint Lawrence River and the wildlife in the area.

Chad: This is where I was born and raised. I think it’s beautiful.

[In vision]

Chad, wearing a “Mohawk Skywalker” T-shirt, smiles as he pilots a powerboat on the river. Shots of Chad barbecuing for his family, playing with his younger daughter, posing in the living room with his wife and three children.

Chad: When I’m home, I have my wife and my kids. I like to barbecue and just hang out and swim and do stuff with my kids. You want the best, to make them successful and prepare them for life, try and teach them the ways of the world, make them strong and not pushovers, you know.

[In vision]

Old photos of Chad’s father as an ironworker. Current photos of Chad doing the same type of work.

Chad: Picture of New York City and my father ironworking in 1976. I was very proud to come from him because he was a good man, and he’s the one that broke me in as an apprentice.

[In vision]

Chad on-camera.

Chad: I have my son. I wouldn’t mind if he was an ironworker. I’d prefer him to do something else.

[Super]

Ridge Snow

[Card]

Chad Snow’s Son

[In vision]

Chad’s young son, Ridge Snow, speaks about ironworking. Images of his father’s worksite as he speaks.

Ridge: I was trying to keep the movement going because it’s kind of been in my family for generations. I’ve been to New York a couple times, but I’ve never seen his job. But all I know is it’s really dangerous.

[In vision]

As Chad finishes, we see continued images of his work, including how precarious and dangerous it could be. Then, screen fades to black as the music ends.

Chad: Life is a sacrifice and you want to give them whatever they need to finish…strength…and reminds me of both why I’m doing it and why I’m there. People always have to take risks, or we wouldn’t be where we are.

[Super]

How do you work hard?

[Card]

Experience the complete Unsung series at youtube.com/shellrotellat

[Image]

Bottle of Shell ROTELLA^® T6 engine oil

[Super]

Shell ROTELLA

The engine oil that works as hard as you.

[Shell logo]

[End card]

[Shell logo]

[Sounds fade out]

ROTELLA Transcript—A Hardworking Series/Shell Rotella—Unsung: John Borg in Alaska

[Title] Retired Alaskan Postmaster John Borg is Unsung: A Hardworking Series by Shell Rotella

Description: Interviewee discusses his experience as a postmaster in Eagle, Alaska.

[Background music plays] Guitar and keyboards. Sound of the wind blowing. Birds chirping.

[In vision]

As music begins, we see hard snow on the ground, snow-covered mountains shrouded in fog. Overhead shots of Eagle, Alaska. We see the subject of the video, John Borg, as he chops wood in the snow.

John: I live in Eagle, Alaska. I enjoy the freedom—there’s no fences. The biggest challenge is probably dealing with 50 and 60 below zero.

[In vision]

The wing of the mail plane as it flies over the area. A shot of the Eagle post office. A resident shovels snow. John strolls through a snowy wooded area and then appears on-camera in the middle of town.

John: I’ve seen a lot of changes in 47 years. When we came here, it was wood stoves, there was no telephone and the mail plane came twice a week, so you had to live with those conditions or leave. People like to chuckle about the fact that I live in a community of about 110 people. They think, well, that’s pretty backwoodsy. I like to tell people we’re not snowed in—they’re snowed out. (Laughs)

[In vision]

We see the wing of the mail plane again as it flies on a gray day. Peaceful music continues, and we begin to hear the sound of propellers.

[Super]

Unsung

[Card]

A life in the day of hard work.

[In vision]

Music stops. Screen goes to black. A new super appears.

[Super]

A Shell Rotella^® hardworking experience.

[In vision]

Sound of the propellers continues. More supers.

[Super]

The road to Eagle, Alaska, is closed seven months out of the year.

[Super]

In the winter, people here rely on a logistical lifeline forged over a century of hard work.

[In vision]

A postal worker offloads mail from the airplane and transfers it to a truck. We see the mail being handled inside the post office. Then John appears on-camera, in his home, surrounded by local artwork and tapestries.

John: I became postmaster in Eagle when the former postmaster was ready to retire…

[Super]

John Borg

[Card]

Retired Postmaster

John: …and was postmaster for about 28 years. It was a very enjoyable job because I felt that I was looking after the people that I served.

[In vision]

John shown outside. The mail truck. Postal workers readying outgoing mail to be put into the truck.

John: It hasn’t always been easy, because you’re out there amongst the ice floes and ice chunks and ice jams, but the mail is VITAL in Alaska. You get your medicine in and then you get your supplies in—whatever it is you need that you don’t have. It’s our lifeblood.

[In vision]

A front view of the post office. John on-camera again.

John: Prior to 1900, you could get a letter sent out, and it would be the next year before you would get your reply. Well, now if you have to wait for a week to get a response, you’re complaining. (Laughs)

[In vision]

John at his desk, looking at an old book on mail carriers. Images of Percy DeWolfe, a former postmaster in Eagle. John solo, and with his sled and dogs. John throws a log into the wood stove. Soft Alaska Native music, a fire crackling.

John: I had heard a lot about Percy DeWolfe, the “Iron Man of the North,” because the older generation…they all knew him. He was the mail carrier between Dawson and Eagle for 40 years. He never complained, even when he fell through the ice. He threw the mailbags off on the ice, so they never lost any mail.

[In vision]

Outdoor shots of Eagle, farmhouses, including at nighttime when the Aurora Borealis swirls green in the dark sky. Music intensifies. Images of Percy DeWolfe again. Interior shots of the post office.

John: From Eagle to Dawson by river is 105 miles. Percy DeWolfe did this twice a month, four days each way, one dog per hundred pounds. That’s pretty impressive. Nowadays, the Percy DeWolfe Mail Race is a celebration of the legacy that he established with his honesty and his dependability of getting the mail between the two places right on time. So, there’s integrity built into the race because this was Percy DeWolfe. He didn’t quit when it got cold. He didn’t quit when he couldn’t see the trail anymore. He hung in there.

[In vision]

A couple stands outside the Dawson post office. We hear sounds of dogs barking in the distance. Close-up of handlers in the snow with their sled dogs, prepping them for an upcoming race. The dogs bark excitedly. We see an entrant with a jacket that says, “Yukon Quest, 2015, Official Finisher.” He puts his hood up, dons his Percy DeWolfe Race vest and prepares for departure with his dogs. Children are huddled together on the street curb, waiting for the race to begin. Music now includes a drum and flute.

[Super]

Each spring, a dozen dog mushers reenact Percy DeWolfe’s mail run from Dawson City, Yukon, to Eagle, Alaska, and back.

[Super]

Every spring, John sets out to ride alongside them.

[In vision]

Bundled up for warmth, John approaches his snowmobile, gas can in hand, to prepare for the upcoming race.

John: To me, it’s…a rite of passage to spring: my trip to Dawson. And I don’t know how many more years I can keep it up, but I’m gonna do it again this year.

[In vision]

Race entrants say goodbye to loved ones and get ready to depart. The dogs are overcome with excitement for the race to begin. With cheers from the crowd, the sleds take off. We hear the motor turn over on John’s snowmobile, and he joins the ride as an observer. Close-ups of the mushers and their dogs, panting as they strain to carry the load. Overhead shots of tracks in the snow and John following.

John: The first time I went to Dawson by snowmobile, it took 12 hours because nobody had made a trail. You made your own trail. I enjoy it. You’re out there all by yourself, and you can see the changes, and the canyons on the Yukon, all of the rivers. Cabin here. There used to be people here. Never two years the same. It’s the JOURNEY, not the destination.

[In vision]

The video closes as we see John in the distance, following snow-covered tracks. The screen fades to black and the music ends.

[Super]

How do you work hard?

[Card]

Experience the complete Unsung series at youtube.com/shellrotellat

[Image]

Bottle of Shell ROTELLA^® T6 engine oil

[Super]

Shell ROTELLA

The engine oil that works as hard as you.

[Shell logo]

[Music fades out]

ROTELLA Transcript—A Hardworking Series/Shell Rotella—Unsung: Larry Koester, competitive tractor puller

[Title] Champion Larry Koester is Unsung: A Hardworking Series by Shell Rotella

Description: Interviewee discusses his outlook on life and overcoming hardship.

[Background music plays] Keyboards. Sounds of a tractor; the crackle of welding; an engine revving; a sander; the bustle at a racetrack; loudspeaker.

[In vision]

We see the subject of the video, Larry Koester, three-time Grand National Champion in tractor pulling. In a tractor; welding; helmet on behind the wheel of a race vehicle; sanding the treads on a tire; rolling the tire ahead as he moves forward in his wheelchair.

Larry: I think everyone has a purpose. Be positive. Work hard. And I think you find out what your purpose is. You need to take what you’ve been given and run with it.

[In vision]

Larry, with a Shell Rotella racing jacket on, moves around the grounds of a racetrack, in between the trucks and tents. He lifts himself into a race vehicle, buckles up and begins to pull away on a dirt track. The back shield of the vehicle has a message: MyMilesMatter by Shell ROTELLA^®. YOU DON’T NEED FEET TO KICK BUTT

As Larry speaks, we see him competing in a pulling competition. His vehicle is covered in Shell ROTELLA^® branding. In slo-mo, we see his vehicle shuddering and dirt flying as his wheels dig in.

Larry: You’ll find the higher side of a bad situation. Just never, never give up.

[In vision]

Race over, Larry celebrates his run with his crew.

Larry (to his crew): That’s awesome! Yeah!

[In vision]

In another shot, we see Larry embracing family at the track after a race.

Larry: That’s all you gotta do. Show ’em whatcha got.

[Super]

How do you work hard?

[Card]

Join the conversation at facebook.com/shellrotella

[Image]

Bottle of Shell ROTELLA^® T6 engine oil

[Super]

Shell ROTELLA

The engine oil that works as hard as you.

[Shell logo]

ROTELLA Transcript—A Hardworking Series/Shell Rotella—Unsung: Keith Allen in North Carolina

[Title] BBQ Master Keith Allen is Unsung: A Hardworking Series by Shell Rotella

Description: Interviewee discusses his 40 years of running a barbecue restaurant.

[Background sounds] Birds chirping. A keyboard comes in softly. The buzzing of a chainsaw.

[In vision]

Smoldering embers in a firepit. We see the subject of the video, Keith Allen, as he takes piping-hot slabs of meat off a grill. Outside by a wood pile, he uses a chain saw to cut up hickory. Inside, his gloved hands flip over steaming-hot sections of pork.

Keith: The first thing I remember my father saying to me was, “Get up. It’s time to go to work.” I didn’t get taught how to cook. The taste. The wood. Heritage. It is part of North Carolina’s DNA. You grew up with it. You just absorbed what you see.

[In vision]

Gloved hands shovel embers further into the fire. A steel guitar twangs loudly.

[Super]

Unsung

[Card]

A life in the day of hard work.

[Super]

A Shell Rotella^® hardworking experience.

[In vision]

Guitar continues. Cut to a truck moving down a lonely highway in the early morning hours.

[Super]

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

[In vision]

The truck pulls up in front of Keith’s barbecue restaurant. We hear Keith speaking and then he appears on-camera.

[Super]

Keith Allen

[Card]

Owner, Allen & Son

Keith: When I got started 40-something-plus years ago, cooking barbecue, it was easy enough to find really good barbecue in almost every place. It was a mom-and-pop’s affair.

[In vision]

Cut to Keith exiting his truck. Inside, we see a portrait of his father. As Keith speaks about him, the on-camera interview continues. Then we see the interior of the restaurant: a simple but clean environment, wood ladder–style chairs, green-checkered tablecloths.

Keith: My dad was a big man. He came off a one-horse farm. He went to the military. He learned to drink. He learned to play cards. He learned how to have fun. He learned to dance. He was the guy that had the personality. His favorite saying was, “Never let a customer get away.”

[In vision]

Keith, on-camera.

Keith: We maintain the restaurant of his today.

[In vision]

A banjo plays. Keith starts his early morning in the restaurant: turning on lights, starting and stoking the fire, making dough.

Keith: I usually get started at two in the morning; start the fire; throw a match to the wood. In between the 30 minutes’ or 15 minutes’ firing, you make pies, desserts or whatever is necessary to be built for the restaurant. I have assembly people to put it together during the lunch hour on the line. Other than that, all the food’s prepared by me.

[In vision]

Keith in the kitchen. We see the property sign outside: ALLEN & SON BAR•B•Q. Keith moves outside during daylight, cutting hickory in a woodpile. He picks up two large planks and heads back inside. He then manipulates large grates covered in slabs of meat and adjusts them for further cooking. He strains to shove them into the barbecue oven. Steaming, tender pink-and-gray pork slabs on a counter, being chopped by Keith as he turns the meat into pulled pork.

Keith: When I got started cooking barbecue over wood, everybody did it this way. There’s a whole different animal when you’re cooking with wood than if you’re cooking with something bland like gas. Like it is in Texas, they have their own flavor. Memphis has their own flavor. And they wouldn’t change it. Well, I’m not about to change the hickory. It is the heritage of North Carolina. If you’re not going to do it right, there’s no point in getting up and doing it at all.

[In vision]

A guitar joins the banjo. Keith takes a metal container full of freshly prepared pork from the barbecue area into the restaurant kitchen. As he speaks, we see the daily operations of the restaurant: food being prepped and served, customers eating and enjoying themselves.

Keith: People enjoy getting together, cooking that pig. If there’s a gathering Down East, they’re probably barbecuing something. It’s a social affair. It’s a community-type food. It’s like you’re kind of away from everything. Bells don’t ring. It’s kind of quiet. It’s plain. You’re not trying to impress anybody. You’re just trying to serve good food. That’s what it’s about: serving the customer.

[In vision]

Music stops. Outside shot of Keith’s restaurant, tucked back in the woods off a narrow street; shots of the work of running a restaurant. Keith appears on-camera again. The music slows down.

Keith: I’m proud to know that I took my father’s dream and made it happen for 40 years after he passed away. It’s about pride of what you do. Pride in the heritage of it. That’s the reason a farmer plants a seed. It’s the reason a guy gets to get up at two o’clock in the morning and goes to work. He’s trying to achieve something he’s got in his head. You gotta care. You gotta have pride in it for it to be really good. I don’t think I’m doing anything special. I think I’m doing what I ought to do.

[In vision]

As the video comes to a close, we see Keith gazing at the fire and glowing embers of his barbecue oven.

[Super]

How do you work hard?

[Card]

Join the conversation at facebook.com/shellrotella

[Image]

Bottle of Shell ROTELLA^® T6 engine oil

[Super]

Shell ROTELLA

The engine oil that works as hard as you.

[Shell logo]

ROTELLA Transcript—A Hardworking Series/Shell Rotella—Unsung: Larry Koester, competitive tractor puller

[Title] Long Road Home: The Larry Koester Story

Description: Interviewee discusses his outlook on life and overcoming hardship.

[Super]

A Shell Rotella^® hardworking experience.

[Super]

In the sport of tractor pulling, modified farm tractors pull a weighted sled down a 320 foot long dirt track

[Super]

Pulling the sled the full distance is known as a “full pull”

[Super]

Larry Koester is a three-time National Champion

[Background]

Sounds at a racetrack; loudspeaker; a revving engine

[In vision]

We see the subject of the video, Larry Koester, three-time Grand National Champion in tractor pulling, in his modified tractor, helmet on. We see an overhead shot of a dirt track surrounded on both sides by hundreds of spectators. The track crew readies for the next race. A tractor can be seen near the starting line. The sound of rhythmic drums begins, and we see Larry’s tractor approach the line. He makes the sign of the cross and closes his visor. Fully revved, Larry takes off down the track. As he crosses the finish line, we hear the loudspeaker: Full pull! Larry takes off his gear and talks excitedly with his crew.

Larry: Yes! That’s awesome! Yeah!

[In vision]

Larry’s main crewmember, Tim Bender, smiles.

Tim: That’s what I’m talkin’ about right there! That’s pullin’! That’s pullin’!

[In vision]

As Tim speaks to the camera, we see video of him at the end of the race and Larry as he dismounts from his vehicle. Soon we realize what Tim means. Larry pulls himself out of the seat and maneuvers over to a flatbed cart. We see for the first time that Larry is a double amputee. Background music of a slow guitar rhythm.

Tim: There’s so many pulls that we go to where people really don’t know who is in the seat. They’ll come up to me. They’ll think that I’m the driver. I said, “No. The man over there is the one you want to talk to.” And they’re just amazed. (To someone off-camera) Here we go!

[Super]

LONG ROAD HOME

The Larry Koester Story

[In vision]

A vehicle moves down a highway late at night. We see Larry behind the wheel.

Larry: I think some people just test the water. Some guys jump off of cliffs. Some guys jump out of perfectly good airplanes. They call ’em thrill seekers. Are you always the wild man? Or are you just real calm? I’m the first guy. Every time.

[Super]

Larry was born and raised in St. Wendel, a small farming town in southern Indiana

[In vision]

As the music shifts to an up-tempo, country-flavored drumbeat and guitar, we see scenes of farmland; Larry on-camera; at a local Little League baseball game.

Larry: When I grew up, we had chickens; we had cattle; we had hogs. We lived exactly one mile from the ball diamond. I got to play baseball. It was so cool to get off the farm to play, so, I mean when they said, ”Run,” man, I ran. When I went to Florida on a full-ride baseball scholarship, 13 of the guys were from Indiana. Big husky farm boys probably felt the same way about the sport as I did.

[In vision]

We hear Tim begin to speak again as we see an old photo of Larry in his college baseball uniform. Tim appears on-camera; then scenes of a bar as well a motorcyclist heading down a road at dusk.

[Super]

TIM RENDER

Tim: Larry was kind of an icon before the accident. You know, Larry was bigger than life. I’d go down to a local bar. All of a sudden, you’d hear all these motorcycles, and Larry Koester was one of them. He would back his motorcycle to the back door and blow smoke inside, and everybody thought that was cool as hell. And that’s where I remember Larry Koester just being a…I guess hell on wheels.

[In vision]

Picture of Larry as a young man. Then we see Larry’s family gathered around as a slide projector reveals images of Larry’s life before the accident.

Larry (to family): That Cadillac was in three demolition derbies.

Voice: That’s a Cadillac?

Jamilyn (daughter-in-law): That’s what you outran the cops in?

Adam (son): That’s a demo car.

Larry: (Laughing) No, that’s a demolition derby car.

Voice: I don’t believe it!

Larry: I won the chain race with that thing.

[In vision]

An image of a young Larry in tight cutoff jeans shorts.

Adam: How many people did it take you to put them pants on? (Everyone laughs.)

[In vision]

As the music changes to piano, we see Larry’s wife on-camera and then Larry, interspersed with photos of them when they were younger.

[Super]

CORAL “CAESAR” KOESTER

Caesar: I think I was 19. I met him at an arm-wrestling meet.

Larry: I was sitting there, and I had to check out the girls going by. And I kinda looked up, and it was Caesar. I’m like, wow, she’s pretty cute.

Caesar: He just made a presence when he came in the room. You couldn’t help but see him. He’s just one of those striking people.

Larry: We talked…seemed like the whole night long.

Caesar: I was thinking, “I think this might be the guy.”

Larry: I’d never had so much fun with any one person.

[In vision]

Their wedding photo.

Caesar: We were married in a year at St. Wendell, at the Catholic church. Fourth of July.

[In vision]

Cut back to the family watching the slide images. Later, Larry reminisces and appears on-camera again.

Larry: Where is this from? Where’d you find these pictures?

Voices: Awww…

Larry: Top of the game, you know. Seemed like life was as good as it could be…and then the accident happened. And the whole thing was up in the air.

[In vision]

A motorcyclist on the road. Larry on-camera. Photos of Larry with his baby daughter.

Larry: After I got married, I still hadn’t slowed down. I had a motorcycle that’d run 160 mile an hour. But I got rid of it because I thought I was gonna get hurt. I had a baby girl; Adam was on the way. I just thought it was time to get rid of that. And I did.

[In vision]

A farm tractor mower starts up on a wide expanse of grass, moving slowly. Larry on-camera again as a picture of his newly built home appears.

Larry: And then I turned on the farm tractor that went all of about 14 miles an hour. It was the day after our fifth wedding anniversary. I’d just built my new home. And alongside the driveway, there was this steep bank. You couldn’t mow it because it was probably 12 foot high. I must’ve been chopping close to the bank. When I raised that chopper up, the bank caved away and the tractor turned upside down. It flipped off this bank.

[In vision]

Up-close image of a tractor on its side. Larry, on-camera, motions to the back of his head.

Larry: My legs were pinned underneath the steering wheel. A piece of steel went in the back of my head. I don’t really remember anything else after that.

[In vision]

Caesar on-camera. Long shot of the driveway leading up to the house.

Caesar: I was actually back in the bathroom getting ready when Larry’s mom come flying through the door. There was a horrible accident in our driveway.

[In vision]

Shot of gasoline leaking and spilling out of the tractor engine. Larry on-camera. Shot of gasoline igniting; high flames.

Larry: The whole time that this tractor’s laying there, the gas is running out the tank…when a spark ignited all the gas.

[Super]

CONNIE KOESTER

Larry’s Sister

Connie: My mom called my brothers, and the neighbors were stretching garden hoses together to try put out the fire.

Larry: My brother dove into the fire and dragged me out. By that time, I’d already quit breathing.

Caesar: It was just absolute chaos. They called the medevacs in Fort Campbell, and Larry and I flew to Indy.

[In vision]

Video and sound of a helicopter approaching a hospital at night.

[In vision]

Connie on-camera. Pictures of Larry unconscious in the ICU, hooked up to various tubes and machines; family members at his bedside. As Connie speaks, she begins to tear up. Close-up of Larry, unconscious, with his scalp covered in stitches.

Connie: Number one, we didn’t know if he’d wake up. Number two, when he did wake up, was he gonna be normal. We just didn’t know. They didn’t know. Killed me. Killed me. He was always my big brother. My protector. And it just killed me to see him hurtin’, in pain. Would’ve traded places with him in a New York second.

[Super]

Larry was burned on over 40% of his body

[Super]

During surgery, doctors removed pieces of dirt and grass from his brain

[Super]

They put Larry’s chances of survival at less than 30%

[In vision]

As the music changes to a slow guitar strum, we see a moonlit sky with clouds passing by, farmland in the evening, interspersed with Larry on-camera.

Larry: Six weeks later, I was laying in a hospital bed. I didn’t even know anything had happened. I’m like, “Caesar, you gotta rub my feet. They feel like they’re burning.” She gets this puzzled look on her face. She finally said, “I can’t.” I said, “Why? Are they gone?” And she said, “Yes.”

[In vision]

A picture of a now-conscious Larry in his hospital bed, flanked by his toddler daughter and baby son. Larry on-camera. Then Caesar.

Larry: I don’t even think you can absorb that much at one time.

Caesar: We were there for 16 weeks. We were there for four months. From July to October.

[In vision]

Photos of Larry in his hospital bed, surrounded by family. Larry on-camera. Larry exercising his arms while in bed.

Larry: Day by day, it just starts soaking in, and I’m trying to figure out how the hell I’m going to do anything. I was in this little room, looking out a window, feeling like I was in prison. I wanted to go home.

[In vision]

Adam, now an adult, looks at photos of the family from that time and speaks. His wife, Jamilyn, is by his side.

Adam: The day he came home was a big day because I finally get to see my dad, because I lived with my aunt and uncle for…months. All of the other pictures of him, you know, had…I don’t see many pictures with him having legs or anything like that, so…this is the only way I know my dad. This is the first time we really got to spend time with him.

[In vision]

Larry on-camera.

Larry: People always say, “If you just wouldn’t have got on that bank….” And I’m saying, you know what…if’s a really big word.

[In vision]

Shots of Larry as he begins his day: getting in his wheelchair, taking a sponge bath, dressing the burn scars. Interspersed with Larry on-camera, we see him gazing out the bay window of his home.

Larry: It seems like when things happen, they happen for a reason. And if you keep a positive attitude, you will find out why that happened.

[Super]

Larry spent the next four months rehabilitating under the care of nurses and doctors at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis

[Super]

He finally returned home on October 31, 1986

[In vision]

A sign on the lawn: WELCOME HOME LARRY

Children’s voices (chanting): Larry! Larry! Larry! Larry!

[In vision]

We see news video of the day Larry returned home from the hospital for the first time since his accident. The car pulls into the driveway. We see a crowd of people, many of them children, excitedly welcoming Larry home.

News reporter: After lots of hugs, kisses and “welcome home”s, Larry, his wife Caesar, and their two children, Ashley and Adam, finally were reunited at home.

[In vision]

Larry speaks to the news cameras. Below his image: LARRY KOESTER.

Larry: I’m speechless after seeing all them little kids and all them people at St. Wendell…

[In vision]

Caesar speaks to the news cameras. Below her image: CORAL “CAESAR” KOESTER, Larry’s Wife

Caesar: It means a lot. It really does. Everybody…we got cards. The last count I had was four hundred and forty-three, and that was probably a month and a half ago. So, everybody’s really been supportive to us.

[In vision]

Larry again. He embraces a well-wisher.

Larry: Yeah, and it’s beautiful out here. And they mowed the bank! (Laughs) I didn’t have to mow the bank.

[In vision]

Larry, on-camera, interspersed with video from his homecoming, as well as photos.

Larry: Lots and lots of people came, and they brought food and they was trying to console me and I just…I was still looking out a window. I was trying to fake it. I was trying to act like there was nothing wrong and it…and my mind was going bonkers.

[In vision]

More photos. A somber-looking Larry holding his infant son; holding both children on his lap.

Larry: I wanted to be the breadwinner, and I wasn’t. I wanted to be the man, and I wasn’t. I’m this worthless guy and I can’t do anything anymore.

[In vision]

Caesar on-camera.

Caesar: Couldn’t go to work. He didn’t have the strength. Yeah, that was probably a dark period for him.

[In vision]

Ashley sits at a table with her mother. They discuss what those first days were like.

Ashley (to Caesar): When you came home, did it not, like, freak you out, what you had to do? The things that you had to do? (Caesar just keeps shrugging.) You just did it. You just know, “I don’t have a choice.”

Caesar (to Ashley): Right. The day I left him here with you when I went to the grocery store, it’s like, “You can handle her. She’s three. She walks around. She can talk.”

[In vision]

As we hear Larry speak and see him on-camera, we see old video of Ashley as a toddler, wandering around the yard and playing.

Larry: I’m in the living room. I’ve got my burn suit on. And Ashley starts hollering for me, “Daddy, you gotta come here. Daddy, you gotta come here.” I’m trying to get in my chair, and I can’t put myself in my chair, and the more I tried, the more frustrated I got. By the time I got back here, I had tears in my eyes because I was so frustrated with myself. And she throws her arms around my neck and she goes, “Don’t cry, Daddy. I love you even without your legs.” She didn’t care that I didn’t have any legs. She probably wouldn’t have cared if I didn’t have any arms. She wanted a daddy. And I thought, “Man…be a daddy!”

[Background music becomes more up-tempo]

[In vision]

Photo of Larry on a sofa with baby Adam next to him, surrounded by other family members. Photos of Larry holding his children. Larry is smiling in the photos. We then see present-day Larry in his wheelchair as he heads out of the garage. He rolls a tractor tire into the workshop.

I mean, within a week, I start wrestling around with the kids, playing with ’em, you know, like a daddy should. And the more I played with them, the stronger I got. And I mean, in like a week or two weeks maybe, at the most, I called the shop, and I went to work.

[In vision]

Larry, on-camera, and with Adam in the workshop. Photos of Adam as a toddler in his overalls. We see photos of Larry with his young children as they get older, involved in their activities.

Larry: Adam went with me everywhere I went. He had his little OshKosh B’gosh bib overalls on, and him and his little nine-sixteenths wrench that he packed around everywhere. He was my man, and we were just…we were hanging out together. It was awesome. I was savoring every second of it. He’s been with me tractor pulling since he was a little kid and he…he absorbs so much of it.

[In vision]

In the shop, Adam machining something for a motor, with careful calibrations. We begin to hear Ashley speak and then see her on-camera. A pickup truck hauls the newly machined motor out of the garage.

[Super]

ASHLEY CORZINE

Larry’s Daughter

Ashley: Yeah, Adam was definitely a tinkerer from the word “go.” Now, in his career, that’s what he does—he’s an engine builder. He’s actually very good at it.

Larry: He’s a machinist, tool and die; he’s a perfectionist when it comes to the motor.

Ashley: Adam thinks mechanically and then Dad brings in the analytical side of it, and they make a really good team, for sure.

[In vision]

An array of Larry’s racing awards. Larry speaks on-camera again. Photos of Larry.

Larry: Well, I pulled at some local pulls with a little homemade tractor that my brother had. And then I bought a tractor…I’ve been driving ever since.

[Super]

Larry has been pulling in the mini-modified division since 1987

[Super]

He has won dozens of tractor pulls and has been nominated four times as “Mini-Modified Puller of the Year”

[In vision]

As a guitar plays an upbeat tune, we see Larry’s racing equipment coming out of his garage, being loaded into a semi, ready for the next race. Larry, behind the wheel of his motor home, with Caesar.

Larry: Well…four days…one pull…

Caesar: Nine hours…

Larry: Nine hours…

Caesar: Story of our lives.

Larry (laughs and sings, imitating Willie Nelson): On the road again…

[In vision]

The motor home now has more travelers: Adam and Jamilyn, a granddaughter and a dog.

Granddaughter: Come on, Papa.

Larry: Okay. I’m glad you’re with me. I wouldn’t know which way to go. (As she waves out the window) “See you in a couple days, Mom, Dad.”

Larry: My kids gave me a reason to live. I think I should use that.

[In vision]

Slow guitar sounds. Shots of the racetrack during the day; fans in the stands; Larry and his family arrive. Tim on-camera. The equipment is offloaded.

Tim: Three, four days before we start, you can always see the anticipation start coming up.

Larry: Made it.

Woman: Hello. Hi (to the granddaughter). You ready? You ready to pull?

Tim: Everybody has a job. We know what needs to be done. There’s no sitting on the back seat, thinking that, “I’m gonna coast through this.” Nobody coasts through the Koesters.

[In vision]

Larry and Adam prepare the vehicles for race day, and then they drive off in a Gator.

Larry: We have a drivers meeting. We’ll be back.

[In vision]

Larry, on-camera. Shots of the hustle and bustle of the racetrack environment. Adam surveys the track.

Larry: You know, back when I was doing all the crazy stuff, it just was the thrill of the moment. Just like, now, on that tractor, it’s still the wild part of me coming out. I just think it’s the next page.

[In vision]

In the motor home. Larry moves down the steps to his wheelchair. Ashley is shown holding an infant as she speaks to her daughter.

Ashley: Here, Sissy. Here’s your headphones. You put those on? Show Mimi how you put them on? Carsen: Who’s gonna win?

Carsen: Daddy. And Papa.

Ashley: And who else?

Carsen: Uncle Adam.

Ashley: Okay, so first and second. That’s good enough.

Caesar: Uncle Adam. Hi-five.

[In vision]

Jamilyn stands next to Adam as he pours gasoline into the race vehicle. Race fans wander around. Tim on-camera again.

Tim: It’s all kind of boring until that motor starts up.

[In vision]

Race vehicles, engines revving loudly, move about the track.

Tim: You can feel it. It’s time to rock.

[In vision]

Ashley and Caesar hug the men before the race.

Larry (to Adam): All right. Good luck.

Ashley: Love ya.

[In vision]

Larry on-camera, interspersed with shots of a race, fans in the stands, the noise and excitement of race day. Larry, with a Shell Rotella racing jacket on, lowers himself into the driver seat of his vehicle and buckles up, ready to race.

Larry: Well, I’ve been pulling for 29 years, and this thing just rocks your world every time you get in it. It leaves like a dragster; it goes fast right out of the hole. If you have the ability to control that much power, it’s kind of like man over machine…I mean, it’s great. It’s just a great rush. I’m gonna go as fast as I can as long as I can.

[In vision]

Larry’s race vehicle begins to pull away on a dirt track. The back shield of the vehicle has a message: MyMilesMatter by Shell ROTELLA^®. YOU DON’T NEED FEET TO KICK BUTT. Caesar and family members in the stands watching. The race begins. As Larry speaks, we see him competing in a pulling competition. His vehicle is covered in Shell ROTELLA^® branding. In slo-mo, we see his vehicle shuddering and dirt flying as his wheels dig in.

Sounds of the children from years ago: Larry! Larry! Larry! Larry!

[In vision]

Now finished with his own race, Larry watches Adam compete.

Larry: I never thought I’d get so much excitement out of watching Adam drive, until he drove. And I really think it is better to watch him go down the track than it is for me to drive myself.

[In vision]

Adam finishes his race, and family members head out of the stands.

Larry: About the time you wanna quit, or about the time you think you’ve had enough of it, you’re thinking, “I need to keep doing this. There’s a reason.”

[Super]

Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Larry reaches out beyond the track to raise thousands of dollars for kids with life-threatening illnesses

[In vision]

Larry drives through the crowd at a Make-A-Wish Foundation charity event. He speaks to the crowd.

Larry: I ain’t nobody. You all are somebody. And those little kids are the only reason we’re here.

[In vision]

Courtney, a young friend of Larry, on-camera, interspersed with shots of Larry and fans at the charity event.

Courtney: Well, Larry and I first became really close when I got really sick back in…it was 2012. My dad, somehow, was talking to Larry on the phone one day and told him I was down because I had to learn to re-walk. And Larry says, “Give the phone to Courtney.” Larry gave me a pep talk, telling me not to feel sorry for myself, and that there’s kids out there just like me that don’t give up. And when I saw Larry two months after, I ran up to him…I gave him a big hug and I said, “Thank you for being there. Thank you for talking to me.”

[In vision]

As slow guitar music starts up again, we see Larry on-camera, at the charity event, being congratulated by friends and family after a race.

Larry: If you can talk to somebody from your heart and tell ’em what you’ve been through, seems like some people grasp it, or it touches their heart.

[In vision]

Larry, Caesar and Carsen in the Gator. Family photos from soon after the accident. Larry smiling as he holds his children. Current video of his family at a race.

Larry: When things are as bad as they get, you pray. And the first prayer I said was, “Let me come home and raise my kids.” God, I think He must’ve listened to me because I got to come home. I mean, here it is, almost 30 years later, and I’m still getting to be with them. Pretty cool.

[In vision]

Family members gathered outside at night around a roaring campfire. Guitar slowly ends.

Larry: I want people to look back and say, “Damn, he had all this stuff happen and he just never gave up.” That’s all you gotta do: Just never, never give up.

[Super]

How do you work hard?

[Card]

Join the conversation at facebook.com/shellrotella

[Image]

Bottle of Shell ROTELLA^® T6 engine oil

[Super]

Shell ROTELLA

The engine oil that works as hard as you.

[Shell logo]

Title: Tour Production Manager Syrus Peters is Unsung: A Hardworking Series by Shell Rotella T

Transcript: Waking up in a new city every day in a parking lot,, yeah know, just desolate, nobody there, happens a lot. Last night, we drove 8 hours from Youngstown, Ohio to Atlantic City, New Jersey. That's just the next city. It's just kind of like, alright, we're here. My name is Syrus Peters, I'm the Production Manager, Stage Manager and Drum Tech for Papa Roach. They're a rock band and basically, we're doing a rock show. When you're out here, you're out here. You know, you're gone for 6 to 8 weeks, sometimes 12 weeks. The longest run I've had without ever coming home was 16 weeks. This is the only thing I know. I know how to tour. I was married for a long time on the road to a great woman. Unfortunately, just being married to a touring musician is not fun. You know, my kid's 16-years old now and I've been touring the entire time. My son accepts that. I've taken him on several tours and it's made it a lot easier for him to understand: and be like: this is what my dad's always going to do. Music is always an outlet for me, always, always, always has been. I don't know where I'd be without music honestly. Music is that much a part of my life. So I started teching for my friends' bands like Creed, Stuck Mojo, and bands like that. I just kind of ran with it. Drums are my first love. My dad was a drummer so the passed the legacy onto me. I treat drums like somebody with a car. You know, they baby their car, they wax it, it's their passion. That's the same way I feel about drums. From start to finish, it normally takes me about 2 hours to get completely loaded in the trailer to the stage ready for a rock show. I love these guys, they're very much like family, 'cause that's our tour family, man We all have families at home and we miss our families. I can honestly say that at least once a show, there's a moment where I just have a huge smile on my face and maybe get the chills, maybe get some goosebumps and just realize that I'm extremely blessed to be doing what I love and that I was an integral part of making this show happen. I get pleasure out of my job, a lot, a lot, a lot of pleasure out of my job. It's in my DNA. I'm a tour guy, I'm a road guy and I am here for the greater good of live music.

Title: Tennessee Bus Driver Terry Ford is Unsung: A Hardworking Series by Shell Rotella T

Transcript: I think the most satisfying parts have been along the road, you see a lot of beautiful sunrises. I'm Terry Ford. I live in Morristown, Tennessee and I'm a bus driver. I'm in my 25th year with Hemphill Brothers Coach Company so I've been driving full-time since 1985. Did 11 years with Trisha Yearwood. In '92, I was on the MC Hammer 2 Legit tour. Done several Luther Vandross tours before he passed on. In 2000, I got to do George W. Bush a lot so we do get a wide variety of work to do. Right now, I'm currently touring with a band called The Band Perry. They're young, they're energetic like my grandkids. I'm out about 300 days a year so you find yourself thinking about family a lot. All you remember is the laughter and that keeps you going. Learn to stay up all night and sleep day times. I get up normally between 10 and 11 PM. Have my coffee, catch my ride, or if I'm close enough, I'll walk to the bus. I grew up a bass player in Southern Gospel music. Of course I got married and had children. Family was getting hungry and I had to decide if I'm going to eat or play music so I chose eating. In July of '85, I interviewed with a bus company, started driving the next weekend. The kids can eat. When I get to the bus for my check, I walk around, thump the tires, take the tire pressure, make sure it's all good. Gig I'm on now, we actually pull a trailer so we have to check the trailer. At that point, I usually open the engine compartment, check my oil, transmission fluid, do a visual inspection of the belts to make sure they're all looking good and tight. If I take good care of the bus, it in a sense will take care of me. Want to fire it up and pretty much, you're good to go at that point. One of the important parts of my job is always realizing that people are on the bus and they're trying to have a life, so trying to drive in a manner that's smooth enough to where they don't notice they're moving. Doing a good job is meaning arriving and no one's awake. There is certain times when driving in wide open, It's a free feeling like riding a horse in wide open spaces with the mane blowing in the wind. You hit a lot of moments you wish you could share it with somebody, but everybody's in bed so cherish the moments yourself. I told my son growing up: whatever you do, do it well. You know when you do a good job. Just the satisfaction of yes, I did a good job tonight and then I get up and do it all over again.

Title: Snowplow Driver Chris Bonen is Unsung: A Hardworking Series by Shell Rotella T

Transcript: Well, John D says we're going to get a lot more snow the next three days. This should be our last storm we're going to get for the year, which hopefully it is 'cause everybody is pretty tired of it. My name is John D and I have one of the few jobs that when you are wrong, everybody knows about it. We're almost at the top of the United States, surrounded by the shores of Lake Superior, 400 miles to the north of Chicago. East of the Rockies, the Keweenaw Peninsula, is one of the snowiest places in the whole United States. The snow plow drivers up here are up against a bigger job than you're probably going to find anywhere. A plow can go down a roadway and when it's snowing heavily and we've got 40 mile per hour wind like we're going to have tomorrow, that road can get closed right back within a matter of minutes. The problem right now is we got about 3 feet on the ground and there's really nowhere to push it. Tomorrow, if we do have enough wind, it could be bad. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I wake up at 4 in the morning and it's snowing, the name of the game is to get everything done as fast as you can. I try to get all my residential clients wrapped up by about 7 o'clock so I try to drive pretty fast to get everything done. My dog's name is Brian and he comes with me every day for morale because I spend about 12 hours in my truck. It seems to be getting a lot windier now and making visibility a lot harder. Having one truck is a little stressful just because if I get stuck, the whole operation is shut down. And the spaces we have to maneuver in, they're bad right now. I don't have a lot of room to work so I end up smashing my back bumper and tailgate so my truck takes a lot of abuse. I need a new transmission, new bumper. Broke the plow a little bit so that makes it a little bit stressful. I don't feel like I can rest easy until I can get everybody out so they can make it work or school or wherever they need to be. I try to help out elderly people or people that are having a tough time moving snow themselves. I think it's more or less a small town thing to help each other out. To live in the UP, you definitely need to like snow. Otherwise, you're going to go crazy. I feel like I accomplish something at the end of the day. I'm just glad it's over with and hope it doesn't snow the next night.

Title: Logger Myles Anderson is Unsung: A Hardworking Series by Shell Rotella T

Transcript: I'm about 4th generation in my family to be in the logging business and I knew from an early age that this is what I wanted to do. Today we have three different operations going on. We do pretty much everything in the process from falling trees, putting them on trucks and hauling them to the sawmill. A lot of these jobs are 30-40 miles from our shop. We're harvesting timbers right in the heart of the Redwood Forest. Our season is very short and so there's a lot of pressure to getting those logs to the sawmill and any little hiccup can cause us a lot of problems. Very strange to have rainfall like this this time of year but sometimes that's my luck. There's a lot of things moving, a lot of things out of our control and it's a very dangerous environment. Introducing rain into it makes everything more risky. A lot of the rules that we harvest timber under are to protect the spotted owl and the salmon. The idea is to keep the impact up on the ridge tops away from the stream so we operate a lot on steep slopes, 50,60,70% side slops is not uncommon and so we do a lot of cable logging and this allowed us to access timber that would otherwise be very difficult to reach. There's a unit down there that hasn't been cut yet. The only way to harvest the timber is to go down by hand and for a timber worker, being down there is extremely dangerous. You're talking about several thousand pound trees and when they hit, there's lots of stuff moving. At times, it's difficult to get out of the way fast enough. Working in wet conditions, the hill side's slicker, it's hard to get footing. It makes everything just that much more dangerous. Before we can cut down a tree on anyone's property in the state of California, they have to have a timber harvest plan which tells you what you can cut and so by going and doing single tree selection, the idea is to let the young trees take the water and sunlight that those big trees had and grow very rapidly. When you talk to the general public and you mention logging, they see these great big huge clear cuts, they don't see the kind of stuff that we're doing today there in the north coast of California. The history of Fort Bragg revolves around the earthquake that leveled San Francisco in early 1900. They needed lumber to rebuild and it didn't matter how they got it. Up and down the coast, just about every gulch had a small sawmill. The logs were extremely difficult to move and early on, they were loaded onto ships and taken out to San Francisco and other destinations. There was a lot of rough practices. They didn't have the equipment that we have today and I think there was definitely a need for change, without a doubt. Right now, the United States of America has more timberland than it did 100 years ago and that's because there not clearing as much land and it's a reflection of the timber industry's ability to regrow trees also. Growing up with these guys, it's almost like you're family. I think a lot of guys that flock to logging have an extreme work ethic. There's a certain amount of pride that goes with being able to see what you've accomplished in the day. That teaches you a lot about who you are as a person and what you're capable of doing.

Title: Contractor John Nolan is Unsung: A Hardworking Series by Shell Rotella T

Transcript: The weather today is 100 and rising. Hot, hot, hot. My name is John Nolan. I recently retired as a lieutenant on the New York City Fire Department. We're in Breezy Point, Queens. It's the southern most point of Queens. This area is unique because it's a peninsula that fronts the ocean and the bay and Manhattan is off to our right. When super storm Sandy hit, this community was destroyed. Everything that you see throughout this whole area was all homes. It's amazing. The water level was so high that the ocean met the bay. It was violent. 500 active firemen live down here and they tried to get the people that needed to be rescued out. Then, in early evening, the fires started and with the high winds, homes were catching fire, one right after the other and it spread to 136 homes. Luckily, there was a wind shift and the fire department was able to get water on the houses that hadn't started burning and because of the incredible work the guys did, there were no fatalities in this particular area. The day after the storm, it was just massive destruction everywhere. The entire community needed help. So initially, the calls came in from firemen, friends of firemen, or family of firemen. I was a licenced contractor prior to Sandy so we came together as the fire department always does and did whatever we had to do to get the people back into their homes. It seems like every day is a sense of urgency, there's not enough hours in the day and everybody does a little something different. I'm limited on how much I can do physically so I'm the gopher. I go for this and I go for that. We help each other. It's just something that's instilled in you from the time you come on the fire department. Putting your life on the line with that guy. He's watching your back, you're watching his back and that's how the brotherhood is formed because you don't want to let the other guy with you down. In Queens, you don't judge a guy by how tough he is by how many guys he can knock down, you judge a guy by how many times he can get back up. That's the Rockaway, Breezy community. They are a resilient group of people It's taken some time to get back but it's from hard work and getting it done. It's always a personal sense of satisfaction you get a house finished just to be able to move on to the next house, to know that that family get back into their home.