It was beautiful springtime weather, clear skies and a balmy 72 degrees the night of May 20, 2019. I was in the central maintenance shop at BMW Manufacturing in Greer, SC rebuilding an air-powered motor for the paint mixing system when perhaps the oddest call I had ever heard came over the radio. I've been an industrial maintenance technician for more than thirty years and have seen and heard some odd things in my career but little did I know what was about to take place, and how it would change me forever!
I was fretting and fussing over getting the oil seal to properly seat in the motor's lower housing when the radio blared into my ear..."How about you ESA? Could someone come out to the SKD area? There is a kitten inside the dock leveler." I paused for a moment, unsure of what I had just heard then replied: "Could you repeat that? A kitten, inside the dock leveler?" The radio crackled in response..."Yes sir. There is a kitten inside the dock leveler for the SKD shipping area and we are afraid to operate it in fear of crushing it!"
As I said, I've seen a lot of catastrophic situations in my career and have dealt with calamities and mayhem of epic proportions but this was a first! I've seen a worm pull a Robin into it's wormhole and eat it. I've even seen Dolly Parton naked and I've been in the wrestling ring with both Dusty Rhodes AND Ric Flair but none of that was to compare to what I was "fixing to see" as we say down south!
I keyed the microphone for the radio and said "Stand by, I am on my way", and proceeded to hot-foot it to the SKD area. SKD is an acronym for "Semi Knocked Down" and is how many BMW X series vehicles are exported to foreign countries. The individual components for a vehicle are shipped as a "kit" to Egypt, South America and the Pacific Rim which bypasses some export tariffs as the vehicle isn't considered fully assembled. On arrival at it's destination, the vehicle gets assembled and then sold to the customer.
I arrived on the scene and enlisted help from the driver of the semi that was hauling the SKD bodies to the inland shipping port in Greer, SC along with a couple of BMW employees working in the SKD area to form a rescue posse. I could hear a faint, frantic "Mew! Mew!" emanating from within the leveler, and with the help of my recruited "Rescue Crew" we carefully lifted the heavy dock ramp up and propped it open with a 4 x 4 timber that was part of a wooden pallet that happened to be laying close by. The ramp weighed probably 200 pounds and I wanted to secure it before crawling under to investigate... Safety first! I certainly didn't want myself nor the kitty to get crushed!
Crouching down, I flicked on my flashlight and played the beam around until I located the source of the frantic cries. What I saw bated my breath and made my pulse quicken. There in the illumination of the light emanating from my trusty Q-Beam four cell flashlight was a tiny puff of gray fur not much bigger than my fist that was covered in cobwebs and dust, with big blue eyes and absolutely terrified. It was my first introduction to this marvelous creature that I now call "Little Miss Puff", or simply "Lil Puff"! Honestly, I was as terrified as she was and felt tears of sorrow welling up in my eyes!
Now, I must let you know that I am a gruff, no-nonsense maintenance guy with perpetual dirt and grime under my fingernails but nothing reduces me to a blubbering lump of flesh like an animal in distress and I especially have a soft spot for the kitties! I've had dogs, cats, pigeons, ferrets, hamsters, chickens and even frogs for pets since I was a wee lad...but the kitties are what I've always loved. There is something about their independence that fascinates me, and to win their affection is proof that they love you unconditionally.
After a quick assessment of the scene I discovered two things....first, there was not enough room for me to climb in and second, there was no way on Earth that kitten could have crawled in there as it was at least three feet off the grade and there wasn't enough room for her to crawl in through the gaps in the leveler. How she got in there will forever remain a mystery to me. I didn't ponder the possibilities too long, as I just had to get her out of there!
I raced back to the shop and fabricated a snare like the ones I have seen Animal Control officers use on television...a four foot section of 3/4" pipe with a length of wire, doubled up and passed through the pipe to form a loop at one end and the free ends of wire sticking out the other. I felt kind of like "Jim", Marlon Perkins' assistant on the old TV show "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom" as I hastily made my way back to enact the rescue of one helpless, terrified little miracle!
Upon arrival to the scene of the rescue, I directed one of my fellow rescuers to hold the flashlight while I fished the makeshift snare into the leveler and cornered her. Slowly, carefully I got the noose around her neck and gently snugged up the free ends of wire until I had her snared sufficiently to drag her out, and into my arms. Poor thing! She was scared out of her wits and when I finally got hold of her, her little heart was about to tap tap tap out of her chest. Once again, I felt those big old tears welling up in my eyes and I paused for a minute to allow her to calm down...and to hide my emotions from the small crowd that had assembled to witness the rescue!
When I emerged, clutching this little puff of fur the crowd erupted in glee! Much fuss was made over her as I held her up for the crowd to see just how stinking cute she was. I asked if anyone wanted her while deep inside I was hoping that there would be no takers! No one was willing to take her, so the stage was set for yet another addition to the Johnson Feline Pride!
I plodded back to the shop, blubbering like a ninny the entire way while clutching her tightly and softly whispering to her..."Aw, sweet little girl! You are safe now and I promise to give you the best home ever and to love you until the day we part." She was scared to death as I passed through a particularly loud section of the paint shop, so I tucked her inside my coveralls. She promptly buried her head under my arm and cried as I hoofed quickly past the loud fans and pumps that supply water to the paint scrubbing system.
When we got back to the shop I found a cardboard box, threw some rags in to make a little kitty bed and fashioned a water bowl out of a cut-down paper cup. She settled down after a bit of anxious crying, and soon she was purring loudly and trying to climb out the box and back into my arms. I spent the rest of the night holding her and telling her that she was a special kitty and that I was so happy to have her! She responded with the scratchiest little "Mews" that occasionally interrupted that little motor running in her throat, and oh boy! What a motor she had!
I stayed up til noon the following morning, feeding her from a bottle that I got from Petsmart. She was so hungry that she chewed the end of the nipple off! I put her in the bed with me and we both drifted off into a land of dreams, and I'm sure her purring was as loud as my snoring!
About two weeks after Puff's rescue I suffered a stroke. I had neglected my high blood pressure for way too long and paid the price. I was left with limited use of my left hand and ended up missing the following 12 weeks of work. I was devastated because I have played the guitar for 40 years, and that ability was destroyed in an instant and I was severely depressed over it. Throughout my ordeal, there was one little constant in the equation that gave me hope, and her name is Puff. I really think that God and St. Francis of Assisi put her there for me, both as a warning and as a reward. I was rewarded for being a kind soul, but also warned that life can be just a fleeting moment, and I should slow down and look at the scenery. After all, it is not the destination but rather the stuff in between! Have a "rice" day, y'all......and tell your loved ones be it man or beast that you love them dearly!