CHAPTER SEVEN: The Secret to World Peace?

After the work day was over, Ram decided to stick around for awhile and socialize. He went over to a couple of new hires, "Bea" and "Sea". They had formerly been in the Seabees, the construction division of the Navy.

They were talking about their travels all over the world, building runways for airplanes and helicopters, and putting roads through places where before there were only footpaths. Or no paths at all. They built and maintained roads in war zones, where as soon as you got a road fixed, they'd bomb it and you'd have to fix it again. It was a dangerous business: for Workers and Equipment.

Bea said, "When I was in South America, my Worker took a bullet! He lived, but he was messed up! In the hospital for a month. Not sure if he ever worked construction again!"

Sea replied, "Yeah, bullets can't affect us much: might hole a radiator or a hose but that's about it. But those shoulder fired missiles and bombs are another thing!"

Bea idled her motor down, and lowered her blade to the ground."I lost a buddy to one of those. Our camp was attacked, and he was hit by a shoulder fired missile. Not much left but his blade and one track."

"Well, we all appreciate your service!" Ram said.

"We feel good about serving!" Bea and Sea replied. "We love our country! A lot of people here just don't know how good we have it.

One thing we've noticed: all the good places we were stationed have really nice roads and airstrips. All the really bad places to live have horrible roads and airstrips. Maybe one day there will be good roads all over the world, and then things will be a lot better."

"I'd never looked at it that way!" Ram said. "Having good roads means people can take vacations where the trip doesn't wear them out, or tear up their vehicles. We can get to the repair shop easily, and sick or injured Workers can get to hospitals faster. Good countries to live in DO have great roads. The people there are happy! Nothing like a road trip to improve your attitude. Nightmare countries have horrible roads. When you see people rioting in the streets, or dying from famine, almost always the roads are really bad. With better roads, the people could take a vacation and relax. Improve their attitude. Hungry people could easily drive to the grocery store, or get takeout. Maybe that's the secret to world peace and prosperity! The world just needs better roads!"

"Well, I'm going to go visit some more: Welcome to the company!" Ram said.

"Glad to be here!" said the 2 Dozers. We'll do a good job for you!"

"Glad to have you" Ram replied. I know you'll do a good job. Like they say: "Best bet yet: hire a vet!"

NEXT: Chapter (8) "A Cat Convention"

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