BIG Fun

Wally recently took Ward on a birthday outing. I didn't go along, so I'm going to let Ward tell you about it.

Wally and Ward at Heavy Metal Playground. Ward says to notice the stack of tires in the background. He is especially proud of his stack.

Wally got you an unusual gift for your birthday. What was it?

Ward: He took me to the Heavy Metal Playground, where you can operate heavy equipment.

What did you operate? Have you ever operated heavy machinery before?

Ward: I have never done anything bigger than my riding lawnmower, except, of course, a regular truck. I drove a Bobcat backhoe.

What kind of instructions did they give you?

Ward: We had a walkie-talkie instrument in the Bobcat's cab, and the instructor talked us through the controls and then gave us tasks to practice. This was, of course, after we had safety instructions—mostly, don't tip yourself over. He was pretty good; he'd say, "Ward, left hand forward, right hand left." You really have to know your right and left; you don't have time to think about it.

What kind of tasks did you do?

Ward: Most of them involved heavy truck tires and a basketball. We stacked the tires and tried to get the basketball in them in various combinations. We also had an obstacle course with traffic barrels we had to drive through.

Ward stacking tires.

Was it hard? What was the most challenging part?

Ward: I shouldn't have been, but I was surprised there were so many controls. And so many different combinations in which they could be used. We had two joysticks that also had buttons or thumb wheels (rotate the cab, open/close the bucket, open/close the bucket grapple, move the forearm, move the big arm, honk the horn), plus foot pedals (drive) and a lever to raise/lower the grading blade. By the end of my hour, I could mostly remember which motion did what action, but I couldn't get to the point where I could do combined motions, such as opening the bucket while extending the forearm while turning the cab while driving forward.

Was this a big place? 

Ward: There were three Bobcats in total in a field where we tried the various tasks. I think the whole thing was associated with Goodwill next door. During the week, they do job training with the equipment. If you are a veteran or former felon, the training is free. On the weekends, they open it up for people like me.

Were there other people there?

Ward: There was one other person, Colin. The experience was a birthday present for him, too. Colin and I competed in doing various things. He won one race, and I won another. 

Would you recommend Heavy Metal Playground to others? Would you go back?

Ward: A resounding YES and YES! Take a friend.

Thanks, Ward, for sharing your experience with us. Maybe next time I'll go--at least to watch. 

Until next time...