Steve

A year and a half ago we took a big step and hired someone, full time. We'd had other employees, but we'd never hired on someone who we didn't really know. Mostly they had all been friends who just sorta started working.

Our decision to hire Steve was made on the way to a family reunion. We were late, like always, but were finally in the truck, feeling tired and over-worked. I said that we really needed to find another employee. Blake said that "that Steve from down south just moved back from Montana and he is looking for a job". I asked whether he is a mechanic. Blake explained what Steve had done for work in the past. We each asked each other what we thought of the idea. We both agreed it was probably a good plan. Blake called him. Steve said sure, he'd start on Monday.

Steve owns this cool truck, which he lets us borrow sometimes, when things happen, like our own truck getting wrecked or something.

I am pretty sure that this is my absolute favorite truck that I have ever driven. I've tried to convince Steve to sell it to us... and tried to convince Blake to buy it.

Only during one time period did we ever see him with short hair and that was after he had to be in an Amish wedding. And that wasn't even short hair- it was just an Amish hair cut.

His hair often works as a grease mop, which we definitely give him a hard time about.

Steve sings while he works. Mostly he sings on tune, and he often only sings a line here or there. That way we hear some of the most random song lines being sung loudly all of the sudden.

He doesn't like to work on Chevy Cummins swaps. He'd rather work on something that is already built than to build something new.

He is pretty patient and is constantly calmly reminding Blake that the parts he asked for never got ordered.

Blake and Steve both get great ideas about what they want to do to their trucks to make them run better. Then they have fun doing them together.

He says at this point he doesn't want to join the Amish church. I can't imagine him giving up his trucks to do it. Then again, it's normal among the Amish kids to do that!

Now today he moved out to Colorado to guide elk hunts. It's sad to say goodbye to him. He may come back in the winter, and then again, he may not. He's sorta single (...in that he only has a girlfriend- He is not married.) and so I guess he figures now's the time to roam the countryside.

Having an employee who is as easy going and as hard working as Steve is pretty cool, and having an employee who is a friend is pretty cool and it all adds up to be a real bummer when he moves away! We'll miss him. Maybe there won't be many elk to hunt and he'll move back. :)