I Love the Smell of Weld Smoke in the Morning

On a beautiful spring morning sitting in my office (with all due respect to Robert Duvall), my thoughts turn to the "right of way". I extend my sympathy to those of you in this business who have never experienced the freedom and beauty of the "right of way".

I came late to pipelines. My career in the energy business began in refineries. For a long time I thrilled to watch the big structures of steel and concrete come together in those big plants. My own specialty, control systems, allowed me to exercise creativity and independence, while having a star role in the greater things being done. But the winds of change blow and we find ourselves in places we would never have thought.

And so I came to pipelines; and so I came to the "right of way". After a career of being inside a fence, chance afforded me the opportunity to get outside the fence. After a career spent walking through canyons of concrete and steel, I drove a 4-wheel SUV along the apparently endless right of way of a pipeline crossing open country. After a career spent watching electricians bend conduit, I watched massive D-9 Cats push over big pine trees in the woods of east Texas.

While my arrogance knew no bounds when starting up process units in refineries, I knew my place in the pipeline world. After all, how many people do you know who got stuck in a pipe yard? I can still remember walking over to the foreman of the group unloading pipe to ask for a tow out of the washout where I was high centered. I still have a bias against Ford Explorers on account of that long walk in full view of the grinning crew.

And so now here I am, a manager sitting in an office. Its a corner office, with a great view of foothills of the Rocky Mountains and the occasional hawk that sits in the tree outside. But I miss the morning meeting with the inspectors and strategizing with the right of way agents on landowner negotiations. I miss getting into a pickup and driving out to watch the "firing line". I miss being a little slow when it comes time to close the gate.

Engineering is a dry business. We work with paper and computer screens. It is important work and the success or failure of projects rides on our efforts. But don't miss the opportunity to smell weld smoke in the morning. It makes it all worthwhile.