Freddy "Gallina" Kruger

When you rent equipment here in Chile you can get it with or with out an operator. We chose to have an operator come with it because it has been many years since I have run a backhoe and the Luna's are busy with their own jobs and unavailable to run the "retro" as they call it here.

So, it shows up with an operator who is called Freddy. Well he is running a machine with a big claw, so the nickname "Freddy Kruger" is immediately attached. Freddy about had a cow when we asked him to back up to this little deposit of ore that we had dynamited and clean it out. It is on a slight incline and his eyes are as big as a plate and he is sweating profusely and it is a cool day. He is not used to working on anything except flat and level ground at construction sites in town. He finished the day, which was only about an hour and a half because the retro was delivered late in the day. I asked Freddy to meet me the next morning so I could give him a ride back to the mine to work. Ricardo and I had a feeling to call his boss and see if he was really coming back. Guess what, Freddy quit. "Freddy tough guy Kruger" is now "Freddy "Gallina (chicken) Kruger". We had the retro for a few more days to accomplish some small jobs a the site. The Luna's came on Saturday to help. Most of them operate equipment so the retro was a chance for them to each show their operator skills. Whenever one of them wanted to run it, the others would tease him and call him Freddy Gallina. Dr. Chapatin was the joke for a long time, but now we have Freddy Gallina.

Pictured are Ricardo and Luis. They are giving a thumbs up to the copper, not Freddy's backhoe skills.