The Dreamers: Part 8 of 10
Javier tried to ignore the sweat dripping down his back as he guided the cranes lifting 20-foot shipping containers onto the Everdawn, a massive Chinese freighter crossing the Panama Canal’s new Agua Clara Locks. The tanks tops nearly grazed the overhead suspension lines conveying power to the cranes. In the control cabin below, Javier delicately adjusted the cable tensions, then pivoted the crane arms sideways to align with the ship’s open bay before lowering each multi-ton container precisely into place.
After repeat cycles filling the hull, a tugboat sounded the all-clear and pulled the Everdawn toward the next lock chamber elevator. Javier wiped his brow, inspecting the cranes for any signs of fatigue on their hulking frames. Everything remained shipshape.
At 26, Javier took pride continuing his family’s legacy with the canal spanning back to his great-great grandfather, a mule driver during the arduous 1900s construction by the Americans. He considered it an honor to build upon the work of ancestors like Pedro and Rosa who spent their lives expanding Panama’s proud waterway. The canal flowed through Javier’s veins no less than theirs.
These days, a whole new $17 billion canal expansion was nearing completion after 10 years of design, political clashes, and fierce environmental debates. The project aimed to double the waterway’s capacity yet again via a massive third lane of lock chambers positioned east of the original two channels.
The new route provided straighter access directly from the Atlantic to the Pacific using state-of-the-art water recycling basins to minimize environmental impacts. Most importantly to Javier, it ensured his son and future generations of Panamanians would enjoy the ongoing benefits of canal-fueled prosperity. He took satisfaction knowing his labor played a direct role raising the nation.
During his lunch break, Javier gazed out at the bustling construction zone that would soon be the canal’s pristine new lane brimming with ships. Towering cranes and machinery rumbled purposefully across the landscape while armies of workers poured concrete, welded gates, dredged channels, and integrated complex mechanical and electrical control systems.
Panama’s President Allende was slated to inaugurate the new facilities next month after nearly a decade of Herculean effort. Javier smiled broadly thinking of guiding the first ceremonial vessel through using his carefully maintained cranes. Though the canal’s technology constantly evolved, its mission as Panama’s economic artery remained unchanged.
Javier’s radio suddenly crackled with an emergency summons. One of the new lock gates under testing had malfunctioned, destabilizing and crashing into the chamber wall with part of the gate now underwater. The project superintendent ordered an immediate inspection.
Grabbing his toolkit, Javier hurried to the damaged site where engineers were assessing the gate’s twisted wreckage half-submerged in the lock chamber. If repairs proved impossible before the inauguration, it could delay the entire project at great cost. Javier knew his crane expertise was desperately needed.
Donning a harness, he was lowered on a cable to inspect the gate’s mangled foundation equipment and hydraulic cylinders beneath the waterline. The damage was severe. But the components were still salvageable with heavy repairs. Javier got straight to work.
Over the next two weeks, he labored around the clock welding, reconnecting hoses, replacing parts, and machining makeshift fixes on the crippled gate. Other crews worked in parallel preparing for the approaching opening ceremony. The gate had to be operational on time.
Finally, the repairs were finished. Javier held his breath as the gate shuddered upward when activated, then lowered smoothly back into place with the lock functioning normally. The engineers cheered and clapped Javier on the back. Thanks to his tireless ingenuity, the new waterway would open on schedule after all.
On inauguration day, an exuberant Javier manned the crane controls guiding the ribbon-draped first ceremonial ship through the new locks, each pool lifting it easily to the next level. He shed tears of joy seeing this hard-won product of Panamanian labor fulfill its mission. Another generation’s work was complete.
In the decades ahead, Javier took pride training young crane operators and mechanics in his twilight years before retiring. At the small wherever he went, knowing he had faithfully advanced Panama’s canal just as his ancestors did, leaving the waterway stronger for his children. The torch passed on.
Though the reservoirs and rainforests always beckoned for new adventures in retirement, Javier found he could never really leave his beloved canal. It lived within him and nothing else could ever take its place.