The Gift That Is Perspective.

"Hey, Jeffery. We've got a clogged line down the hall from you. Think you can get to it soon?"

A man, bent over a bucket of dirty water, stood up and wiped his brow. "Sure thing, boss. I'm about done with getting that hydraulic spill cleaned up and I'll head over in just a few minutes," he replied to the voice coming over his radio.

"Copy that, Jeff. You're the man."

Wiping up the last bit of residue on the metal floor, Jeffery placed his tools back in the spill closet and emptied the bucket into the nearby drain. His dark green coveralls were stained an ugly brown on his knees, but were otherwise clean. From his spotless boots to his crisp collar, Jeffery was the image of the professional janitor. 

He grabbed his tool belt that he had left hanging nearby and began to make his way down the hall to where he was needed next. Passing distracted people dressed in vibrant reds, blues, and yellows, Jeffery cheerfully greeted each one. Most responded with a nod or a half-hearted "hi."

After a few moments, he came to a door at the end of a long corridor. The door opened on its own, letting him into a small room full of counters and tables filled with scientific equipment and what appeared to be rock samples. Jeffery walked over and began to look at the uncovered samples with a curious smile on his face.

Distracted by the rocks in front of him, Jeffery was caught by surprise when a man's voice came from behind him, "Oh, there you are. We've got a sink backing up like crazy. I think one of the new guys dropped something down it. Probably some of the clay samples we picked up. Think you can get it fixed soon?"

Jeffery spun around and greeted the skinny man dressed in a bright blue top and black pants. "Hey there, Combs. Sure, I'll get that fixed for you. Are these rock samples from our last stop?"

Combs had already begun walking towards the door and spoke over his shoulder, "Yeah. We picked you up one like you asked. It's already been checked, so you can go ahead and take it."

Jeffery excitedly looked over and saw a rock small enough to fit in his closed fist and moved eagerly towards it.  "Oh! Thank you! I've already got a spot for it set up!'

"No problem, man. Seems a boring thing to add to your collection. It's just a piece of limestone," Combs said paused in the doorway and looking back.

Jeffery smiled from ear to ear as he took the rock out of the container and held it up to the light. "I know it doesn't seem like much, but I think it's cool. Thanks again for grabbing it for me. I know you didn't have much room to spare."

"It's fine. There wasn't much exciting out there anyways. Nothing we couldn't find back home. Anyways, good luck with that sink," Combs said as he walked away and the automatic door closed behind him.

"Thanks!" Jeffery called out again. He placed the rock back on the counter in its container and walked to the back of the room and looked at the clogged sink. The water inside looked muddy, but Jeffery rolled up his sleeve and stuck it into the water without hesitation. Fishing his hand around, he felt around the drain and found it partially blocked with a soft clay. He scraped away what he could and pulled it out. 

The red-brown clay was soft and Jeffery swirled it around on his fingers and looked closely at the smear. "Huh, neat," Jeffery said to himself, "reminds me of the clay back in Georgia."

Jeffery looked around the room as his eyes scanned the containers before they stopped on a fairly large pail. He grabbed the pail, opened the cabinet beneath the sink, and knelt down to reach inside. The empty container placed below the drain, he reached into his belt and pulled out an adjustable wrench. With a deft turn of his wrist, he loosened the nuts holding the pipes in place and removed the trap of the drain.