Typical Day
At 6:00AM, the sun has barely begun its ascent into the clouds. It's currently hanging out somewhere just below the horizon. As usual, Mario has already been up for the past half hour. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man really good at spotting dangers in mines.
After finishing his workout around 6:45AM, Mario spends the morning familiarizing himself with the layout of the mine he'll be inspecting today. As per federal guidelines, Mario hasn't been to this mine in at least a year. He enjoys a power breakfast of eggs and coffee as he checks the mine's safety record over the past few years.
The notes are all fairly decent, except for the comments about the manager. Jerk, unfriendly, impatient, and a whole bunch of other, less family-friendly epithets are written down. By 9:30AM, Mario decides it's time to go meet this manager and see what the big fuss is about.
After a long drive down the highway and into the mountains, Mario pulls into the mining complex at 11:00AM. He heads towards the mid-sized RV that doubles as a mobile office. He knocks, and after several long moments a man comes to the door. It's Barry, the infamous mine manager. His frowny face is a wonderful introduction. Mario already feels the shade being thrown his way.
Mario and Barry discuss the mine's protocols and then, at 11:30AM, Mario decides it's time to tour the mine. Barry shrugs, then grunts, "You have the map" before heading off to yell at some employees. He's a real charmer.
Mario finds the shaft all by himself and proceeds to make his rounds among the equipment. He looks for leaks, breaks, snapped wires, electrical issues, loose screws, and any other tiny problems that may become major issues in the future. He notices a few pieces of mildly explosive equipment lying awfully close to a potential fire source. Shaking his head, he makes a few notes that Barry certainly won't like.
After the miners get back from lunch at 1:00PM, Mario makes his rounds among the crew. Face time with laborers is a good way to get a firsthand account of what happens on a daily basis down in the hole. He asks them questions about procedures and mine maintenance, happy to have some company to talk to who are, by and large, much friendlier than their boss.
5:00PM means it's quitting time, so Mario heads back to the RV to have one final chat with Barry. He gives Barry the friendliest smile he can muster, then proceeds to explain in detail exactly what he'll be cited for and why.
Barry looks like he's ready to argue about Mario's findings, but Mario simply holds up his hand when he sees the dispute coming. He reminds Barry that he can appeal the results with the MSHA office if he so desires. Without another word, he turns and beelines straight out of the office.
"That's for the shade," thinks Mario as he bounds down the narrow steps to his car.
After a long and satisfying drive back home, Mario picks up some dinner at 7:00PM. He takes it back to his place, turns on the TV, and settles into his fried chicken-and-Netflix evening. Probably a lot better than whatever Barry's doing at the moment.
Turning the TV off around 9:30PM, he gets ready for the "early to bed" part of his routine. With no mine to visit tomorrow, he'll spend the day compiling and filing his report with the head office in Washington.
Tonight, he'll sleep well knowing that Barry the mine manager isn't going to get one over on him. That's how Mario operates.