Zero to Sixy in Two Seconds

A picture (in this case, a graph) is worth a thousand words.

Every roughneck should have a copy of this graph pasted to the ceiling over their bed, and thinking, "I'm part of all this."

I have simply run out of superlatives to describe the Bakken.

What folks seem to keep forgetting is that the most spectacular thing about this boom is the sheer speed. That's all CarpeDiem, I think, was trying to say. Zero to sixty in two seconds is about all I can say.

Just think of the number of trucks needed to haul all this oil; the number of unit trains rolling with oil; the miles of pipeline pumping oil. And now barges with Bakken oil down the Mississippi.

And each individual working in the Bakken was a part of this history.

I've told this story before (and I will tell it again, I'm sure). I remember last autumn looking for a new address in a new subdivision. I was unable to find the location, but I spotted a young man surveying the area. I walked over to him, knowing for sure he would know where the location was. But he didn't. He pulled out a "mimeographed" black/white/smudged map with some lines and unreadable street names on it. His boss had give it to him earlier that day. I asked him how long he had been working in Williston. He said that he arrived in Williston earlier that same morning after driving all night; he had started out from Wisconsin. As soon as he arrived in Williston his boss gave him the map, and sent him out on his first job. I asked him where he was staying; he said he did not have a place yet. But there he was, already working.