When I did carpentry for a living (yeah, right!), I once rented a 1/4 ton van.
I was building some planters for a friend of ours, and needed about 2 tons of dirt. I was in a Long Island Home Depot, and some woman passed me a "10% Off" coupon. I needed no other enticement.
I bought approximately 2 tons of dirt, and about 1/2 a ton of other stuff.
It took a little while, but 3 of us (2 Home Depot guys and me) loaded that van to roof! I'd put a screen door under the van, so I wouldn't forget it, and by the time we'd loaded the dirt, I had to unload some of the dirt to recover the screen door.
I couldn't do more than 40 miles per hour and emergency braking was in the "say a prayer" region.
The worst bit? I had to unload it myself, and then carry that 2 tons of dirt into our friend's apartment. The nearest parking was a block away. I busted both ankles - first unloading the van, and then carrying the dirt.
Still, I got to carry large bits of wood around a filming of Law & Order, and experience, first hand, how oblivious some people are. (If someone is pushing a cart with 250 to 300 pounds of dirt on it, do you wait for him to notice you, move out of the way, or do simply wait until he runs you over? You might be surprised how many took the latter option... Maybe they were hoping for a lawsuit.)
I did wonder, on the drive back from Long Island, whether the brakes would last the journey...
1 comment:
When I did carpentry for a living (yeah, right!), I once rented a 1/4 ton van.
I was building some planters for a friend of ours, and needed about 2 tons of dirt. I was in a Long Island Home Depot, and some woman passed me a "10% Off" coupon. I needed no other enticement.
I bought approximately 2 tons of dirt, and about 1/2 a ton of other stuff.
It took a little while, but 3 of us (2 Home Depot guys and me) loaded that van to roof! I'd put a screen door under the van, so I wouldn't forget it, and by the time we'd loaded the dirt, I had to unload some of the dirt to recover the screen door.
I couldn't do more than 40 miles per hour and emergency braking was in the "say a prayer" region.
The worst bit? I had to unload it myself, and then carry that 2 tons of dirt into our friend's apartment. The nearest parking was a block away. I busted both ankles - first unloading the van, and then carrying the dirt.
Still, I got to carry large bits of wood around a filming of Law & Order, and experience, first hand, how oblivious some people are. (If someone is pushing a cart with 250 to 300 pounds of dirt on it, do you wait for him to notice you, move out of the way, or do simply wait until he runs you over? You might be surprised how many took the latter option... Maybe they were hoping for a lawsuit.)
I did wonder, on the drive back from Long Island, whether the brakes would last the journey...
Thanks for the memories, Bill! :-)
Carolyn Ann
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