MALES AND DIRECTIONS : STORY TIME

 Yesterday although Tuesday must have seemed like Monday for two movers en route to pick up my neighbor's load for storage. Especially since their GPS took them on quite an excursion to the End of the Rainbow Valley.

I was finishing up my hour of Jazzercising on line when a text dinged with my neighbor saying her moving truck had continued straight past her house and was heading towards the end of the valley.  1/2 mile isn't that far out of one's way except when it's winter with some country dirt road still with remnants of ice on north facing hills and snow piled up along its pin curves and you're driving a large moving van.

In addition to those obstacles once they would reach our house there would be no place to turn around. After hearing their approach after the last tight pin curve, I looked out the front window to see the truck heading straight towards the house.  I bolted out the door gesturing for them to stop with both palms facing them with a pushing movement to have them back up. They stopped and backed up.

I grabbed a mask but  didn't even take time to grab a coat as I scurried down the road to the much smaller pull off at the pin curve (Smaller due to snow plows winter's work.)  They were now backwards but at a bad angle. The driver is out of the truck assessing the situation and concerned about the ice and traction on the hill.

 I tell him my neighbor called to warn me they had missed her house so I needed to stop them before they got stuck up at my house with no place to turn around. I share NOBODY comes back here in the winter. He told me what he was trying to do and I said what you need to do is this. " Back up towards my house to be facing the right direction so the cab can be headed down the hill." "Oh I was trying something else but that makes sense," he quipped, visibly frustrated with the difficult angle and the ice not being the issue now. "Trust me," I add, "This is how you get out."

 I returned to the house and when the truck still hadn't appeared at my neighbor's, she texted again some 20 minutes later. Gee, I'm thinking, maybe the truck got stuck in a small ditch on the inner curve. I did hear the truck revving but then finally saw the cab on the drive below our house heading in the right direction. Whew.

10 minutes or so pass and I hear the truck approaching again and it was back in the pull off space by the pin curve.  Dang, maybe they had they come across someone else coming down our drive towards them.

The neighbor soon negated that possibility when I texted her they were back at the the curve. She had called their boss, explaining their demise. He couldn't reach them probably due to poor reception. The minutes ticked off and I could still see the moving van at the pull off.  

My coffee zoom time was interrupted again when the 2 men are now walking up towards the house. "What's up?" I shouted. The truck was now stuck in the snowbank, did I have any salt and sand? "Yep. there should be a plastic garbage can right next to where you are." "Oh, okay, thanks."

Time goes on and I return to my Zoom coffee time. I figure it's going to take a while and am not paying much attention until I see the truck backing up slowing. Oh good they finally have the cab heading in the right direction. But they continue backing up all the way to the house. What the heck?   I go back outside . What's going on? The helper gets out and says the GPS says their pickup is here. 

Seriously,  OMG. 

 "My neighbor is waiting for you. She's your customer, not me."  

I guess they've got quite a story to tell when they eventually get home. My neighbor asked me if she should trust them after storage to get her stuff to Georgia. 

What do you think?

Fast forward a couple hours. I get a text from the neighbor saying a bucket truck from the power company is coming our way...

 Give me a break. There he is outside the house, lights flashing.

 I  greet him outside as he's putting on his hard hat. He comments they are checking lines and needs to get to my transformer. He adds "I bet you don't get many unexpected guests back here, do you?"

 If he only knew...