When you're a teenager and in high school, each happening is a grand adventure. It's one to tell your buddies about, because it marks you as adventurous, someone to whom things “happen”. When they're absurd things, it makes the happening even better. Throw in parents, rain, a muddy Tennessee day and a moving truck, and the tale becomes worth repeating. Of course, you should have the proper props, but it's kind of hard to drag around a wide piece of wood to illustrate your story. Therefore, your audience will just need to use their imaginations.
A Little Background
Prior to beginning our anecdote, you should be aware that just outside Nashville, Tennessee is a small town named Mount Juliet. It's the home of Charlie Daniels (yes, I can point out where his house is). Mount Juliet is situated atop a rise in the ground, making snowy winding roads lots of fun on which to drive in the winter. It makes things miserable, though, when your house sits off the road where the ground dips a bit. The rain puddles, the mud is sometimes impenetrable, and just walking up the driveway to get to the school bus is quite a job.
Now, think about a couple who happen to be my parents and who both drive into Nashville to work. Their vehicle is parked at the street in front of the house most days to better facilitate a quick exit every morning. They both work in office buildings on opposite sides of Nashville. One would drop the other off at work and then go to their job. Back at the house, as the downpour continues, the water collects deeper and deeper in the driveway all the way up to the side door steps of the house. This is an important thing to remember in this scary tale of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) moving.
What Happened
My parents had bought a house closer to Nashville, making it easier and quicker for them to get to their employment. Therefore, they rented a moving truck, and we were loading it. It had been raining for weeks, it seemed, and the yard was one heaving mass of mud. My Dad had backed the truck down the driveway, with the backend as close to the side door steps as he could maneuver it. A long, wide piece of wood was used as a loading ramp. So far, the loading of the truck was going as expected. The rain made things a bit damp and unpleasant, but we were handling it.
The Hard Part
Now, the truck was loaded. My brother and I got in one of the cars with me driving. I was expecting the truck to pull out of the drive, so I could follow it to the new house. We noticed Dad having problems moving out of the drive, and so we walked back down the driveway a safe distance away to observe as the events unfolded. He tried to rock the truck. That didn't work. He tried putting Mom in the driver's seat and jacking the tail end of the truck out of the mud. That didn't work, either. Lastly, Dad put the long, wide piece of wood under the back tires of the moving truck.
The Scary Part
You must be aware that if you're going to use a piece of wood to get your tires out of the mud, you need to pay attention to which direction the wood will go when your truck leaves the scene. In this case, it shot like a projectile right through our living room window. Pieces of glass were everywhere, the truck shot out of the driveway, Mom was spooked and almost didn't make the turn onto the street, and Dad stood silently in shock. My brother and I found all this extremely funny and were laughing our teenage heads off. Consequently, we all got out of there as fast as we could and never went back.
Moving is no fun sometimes, but there are days it can be very comical and other days it can be downright scary. What's your horror story involving DIY moving? We'd love to hear it!
