When you're a teenager and in high school, each and every encounter is usually a grand adventure. It's something to tell your chums about, because it marks you as fun, someone to whom things “happen”. When they're amusing things, it makes the adventure even better. Involve parents, rain, a muddy Tennessee day and a moving truck, and the tale gains in the telling. Of course, you should have the correct props, but it's kind of hard to carry 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 know that just outside Nashville, Tennessee is a small town called Mount Juliet. It's the home of Charlie Daniels (yes, I know where his house is). Mount Juliet is situated atop a rise in the ground, making snowy twisting roads lots of fun on which to drive at times. It makes life miserable, though, when your house sits off the road where the landscape slopes downward some. The rain puddles, the mud can be impenetrable, and just getting up the driveway to get to the school bus is quite an undertaking.
Next, imagine a couple who happen to be my parents and who both commute 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 morn. They both work in buildings on opposite sides of Nashville. One would drop the other off at work and then proceed to their job. Back at the house, as the rain continues, the water pools 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 home closer to Nashville, making it easier and quicker for them to get to their jobs. 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 back as close to the side door steps as he could get it. A huge piece of plywood was used as a loading ramp. So far, the loading of the truck was going without a hitch. The rain made things a bit wet and unpleasant, but we were moving right along.
The Hard Part
Now, the truck was loaded. My brother and I got in one of the cars with me driving. I was awaiting the truck to pull out of the drive, so I could follow it to the new house. We perceived Dad having issues getting out of the drive, and so we walked back up the driveway a safe distance away to observe as the events unfolded. He attempted to rock the truck. No luck. He tried having Mom get 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 huge piece of wood beneath 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 examine which direction the wood will go when your truck leaves the scene. In this case, it shot like a missile right through our living room window. Pieces of glass were all over the place, the truck took off out of the driveway, Mom was startled and almost didn't make the turn onto the street, and Dad stood silently in shock. My brother and I found all this immensely humorous and were laughing our teenage heads off. It goes without saying, 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!
