greg334
Veteran Expediter
Again I am in a sarcastic mood tonight as I am staying up for a while to beat the cold. I really didn't know where to put this so here it lands.
What is with these people this year, I mean I am sitting here minding my own business with Mr. aircraft paint remover spray can next to me (it is legal because I have stripes to remove and it can’t freeze so it is in the sleeper and it really hurts bad) and someone knocks on my window asking for money with some excuse. This time he got rather too close for comfort and Mr. can was in the ready to go into action.
The latest is the guy is locked out of his car and he just left a Christmas party. He gave the usual yada yada yada line about needing money and no one will help him. So I told him the truth, I don’t have any cash and don’t have anything to spare. So he walked away in disgust after trying only three trucks.
Most of you had the girls ask for money, I had a few ask for food and one even asked if I could buy here a frozen coke. Well one girl who had money (saw her fill up her car and pay for it) asked for something to eat so told her that I had some really special bread and give her some butter - it has some blue and green jam on it, nothing to worry about because I eat it all the time. She walked away when I was pulling it out. (No I didn't acually have moldy bread but hey if you are stupid to ask, what should you expect?) Seriously I don’t even give them a thing but tell them to ask inside that the manager will help them.
I love the one with the truck driver who needs $50 or $25 of fuel to get by, yea right $25 at $2.50 gets you far. I ask “ok what do you have to sell? I mean I will buy tools for $25 or if you have load bars for $10 or even your triangles for $5.†That usually gets a “f u†response but it is a fair question. I have even been asked when I fueled up to put some fuel in a swift truck because the guy sold off some fuel to gamble. OH yea like I have a lot of money, hey buddy just because it says FedEx on the side, it is not Fred Smith driving.
The thing I hate the most is the peddlers, “want to buy some >fill in the blanks< ?â€. I could have bought everything from Fake Elmos to blessed food (today it was a church that was selling home cooked meals that was blessed and I almost bought one but after my last bout with ‘home made’ fried chick, I passed. I didn’t have enough to give for a donation so off to TRU to buy something for a kid when I get home. One truck stop on the south side of Atlanta I pulled in and had some guy trying to sell me speakers. The next week I stopped there and the same guy pulled up and asked if I wanted some speakers. Now do I need speakers? No, I need an iPod, got one?
A few days ago outside of Charleston I had someone came up to me (I was the last truck in the lot he didn’t ask) rap on my window and say to me that “blacks in the south hate blacks from the north and will not help them†– not a way to start a conversation and yes he was of African American descent. Well he looked like he was legitimately broke down; the state trooper pushed his car in the lot and was looking for $4 to get a ride into town. So with his opening statement I knew he was from either Chicago or (oh God) Detroit, he was from the latter. I asked him where he was from in Detroit and he said I would not know so I answered back try me – he said Parkgrove. OK this guy looked familiar and I could not figure it out but when he said the street name it dawned on me who he was, so I said I can guess what side of Detroit he lived on and told him he is from the east side. I than said he lives a few houses from Peoria on the south side of the street in the lower flat. He had such a dumb look on his face that I could barely say it with a straight face. He worked for me back in ’88 and I used to pick him up every morning with his brother so I knew where he lived. The kicker is when I asked how Al was doing he jumped off the truck and started to jump around. I told him who I was and told him I don’t have any cash on me to give but I could give him my change to help out. I fired him for stealing money and parts by the way.
Well Anyway tonight’s solicitor makes 8 truck stops and 10 solicitors in less than 14 days.
What is with these people this year, I mean I am sitting here minding my own business with Mr. aircraft paint remover spray can next to me (it is legal because I have stripes to remove and it can’t freeze so it is in the sleeper and it really hurts bad) and someone knocks on my window asking for money with some excuse. This time he got rather too close for comfort and Mr. can was in the ready to go into action.
The latest is the guy is locked out of his car and he just left a Christmas party. He gave the usual yada yada yada line about needing money and no one will help him. So I told him the truth, I don’t have any cash and don’t have anything to spare. So he walked away in disgust after trying only three trucks.
Most of you had the girls ask for money, I had a few ask for food and one even asked if I could buy here a frozen coke. Well one girl who had money (saw her fill up her car and pay for it) asked for something to eat so told her that I had some really special bread and give her some butter - it has some blue and green jam on it, nothing to worry about because I eat it all the time. She walked away when I was pulling it out. (No I didn't acually have moldy bread but hey if you are stupid to ask, what should you expect?) Seriously I don’t even give them a thing but tell them to ask inside that the manager will help them.
I love the one with the truck driver who needs $50 or $25 of fuel to get by, yea right $25 at $2.50 gets you far. I ask “ok what do you have to sell? I mean I will buy tools for $25 or if you have load bars for $10 or even your triangles for $5.†That usually gets a “f u†response but it is a fair question. I have even been asked when I fueled up to put some fuel in a swift truck because the guy sold off some fuel to gamble. OH yea like I have a lot of money, hey buddy just because it says FedEx on the side, it is not Fred Smith driving.
The thing I hate the most is the peddlers, “want to buy some >fill in the blanks< ?â€. I could have bought everything from Fake Elmos to blessed food (today it was a church that was selling home cooked meals that was blessed and I almost bought one but after my last bout with ‘home made’ fried chick, I passed. I didn’t have enough to give for a donation so off to TRU to buy something for a kid when I get home. One truck stop on the south side of Atlanta I pulled in and had some guy trying to sell me speakers. The next week I stopped there and the same guy pulled up and asked if I wanted some speakers. Now do I need speakers? No, I need an iPod, got one?
A few days ago outside of Charleston I had someone came up to me (I was the last truck in the lot he didn’t ask) rap on my window and say to me that “blacks in the south hate blacks from the north and will not help them†– not a way to start a conversation and yes he was of African American descent. Well he looked like he was legitimately broke down; the state trooper pushed his car in the lot and was looking for $4 to get a ride into town. So with his opening statement I knew he was from either Chicago or (oh God) Detroit, he was from the latter. I asked him where he was from in Detroit and he said I would not know so I answered back try me – he said Parkgrove. OK this guy looked familiar and I could not figure it out but when he said the street name it dawned on me who he was, so I said I can guess what side of Detroit he lived on and told him he is from the east side. I than said he lives a few houses from Peoria on the south side of the street in the lower flat. He had such a dumb look on his face that I could barely say it with a straight face. He worked for me back in ’88 and I used to pick him up every morning with his brother so I knew where he lived. The kicker is when I asked how Al was doing he jumped off the truck and started to jump around. I told him who I was and told him I don’t have any cash on me to give but I could give him my change to help out. I fired him for stealing money and parts by the way.
Well Anyway tonight’s solicitor makes 8 truck stops and 10 solicitors in less than 14 days.