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I'm a racist because I can't change the laws of Physics(long)
I was sent out to pick up an old 1986 Dodge van. I arrived on location, and the owner of the vehicle was there, and I asked the usual questions…what was wrong, anything I need to know about the vehicle…blah blah blah. She hands me the keys, and since it was a short tow of only three or four miles, I picked the van up from the front and put the transmission into neutral. We get to the drop location, and where she wants it dropped is behind the house which is accessible only by an alleyway that dead ends in a small dirt parking area for a church. I asked the member where she wanted the van; she asked if I could get it into the back yard. I told her that the alleyway was too narrow to make the turn but that I could drop it on the other side of her fence right at the entrance to her yard, where it would be out of the way and not blocking anything, and she said that would be fine. So I back up the van, drop the front end down, unhook my truck and finished up my paperwork and was about to head to my next call when this guy comes out onto the porch and starts yelling at me that I could not park the van there. He said that it was the churches' property and that it would be towed if left there.
Now at this point like I said…I was done with the call. The service had been completed and I did not need to do anything further. But I figured I’d be a nice guy since she was a premium member and did not want her to get into trouble with this guy.
I am only going to mention the fact that he was black because it is relevant to the story. I’m not prejudice against anyone, be they black, white, red, Asian, Latino, gay, straight, Mormon, Christian, Republican, communist, nudist, or someone that likes to have sex with cheese. I don’t see the world that way.
So I hook the van back up, and ask where this guy wants it. He said he wanted it in his driveway, at a 90 degree angle from the alleyway. I said I would give it a try, and a couple of his friends offered to help direct my truck. I was appreciative of the help, hopped into my rig and start moving the van to where he wants it. Well pretty soon, I could tell it was not going to work. I was driving an International 4700 wheel lift….what in my opinion is the most maneuverable tow truck ever made. I’d driven this same truck for three years, and amazed even veteran tow truck drivers with how I can squeeze this huge truck into tight spaces. The guy that was on my passenger side kept saying to keep backing up into the turn, and I stopped to see how much space I had because from inside the truck it looked like none. And I was right….my fender was touching the back wall of the church, if I had kept backing up like the “helper” had directed, I would have damaged the fiberglass hood of the truck, my bumper, and the church! So I motion for the guy who original yelled at me about the truck, the one I figured was the owner or the renter of the property, and I try to explain to him that there is simply not enough room to back the van into the driveway. The rear of the van was angled into the entrance of the driveway, so I offer to drop the van where it is, and since there was four of us total, we could push the van to where he wanted.
Nope…he did not want to do that, “That’s what you have the truck for.”
Okay, so I offer to park the van along side his fence again, but on his property….next to the other three cars that was parked on the grass.
Still not good enough for him. He wanted it in his driveway. Exasperated, I again try to explain to him that it was not possible; there was simply not enough room. The guy starts going off about how I do not know what I am doing, that I’m suppose to be a professional and do my job, while I am trying to explain why I can’t, as I point to the truck nudged against a concrete wall! After about a minute of this, I got angry and was tired of the stupidity presenting itself before me. I told the guy that I was going to drop it where it was, powered up the hydraulics, and dropped the wheel lift.
Now that….was not the best idea with the two vehicles still close and at a high angle.
The front fender crunched into the back of my truck, damaging the sheet metal of the van, but doing nothing to mine. Solid steel rear end. Except no substitute. Oddly enough, the guy does not mention this, even though he was standing right next to the van. Instead he tells me that I am not going to leave until the van is where he wants it….walks out onto the street, and blocks the entrance to the alley way with his car.
I’d like to pause a moment to let that concept sink in. He was trying to block my truck, a vehicle that was designed to tow up to five tons, with a crappy little Corsica.
I’m sure had I wanted to, I could have driven over his car, Bigfoot style.
It was then that I noticed that the girl that had paid the membership and was the customer in this little episode…was gone. Nowhere to be seen. I got back into the truck, locked the doors, and called into to dispatch declaring an emergency and requesting police assistance. Before they could, my “helper” knocked on the window and said that he was going to have the idiot move his car and asked if I could drop the van back where it was originally. I told dispatch to stand by on the police call, and sure enough, the alleyway was unblocked.
So I back up the van to right where it was, and begin again to unhook it. Guess who decides he needs to open a dialogue with me?
He starts off telling me that I was unprofessional, and did not know how to do my job. I ignore him, because all I wanted to do was get that piece of junk off my truck and get the hell out of there. He gets a little more personal and suggests that maybe if I worked out a little and lost some weight, I would have been able to get the job done.
Yeah….a few pounds off my fat gut would make my truck slimmer. Keep in mind that while I’m doing this I’m tossing around 50 pound L-arms…..is it really wise to insult someone when they have a big piece of steel in their hands?
I let that one slide too….mainly because I was in uniform and was outnumbered by three to one. So I guess because he could not get a reaction out of me, he went in for the kill.
“I suppose if I was one of your white friends, this would not have been a problem.”
I stopped at that point…..I could not believe he had said that. I was so angry I was seeing red. I thankfully was able to control my temper and laughed in his face instead.
“You have got to be kidding me!” I said as I finished up and got back into my truck and told him to have a nice day as I drove off. I made it about two miles away before I started shaking so bad that I had to pull off the road. I tried to call my supervisor to let him know what happened, but I could not form words. A few minutes later I had settled down enough to drive back to base and file a report. I took my lunch…calmed down, and went back to work.
The first call I got after returning from lunch….a vehicle being towed to right across the street form where the incident happened. I promptly informed dispatch to assign someone else.
Now at this point like I said…I was done with the call. The service had been completed and I did not need to do anything further. But I figured I’d be a nice guy since she was a premium member and did not want her to get into trouble with this guy.
I am only going to mention the fact that he was black because it is relevant to the story. I’m not prejudice against anyone, be they black, white, red, Asian, Latino, gay, straight, Mormon, Christian, Republican, communist, nudist, or someone that likes to have sex with cheese. I don’t see the world that way.
So I hook the van back up, and ask where this guy wants it. He said he wanted it in his driveway, at a 90 degree angle from the alleyway. I said I would give it a try, and a couple of his friends offered to help direct my truck. I was appreciative of the help, hopped into my rig and start moving the van to where he wants it. Well pretty soon, I could tell it was not going to work. I was driving an International 4700 wheel lift….what in my opinion is the most maneuverable tow truck ever made. I’d driven this same truck for three years, and amazed even veteran tow truck drivers with how I can squeeze this huge truck into tight spaces. The guy that was on my passenger side kept saying to keep backing up into the turn, and I stopped to see how much space I had because from inside the truck it looked like none. And I was right….my fender was touching the back wall of the church, if I had kept backing up like the “helper” had directed, I would have damaged the fiberglass hood of the truck, my bumper, and the church! So I motion for the guy who original yelled at me about the truck, the one I figured was the owner or the renter of the property, and I try to explain to him that there is simply not enough room to back the van into the driveway. The rear of the van was angled into the entrance of the driveway, so I offer to drop the van where it is, and since there was four of us total, we could push the van to where he wanted.
Nope…he did not want to do that, “That’s what you have the truck for.”
Okay, so I offer to park the van along side his fence again, but on his property….next to the other three cars that was parked on the grass.
Still not good enough for him. He wanted it in his driveway. Exasperated, I again try to explain to him that it was not possible; there was simply not enough room. The guy starts going off about how I do not know what I am doing, that I’m suppose to be a professional and do my job, while I am trying to explain why I can’t, as I point to the truck nudged against a concrete wall! After about a minute of this, I got angry and was tired of the stupidity presenting itself before me. I told the guy that I was going to drop it where it was, powered up the hydraulics, and dropped the wheel lift.
Now that….was not the best idea with the two vehicles still close and at a high angle.
The front fender crunched into the back of my truck, damaging the sheet metal of the van, but doing nothing to mine. Solid steel rear end. Except no substitute. Oddly enough, the guy does not mention this, even though he was standing right next to the van. Instead he tells me that I am not going to leave until the van is where he wants it….walks out onto the street, and blocks the entrance to the alley way with his car.I’d like to pause a moment to let that concept sink in. He was trying to block my truck, a vehicle that was designed to tow up to five tons, with a crappy little Corsica.
I’m sure had I wanted to, I could have driven over his car, Bigfoot style.It was then that I noticed that the girl that had paid the membership and was the customer in this little episode…was gone. Nowhere to be seen. I got back into the truck, locked the doors, and called into to dispatch declaring an emergency and requesting police assistance. Before they could, my “helper” knocked on the window and said that he was going to have the idiot move his car and asked if I could drop the van back where it was originally. I told dispatch to stand by on the police call, and sure enough, the alleyway was unblocked.
So I back up the van to right where it was, and begin again to unhook it. Guess who decides he needs to open a dialogue with me?
He starts off telling me that I was unprofessional, and did not know how to do my job. I ignore him, because all I wanted to do was get that piece of junk off my truck and get the hell out of there. He gets a little more personal and suggests that maybe if I worked out a little and lost some weight, I would have been able to get the job done.
Yeah….a few pounds off my fat gut would make my truck slimmer. Keep in mind that while I’m doing this I’m tossing around 50 pound L-arms…..is it really wise to insult someone when they have a big piece of steel in their hands?
I let that one slide too….mainly because I was in uniform and was outnumbered by three to one. So I guess because he could not get a reaction out of me, he went in for the kill.
“I suppose if I was one of your white friends, this would not have been a problem.”
I stopped at that point…..I could not believe he had said that. I was so angry I was seeing red. I thankfully was able to control my temper and laughed in his face instead.
“You have got to be kidding me!” I said as I finished up and got back into my truck and told him to have a nice day as I drove off. I made it about two miles away before I started shaking so bad that I had to pull off the road. I tried to call my supervisor to let him know what happened, but I could not form words. A few minutes later I had settled down enough to drive back to base and file a report. I took my lunch…calmed down, and went back to work.
The first call I got after returning from lunch….a vehicle being towed to right across the street form where the incident happened. I promptly informed dispatch to assign someone else.
The difference between you and I doing the job is that they are more likely to believe you (or any male driver) when they explain how it won't work than a little girly girl. I swear sometimes if our customers could've patted me on the head and said, "Oh, lookie how cute! She can't drive!"
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