Hey there, fellow Freeper! :D
I can’t begin to imagine what you’re going through and what it must be like over there but please know how much I appreciate what you’re doing and what you sacrifice to do it. Don’t think for one moment you’ve been forgotten!
How about a laugh at my expense? Would that help?
Okay, so I got the bright idea I would learn to drive a dump truck. Seemed like a good skill to have and the thing just sits there most of the time. Visions of hauling my own gravel danced in my head!
So, it has that split shift thingy (the manufacturer probably calls it something else...), you know, with the high side and low side? Heck, I dunno, maybe they all have that... it’s my first dump truck experience.
Now, I pride myself on my ability to pretty much drive anything if someone will walk me through it. I’m kind of like Rainman that way.
So, I get my walk-through from someone with the proper appendage and I’m pumped to get started. Trucker hat? Check. Window rolled down so I can do that truck driver wave ahead thing he does in “Duel”? Check.
And I’m off! Take the county road for about two miles out practicing switching back and forth between both sides. I am sooo kicking butt at this! Turn around and drive the two miles back still practicing. I’m on a roll! Pshaw! What’s all the fuss? This isn’t hard at all!
As I triumphantly make my return, I practice saying, “Aw, shucks, tweren’t nothin”. Made me sort of wish I chewed so I could spit some bakky right after I said it.
However, I did notice a slight smell as I pulled back in. Okay, it wasn’t slight, it was downright permeating. That’s when the person with the proper appendage pointed out I’d just driven four miles in a dump truck with the emergency brake on.
Just try to think about the brunettes at home you’re protecting instead...
Big hugs and lots of prayers to you!
Don’t know about Hotmetal but I sure liked that story.