Chill The Truck Out, Bro

Some years ago, I was driving pickups and deliveries (P and D) for a trucking company in Denmark. P and D is the part of the transport chain where you usually deliver small quantities to multiple customers on a route — kind of like UPS or FedEx, but in semi-trucks or rigid/box trucks. It was nearing the end of the day, and I had to deliver a trampoline to a residential area. Mind you, this was in the EU, so things may be a bit different than in the USA regarding rules and regulations.

It was a fairly new area with plenty of space, but I had to reverse because there was no way of turning around. But no problem. The road was wide, and so were the corners I had to go around. I put my semi in reverse and started going backward. Of course, I was delivering to the last house on the street. Now the road climbed a bit and was about 600 or 700 metres long, but it all went fine.

When I finally got to the end of the road and got out of my truck to unload this trampoline, some guy was already standing behind my truck and started yelling and swearing at me.

Guy: “You are the biggest f****** idiot on this earth! How the h*** could you even think of coming in here with a semi?! You could have run over all the kids in the neighbourhood!”

No one else was out there.

Guy: “You have absolutely no valid reason for being here, and you need to get the h*** out of here right away!”

Instead of starting an argument with person, I calmly asked him where he lived. He pointed at the house.

Guy: “Number seventy-four.”

Me: *Still very calmly* “Well, in that case, I have a trampoline for you…”

Guy: “Oh, well, I would like if you could—”

Me: *Interrupting* “BUT! Since I have no business being in here with a semi, I will be waiting for you at the end of the road.

I pointed in the direction I had just come from.

Me: “Mind you, this is the big model weighing about 130 pounds, so you might want to bring a wheelbarrow.”

The joy it was seeing him coming all the way down the road with his wheelbarrow! And then trying to get this 130-pound trampoline up in the wheelbarrow and starting his long, heavy walk 700 metres up to his house again? Priceless!