leastbest - but still one of the best
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It's Not the heat, it's the stupidity
posted Saturday, 2 July 2005
This week has been brutal. Long hours have been punctuated with terrible heat and humidity. Temperatures hovered in the mid-nineties all week and the humidity made it hard to breathe. Normally working right on Lake Erie gives me the gift of a light breeze but this week it was still and stifling.
There were, as always, kindnesses given me by my customers. Many times a bottle of water was handed out or at least an understanding that I was working in a furnace and I would be given a hand. Then there were the majority.
I'm waiting on the porch of a house, sweat running down my back and pooling in the small of my back waiting for them to answer the door. Finally they open the door a crack and I can feel a wisp of arctic air coming from the house. I turn my DIAD board sideways so it fits in the one inch crack of the door and they pull it in. I put the package down and when they open the door to grab the package and return the DIAD they invariably say, "Hot enough for you?" I smile and say, "Yes it is, thank you for asking." Sometimes they ask, "Is your truck air-conditioned?" I always smile and say, "No ma'am." I want to look them in the eye and say, "I don't even have power-steering!" but of course I am a professional so I just smile and sweat.
I walked up to a porch on Tuesday with an older couple sitting there with a large pitcher of lemonade between them and the woman asked if I had air-conditioning in my truck. I replied no and the older man said, "He's got 255 air-conditioning. Two doors open at fifty-five miles an hour." At this point he launched into a laughing fit. My sense of humor had evaporated, unlike the sweat running down my back.
Many times when I'm working I count things. Sometimes it's just how many hawks or vultures I'll see in a day. Other times it's how many women are wearing tube tops and bicycle shorts. I decided this week it would be how many times I heard the question, "Hot enough for you?" Here are the results.
There were, as always, kindnesses given me by my customers. Many times a bottle of water was handed out or at least an understanding that I was working in a furnace and I would be given a hand. Then there were the majority.
I'm waiting on the porch of a house, sweat running down my back and pooling in the small of my back waiting for them to answer the door. Finally they open the door a crack and I can feel a wisp of arctic air coming from the house. I turn my DIAD board sideways so it fits in the one inch crack of the door and they pull it in. I put the package down and when they open the door to grab the package and return the DIAD they invariably say, "Hot enough for you?" I smile and say, "Yes it is, thank you for asking." Sometimes they ask, "Is your truck air-conditioned?" I always smile and say, "No ma'am." I want to look them in the eye and say, "I don't even have power-steering!" but of course I am a professional so I just smile and sweat.
I walked up to a porch on Tuesday with an older couple sitting there with a large pitcher of lemonade between them and the woman asked if I had air-conditioning in my truck. I replied no and the older man said, "He's got 255 air-conditioning. Two doors open at fifty-five miles an hour." At this point he launched into a laughing fit. My sense of humor had evaporated, unlike the sweat running down my back.
Many times when I'm working I count things. Sometimes it's just how many hawks or vultures I'll see in a day. Other times it's how many women are wearing tube tops and bicycle shorts. I decided this week it would be how many times I heard the question, "Hot enough for you?" Here are the results.
Thursday would have been a banner day but mid-afternoon rain came and dropped the temperature a bit. Friday a breeze came and with it the gentle beauty that I've always found right on the lake. All the routes I've had have been right on the lake and I can't imagine a driver being stuck in a city or south in the country.
Friday I took one of my breaks and sat on a beach and watched the lake. I've always been a lucky person but I haven't always realized it. I do now.
Friday I took one of my breaks and sat on a beach and watched the lake. I've always been a lucky person but I haven't always realized it. I do now.
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