Probably the most noteworthy part of the purchase was the delivery. The delivery driver called me from his stopping point 1/2 mile from the house. He claimed he couldn’t get to the house due to low trees, power lines, etc. Truth be told, most shipping companies have that in their disclaimer. I tried to explain there was another major road nearby that would be safer for unloading, to no avail.
So, I walked the 1/2 mile to meet Charlie, the driver. He was removing the tie-downs when I got there. There were a lot of them. At first, he motioned from his spot In the turning lane of an interstate bypass for me to stay on the side of the road. But when it was time to remove the last restraint, he needed me in the driver seat to hold the brake while he removed it, then slowly roll Ozzie to the street.
Meanwhile, have you ever been to a major racing event? Indy? F1? NASCAR? You know how when the race is really calm during a yellow flag, then the pace car leaves the track and all hell breaks loose? That was happening every 2 minutes while we were trying to get Ozzie off the truck. We were unloading 1/2 mile around a curve from one of the biggest intersections in town. Every time the light turned green, the race was back on, and it was two feet away from us with no wall or fence between us and the cars. Charlie never flinched. At the same time, I was wondering about the holding power of my underwear.
Despite my request to handle the delivery payment and sign-off after we got Ozzie off the highway, we handled it right there in the middle of the race.
Once off the main road, all was good. We got Ozzie to the house and in the garage.
I have bought a lot of vehicles over the years. This will be my most memorable. This Thanksgiving, I am grateful to be alive to enjoy this truck.
Jim