Yesterday and today I helped my friend Lisa move her brother Doug from Olympia into the same apartment complex she lives in. He’s a skip and a jump away from her now, so her small remaining nuclear family is “together” again.

 

The move was quite the project, especially for Lisa

 

Doug had his gallbladder removed about ten days ago, so he was in no shape to box things up for the move, so Lisa has been preparing the way during every one of her days off recently so his household goods would be ready to roll yesterday and today.

 

A group of six strapping young  men packed the U-Haul while I packed Lisa’s van yesterday

 

I was the designated driver for the U-Haul, because Lisa has never driven a big rig. I grew up driving big farm machinery and other rigs, so a 10, 12- or 14-foot U-Haul feels pretty much like old hat to me.

 

Glitch Upon Arriving at U-Haul

 

Lisa and I arrived at the designated U-Haul to pick up the rig she had reserved, but the app kept failing, and that place wasn’t going to have a live person running it that day, so we drove to the next nearest U-Haul and explained our problem. They didn’t have a U-Haul either, but they called a techie with U-Haul to see if he could figure out why the app wasn’t working. He didn’t figure it out but he did see in the system that Lisa had, in fact, reserved a U-Haul, so they called another U-Haul, who said they had one.  It was about eight miles away…

 

We got to the third U-Haul location with our legs crossed, needing to use their restroom in the worst possible way, so after we dashed in there, we got a rig and drove to Doug’s, where the six men were waiting to load it out.  While they did that and Lisa continued to throw the last of the stuff into boxes, I schlepped a van load of stuff into her van, so we were completely loaded out by about 12:30.

 

Glitch Upon Arriving at Doug’s

 

The young men loaded the U-Haul so completely, top to bottom, that when we first tried opening the sliding door, it would only go up about two feet. But with a little ingenuity, we pried out some of the lower deck boxes, trunks, and stuff, enough that Lisa could fit inside and figure out what the holdup was. It wasn’t fixable from where she stood (too far over her head for her to dislodge the hangup), so we just kept digging stuff out until enough space opened up that someone taller could get in there and liberate the door from the bedframe which had been set atop the pile, and which had shifted during the drive, causing it to block the opening of the door.

 

The unloading was much faster than the loading had been, so we were finished by mid-afternoon. That was partially thanks to another apartment complex resident whose first name is David. He saw my Dr. McCoy sweatshirt, commented on it using DeForest Kelley’s actual name (which impressed the starch right out of me!), and offered his help to unload the remaining, heaviest stuff and (after that) Lisa’s van without anyone having to twist his arm.

 

And because he said, upon spotting us, “You had me at your DeForest Kelley shirt”(or something like that), I promised him a copy of DeForest Kelley Up Close and Personal. Only thing is, I don’t think I told him I wrote the book, so God only knows what will happen when he finds out I did! He might be in for quite a shock! So, I put my contact info inside beneath where I wrote the inscription to him. Any fan of De’s is a friend of mine, especially the ones who offer help when we need it!  (See? De is still taking good care of me, recruiting one of his fans to join my work crew!) (Naw, I’m sure it was all David’s inspiration, but … it certainly felt a little like a “De wink”!)

 

Day Two (Today)

 

This morning Lisa and I drove back to Olympia in our vans to get the last of Doug’s stuff and to clean up a bit (vacuum the carpets, even though the landlady said the place will be completely remodeled immediately and the existing carpets would come out, so not to bother).  (Reminded me of that scene in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF when Tevye’s family gets ousted in a pogrom and his wife Golda insists on sweeping the house before they go. By G-d, it was still HER home until it wasn’t, and she wanted to honor it and her Maker!)

 

It was pouring rain all morning in Olympia so, despite wearing a rain slicker, I got soaked. Lisa stayed inside until everything was segregated between keep and dump, so she didn’t get quite as wet as I did until the last few minutes, by which time the rain had let up (some). But I was dressed for sogginess and she wasn’t, so that’s why we worked it out the way we did.

 

The landlady teared up as Lisa stopped by to drop off the key and tell her goodbye, telling her Doug was one of her favorite tenants.  I’m sure Doug loved learning that!  (Well, he is a sweetie, so that wasn’t really news to us but it was lovely to hear.)

 

DOUG’S NEW DIGS ARE DELIGHTFUL

 

I gotta say, Doug’s new digs look GREAT (athough it’s a one bedroom and decidedly too small for everything he has accumulated over a lifetime. I suspect he’ll be parting with some of it when maneuvering around it becomes problematic!)

 

The apartment complex he moved into has been newly renovated with hardwood (or laminated) flooring, so it looks as if it has never been occupied before.  Very, very nice.  I’d move into one like it in a heartbeat if I needed to.

 

So, all’s well that ends well

 

Lisa hugged me goodbye and thanks and then hopped into her van to get to work by noon. She has an eight-hour shift still ahead of her today.

 

I joked, “Well, after what you’ve been through the last few days, it might just feel like a vacation!”

 

It probably won’t, but she adores her client, and that’s  always a huge plus!