Murphy’s World

Oops! Out go the lights

In a run a few years back I was a bit confused as to my directions. I found a junkyard with what seemed to be a large, trucker-friendly dirt lot. I had room to stop and turn around if necessary, and my wife seemed to think I should stop and ask for directions.
     OOPS! It wasn’t as roomy as I thought. Even with a cabover and a 40-foot trailer, I had to twist it pretty tight. Too tight it seems, for I broke off my air line and locked up the trailer brakes. That’s when two or three guys came running out of the building yelling, “Don’t touch anything metal!”
     Huh? What do they mean, I wondered.
     “You hit the high-voltage line!” they yelled.
     The trailer I was pulling apparently snagged the line. They told me later that they became suspicious when all the lights went out in the building and sparks started cracking in the main fuse box. That’s when they noticed Mr. I-Am-Lost in the parking lot. 
          They found a long wooden pole and held up the line so I could move the truck out from under it. I was never so embarrassed about anything in my life, not to mention scaring my wife half to death. It was her first trip, and I’d wanted to impress her with my big-rig abilities.
     She took it in stride, though, and never ragged me about it.”
     “Mustang”

Dear Mustang,
I’ve been in this business so long that nothing shocks me anymore, but your story did the trick. There are plenty of things you never want to hear when you’re maneuvering a truck in tight quarters, but “Oops” and “You hit the high-voltage line” have to rank right up there near the top.
     The guys in the junkyard were “suspicious” when a big rig starts driving around in circles in their lot and suddenly all the lights go out in their building and sparks come flying out of the fuse box. Yeah, I believe I would be a little suspicious too. Fortunately, it didn’t take them long to put two and two together. Their quick action no doubt saved your life and your wife’s.
     You gotta love that wife of yours. Her first trip out, you darn near accidentally barbecue her, and she not only takes it in stride, but never even rags you about it. It just goes to show you that miracles do happen, even in Murphy’s World.

     Regards,
      Murphy and Lucky Dog