Murphy's World

Car Carrier Spins Tall Tale

Dear Murphy,
I drive a car carrier. I had a delivery in a small Ohio town I wasn’t familiar with, so before I got too close, I stopped at a pay phone (before I got one of those demon cell phones) and called the customer to get directions. The fellow on the other end was very nice. I told him where I was, and he told me to follow the route right on in and turn right at the third light.

The car dealership was on the right.

The only problem was he forgot to mention the 13' 3" viaduct just after the second light. My truck is 13' 6" tall. Get the picture? I hit the flashers, locked down the brakes and bailed out to see the traffic backing up, with no escape.

A young kid was walking by on the sidewalk at that moment, and I said, “Son, will you run home and tell your mom to call a cop for me?” One eventually came, and the locals got to see me unload and reload all four cars on the trailer to get under the viaduct.

Johnnie M. Wright
Columbia, TN

Dear Johnnie,

That’s a pretty good Murphy Day—for you and the locals. In some small Midwestern towns, watching someone unload and reload a bunch of cars onto a trailer in the middle of Main Street is considered big-time entertainment. It sounds like you put on a quite a show.

Of course, this being Murphy’s World, it could have been a whole lot worse. For example:

1. You could have been hauling high-stacked lumber instead of cars. You can’t just drive a stack
of lumber off a trailer.
2. You could have been making a delivery in the Big
City instead of Small Town USA. Big City folks are
not as easily amused by trucks blocking Main Street.
3. That young kid could have been a smart aleck and told
you what you could do with your load instead of telling
his mom to call the cops.

Congratulations on keeping your cool in a tough situation. You make Murphy proud.

Regards,
Murphy and Lucky Dog