Monday, July 25, 2005

Look Out Mountain

That's where my Harold, my hubby, is, right now. He'd taken it upon himself to get a part-time job driving charter buses on the weekend. Okay. His first call out was for this weekend. He was to go to a small town and pick up his passengers and then head to Ocala where he was going to switch vehicles with another driver and turn around and head home. After all, he has a job to go to on Monday morning.

Harold has driven semi trucks for many years and is quite accomplished in that area, but he has never driven a commercial bus. What's the big deal you're thinking? Well, we went up there on Saturday to learn the equipment and it took us 15 minutes to turn on the AC and another 15 minutes to open the door from the dash button instead of using the emergency opener. And it 'kneels' too. Yes, it's a kneeling bus, meaning it lowers itself so it's easier for the passengers to access it. Also luggage compartments and the like. This darned bus was totally different to operate accessories than any vehicle I've ever driven.

So Harold's calling this fella and the guy's acting flat-out weird. I'm in the shower and I'll call you back he says and he doesn't. Turns out he didn't go to work (for whatever reason) and now there's no one to take the passengers from the 1st Baptist Church to Look Out Mountain. Definitely a dilemma exists.

And Harold says to the gal who's pulling out her hair as she's trying to figure out what to do with this, let me call my boss and see what he says. Turns out that things were slow and boss man was going to get someone to take a day off on Monday anyway. Call him in the morning, and Harold says, I need to know now, as his foot was throttle down on the fuel pedal heading northbound and out of the state of Florida. Go ahead and take it off says boss man, so he calls back the gal from the charter bus company and says he's good to go to take the church group to Look Out Mountain.

And they are relieved -- for a moment. And today I stop at their office as I'm picking up Harold's pick-up truck and taking it to the dealer for a scheduled appt. with the detail shop and the garage for an oil change and I go inside and the gal is still freaking out trying to figure out how to get Harold home as she knows he's got to work tomorrow morning. I leave figuring she'll figure it out. She'd better.

And she calls me and the last plan I've heard for getting Harold home is that after Harold gets some sleep in the motel he's going to rent a car and head back to Florida. Meanwhile another driver is going to head north in one of the company's limousines and they'll be on their phones when they get ready to get together and swap vehicles.

Now, I'm telling you, this is Harold's first experience with this company. How wacked out is that???

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