I love your descriptions of the work truck. I remember my last company truck. The only reason why it was reserved for me, it was 30 years old and had stick( I stupidly told them I could drive manual). It had a really loud AM radio and vent windows, plus it was a F350. The only thing that sucked about it that it was the only plow equipped truck in the fleet, so henceforth,
I was the plowguy with a stick tranny. My nickname was Frenchy, don't know why.
Lol, I currently have a 1971 F350 flatbed sitting in my back yard waiting for me to put the AUTOMATIC transmission back in it when the snow melts. ( https://photos.app.goo.gl/KUUvDLiSzQQchpUU6 for your records :) My first couple of cars were beat to death manuals, as sloppy as an Italian beef. I can not imagine what a 30 year old work truck with a manual would be like driving. Esp. plowing! I picture it being like one of those Miyazaki movie creatures with 6 arms pulling levers :D
Removing vent windows was the dumbest thing they ever did to modern trucks. How else can one dry out their socks?!
We had a "frenchy" at one of my jobs, I think he was called that because he liked those stuffed croissants you get at the gas station. Did you like good pastry? :D
Are we talking trucks? For many years I had a 57 Chevy (Apache!) that I still regret selling, but I had nowhere to park it at the time. I still visit it on occasion.
That has to be one of the all time sexiest trucks ever made. Looks like a confectioners creation. To have owned one at some point is to me certainly a life's achievement, so even if you let it go, better to have loved and lost or what have you. :D
Sexy indeed, a stepside shortbed. To top it off somebody had put a 3/4-ton five-speed transmission in at some point. And painted it sky blue with house paint, using a brush. It was featured in a newspaper article once, and was immortalized as a rubber stamp.
Sounds like she had character, with git-up-n-go to spare. My old boy couldn't get off the line in a hurry with a gun to its head, but it could pull your house off the foundation, were one so inclined. :D
Great stuff. Hilarious. A reminder for the desk jockeys what real work is. A reminder to those also, who think hard work is how you get to be a billionaire, or at least own a house.
Incidentally, I've never had a construction job, but I was the unskilled labor helping my brother build my house recently, and carried around a good bit of drywall. As a teenager in 1972 I had a job one summer splitting (8-lb maul) and loading oak for a firewood business. Got lots of muscle in my back that summer. Like your boss's daughter, I was one of the guys and've always liked it that way.
First off all check this kid out: https://www.youtube.com/@NicoleCoenen talk about positive role model. I too was a wood lot kid. IMO the best upper body workout one can get, and pure therapy for me. As I got some money when I got older I even splurged and got me a REAL fancy axe. Sure the maul is heavier and gets through better, but this beauty makes me feel like Paul Bunyan. https://photos.app.goo.gl/fGakZXpoSbLwKU1M8
I had this theory at the time (which I should put in part 2 now that I think about it) that every truck should have a lady in it. The guys always worked their ASSES OFF when there were ladies around. Like they were showing off. It could be a cute young girl or a grandma type, didn't matter. Never saw guys hustle like they did when a lady was watching. It was as predictable as sweat every time. Maybe it was some kind of "watch mom!" type deal, idk. :D
Oh to be sure that does happen, but you are all thinking efficiency and what not. I was looking for good old labor intensive "Take THAT! and THAT! and THAAT!" action. No matter the pile size I always feel like I earned some biscuits and gravy. :D
I worked for years, in the oilfield, on workover rigs. Your "crew" makes me realize that maybe we weren't as unique and individual as we thought. I worked on and around rigs for 40+ years and have overseen a lot of "hands" that would fit into your descriptions nicely. I would probably still be working if it hadn't been for the ever increasing BS and paper work that government regulations and corporate CYA brought. I enjoyed the read!
Nice to know there is some of my real "target demographic" on substack. We all think we are weirdo one offs, but there is a bucket for each of us. Most of the time the fight was to realize you were just as broken as the next guy, but it is hard to tell from the inside. I think I was always the guy trying to come up with a "smart way" to do shit and wasting everyone's time. :D
Welp, we all filter impressions of others through our own, personal perceptions. For instance, I used to tell men working for me, that it wasn't until I became a boss that I realized, what an exceptional worker I had been!
I love your descriptions of the work truck. I remember my last company truck. The only reason why it was reserved for me, it was 30 years old and had stick( I stupidly told them I could drive manual). It had a really loud AM radio and vent windows, plus it was a F350. The only thing that sucked about it that it was the only plow equipped truck in the fleet, so henceforth,
I was the plowguy with a stick tranny. My nickname was Frenchy, don't know why.
Lol, I currently have a 1971 F350 flatbed sitting in my back yard waiting for me to put the AUTOMATIC transmission back in it when the snow melts. ( https://photos.app.goo.gl/KUUvDLiSzQQchpUU6 for your records :) My first couple of cars were beat to death manuals, as sloppy as an Italian beef. I can not imagine what a 30 year old work truck with a manual would be like driving. Esp. plowing! I picture it being like one of those Miyazaki movie creatures with 6 arms pulling levers :D
Removing vent windows was the dumbest thing they ever did to modern trucks. How else can one dry out their socks?!
We had a "frenchy" at one of my jobs, I think he was called that because he liked those stuffed croissants you get at the gas station. Did you like good pastry? :D
Thanks so much for reading my gibberish!
Are we talking trucks? For many years I had a 57 Chevy (Apache!) that I still regret selling, but I had nowhere to park it at the time. I still visit it on occasion.
That has to be one of the all time sexiest trucks ever made. Looks like a confectioners creation. To have owned one at some point is to me certainly a life's achievement, so even if you let it go, better to have loved and lost or what have you. :D
Sexy indeed, a stepside shortbed. To top it off somebody had put a 3/4-ton five-speed transmission in at some point. And painted it sky blue with house paint, using a brush. It was featured in a newspaper article once, and was immortalized as a rubber stamp.
Sounds like she had character, with git-up-n-go to spare. My old boy couldn't get off the line in a hurry with a gun to its head, but it could pull your house off the foundation, were one so inclined. :D
Oh, it was no hot rod. Not the vehicle to take if you were in a hurry. Shifting was rather leisurely, and I almost never used granny gear.
Great stuff. Hilarious. A reminder for the desk jockeys what real work is. A reminder to those also, who think hard work is how you get to be a billionaire, or at least own a house.
Did I like it? Well, I couldn't stop reading and it made me late for work.
You could tell your boss you were doing market research. It has worked for me in every white collar job I ever had. Sometimes it was even true!
Incidentally, I've never had a construction job, but I was the unskilled labor helping my brother build my house recently, and carried around a good bit of drywall. As a teenager in 1972 I had a job one summer splitting (8-lb maul) and loading oak for a firewood business. Got lots of muscle in my back that summer. Like your boss's daughter, I was one of the guys and've always liked it that way.
First off all check this kid out: https://www.youtube.com/@NicoleCoenen talk about positive role model. I too was a wood lot kid. IMO the best upper body workout one can get, and pure therapy for me. As I got some money when I got older I even splurged and got me a REAL fancy axe. Sure the maul is heavier and gets through better, but this beauty makes me feel like Paul Bunyan. https://photos.app.goo.gl/fGakZXpoSbLwKU1M8
I had this theory at the time (which I should put in part 2 now that I think about it) that every truck should have a lady in it. The guys always worked their ASSES OFF when there were ladies around. Like they were showing off. It could be a cute young girl or a grandma type, didn't matter. Never saw guys hustle like they did when a lady was watching. It was as predictable as sweat every time. Maybe it was some kind of "watch mom!" type deal, idk. :D
In 40+ years of living with wood stoves, I never used an ax. It would just get stuck in the log. Give me a maul every time. :)
Oh to be sure that does happen, but you are all thinking efficiency and what not. I was looking for good old labor intensive "Take THAT! and THAT! and THAAT!" action. No matter the pile size I always feel like I earned some biscuits and gravy. :D
In case it's not clear, I'm a female.
I mean ambiguity is part and parcel of the Tardigrade life one assumes. :D
I embrace ambiguity 😵💫
I worked for years, in the oilfield, on workover rigs. Your "crew" makes me realize that maybe we weren't as unique and individual as we thought. I worked on and around rigs for 40+ years and have overseen a lot of "hands" that would fit into your descriptions nicely. I would probably still be working if it hadn't been for the ever increasing BS and paper work that government regulations and corporate CYA brought. I enjoyed the read!
Nice to know there is some of my real "target demographic" on substack. We all think we are weirdo one offs, but there is a bucket for each of us. Most of the time the fight was to realize you were just as broken as the next guy, but it is hard to tell from the inside. I think I was always the guy trying to come up with a "smart way" to do shit and wasting everyone's time. :D
Welp, we all filter impressions of others through our own, personal perceptions. For instance, I used to tell men working for me, that it wasn't until I became a boss that I realized, what an exceptional worker I had been!