Remember those tiny piles of crap I mentioned earlier? Well, here's another one. It was mostly bits and pieces we didn't know what to do with. Sadly, I didn't think to take any photos of the shed, before or after (I know, can you believe that?!!)! But trust me, this building was packed to the gills - so stuffed, there was never a chance of getting anything out unless you unpacked the whole shed!!! Bill built the shed a few eons ago, when he needed a booth to spray paint the airplane he built...! A Rans S-12. It ended up being very useful when we decided to rent out the house and go RVing! We put all our furniture, boxes of blankets, dishes, books, clothes, knickknacks gadgets and doodads, memories dreams and wishes in that shed. And went without them for 7 years. Bill used to say he wouldn't be too disappointed if the thing just burned down! I didn't totally get that until it came time to move it all!!!!!!! And the really crazy part is we didn't have time to sort through any of this junk we were going to be hauling to Texas!! So we had to do all this work packing and loading, pay to ship it, and then unpack and unload - and then get rid of a lot of it!!! oh well, it is what it is. My mantra anymore. Not c'est la vie, or que sera, sera! No, those sound flowery and sweet somehow. No. It is what it is. Very straightforward, very utilitarian. Very apropos.
So Bill had reserved this container for us over the Thanksgiving weekend (you seeing the trend here? Because there is one - packing over Thanksgiving, and unpacking over Christmas...!?! Gee, wonder what Easter will bring...!!). He looked into the different options, and this sounded the best. They drop off the container, you fill it, they pick it up and deliver it, you unload it, they take it away. And costs the same as if you rent a truck and do all the driving yourself as well! Was an easy choice, as the logistics of Bill driving the rental truck and me driving the RV towing the plane and us meeting up for gas stops, campgrounds, etc. sounded a little daunting. Not to mention trying to fit all that into campgrounds - was hard enough doing that with just one long unit!
Here's our old street, and our giant container filling up the entire top half of the driveway.
Here's The Man Who Made It All Happen. No kidding. You want somebody who can juggle a billion little details, almost literally move mountains - and all with a smile...?! But he has to really want it! And that he did, and does! This all has made Bill a very happy camper - who lives in a house now, instead of a camper...
And here's John, our renter, and Bill. But he's so much more than our renter. He feels like family! He and Bill are kindred spirits of sorts - both incredibly talented and skilled, both doers/adventurers/thinkers, both pilots, both kind and generous... Anyways, John helped us move!! We had hired someone (a really nice, strong, capable guy) but were worried we should have gotten another person to help. Bill can do a lot, but that might have been one hill too steep to climb (almost literally - the ramp up to the container was a pretty steep pitch, esp. considering the bulky, heavy items that had to be carried up it!!). Our renter was going to be out of town but had very thoughtfully told us to help ourselves to whatever we might need from the house - bathroom privileges, etc. But he ended up being there and slaved for 3 hours, along with Jesse (sp?), and got all the big, heavy stuff moved!!!!!!! Stunning generosity. A very special guy. Not at all sure how it would've gone down without his help!!! Job incomplete and one or two of us in the hospital, most likely!!
John, Bill, and Jesse posing next to the hillclimb.
What you're seeing is only the front wall of stuff. This is like the Winchester House or Alice in Wonderland or something - stuff goes on and on, the farther back you look, the more you see... The container was 28 feet long. We filled it. And the first third or so was probably piled eight feet high. So that was Day 1.
Day 2, our very special, also incredibly generous, friends Mark and Margaret came to help! Thank goodness - even though the hardest part was over, there was still plenty to move! And one of the hardest parts was the last - getting those huge, cumbersome, 500 lb (felt like it, anyways!) barricades in place and secured.
And guess who else showed up again, even though he knew what would be involved! All I can say is that karma should be REALLY good for these three - not just for what they did for us, but because I'm 100% sure this is NOT an isolated act of kindness and generosity for any of them!!!
Here's to you, John, and M&M! Cheers to some truly special people that we are blessed to know and have in our lives!! Thank you for everything!!!!
A great group of friends. :)
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