Monday, September 22, 2014

22 Sept 2014 "Crazy Arkansas, normal day."



Hey all ya'll!
    This week has brought some real Arkansas people about.  We did service for a guy moving into the branch. He had a 36 foot box truck (he rented just for his tools) and a trailer filled with steel. This day starts out with us walking to the pick up point where Ed Sojourn picked us up.  While we were walking to the pick up point, our Jehovah Witness neighbors stopped to pick us up. They drop us off and Bro Sojourn hops out of the Budget truck.  He asks us if we have ever taken a Box truck off-roading?  Well, obviously we said no.  He quickly responded, "Well, today's your lucky day!" (ha ha)  We drive a few miles on this dirt road, he stops and says "There she is."   We are looking around thinking, there what is??

       Then we hop out of the truck and here is this little four-wheeling two track road through the trees.  Here is where Murphy's Law comes into play.  We have an old Chevy van and a trailer hauling steel through mud.... Van gets stuck.  We go get the backhoe to pull it out.  The tire is flat.  The Air Compressor is in the box truck down the hill.  So now is the point where Ed goes to buy an Air Compressor from Walmart, 20 miles away...We started to unload all the steel from the trailer by hand (we being Elder Zachary Smuin, Rob, and me.)

       Ed gets back with the Air Compressor (this compressor is to put all other Air Compressors to shame!  There is a bike pump in Ed's hands and a pancake compressor that only holds a gallon of air?!?  Understand that this is a tire almost as tall as I am, and we are to use these tools??  After about a half hour of pumping, Ed realizes that the tire is off the bead. As Rednecks are, no problem, we have starter fluid and a match, "that ought to seat dat tire really fine."   Well, lets just say we all walked away from that one with all our fingers and toes.  Children do not try this at home.  If the tire blows off the rim, you are gunna be in a world of hurt!  In a bind, it works well. Too bad, I did not have my camera for all this.

       Now, it is time to finally get the backhoe out after another two hours of pumping to get it to 32 psi. Everything went fine from there.  We got the box truck up the two track with no problems at all.  Thank goodness!   I can't imagine trying to push that beast with a backhoe (yes, that was the plan all along.  If it got stuck, just push it with the backhoe?!?)

      Then it was all just unloading.  But that has got to be the best day that describes Arkansas!  I Love serving here and being able to see the effective things that people do to get by.  These things are pretty normal here. After all that, we got to see the best streets and the best sunsets in the world.   I love Arkansas,  if it had mountains and jobs I might live here in Ash Flat.   Maybe it will be my retirement in the future, when I cant climb the
Mountains anyways.

Love
Elder Caldwell





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