The story I’m about to tell you may well be the last one I tell that
happened before we knew Commander God Squad (that would be my brother who is
challenging Joe Booth) fell into the depths of ‘his’ god but it should help all
this sites readers gain some insight as to the kind of person he really is and
how he views people….even his own brother.
Quite honestly I’d forgotten about this until my lovely Elaine reminded me
the other day.
Very late in the 90's I got a call from my brother expressing a desperate
need to for help in finding a mover that would get our Grandmothers apartment
emptied and moved to his home in Georgetown. He’d tried but had no luck
whatsoever. Knowing I had been a professional mover he asked if I could make it
happen (knowing I had internet and how to use it) for him.
Grandma’s primary caregiver (although she lived alone and was doing very
well for a woman in her early 90’s), our Uncle Ralph had recently passed away
and our father and his wonderful girlfriend had taken her with them to their
residence in Florida
to become her primary caregivers. Dad wanted her stuff out of the apartment
(why pay for a place that she was never going to return to?) and wanted it out
by the end of that month. My brother didn’t have much in his residence anyhow
and could use some nice stuff so it was a perfect fit!
Well I tried but I couldn’t find a mover but as all movers stated, as I knew
they would, that they could do a local move but interstate moves were booked
solid (it was late spring/early summer and a lot of moves happen that time of
year) through the summer. A few said they could fit in starting in 6 to 8 weeks
but that they would have to do the all the packing as well. Grandma and Grandpa
(now long deceased) had lived in that apartment for well over 20 years and it
was FULL of stuff! Being able to give them a round about idea of the gross
weight of what was to be moved, and also that it was a second story apartment
with a “long carry” as well it wasn’t going to be cheap by any means and not
going to happen soon either. If anyone out there reading this has had a
professional move done you know that’s true!
When I called my brother back with what I’d learned he literally exploded
over the phone as if it was my fault that this couldn’t happen! Being a nice
guy, and having all that is needed to do a professional move (I’d never really
stopped as I’d helped a lot of friends over the years) as well as the knowledge
and experience I offered to drop what I was doing and make it happen soon.
Instantly he calmed down and became somewhat rational again.
Now let’s keep in mind that I’m the president and CEO of TruckFinders
International Limited. A GLOBAL concern that I’m rather successful with (I put
refrigerated trailers in Siberia once and I
consider that kind of like selling Ice to Eskimos kind of thing) and giving up five
days of being at my business is a bit of a favor. Maybe you don’t feel that way
but I did and still do to this day.
Well here’s the deal we agreed to. I’d come up with all my moving stuff and
get the key to Grandma’s place. I’d pack it all up (good china, all the kitchen
stuff , and when you consider it was a two bedroom apartment that was a LOT OF
STUFF!) and come back the next day to pick up the biggest truck U-haul had
somewhere in Sussex County. I made it clear that I wasn’t paying for the truck
at this point. I think that was reasonable… don’t you?
Since he refused to come up and help me load the truck (before I’d even left
Tennessee) because he was “too busy” I called my close and trusted friend Fred
(who has his own business to look after) and he told me he’d help me load the
truck so long as he didn’t have to move the stuff into my brother’s home (NOT a
fan of my brother!) so I called my brother back and told him I’d need to have
some help on the unloading end getting the stuff into his home. He said “OK…I
have Steve and Kenny (employees of his) there to help move the stuff in”.
So off I go in my little Bronco headed to Delaware to get the key and then
to Trenton NJ to spend the night at Grandma’s so I could start packing her
stuff up early in the morning. I packed it all (china, pictures et al) up in a
professional manner (hey…It’s my GRANDMOTHER!) and leave as its getting dark to
go back and spend the night at Fred’s home. Early in the morning we go to the U-haul
place and get the truck. Well there was a bit of confusion and apparently my
brother had told them it was only going to be a one day local rental (trying to
be cheap) and folks this move is going to take TWO DAYS and finally we’re off
for Trenton once again!
It’s not a cool day folks. Fred and I are BUSTING OUR HUMPS all day long. We
finally get the last items on about 8 PM and we’re on our way back to Fred’s
house to spend the night before going to my brother’s to start unloading with
his employees help the next morning. The drive to Trenton isn’t a short drive by the way and it’s
not any faster in a U-Haul truck that’s fully loaded.
OK…we show up at my brother’s office just after 8 AM and Mr. Executive isn’t
what we would refer to as dressed to unload a truck full of furniture that is
FREE to him with just a little bit of what I call “sweat equity”. Neither are
Steve and Kenny and he’s wondering why I won’t unload and put the ‘stuff’ in
his home for him? I’m not what one would refer to as ‘thrilled’ so I make it
clear to him that Fred and I will unload the “stuff” onto the sidewalk of Bedford Street and he could do with as he pleased from
there. Well that apparently didn’t go over too well with Mr. Executive and he’s
getting pissed off with Fred and me now. DUH. Just how much are we expected to
do for HIM for NOTHING!! My friend Fred was doing a favor for me…not my
brother. Fred’s picture is next to the word ‘friend’ in most of my dictionaries
and I’m godfather to his son.
We’re well into unloading the truck onto the sidewalk and about an hour
later Kenny and Steve show up and Mr. Executive (still in his sport coat) is ‘supervising’.
Some of the furniture was in his words ‘junk’ and he didn’t want it so we put
it back into the truck and took it to an empty apartment Fred owned. We turned
in the truck and I took the bill (that I paid) back to my brother only to hear
him complain about how much, including fuel, it cost. I finally got a company
check from him and immediately cashed it and watched as the last items were
being placed in his home.
There is more to this story but I’ve tried to keep it as short as possible
while being factual. Fred or I never heard the phrase “thank you” either. I
think Mr. Executive was too busy being irritated we took time away from his
day.
Look at it this way folk. It’s an eight (8) hour drive from here in
Northeast Tennessee to Georgetown.
So that’s Monday. Tuesday I packed it all up and Wednesday Fred and I loaded
the truck. Thursday was a full day and Friday I drove home. Last time I ever did
a ‘favor’ for my brother and from that time on whenever my brother called I’d
answer “Hey Bro…what can I do for you” and apparently that irritated him from
what he told me during our last ever conversation in October of 2002. In fact he
had some kind of bible scripture that made him right. That bible of his was a
useful tool! I think he's a 'tool'.
Maybe I’m wrong about how I felt at the time but in my opinion I was
justified in being just a little bit pissed off. Fred and I weren’t even
offered lunch or dinner. I think he did us WRONG. It’s just my opinion. I could
be wrong.
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