On the last day of November, around 7:40 in the morning, a big Ford welding truck left his driver in the gas station while he (the truck, that is) ambled on over to BedRock Depot hoping to get a sandwich. He didn’t notice that we were closed (probably because trucks can’t read very well).
As the truck pulled up on our east side, he didn’t know how to stop without his driver in place to set the brake, so he just kept rolling until he hit and drove over one of the metal poles that holds up our awning in the summertime. As the overhead awning rod ripped free from its support, it got pushed forward by the truck and bent nicely into a “nose” shape. The truck also bumped a wooden picnic table and knocked it over, but it completely rammed another wooden table, smashing it into the trash can and cabinet we keep outside. The metal pole that was the corner post for our awning got stuck in the truck’s undercarriage and ripped open its radiator. It also pulled an oil tube loose. Once that happened, the truck was content to sit and wait for his owner to come and get him before he did any more damage.
Meanwhile, the owner came out of the gas station looking for his truck. He was certain it must have taken off down the road. As he looked around, he saw that it had gone next door to the BedRock. When he got to his truck, he realized he had to cut away the pole that had locked itself into his truck before he could free his truck from our patio. (The truck was quite embarrassed that it had gotten itself in such a pickle — especially since it couldn’t even get a bite to eat!) The owner cut the pipe and managed to get his truck out of the patio and back over to the gas station.
By the time Bill (Mitchem) and I arrived on the scene, the truck was already moved and the owner was waiting for a tow truck to come and take it away. As they assessed the damage that had been done by the miscreant truck, we were very thankful that it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been.
Hemmerich is the co-owner of BedRock Depot in Dinosaur.
