08/20/2024
We said goodbye to one of our hardest working employees today after 21 years of service. Nothing could stop our trusty steed—surly truck drivers, gravel parking lots, the police, inclement weather, broken pallets—she handled each task with a mighty chug and a belly full of propane. She had two drivers in her lifetime, Jeff Hurst and Eric Schmidt, who knew her every quirk, how not to hit the top of the lift on the garage door, how to balance her on the gravel which would earn her the admiration of truck drivers who'd announce, "Fork lifts don't work on gravel." And we'd say, "Have you seen her wheels?" They were in awe of our green goddess as she moved about, smashing those gravel stones beneath her, using them as leverage. They could not sink or stop her. She stopped them.
This past year, however, she got tired. Her hydraulics stopped working, she started blowing smoke, and some days she wouldn't even start. We could see it in her dirty headlights, no matter how hard we tried to fix her, we just couldn't, even with the help of Jeff who hadn't driven her in years (she was his baby), she wouldn't and couldn't move, even for him. That's when we knew, her job was done. Loyal, strong, trusty and green, her retirement was well-deserved.
The good news? When the tow truck came to get her today, the driver took one look at her and said, "I might know someone who can fix her. I think I'll try." Perhaps the change of scenery, the ride on the tow truck, lifted her tired spirits. Did she wink at him? Throw some glimmer from her once shiny, green-chrome body? We don't know but we still dream big dreams for her.
Thank you to our forklift who made it possible for 21 years to accept gigantic shipments to our warehouses, amazing us, our clients, truck drivers and fork lift operators with its abilities. It kept us moving, too, with those big wheels.
(Sidenote: We can still accept large deliveries. We just use Sabin Wholesale's forklift. But don't tell our Green Goddess that if you see her. 💚)