A Truckload of Gravel

    We have a problem in our household.  Neither Joan and I like to talk on the phone.  I especially hate to initiate a phone call to inquire about something.  As a result, many things we need to do, get put off, until we finally just have to make the call.

    If you read my blog about the Loonie auction, you know that I really wanted to win that truckload of gravel.  I needed to put another layer on my driveway, and I wanted to use part of the load to fill in a low spot beside my barn, that always pools up with water in the spring.  

    Since I didn’t win the truckload of gravel, and didn’t want to make a phone call, I put the whole idea of getting gravel off, until some undefined future date.  I am however, an opportunist, so the other day, when I heard the rumble of a big truck turning into the neighbor’s driveway, I rushed over there to take advantage of the opportunity.

    I got to their house, just as the truck was finishing dumping a load of big rocky gravel, onto a pile by their house.  I flagged down the driver, and told him that I lived next door and was interested in getting a truckload of smaller, more sandy gravel, for my driveway.  

    The driver was a young man I didn’t know, named Igor.  He said he could get me a load right away, and called Victor, the owner of the company, to verify the price.  Victor told him, that he knew me and he gave me a deal, so I told Igor, “Okay, let’s do it”, and off he drove to pick up my load.

    Shortly, he returned, and the giant truck with its box tilted and open, was soon spreading the sandy gravel onto my driveway.  Igor then put the rest in a pile by the barn, for me to spread out with a shovel, later.  He ended up putting a lot thicker layer on the driveway, than what I really wanted, but there wasn’t much I could do about that.

    This extra layer of sandy gravel (about 7 inches, 17 cm) on my drive, caused some problems for Igor when he tried to leave.  Because our driveway slopes up as it approaches Mountain View Road, and the surface was now largely loose sand, it caused the truck to spinning his wheels as he hit the incline near the road.  It couldn’t get enough traction to make it up to the road.

    He tried several times to back out, and failed, then I talked him into turning the giant truck around, down in my smallish turn around spot.  It took him several “back and forth’s” to finally get the truck aimed  up the driveway.  It still took several attempts to get out, but eventually, taking a good run and building up some speed, as I watched for traffic up on the road, for him to make it out.

    I have had countless loads put on my driveway, but eventually they all disappear in the clay.  It will be a while before the sandy gravel, which is presently quite loose, solidifies a bit.  Until that happens, it is a good thing we have two 4 wheel drive vehicles.  

    The last time I got newly placed sandy gravel on the driveway, Joan made the mistake of trying to ride her bike down it and ended up flipping over, when her front wheel veered to the side.  Despite, the present irritations, it is nice to have gotten the truckload of gravel without having to make a phone call.

See my paintings at:  www.davidmarchant.ca