The opposite of showing off

[BruceK]

The Postal Service has acquired some new delivery vans.  These are RHD Mercedes Metris vans.  The rest the world knows that Mercedes makes lots of different vehicles including cars, buses, trucks, taxis, military vehicles, and passenger vehicles. But in this country decades of marketing means that Mercedes = high end Luxury.  So they are going through the trouble of hiding the three pointed star on the grille behind a made-up USPS eagle badge to try to prevent upset and outrage.

[94touring]

That's funny

[Jims5543]

True Story:


My father was a teamster truck driver who at one point drove for a supply company that delivered paper products to grocery stores and deli's.

His truck was a Mercedes Box Truck.  I used to ride with him in the summer when I was off from school. Being Hyperactive I drove my mother nuts, my father harnessed than energy and put me to work on his delivery truck.

I distinctly remember one incident when we double parked in NYC to make a delivery, a priest was impatient and wanted to get out from the curb.  He attempted to push past us and missed, he hit the truck with his A-pillar. I will never forget my dad giving him shit, he said to the priest, "Hey!! you are damaging my MERCEDES!!, thats big bucks PAL" 

The priest was coming unglued which was exactly what my dad wanted, my father was and is a raging asshole.


While on topic, this was circa late 70's early 80's NYC very gritty and dirty then in NYC.

He would scream at hookers walking down 5th avenue, "NICE SOCKS!!"  bach then hookers wore frilly ankle socks with pumps while walking the streets.

I remember being at a delivery and he kept calling this black guy "Boy" over and over again until the dud lost his shit and called my dad out, he said something along the lines of "Muther Fucker!! I am not your boy!!"  I heard my father as clear as the black dude did, he was callign him Boy.  My father stood there stunned... he said:

Father: "You name is noy Roy?"

Dude: "No man, my name is not Roy its David"

Father:  "Oh man,  I am so sorry, I guess I am mixing you up with a guy from anothe rstop maned roy, you look just like him"

To think, I grew up with that man.  BTW before you judge me, my father is a flaming Trump hating liberal.

[Jims5543]

One more story that defines NYC in the 70's.


My father gave me a few rules about interaction in NYC, one was to NEVER look at anyone, no matter what. Liberal Utopia...

I was 15 at the time.

I was waiting alongside the truck for a small delivery to a Deli one day in NYC.  Dad was up in the truck picking the items to be delivered and I was waiting on the sidewalk.

Some guy walks by making all kinds of weird noises.  I cannot even begin to describe the sounds he was making.  Well, I messed up.  I looked at the sound... He started to walk past me, then stopped in his tracks and looked me in the eye, and said "What the Fuck are you looking at mother fucker?" then started to come at me.

Just then there was a thunderous BOOM as a box of butcher saran wrap* hit the sidewalk right in front of the mental guy, I looked over my shoulder to see my father had another one cocked and loaded. He said to the mental guy, one more step and this one is hitting your head..... long pause..as the mental guy measured up the situation, he wisely chose to move on, but not without a "Hey!! Fuck You!!" to us as he walked away commencing his gibberish sounds.

1 second later the back of my shirt got tight as my father grabbed me by my shirt lifting me up and tossing me from the sidewalk into the back of the truck. Then I was read the riot act on breaking the rule.



One more:


We pulled up to a grocery store in Harlem to make a delivery out back.  We rang the bell over and over, while waiting we got the delivery staged, ready for an handtruck to slide under each of the stacks and pull them in. It was a large delivery to a busy store.

We finished staging the delivery and still no answer at the back door. My father said, stay here and told me he was going in the front door to come back out the back door.

No sooner did he corner the front of the building did a street gang come around the corner towards me. I remembered the rule, do not look at anyone... so I stood there looking at my feet, not wanting a problem.

As they approached one of the guys said, "Well well well, what do we have here?...... oh look!! Paper products!!"  They seemed to size me up, best I could tell then decided to not fuck with me, one of the other guys said, man, lets go this is not worth it, leave the kid alone.."  I was spared that day.

I can tell stories like this for days, I saw my first dead body in Hells Kitchen, a dead dude surrounded by blood on the sidewalk at 7am, no one cared everyone was more concerned with no getting blood on their shoes and walked around him, no one was checking on him. I was amazed, I was about 12 at the time. I saw a few more dead people in the next 4 years I rode with my dad.

* Butcher Saran wrap weighs about 50 lbs and is a giant roll os saran wrap that is used to wrap up the meat you buy in the butcher section of your grocer store.

[gr8kornholio]

We got ahold of one of those rolls one Halloween. Wrapped the librarians 70s station wagon.  Over and under.  He thought it was hilarious someone would put in the time. Did some other dumb stuff with it too, those things last forever.