On Saturday at 5:30 PM I received a distress call. A young man had an opportunity to move to a better apartment, thanks to his kind landlord. The new tenants were already moving in to his digs and he needed to get his things out right away. He wasn't even packed and his friends still had not shown up to help and nobody had a truck. So Handy Ande to the rescue.
I had a migraine and a van that was stuck in ice, but I was out the door and on the way inside of 30 minutes. My van had no room in it, but I emptied out half of its contents at his mother's house, then headed for the "old" house. Nothing had been done to prepare for the move. I organized the few men who did show up (who were very willing to take direction) by explaining that I was the veteran of more than 90 moves and we needed to dismantle the bed and large screen TV first. Big items first, small items last.
If someone had thought ahead the cars would have been moved out of the driveway to shorten the distance that heavy things had to be carried. I had to park the van in the street. I dismantled the double bed so the guys could get the box spring and mattress into the van, then I collected all the pillows and bedding to be used as cushioning for the TV. The guys got the TV up the stairs and used the furniture dolley I remembered to bring- not bad considering the migraine - and I found bungee cords to strap down the boxspring to the rack on top of the van. We managed to fit in the office chair and placed some smaller things on the seat and underneath. The rest of the stuff was small and fit into the 2 cars.
We got to the "new" house. Had I had time to think ahead - I like to have a minimum of 2 days notice so I can anticipate all problems - I would have brought a snow shovel to remove a mound of snow on the sidewalk next to the front steps, and brought old sheets to protect the carpeting we had to walk on with our wet shoes.
I quickly assessed the layout of the room for the best placement of furniture and set up the bed. The guys brought in the TV and soon the van was empty and the young man had a new home and a bed to sleep in that night. I went back to his mom's to repack my van, and gratefully received a cup of tea and a meal before I left.
I relay this story to illustrate that this not atypical for Handy Ande; it's the kind of service that the winners of my Handy Ande essay contest could receive.
