If it Were Duct Tape, it Would’ve Been Different

I just saw the craziest thing.

I’m out of town. And a couple of properties away from me, two men and a woman had been working at a house for an hour or so. I haven’t been actively watching them, but when I look up from time to time, it’s hard not to notice the activity.

They have been taking various items out of the house and loading them in a utility trailer. It’s probably 6 feet long with a couple of planks for sideboards.

There wasn’t anything remarkable about it until a few minutes ago when they tried to hook the trailer to their truck.

It wouldn’t go. I couldn’t tell for sure, but it’s like the hitch was stuck halfway on the ball.

They bounced up and down on the tongue of the trailer but had no luck.

They tried and tried. Then they took a break. Then they tried again. The one in the red shirt went through a half pack of cigarettes, presumably trying to figure out how they were going to attach it.

And although I couldn’t hear what they were saying, I could tell when the one in the blue shirt was struck by a brilliant idea.

You’re going to think I’m making this up, but I’m not.

The one in the blue shirt produced a roll of electrical tape and began to wrap it around the ball and the coupler.

Yes, the coupler. That’s what that thing is called that attaches to the ball. I looked it up.

And no, it wasn’t even duct tape. It was electrical tape.

By this time, I’m in full-on Gladys Kravitz mode giving Abner, uh, I mean Kim, a play-by-play.

How can this end badly?

Once they had the trailer taped to the truck, they went back inside. I lost interest, so I went back to my business.

Then in about 30 minutes I heard a crash in that direction.

There the three of them stood looking up at the tongue which was sticking up in the air higher than any of their heads.

The thing probably weighed 400 or 500 pounds, I’m guessing.

Between the three of them, though, they were able to teeter the fully loaded trailer back down toward the hitch. And again they began bouncing on top of it trying to get it to attach.

I’m leaving out a lot of parts where they repositioned the truck or wiggled the trailer trying to get it where it needed to be.

But anyway, having no luck, and realizing that electrical tape would not cut it, the one in the blue shirt came out of the house with some cord, or maybe it was wire. It could’ve been yarn. I couldn’t tell.

He wrapped it around the rig several times. Then, the three of them stood there and looked at it for a few minutes.

Having deemed it a go for launch, they got in the truck.

They gingerly pulled out on the road. There were lots of creaking noise coming from it.

They headed toward me.

I waved. They waved.

They disappeared in the distance.

Two men, a woman, a truck, a trailer full of junk and some yarn.

Necessity truly is the mother of invention.