Meeting People

[locomike]

I cant stand when homeowners come out they have all stupid question like whats this mark mean can i dig ontop of it, how deep is it, blah blah blah!!! I had 2 locates down 1 street i completed the one at the end of the street and go to the other one this lady follows me and says come here, what are u getting ready to dig up in my yard? i dont understand what all that paint n flags are doing in my yard? sh...it like that really chaps my rd! i would rather do my jobs talk to fellow locators n no homeowners than deal with sh...t like your not painting my yard!!

[underground quester]

Oh.. the same here... They come out and stand there and stare... then... "That is really cool."... "I would love to do that job... are you guys hiring?"... or ... "Don't you get sick of hearing that thing all day?" I don't mind talking to a homeowner occassionally, but I have one ho at a new subdivision going up nearby, that everytime I am there he comes out and chats. It has gotten better now, but that first day he came over to my truck (I was getting ready to leave) and stood there leaning on my door! How do you tell an 80 yr old man to go away? I think he finally got the message when I was putting my truck into gear. He was nice and all but, I really didn't have the time to visit with him. It wasn't that long but you know 5 - 10 minutes can really eat up your day. Fortunately I was able to load pictures, pull up prints for next locate... rearrange my route and still not come across rude to him. So I guess my time wasn't "wasted". But why can't they come out when I don't have a lot going on...

Yahoo, it is definitely the rule of locating in this department... not much going on... no one wants to talk... running behind and/or a ton of tickets... EVERYONE wants to talk!

Re-reading my text and Gypsygirls made me think of the song "Cats in the Cradle" then I read sprays message and that cracked me up.

Sometimes, this forum is a laugh a minute!

[Wingfoot]

I appreciate meeting homeowners who will talk about their unusual/rare automobiles in their garage.

Met a guy with a black 1964 Corvette ragtop that he restored himself in his garage. Everything was new and looked factory fresh. He also had a 1970 Corvette ragtop. He was proud of it because it was a rare red exterior, red interior and a factory red ragtop. It was too much red for me. And the neat car was the 1970 Chevelle 2 door SS454 survivor. Black exterior, black interior and the factory black vinyl top. I'm gonna ride with him someday in the Chevelle.

Met a grandpa with a 1956 Chevy 2 door hardtop V8 survivor car his wife bought new in 1956 for a Canadian vacation. It had 56,000 original miles. It was in the garage, front frame rails on jack stands, front tires off and the hood was w/o paint. He said his grandson started to restore the car and then lost interest. He was not interested in selling the car.

Met a nice homeowner who buys, restores to factory fresh condition and then sells 1964 1/2 through 1966 Mustangs. His backyard was privacy fenced in, entirely concreted around the 2-car garage and very tidy. He shared some 'good deals' and some 'shafting' he got though the years buying Mustangs. He said he was real skeptical of the 'Bama, Arkansas and Louisiana sellers..........

Met a super nice guy with a winged 383 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner. He fired it up and let it rap a few times just for me so I could listen to the exhaust. It still gives me goose bumps. (I know, I'm a weirdo!)

Met a guy with 5 1969 Camaro hardtops in a row outside his garage with the paint fading and the interiors rotting more each day. None for sale.

Met a guy with 2 1968 Barracuda fastbacks and a 1968 Barracuda hardtop rotting next to the detached garage. None for sale.

Talked to a lady about her 1979 Ford Futura daily driver. It was used up but had potential. (Both the car and the owner) Again, not for sale.

Met a guy with a restored 1973 Plymouth GTX 440 automatic. It was bright red with black interior. I wasn't aware Plymouth made a GTX in 1973. What a SWEET car.......

Met a guy with a 1965 original Lotus in his garage. It wasn't a 289 or 427 Shelby but still a neat car.

There are many more instances, but that's enough for now.