Electric Heating Co., Inc

Perils of the Road

Since becoming the Regional Sales Manager, I have experienced so many travel nightmares that the ladies in the office have recommended I either stop traveling altogether or at very least start writing a Web Log about my ordeals. My most recent ordeal took place while in Santo Domingo.

After I had spent a long day with two Sales Engineers from Lighting and Controls we finally stopped for supper. Luis recommended an outdoor restaurant called Mr. Hamburger, where I had quite possibly the best hamburger I have ever tasted. As we finished, Luis offered to give me a ride back to the hotel that was about 25 minutes in the other direction, but I insisted on taking a taxicab. I said, “The hotel is only 25 minutes away. What could possibly go wrong?” so Luis reluctantly called one for me and confirmed the driver knew where to go.

As we drove off, the driver was weaving in and out of different neighborhoods and taking a more circuituous route than I expected. I also noticed that every time we came to a hill, the car slowed to about 10 mph. As we reached the top of each hill, he would shut the car off and coast. I figured that the cab was out of fuel and he was looking for a station that sold propane. When we finally found one we coasted in completely out of fuel. A few minutes later we were back on our way. “I should be in my hotel room in no time” I thought.

A few minutes later, the loud thumping noise coming from the front tire told me that I was wrong. As the driver fumbled in the darkness to change the tire I held my cell phone to give him enough light to see what he was doing. With the spare tire back securely in place, we headed on our way. “I should be in my hotel room in no time” my thoughts echoed.

A familiar thumping noise from the spare tire confirmed how wrong I was again. The driver checked and confirmed the spare was, in deed, going flat. He asked directions to an all night mechanic who could help. He must have confused the directions as we found our taxi heading up a highway exit ramp in the wrong direction! One u-turn, and a lot of beeping later, we found the mechanic. He told the driver to move his cab closer to the entrance so he could work on it. As the driver got out, he left the car in drive and almost crushed the mechanic, with me cringing in the back seat.

At this point, I was certain that I would be safer on my own. I had a hunch that the hotel was right around the corner and that if I started walking, I would be in my room in no time ... jogging first. Then it started to rain. Hard. It was so dark I couldn’t differentiate between the sidewalk and the potholes. After about an hour of splashing and stumbling through the darkness, another cab pulled up and offered me a ride back to my hotel. I eagerly accepted.

When I finally arrived at my hotel, about two and a half hours after leaving the café, I was actually in the mood for another hamburger. They were that good!

Friday Funnies

Points to Ponder

When you choke a smurf, what color does it turn?
Does fuzzy logic tickle?
Do they have reserved parking for non-handicap people at the Special Olympics?
Why do they call it a TV set when you only get one?
How come wrong numbers are never busy?
Do radioactve cats have 18 half-lives?
What was the best thing before sliced bread?
If you throw a cat out a car window does it become kitty litter?
If corn oil comes from corn, where does baby oil come from?

Dalton Electric Heating Co., Inc (978)356-9844
28 Hayward Street Ipswich, MA 01938 USA

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