Dream job

I have started working with the delivery company again. I am on a different route with a different driver this year. I like the new guy well enough, but the new route has me running about three times as far. Lots of dirt roads and long driveways. At 20% less pay, it is quite the bargain.

The trucks are also wired with a little Big Brother this year. Of course they were already updated constantly when packages were delivered, enabling customers to track their deliveries. In addition, the trucks now monitor whether seat belts are fastened, the cargo door is closed, and how long the truck sits at idle. A company that relies on efficiencies continues its quest for every saved second and increase in safety.

My driver Rich and I have been chatting, sharing histories and stories. Conversational segues veer this way and that, sometimes on the thinnest of threads. It was raining steadily as I hopped in the truck yesterday. I was wearing a running skullcap made of some technical fabric. He asked if it was waterproof, and my response was, "We'll find out. Maybe once my head is soaked it will act like a wetsuit and keep me warm."

So then we were off on scuba diving. I've been on a couple of cruises in the past, and have fantasized about leaving the world behind and teaching scuba to tourists on a tropical island. My driver Rich did something close to it. He and his wife moved to Key West and opened up a shop. He said it was fun for a while and he met a few celebrities. But he said that even the dream job turned into a job. His wife turned out to get seasick, customers were jerks, etc. Then he had a customer die of an embolism while he was surfacing. Fantasy over. He eventually moved back to Washington, his wife became his ex-wife, and swimming in the sun was replaced with running in the rain.

Reality really messes with the fantasy.