The UPS Guy

My father died of cancer back in 1991. It came on in late Winter and he was gone pretty quickly on Memorial Day.

My parents lived out in the country in northern lower Michigan, about thirty miles northwest of Cadillac. Their next door neighbor had a fruit and vegetable farm (strawberries, cucumber pickles) and was a commercial sprinkler dealer. So, he got a lot of deliveries by UPS. The driver passed my parents house a couple of times a day. He always sounded his horn and waved if my father was in the yard.

Early in '91, my father had ordered a swing from a catalogue. A small two person swing that you can hang on a porch or from the branch of a tree. They didn't have much of a porch, more of a stoop with a roof over it. There was a huge tree in the front yard with a nice branch about ten feet up. That was the planned location for the swing.

The UPS driver delivered it and he and Dad talked about its placement. My father was pretty frail at that point. The UPS guy told him he'd come out and help him install it the first good weather weekend that came along.

A day or so later, the UPS guy was driving past and saw my father in the yard with the parts scattered around him, trying to put the swing together. He pulled into the driveway and meandered over.

"Lloyd, I told you I'd help you with this."

"I know, I just need to get this going."

"I'll tell you what, I get done about four, I can get back here maybe quarter till five and we'll get it going."

"Thanks, but that's not necessary, I can manage it."

"You can, but I can help. I'll see you in a few hours."

The UPS terminal was in Cadillac, as I said, thirty miles away. The UPS guy finished his route, turned in the truck and drove back, out of his way. They put the swing together and hung it.

Last I knew, the swing was still there.