About 40 years ago, we planted a cottonwood tree in our front yard, hoping the species would be appropriate for the Rio Grande valley area in which our home is located. The tree has done well but is beginning to show its age with several large branches dying and some infestation by mistletoe.
I called an arborist who had done work for us before and asked him for a bid on trimming up the tree so our home wouldn’t have a “Grapes of Wrath” patina.
He silently rolled up to our front house the next day in a sinister looking Tesla Cybertruck, painted in flat black with windows deeply tinted. I was curious about who might be driving the truck and why that was his vehicle of choice.
When I first seemed to be interested in his vehicle, the affable young man immediately offered this:
“I apologize if my truck offends you,” he said. “I bought it about five years ago. I always tell that to people when I go to give them a bid.”
Being a longtime “grearhead,” I was interested in the truck and asked if I might look inside and also have him explain some of its features.
It turns out it is a pretty good choice for his work. He has to drive around town to various locations all day and it has sufficient range to do that, without sipping a drop of fuel. In addition, he said it has a 220-volt electrical outlet which can power his welding machine and some other heavy duty equipment. The bed is covered in a fully retractable cover. Having known of several contractors who have had equipment stolen off their trucks during work projects in the middle of the day, I’m sure that was an important factor.
Despite what you may think about the owner of the company who sells the truck, it probably makes good sense for some people who have a need for several of its advanced features. It’s a bit too showy for my tastes, but as it’s said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
He told me he gets lots of obscene gestures, rude comments and loud outbursts when driving the vehicle around town, but he’s become accustomed to them.
I read a recent feature article in the New York Times about a young writer who had rented a Cybertruck for a week to gauge what kinds of response he would receive when driving around the area and in New England. It turns out that he got a lot of “single finger salutes,” obscene yells and other negative responses during that time.
The author said his mother’s response when he first told her about his proposed experiment was: “I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”
You may have noticed that a lot of Tesla drivers recently have offered up some kind of apology with stickers on the back of their now controversial vehicle. One Cybertruck driver plastered what looked like a genuine “Toyota” banner on the tailgate of their truck in hopes it would fool someone who is not adept as distinguishing different vehicle designs. Another that I saw said “I’m pretending this is a Riven.”
I never did ask the young man about his political preferences, which really wasn’t any of my business. I just hope his crew does a good job on making my old tree look good.
__________
As my wife and I have done times in the past few years, we volunteered this week with members of our church to serve food at our local “El Caldito” soup kitchen for the homeless and disadvantaged. We worked alongside members of the church who we know are on both sides of the political spectrum, but their dedicated work showed no bias and only an understanding that this kind of thing needs to be done by all of us.
As always, it’s a humbling experience that makes one realize how fortunate most of us are. And as always, the people receiving the meals of soup, salad, chicken or turkey patties and desserts appeared to be thankful for the food.
What amazed us was that we served almost 500 people during the three hour shift that we worked — far more than we had served when we did this in previous years.
I’m not writing about this to seek compliments for me or my wife. My only thought is that if you have an opportunity to work in one of these services serving the poor and needy, please do so. Every little bit helps.
aero-cordero.com 