Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

This is a great story, best filed under “improbable but true”!

As I have previously written, Rebekah and I are clearing out my parents’ house in preparation for placing it on the market. We had already taken a van-load of stuff to Michigan in July (“Follow Our Adventure…“) and now it was time to send the items we couldn’t manage ourselves.

Just three pieces. The grandfather clock (a serious Maul family heirloom likely from the 19th Century ); my parents’ Baldwin studio upright piano; and the solid teak dining room table.

Now take a look at what rolled into our little cul-de-sac! There’s a rational explanation of course, but it makes a good story to say it took two behemoth freight-liners to take three things to Midland!!

The clock required a separate team to come out the day before just to take apart the mechanism and pack it all properly for safe transport. We could tell right away they respected the timepiece, and the guys took extra special care.

Then, Saturday evening, with the “United” truck delayed by road-work and traffic, our driver’s friend detoured to Wake Forest to help out by prepping and wrapping the inventory then helping to get the load on the truck. It was a great example of teamwork and “having each other’s back” within the trucking community.

The photos are interesting, but the heart of the story is of course the two gargantuan oversized vehicles in our little cul-de-sac.

But – and this is important if you are into the future of AI and transportation – there is no “I’ve got your back” without actual people involved, and no sense of community without spirit.

Because we were created to experience, and to extend, relationships – DEREK