I am on vacation this week, so I thought we would share a story from one of our fulfillment team members making his nephew’s dream come true on his way down to our Ann Arbor store. Below is the story from Tom.
Tom and Stephen looking good!
Wednesday afternoon I loaded up the big white truck and hit the road to stock our Ann Arbor store with it’s two week rations of cherry goodness. When our logistics manager asked me to take the drive, I thought it would be fun to stop and spend the night with my sister and her family in East Lansing. As I got closer it hit me that I’m driving a 22ft box truck, and they live in a quiet neighborhood that might not be designed for such a big truck. I called my brother-in-law to ask where I should park this thing, and he just shrugged and said “why not our driveway?” Best decision of the day.
Still some growing to do, Stephen’s hands barely fit around the wheel.
As soon as I pulled into the driveway, I blew the air horn on the truck and their 16 month old son rambled outside, wide eyed. He loves anything with an engine, and the bigger the better. He kept looking back between the truck and his mom, not quite believing that there was such a big truck, parked in HIS driveway! After a few seconds he took off around the truck, inspecting every inch, taking in all it’s glory. We tested the lift gate to make sure that still worked, banged on the tires to check their pressure, and finally crawled into the crab. He sat on my lap, and barely managed to fit his hands around the large steering wheel. He smiled as big as he can, and I felt so lucky to be able to share this moment with him.
going for a ride on the lift gate
After a few minutes his mom said it’s time for bed and we slowly pulled ourselves away, doing one more lap just for good measure. Once we were inside he found every opportunity to race back to the front window and make sure the truck was still there. As he fell asleep, I know his dreams were filled with images of trucks and cherries.
Big smiles! Maybe one day Stephen will be driving this truck without Uncle T!
My sister’s son is the first grandchild in the family, and we come from a family of six, with five boys. Needless to say, there is great competition for title of “favorite uncle”. I thought I could bribe my way in with Oreos, but now I know I only need to bring our big Cherry Republic truck to town every couple of weeks and the title is mine.
