Grateful for good neighbors in Woodside Grateful for good neighbors in Woodside (July 02, 2003)

By Sharon Driscoll

On a recent Sunday morning I was waiting for a furniture delivery that was scheduled to arrive before 1 p.m. And I waited, and waited, with the kids itching to get out and have a picnic at the beach.

At 1:30 p.m., I called the dispatcher. The truck was stuck on the road right around the corner from my house, he said, and had been for the past two hours. My husband, daughters, and I traipsed out to investigate.

Our little Woodside outpost is nestled in the redwoods up on Skyline Boulevard. Originally holiday cabins, the homes dot narrow, winding, tree-lined streets. Not ideal driving terrain for large trucks.

We found our delivery guys with their truck stuck in the middle of a poor uphill turning job. They weren't going anywhere.

Evidently truckers don't have AAA car service, and unable to find a tow company to help, the delivery guys had been scratching their heads, trying to figure out what to do. Lucky for them, they were stuck in the right neighborhood.

By the time we arrived, several neighbors were fast at work helping.

With the truck's tailgate grounded, they decided to let the air out of the front tires and move it backward. But it wouldn't budge.

Then our neighbor Glenn jumped at the chance to put his newly purchased red 1947 Farmall tractor to the test in a valiant attempt to move the truck from its poor turning angle. But the little engine that could couldn't. The truck wouldn't budge.

Another neighbor Alex offered his jack to lift the truck up and pull it back, but his wasn't big enough for the 26-foot vehicle.

Then Glenn ran home and got his 8-ton hydraulic bottle jack, evidently an essential item for every mountain home. He jacked up the rear of the truck, and the guys pulled the truck back. They repeated this several times, stepping the truck back until it was finally on level ground.

But then the flat tire lost its seal and couldn't be re-inflated.

They needed an air compressor -- which of course Glenn had. And another neighbor, Bob, was happy to let them draw power from his garage to plug it in. But they also needed a large volume air tank and another bottle jack to fix the problem.

And as if on cue, Derl arrived. A trusted old timer up here who can fix just about any problem, he was ready to help. Of course he had the air tank and bottle jack, which he quickly retrieved to put to work.

But the darned tire wouldn't seal. And after a grueling five hours stuck there, hope was starting to fade.

Then Derl's neighbor Bob stopped by. He put on his overalls, and used car grease to seal the tire. Success.

At just after 5, the truck finally made it to our house.

"Man, you got great neighbors," the driver said as he set off to finish his rounds, grateful to have his truck back up and running.

Rather than spend our Sunday afternoon on the beach as planned, we were fortunate enough to witness our neighbors doing what they do best. Refreshing stuff on a hot day.

Sharon Driscoll lives in Woodside and occasionally contributes articles to the Almanac.