Chinese Night Watch

Last night about 11 pm I was making the final rounds, all the locks, security cams, etc,,  It had been a busy day, even though I was on vacation from the day job.  We got a cash register counter for Joyce's store, ,and some assembly was required.  There were  59 packages of parts.  So after a day of assembly, one hopes that I could get to bed on time.  But, of course, something was definitely going on, just when ya need it.  A moving van was parked in the street, and the sidewalk was full of . . . .full of . . .  But before I could comprehend the entire picture, I heard Katie's voice "Gary come help with the freezer!" 

Oh, no. The entire sidewalk was full of restaurant booths, cushions, chairs, cardboard packing material, and for some reason, a new mattress set.  And, on the back of the truck was a huge, white commercial freezer.  There were about 8 people milling around measuring doorways and yelling to each other in Chinese.  The van driver was waiting impatiently with his clip board, for someone to sign for the delivery.

Katie is the boss of the Chinese restaurant in our shopping center, and one of the few people there who knows English.  But she has a certain authority in the way she uses English.  When she tells me to do something, I tend to do it without question.

The freezer on the end of the truck is 8 feet long, 39 inches deep, and 6 feet high.  It weighs about 400 lbs. So, I pitched in, since the people inside the truck were already pushing it off the edge.  It was frightening, to be supporting so much weight, and not knowing whether the Chinese guy was saying "put 'er down" or "she's gonna explode, everybody run!"  .  Well, we got it down on the sidewalk, and started walking in the door with it.  We put it down, because it wouldn't make the bend between the inner and outer door.   Although the freezer was inside the building at this point, it completely blocked the entrance, and Katie's husband was trapped behind the freezer in the foyer.  We decided to move it again, because Katie loves her husband, and didn't want to leave him there.  Besides, how would the customers get in?

A contrivance made of plywood, wet towels, and a small-wheeled food cart appeared.  We balanced the freezer atop the improvised moving cart, and wheeled it around to the back of the building.  Luckily, the neighbors were still up, and I could speak English, so we took it up their stairs, through their garden gate, and up to the back entrance to the kitchen.  In the kitchen, the entourage was met by an elderly Chinese gentlemen - a very territorial cook, who started screaming orders to rearrange his kitchen so that the parade could be accommodated.

We brought the freezer into the preparation room, and got it finally up against its wall. The new booths would not fit through the front door, and would probably need to be disassembled.

By morning, all the booths, cardboard, and those mysterious mattresses had all disappeared.

Since Jacky didn't want me to take her picture unless I paid her, I told her there was no film in the camera anyway... Well, true enough....it's digital.

One O'Clock and All is Well!

Thanks for listening and contributing. I'd love to hear from you.