'let some air out'...

..is what they would say when a truck got stuck under train trestle. I thought about it recently when I saw someone try to go through a door with stuff that would not fit. The story is: many years ago, I worked in a business that was situated adjacent to railroad tracks. The street that ran in front of the store went under the tracks, so it was a pretty drastic dip in the road there where vehicles would go through to get to the other side of the railroad. When it rained, the low spot in the street would have standing water, as it drained poorly. But seeing that water in the street did not stop trucks and cars from trying to take a shortcut, often with unexpected results.

The other reason for disasters would be when a work truck or big box truck (think U-Haul size) would attempt to go under the tracks, and get stuck due to inadequate clearance. Or worse: have the metal top of the truck peel back like an accordion when the ignoramus driver would go barreling down the hill and disregard the flashing lights and posted signs about maximum clearance.  If there was no need to call a tow truck, and the vehicle was merely wedged under the trestle, someone would go out the door and tell the noodle-brained driver: "just let some air out of the tires." Not to the point of flat, just enough to resolve the problem, so they could go along their merry way to the next job.

This person I saw at work several days ago had a tall stack of Lay's products on a cart, pulling the chips off the sales floor after the Super Bowl. She tried to push it through the door, and bags of chips dropped everywhere when they fell off. Making me think about that train trestle from years ago. I wanted to step over into the hall way and tell her to let some air out. But it would have been pointless as she was driving a cart with wheels similar to those on a grocery buggy: hard, solid rubber, so there was no way to let any air out and make her passage smoother.

It was pretty funny, but maybe you had to be there to appreciate the encounter. I did go over and help her pick up all the bags of chips that were probably shattered into crumbs by the time she got her wares into the stock room. Without offering me any for being such a good picker-upper.