Santa came early, about 10:15 am. He drove a huge vehicle that said Scott Propane. He did much backing in and out of the driveway, the new driveway, spinning his wheels and pulling out and back in several times.
I sat at the door, mainly to alert him that I was there. I was partly hidden by foliage, so I walked down the steps and said, "Hello." He immediately turned his back to me. This dude looked a lot like Santa. He appeared to be over 6' tall, about 75 lbs overweight, with salt and pepper hair to his shoulders and a long bushy greying beard. He had started calling the house at around 8:00 am and left a message to tell me he was Ronnie and he was coming to deliver propane and he wanted to be sure I was home. But what difference did it make if I was home? No one had ever called before to tell me there would be a propane delivery. No businesses have called here in a long time before 9:00 am. The VA is the only one that does that. I would say he looked to be in his sixties. He looked very much like a Bad Santa. He had a big stomach, maybe a beer belly? He was dressed like a mountain man. He was a very disappointing Santa. Besides that, he was giving off strange vibes. Why? Looking at the enormous vehicle, I thought, "I don't remember propane delivery trucks being that large." It was the size of a tanker. I decided to go inside while he did his great work.
At 10:30, I heard him leave, and was surprised that he hadn't bothered to hand me a bill. I went outside to check the mail, and see how much damage was done to the beautiful new driveway. There were long deep ruts, about 6" deep and 15' long, about six of them, just about destroying the driveway. It had been so beautiful. Now it looked like it needed $2000 in repair. Had the newly installed culvert pipe collapsed too? Then I decided to complain to the propane company. Would it surprise you that they defended him? Maybe he didn't want to drag the hose from the truck 150'. "The gas tank was 30' from the road!" She continued to tell me that destruction of my property is as right as rain.
So, I decided to go out to the back door and look for the bill. Strangely, there was no bill. ???? Then I went out to check the level of propane on the meter. Guess what? No propane had been put into the tank. WEIRD. The meter was exactly the same as it had been two days ago. That might explain why there was no bill, but why had he come over here? What had he been doing outside my house for 15 or twenty minutes?
I called Scott Propane again. I told her that no propane had been put into my tank. "What's going on here?" I asked. She said she was starting to wonder and would tell the manager to call me. But the manager has not called.
I called the corporate headquarters, and was being transferred to someone when my call was disconnected.
What a nightmare.
Exodus 22:22-24
22. Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
23. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;
24. And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
UPDATE
I finally heard from Scott Propane. They offered to come by Monday, and send Del, instead of Ronnie. They told me that Ronnie couldn't get the pump on his truck working, so he left. "So why didn't he tell me what the problem was?" "Well, I don't know. He should have." OK. I don't want any propane right now anyway. I was only trying to top off my tank before it gets cold. After yesterday I've lost the momentum for this project. I was so freaked out about my beautiful driveway being so damaged and the weird behavior, I wasn't able to eat at all all day. Mom said it ruined her meals yesterday. It was just too much. I have to recuperate. It's ridiculous. I'm not over my driveway. I stood out in my driveway today, and just still felt so horrified. I talked to Mom's friend Janet. I told her I'm not up to any more propane right now. I bought my own tank, and it holds an extra 100 gallons. It's 40% full. I could probably go all winter on that. And that's if I ever even buy propane again. The propane people are too crazy. Janet started riding me about how I need to buy propane NOW!!! These people frightened us. Before that Amerigas went off the rails on us. I can get an electric heater. I only heat the living room with the propane anyway.
