Murphy's World

What goes up doesn't always come down

Dear Murphy,

I had just started a job transporting cars with a six-car electric hydraulic trailer. I traveled from Chicago to Elkhart, IN to deliver six cars. I unloaded the three bottom cars and had to lift the upper rear ramp supporting one of the three top cars so that I could remove two safety pins from the arms supporting the ramp.

I extended the hydraulic pistons to the extreme and broke the hydraulic line. The pistons fell back on to the pins, and I was stuck in Elkhart with three cars that I could not unload until I could replace the hydraulic line the next day.

My boss was not very happy that he had to drive to Elkhart to pay for, match and replace the hose and fluid. It cost us all a lot of time and money when I made that mistake.

David A. Dawson

Chicago

DearDavid,

What goes up, must come down, except, of course, in Murphy’s World, where the damn thing can get stuck in mid-air. Trust me, you aren’t the first driver who got a little overly enthusiastic with the hydraulic lift on a car lift, and I’ll bet a month’s wages you won’t be the last.

Call us crazy, but we always try to look on the bright side of things around here. Hey, there’s no law that says Murphy can’t be an optimist despite Murphy’s Law (you know, the law that says every that can go wrong, will). So what’s the bright side about your story? Glad you asked.

What if the hydraulic line broke after you pulled the pins, and instead of getting stuck safe and sound at the top, the three cars came crashing down on the bottom three cars? And what if all six cars were Mercedes Benzes? That would have cost you all a lot more time and money, and your boss would have been a whole lot less happy.

See, I told you things could have been worse. Don’t you feel better?

Regards,

Murphy and Lucky Dog