I am working with my uncle in construction for the summer. It pays well, but it’s brutal work in the hot weather. My uncle usually parks under a tree out of the way at the site so that the other tradies can pull up to the garage and haul tools in for the massive expansion.

I’m hauling the tools from the truck when the guys in the window install van shout to me:

Van Guys: “Hey, kid, your truck is hogging all the shade!”

I tell my uncle to come out. He listens to them complain, and then he tells me:

Uncle: “Hey, take my keys and move the truck to the east side of the house out of the way.”

They carefully pull that panel van with windows on the side under the tree and break out an early lunch. 

We work for a bit with our now-closer parking spot on the other side of the old mansion secured, as the other tradies have the driveway full. We are helping the drywall guys haul sheets to get it done in the heat.

Van Guys: “That’s what you get for hogging the good parking spots.”

We take a late lunch. Walking back around to get back to work, and what do we see but a whole half of the tree has split and landed on the window van.

My uncle looks at me and says:

Uncle: “I feel bad, let’s see if we can help.”

Van Guys: “Hey! You set us up!”

Uncle: “You begged for the spot. How’s it my fault?”

Van Guys: “Well, you must have known, or you wouldn’t have moved!”

Uncle: “If I had known, I would have let the tree fall on my busted old truck so insurance would have helped me buy a new one!”

We left them be and finished helping the drywall guys.

When my uncle finally got a brand-new truck years later, the wheels fell off on the way home from the dealership! Insurance helped him get that back together and budget for upgraded wheels.