12 tired ERV drivers in a van

The Emergency response vehicles (ERV) are too large to drive inside of NYC. SO, they pack us  like sardines in a shuttle van to go to the warehouse  in New Jersey to pick up our ERVS  and supplies and send us on our way
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 What happens when you pack 12 tired ERV drivers into a shuttle van at the end of a day for a one hour drive back to headquarters should stay in NYC, but I just can't help myself.  We come  from Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee , California , Texas, Kentucky, some Midwestern states and a couple of Northerner and a driver.

It started with a debate on how to say almonds and that debate  ran through out the night. Then,  they got personal when they started talking about grits and boiled peanuts.  We had to remind them that there where two Georgia folks in the back. Then the started on Texas and that  was when we learn  that Cindy was from Texas.  We heard her from the back seat  say," watch out,  the eyes of Texas are upon you."

 We came through a toll booth which started Bob talking about ERV driving and  how many  toll booths he may have run. We all cracked up when  he gave us  ERV rules about stop signs and turns and places to park  "Just turn on your lights and make your self at home."

We talked about how to pronounce pecans and of course Bob had a joke about pe-can.  There was important culture question about things such as noodling catfish and moonshine. There was discussions about gators and squirrels  and other critters.  The differences between California and Florida discussed with California winning because of  humidity. We talked about a lot of other important issues on the way home, but I  am too tired to remember them.

All in all, it was an interesting night with talking and laughing and unwinding from a long day as you constantly shifted  anytime  anyone  moves  to get comfortable in your limited space. Red Cross is a lot of hard work with  long days, being  from family,  seeing sad situations and learning to be flexible  and patience  with  chaos and  constant change.  But it is the people we serve and the people we serve with that make it worth while.