This is not a story about hitting one hand on the dash while shifting or even hitting ones hand at all. It is however a story about a shifter that interfered with other items in the cab while running though the gears, oh and I think you will find it amusing.
The truck a late 80’s Mack concrete mixer I was put in this old beast when the truck I usually drove broke down while loading this same morning. Anyway I clime into the replacement truck and pull under the plant to be loaded, I am now running late with this load mine you. After I am loaded and have my load ticket from the plant I head out the gate like a flash trying to make up for lost time. Coming to the fist light just outside the gate I must make a right and note that I have got just moments to get thought the light while it is still green. As I approach this light which I know is about to change I boogie right along down shifting as I prepare to make my right turn. Well I make the light with time to spare, enough for the SUV behind me to make it as well. What I hadn’t noticed is that as I down shifted to second the shift lever hit the drum control pushing it back into discharge and as I stepped back on the throttle to accelerate away from the intersection that I so skillfully negotiated trough the drum had changed direction and began to discharge the loan onto the SUV on my tail which just so happened to be the friendly Tacoma weights and measures cop. In the end when it was figured out what and how it happened no blame was put on me so today I have a good laugh about the whole thing.
