Delivery Driver Confessional vol. 1

Delivering you see all kinds of crazy things. See people on the streets doing wacky dances for themselves. See things being delivered that shouldn't be ordered through a delivery service. I’ve seen the same person asleep for 3 days straight on the side of the road. Today I want to tell you a story that you might not realize could be a story. This is my Delivery Driver Confessional.

I’d like to start by saying that I'm not going to say whoI work for. Not that it matters but I mean… what if it does eventually you know? I will say where I deliver occasionally. But if this was an interview I’d ask for a voice changer and a silhouette.

Today I want to talk about the saddest thing I ever noticed while delivering. Prior even to being a delivery driver I always noticed Greeley’s homeless problem. I’ve never been fond of it, if I'm going to be quite frank. I don’t enjoy seeing the homeless because I’m very empathetic. I can feel their sadness and the fact that there isn’t enough I can do makes it hard for me. That being said, there was always one person who caught my attention time and time again. She’s a young lady with brightly colored hair. Her hair never changed color and so I wondered to myself, “If she can afford dye how is she homeless?” I would drive past and ponder and one day it hit me. “It never changes colors because it is a wig.”

Her sign read “Fallen on hard times. Anything helps until I can move.”

I’d say approximately 3 months after I caught on, I was delivering and I bumped into her in a building. We didn't speak to each other but she was a frequent at this restaurant because it was near where she would post to ask for money and they knew her. I found out that one of the employees had made friends with her because I overheard a conversation.

“How’re things going? How soon do you think you can move?”

“I can’t say. I have nothing. He still won’t give me my car or any of my belongings. I had to have his friends steal some clothes for me.”

I then watched the employee ask for her free meal of the day and give it to the young lady in need.

I was jarred in a neutral way. I was happy to see that she had a friend that was helping her through her troubles but I also hurt so bad for that young lady. No one deserves to be screwed over by anyone, much less someone they cared for in that way.

I wanted to start this series on a somber note because a lot of the things I see while delivering are sad. There's comic relief granted, but I want to make it clear that this won’t necessarily be a fun series to read. I want you guys to gain from this as it's my first literature piece that is true to life but also semi autobiographical.

In the next story I’ll write a multitude of fun stories of the strange people and things I’ve seen in the streets of this little Northern Colorado town. I think the thing about where I live is that its regular for things to be irregular so not much mind is paid to it. It’s like Florida at this point. If someone isn’t leaving cabbages outside of 7/11 for the local deer is it even Greeley?

Until then, I’ll sign off.

Your Favorite Delivery Driver

Jose Sanchez