Redwood Picnic Tables

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Back in the late 1970s when I working in a gas station I got to know a man who came in quite often. One day there was a guy that came in while this man was there. Once the man left the guy said, “That man got caught cooking the books of his business and spent some time in jail.” Even knowing this when the man asked me if I would haul redwood picnic tables for him using his pickup I accepted the job. I would drive on my days off work. It sounded like a good job. I would be going anywhere the man sold the tables. I wouldn’t have to load anything but I was told I may have to help unload. He also had a U-Haul trailer hooked up to his pickup. When I arrived at his place of business for my first trip I took one look at the picnic tables. “That’s not redwood. Those are made out of pine.” Also the table were poorly constructed. “It doesn’t matter what they are made out of,” the man said. “They are stained redwood so I can call them redwood picnic tables.” I had already agreed to take the trip. I was headed for Great Falls, Montana–about a seven hour drive from Spokane. I didn’t have time to stand there and argue with the man. The trip went fine. I found the store in Great Falls easy enough. I went in and asked for the manager. I told him I had the redwood picnic tables. “Great,” he said, “Pull around back and we will help you get them unloaded.” I pulled around back and the manager took one look at the picnic tables and said, “I don’t want this crap! Take them back.” Before I had left the man told me to call him if I had any problems. So I told the manager I had to call my boss. “I don’t care what you do. We’re not accepting those tables.” The man had asked to talk to the manager. Somehow he got the manager to agree to unload them and I would pick them up on my way back on another trip. For some reason I knew that would never happen. Probably because it would have been easier for me to just haul them back. I made several more trips to Montana after that and got much the same reaction everywhere I took the tables, but I never brought any back. I don’t know what price the man put on the tables but I’m sure the buyers thought they were getting picnic tables made from real redwood and not just pine stained redwood. Whatever happen to the tables I don’t know. I imagine they ended up in the dump. Have you ever worked for someone who was a crook?