Over the years I've been quite moved by many of my experiences in culture change, but
when I relocated to Charlotte three years ago to begin my own company, I had a "moving
experience" of another variety. Never one to miss out on a new challenge, I decided to
rent and drive my own moving truck from Michigan to North Carolina, with my car in tow.
Considering that the bulk of my driving experience to that point was tooling around in a
little Honda Civic, this was a bit of a challenge, and I took quite a lot of ribbing about
being a "truck drivin' Mama". I listened carefully as the rental manager showed me how to
anchor my car to the trailer, then headed for my place to load up. Fifteen minutes later,
I was calling for another truck, as I had impaled the first one on the corner of a
carport, shattering the side of the truck and ripping off a large piece of roof. Two days
later, I was finally loaded (in my new truck) and on my way.
I had to stop at my mother's house in West Virginia to pick up some stored belongings.
She lives on a narrow street that continues on to a college campus - usually the college
keeps the end of this street gated shut. So we had made arrangements for the night
watchman at the college to leave the gate unlocked so that I could drive straight up to
their large parking lot to turn the truck and trailer around. We knew I'd be getting in
very late at night, and I needed to keep going in order to meet my movers in Charlotte -
they were scheduled to meet me the next morning to unload the truck, and they could not
reschedule for several weeks (remember I had already lost two days off my original
timeline). Unfortunately, the neighbors at the end of this street had grown accustomed to
parking their cars up against the gate, and the path was blocked, so (in none to sweet of
a mood at this point) at midnight I was banging on their doors demanding they move their
cars immediately so I could get through. Finally pulling away from my mother's house at
2am I trundled on, growing increasingly apprehensive about making my appointment with the
movers. I lumbered through the Appalachian mountains during torrential downpours,
careening around hairpin turns, certain I would never survive to begin my new life. At
one point I stopped for gas, and again misjudged the room I needed to round a corner,
wedging the fender of the trailer against the concrete pillar around the gas tank. I had
to wait another hour or so before a kind trucker came to my aid and backed the trailer out
so I could turn it around and get back on the highway.
I finally pulled into my new apartment complex safe and sound... and two hours
after my appointment with the movers. With the help of my nephew, I had to unload most of
the truck myself, badly wrenching my back in the process. My nephew had helped me unhitch
the car trailer in order to get into the back of the truck more easily to unload, but
apparently the trailer should have been hitched back up before we backed the car
off (who knew?) and since we didn't, as the car was backing down the ramp it caused the
front of the trailer to fly up in the air, crashing down as the car came off, and smashing
the thingie that hooks onto the whatchamacallit, making the car trailer impossible to
pull, so we had to wait two hours for the rental company's "mobile technician" to come and
repair it (my nephew swears that company has distributed my mug shot with
"DO NOT RENT TO THIS WOMAN" stenciled underneath). The post
script to the story is that two days later, on my way back from my first meeting in my new
role, a large piece of car fell out from under mine, and I had to spend two hours riding
home in a tow truck with a nice gentleman who was very angry with his cousin over an
inheritance dispute. Good thing it was a long ride, he had a lot to vent about...
Susan began her culture change work as part of the leadership team that founded
BEAM, a unique coalition that provides
training and support for culture change throughout the state of Michigan. She is now Eden
Alternative Regional Coordinator for 6 states in the Southeast, where she chaired the
first International Eden Alternative Conference in 2002. She has a culture change
consulting practice, is studying for her doctorate in social work, and is working to found
a non-profit organization that will provide training and research for culture change
practices throughout the Southeast US.
