And finally, I have been tucking into some books; and not that I read only books with real estate as the theme, but this one was totally charming: “The Long Haul, a Trucker’s Tales of Life on the Road” by Finn Murphy.

I really enjoyed the unique point of view of this trucker-hauler, as he describes with unusual insight and great writing the challenges and pleasures of a life hauling around people’s stuff. Here’s his description of his role as a mover:

“My last thoughts before drifting off were about navigation. A mover’s job is to shift people from where they are to where they’re supposed to be. Lucky for me, every once in a while I find the place where I’m supposed to be too. It’s a priceless gift that I only get when I’m out on the road. It’s the best job in the whole world.”

How can you not love this book?! He also says,

“When you move people and pack their stuff, you see how people really live, not how they want the neighbors to think they live.”

This next quote is about the author’s decision to become a mover again, after an absence of many years. You’re going to love this:

“Fifty-one years old is not a propitious age to go back to building tiers in a moving van…I wasn’t at all sure I could make the grade. What I did know was that I could certainly perform other tasks much better than before. Maybe I couldn’t lift like I used to, but maybe, just maybe, I could make the experience easier for the people who were moving…I wanted to do it the right way, the way I had never done it before…I wanted to interact with my shipper and helpers applying compassion and professionalism. I wanted to approach the work itself with serious intellectual intention toward performing even the smallest tasks properly.”

This almost makes you want to move just to hire this guy! But he’s not nearby, and he does only long-distance, so he wouldn’t be available to us anyway. But I do know a mover who, while he may not have articulated this point of view as eloquently, gets the job done like this. And an attorney who takes care of his clients like this. And a loan officer who does the same. This is my team, the folks who take over once an offer is accepted. They take care of my clients the same way I do, with intention, respect, and care. This is who you want when you embark on the stressful process of buying/selling/moving. When I’m your agent, you get much more than just me. It matters.

Next time I’ll tell you about “The House at Lobster Cove” by Jane Goodrich.