UPS Safety Training Vehicle

    This town is a UPS hub, so perhaps that's the explanation. But then it has been for almost 20 years, so it's odd that it's taken this long to see one. Or two. What am I talking about? That IS the question, isn't it? Last week, I saw what appeared to be a UPS truck, with all the markings, but with windows on the sides and seats in back. The day before yesterday, Dad saw one with me, too. This one was marked UPS Safety Training Vehicle. (If you run a Google Images search on this phrase, you'll be SOL as far as trucks with back seats go, but you will see some very cool looking German UPS trucks. Go figure.)
    Now I'm having trouble figuring out how much you can teach future UPS drivers about safety by them driving around in the back of what amounts to a bus. Nor can I make much sense out of making a UPS truck into a bus instead of, say, taking a bus and painting it brown. But I'm sure it all makes perfect sense to them. I guess having a bus look like a UPS truck lets the future drivers see exactly what kind of situations a UPS truck gets into. I guess. I think my dad's approach (and everybody else's dad's approach, for that matter) of letting the learner drive while the teacher sits on the passenger side and offers gentle guidance (or in my dad's case, stomps the floorboard and hits the dashboard when he wants the driver to stop or slow down) works pretty well.
    Mainly, as with orange and green, I'm just relieved to find that I wasn't hallucinating when I thought I saw a UPS truck with seats in back. Or if I am, I'm very consistent and convincing in my hallucinations. That kind of stuff will get you elected around here.