A few years ago, my wife and I bought a very expensive made-in-Canada new queen sized mattress to replace a futon. It came in a cardboard box, and it was all the warehouse guy and I could do to lift it into the back of my pickup. Too wide to fit between the wheel arches, so I wedged the back down, closed the tailgate on top of it, and the front part was just below the cab window. I was about to strap it when the guys watching laughed and said something to the effect "it ain't goin anywheres" and it was a cold day, so we headed home without bothering to rig a strap- up the expressway leading out of downtown Baltimore. Luckily, it was a Sunday, very little traffic. I went slowly- 50-55 and everything seemed fine. I got careless, speeded up without intending to, only to notice the light reflecting in my rear-view mirror suddenly changing. As I watched, the box lifted up, front first, sailed over the tailgate, and glided (quickly- it was heavy) onto the highway behind us. Luckily, nobody was behind me, and the car that was back there had plenty of time to stop. By the time I backed up, I had learned a lesson I will never forget. If one strap is good, three are better! The box didn't even have a scratch on it! The fact I could have easily killed a family really registered.
