Paul Bass Photo
Angel Diaz rolled up the hose to his oil truck Tuesday morning outside a Munson Street home, halfway through his deliveries before a second gig making barber shop T‑shirts.
He had 20 home heating oil deliveries in all scheduled for Branford-based Purple Fuels.
With temperatures dipping in recent days, people want to make sure their furnaces are filled.
“I got a couple of houses in New Haven. Then I’ve got some in Orange. I just came from West Haven, Hamden,” Diaz, who’s 37, said during a conversation on the “Word on the Street” segment of WNHH FM’s “LoveBabz LoveTalk” program.
Diaz has been driving the truck for four years. Before that he made deliveries for Ziggy’s Pizza Restaurant on East Grand. “I figured if I’m going to drive for a pizza place doing deliveries, I might as well take it up a notch.”
He said he likes the job, because he likes to drive.
Hauling a 2,800-gallon tanker poses special challenges. Like navigating narrow streets, avoiding crashes or turnovers.
“When you have a lot in there, you have to be careful when you take a turn. Obviously you don’t want to take it too fast. The oil, when you go back and forth, makes waves. It will give it that extra push when you’re turning,” Diaz said.
“If I’m on the highway, I tend to just stay in the slow lane. In residential areas, if there’s a crazy driver, I just slow down or I stop. I let them do whatever they’ve got to do and have a good day.”
Diaz hopped back in the cab for the next delivery, expecting to complete his route between 2 and 4 p.m. Then, before dinner, he embroidered logos onto T‑shirts for a customer for his clothing line, Koloboratory.
The side business started at the outset of the pandemic. He and his girlfriend made masks for family on “a little sewing machine.” Then “everybody started wanting masks.”
He “graduated to an embroidery machine,” branched out with designs for hats, T‑shirts, sweatshirts, tech suits, women’s clothing. He put his line up on Instagram, added “two big machines” for bigger logos. Tuesday’s customer is Untitled Barbershop on Washington Avenue in the Hill.
Meanwhile, Diaz is planning for Easter Sunday. He’s putting together an Easter egg hunt in the backyard of his East Haven home for his four kids and his girlfriend’s niece and nephew. Then it’s another week back on the oil road.
Click on the video to watch the full interview with Angel Diaz on the“Word on the Street” segment of WNHH FM’s “LoveBabz LoveTalk” program. Click here to subscribe to WNHH FM’s “LoveBabz LoveTalk” and here to subscribe to other WNHH programs.
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