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ENLARGE
Mardocheo Garcia heads out on a pizza delivery run in Glenwood Wednesday.
If you live or work within the city of Glenwood then there is a sight that is likely familiar to you.
It's the carrot-colored, subcompact, we'll call "gently used" Domino's Pizza delivery car. The owner is Mardocheo Garcia, and he has been delivering pizzas for 14 years, most of which have been in that same car, at the same Domino's location.
"I generally work 12-hour days, but today it should only be about 11," he says at 10 in the morning on Christmas Eve.
His small 1978 Ford Fiesta has about 650,000 miles on it, and Garcia has put on so many tires he's lost count.
This is the sort of person one sees all the time, zipping around Glenwood. He can be seen at 11 in the morning and then at 9 later that night.
"I've been delivering pizza for 14 years and working at Domino's for 15. The first year I was a cook," Garcia said.
It's the carrot-colored, subcompact, we'll call "gently used" Domino's Pizza delivery car. The owner is Mardocheo Garcia, and he has been delivering pizzas for 14 years, most of which have been in that same car, at the same Domino's location.
"I generally work 12-hour days, but today it should only be about 11," he says at 10 in the morning on Christmas Eve.
His small 1978 Ford Fiesta has about 650,000 miles on it, and Garcia has put on so many tires he's lost count.
This is the sort of person one sees all the time, zipping around Glenwood. He can be seen at 11 in the morning and then at 9 later that night.
"I've been delivering pizza for 14 years and working at Domino's for 15. The first year I was a cook," Garcia said.
Delivering pizzas in a car that could easily be considered a mobile death trap for that length of time is nothing short of astonishing.
Garcia immigrated to the United States in 1985, during the Reagan Amnesty years, and became a citizen. He moved from Nicolas Bravo in Chihuahua, Mexico. Garcia initially worked on a farm in Idaho, then at a meatpacking plant in Kansas before finally ending up here in 1990.
Despite working 12-hour shifts in a car one might assume would handle like a hockey puck in the winter and having a wife and two kids to care for, Garcia is laid-back and has an easy smile.
It's not even noon on Christmas Eve and people are already calling for pizza delivery. Garcia has absolutely no complaints.
The car apparently handles fine in the winter, and he says he's never had an accident, although he did manage an adrenaline-pumping, 180-degree spin once.
And only once did he manage to drive away with the pizza still on the roof of the car. That particular story is a favorite of his wife and kids.
"I had to go all the way up the CMC road and was looking for the person who ordered the pizza, leaving the pizza on the roof of the car. I couldn't find them and left, leaving the pizza on the roof as well."
Garcia immigrated to the United States in 1985, during the Reagan Amnesty years, and became a citizen. He moved from Nicolas Bravo in Chihuahua, Mexico. Garcia initially worked on a farm in Idaho, then at a meatpacking plant in Kansas before finally ending up here in 1990.
Despite working 12-hour shifts in a car one might assume would handle like a hockey puck in the winter and having a wife and two kids to care for, Garcia is laid-back and has an easy smile.
It's not even noon on Christmas Eve and people are already calling for pizza delivery. Garcia has absolutely no complaints.
The car apparently handles fine in the winter, and he says he's never had an accident, although he did manage an adrenaline-pumping, 180-degree spin once.
And only once did he manage to drive away with the pizza still on the roof of the car. That particular story is a favorite of his wife and kids.
"I had to go all the way up the CMC road and was looking for the person who ordered the pizza, leaving the pizza on the roof of the car. I couldn't find them and left, leaving the pizza on the roof as well."
His best tip was last year when he was summoned for a delivery at the Hotel Colorado. The visiting tourists asked him what his highest tip thus far was. Garcia responded that it was $75. That changed when they gave him a $90 tip.
One can imagine some of the interesting things he must have seen behind the wheel of that car for long hours at a stretch, year after year.
It seems the later pizza orders are placed for delivery directly correlates with how drunk the customers may be.
"I was once sent to the Hide-Out to deliver some pizzas. Two girls opened the door and paid with a 50-dollar bill. I jokingly asked them if I could keep the change, while I was counting their change out for them. This happened to enrage some older, intoxicated gentleman who threatened to call the police and sue me," he recalls with a grin.
As for driving in Glenwood, he's seen a lot of changes over the years. He says the West Glenwood roundabouts are fascinating.
"They confused people at first, but I think they make it better."
One can imagine some of the interesting things he must have seen behind the wheel of that car for long hours at a stretch, year after year.
It seems the later pizza orders are placed for delivery directly correlates with how drunk the customers may be.
"I was once sent to the Hide-Out to deliver some pizzas. Two girls opened the door and paid with a 50-dollar bill. I jokingly asked them if I could keep the change, while I was counting their change out for them. This happened to enrage some older, intoxicated gentleman who threatened to call the police and sue me," he recalls with a grin.
As for driving in Glenwood, he's seen a lot of changes over the years. He says the West Glenwood roundabouts are fascinating.
"They confused people at first, but I think they make it better."
As for changes he has noticed in the city itself, he notes it has built up quite a bit, there are higher property values, and of course, traffic has increased. At the store itself, they have had to add another conveyor oven because of increased demand from population growth.
Garcia gives the car about another two years, but admits it could conk out at any moment.
The fact that it's made it this long is rather amazing, considering how much he drives it.
Garcia said his racial makeup has led to one interesting experience. Someone came into the store and asked for "someone who speaks American," while looking directly at him.
Per usual he seems to take this all in stride.
But mostly, Garcia seems to be the sort of person who is a piece of the backbone of Glenwood Springs, a soft-spoken man who values what he does day in and day out, all without a complaint.
Next time you order delivery and notice a battered little orange car arriving at your house, remember the long journey Garcia has taken to get there.
Garcia gives the car about another two years, but admits it could conk out at any moment.
The fact that it's made it this long is rather amazing, considering how much he drives it.
Garcia said his racial makeup has led to one interesting experience. Someone came into the store and asked for "someone who speaks American," while looking directly at him.
Per usual he seems to take this all in stride.
But mostly, Garcia seems to be the sort of person who is a piece of the backbone of Glenwood Springs, a soft-spoken man who values what he does day in and day out, all without a complaint.
Next time you order delivery and notice a battered little orange car arriving at your house, remember the long journey Garcia has taken to get there.
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