This week

This is getting hard to keep up with when I'm running so hard. Working 12 to 14 hours every day 7 days a week, usually when I shut down I don't really do much. Been sitting awhile today and catching up on some TV shows on my computer. Glad they starting streaming the shows on their station web sites. Since they came up with all digital signals I haven't been able to pick up anything with my TV. Sitting in a parking lot, every vehicle that passes cuts the signal even when you have a strong one. And strong ones are hard to get. Time before last when I was home I took the TV out all together. I just use my computer to watch the shows on there that I like. Not that many of them anyway.

NCIS, Chuck, CSI NY, Bones, Blue Bloods, Hawaii Five-0, Human Target (when it starts up again), Burn Notice on USA is good. That is about it with a few sitcoms like Two and a Half Men thrown in. Middle on ABC is also a good one. At least on the computer when I am shut down I can catch up with them when ever I have the time. They keep them on the site usually for about 3 to 4 weeks after the original air date. Now, as long as my computer holds up. If I get in an area that has a weak signal then I won't be watching anything. Has to be a good strong 3G signal to work.

That is my idle time. Don't really do much surfing on the internet anymore unless trying to find some information. Use Google Earth a lot to view customers that I am going into, especially if it is for the first time. That is a big big help.

After NC I went to Valdosta, GA with a load, then from there over to Austin, TX. Out to Uvalde, TX for the first time and picked up a load of deer corn going to a Walmart DC in south Louisana. Then picked up load from Georgia Pacific going to Georgia Pacific in Palatka, FL. Then a load out of GP there going to New Albany, MS. I was offered a load to Omaha, NE which I really wanted because it was good miles, but I did not have enough hours to deliver it legally, so had to turn it down. Don't get offered 1400 mile loads often.

Picked up a load near Tupelo, MS this afternoon and going up near Indianapolis, IN to deliver tomorrow. Having to wait until 2 am to head that way to build some hours. Have just enough to make it up there tomorrow around noon then will have to sit until Wednesday to move again.

Hometime

After Nebraska I took a load to Knoxville, TN and then one over into South Carolina, then back to Jackson, TN, and then one out of Memphis to Houston to get me home for hometime.

Spent some time trying to get Pat's computer working. Since Windows7 jammed things up, I tried formatting the drive and reinstalling Win7 to free up some space, still froze up on scans. Even after cleaning Norton antivirus out of it. Then reformatted the drive and reinstalled Vista back on the machine. Thought might be the Win7 program, but not the problem either. Still freezing up now and then. It picks its own time to do it.

Will probably try to get a new hard drive for the thing next time in. One in it is 2 years old, and I'm beginning to believe that is the life expectancy of HD's. One in my laptop is little under 3 years and it is getting blue screen couple times now over 2 weeks. Last time it did that, hard drive finally gave it up a month or two later.

Rebuilt some fence around back yard by moving the gate off a couple of untreated posts that had rotted out at the ground. Still suffering after using those post hole diggers. There was a time that I used them things all day long. Still suffered, but got 10 times as many holes dug. Only dug 3 holes this time. Although the first hole could count as 3 since I broke one blade hitting a root and didn't know it. Dug for 5 minutes and wasn't getting very deep with it until I looked at the end of the digger. It was split up the middle and one side curled under. Dry as the ground was, it was like chipping at concrete with a plastic spoon, except the diggers were about 10 or 15 lbs. The second set I started using were a lot better except they were about 20 lbs because they were the ones dad had welded steel handles in to to keep from breaking the handles. Just need a gorilla to use them.

I left back out this past Saturday and had to go up to Ashdown, AR to pick up a load of pulp going to a paper company in Canton, NC. Was a long way to go to pick up a load, right at 200 miles. Not even a high dollar load. Low on loads where I was I guess. Sitting near Asheville, NC and will deliver at 6 pm tonight.

Nebraska

Sitting in Lincoln today. Bringing some toilet paper to the Sooners...

I have the best intentions of doing this every day but has become a weekly output, and catching some down time. I don't deliver this load until 14 hours from now and have 2 drops. One at Sam's Club here in Lincoln at 11 pm tonight, and another in Grand Island at 3:30 am.

From Findlay, OH, I went up the road to pick up a short load over to Joliet, IL which I dropped on Tuesday morning. Then got a load that was supposed to be picked up on Monday going to Temple, TX for a delivery on Wednesday at Walmart. I had to hustle on that one. Ended up driving 7 hours straight without stopping in order to get down to St. Robert, MO by 5 pm Tuesday after picking up the load. That was when my 14 hours ran out. From St. Robert I figured I could just make it to Temple to deliver the load on Wednesday in my alloted 11 hours driving time. If I hadn't gotten that far on Tuesday, I would not have been close enough and would have been unable to deliver to Walmart on the scheduled day. That would have been a service failure and a no no. Problem was, since the load was not picked up on Monday and they gave it to me on Tuesday morning, it was left on my shoulders to figure out how to get it there legally. Only way I could make it work was to drive 7 hours straight after picking up the load and not stop for any reason. I made it to St. Robert at 5:05 pm.

What put it all in doubt was the fact that the preloaded trailer I picked up at General Mills had a broken pin on the slider for the tandems. Another company driver who was there at the mill, had to set under the trailer and hold the pin out while I inched the trailer back in order to get it legal. That cost me a hour of time doing all of that and resulted in the 7 hour push to make it work.

Delivered the load next day OK, then was given a load to pick up in Waxahachie the next morning going to Olive Branch, MS outside of Memphis. I picked the load up at 5 am and the preloaded trailer I picked up had the exact same problem as the one I had picked up in Illinois. This time I drove up to our shop outside Dallas and let them fix it. Took about 2 hours and I was gone on to Memphis for a Friday morning delivery. On I-30 east of Dallas I watched a CRST truck going west bound take an exit too fast. Looks like he left the road tried to over correct and he flipped the entire tractor trailer 180 degrees and on to its side. He ended up facing the way he came. Not sure whether he was taking the exit too fast or just left the road at a high rate of speed.

I delivered that load early and then spent the rest of the day making a double pick up around Memphis going to Big Lots DC in Oklahoma. The load didn't deliver until Monday night so they let me drop it on the Memphis drop lot and I picked up a load from Kellogg's early the next morning. The preloaded trailer was missing a lug nut on the right front wheel. I had to swing by truck stop in West Memphis to get one put on. It took them 2 minutes to put the $0.79 lug nut on the wheel, and then 1 hour to figure out how to bill my company $37.95.

I delivered the Kellogg's load in Minooka, IL outside of Chicago at 1 pm on Sunday, and then drove over to Elwood, IL to get a preloaded trailer going to Nebraska. No problems with this trailer. Yet...

My, my...

How time flies...

Another week gone through and a hard one. I got into KC terminal and picked up meds, so that worked out. Went on over to Trenton, OH to deliver my load on Monday morning at 3 am. On Sunday I found a trailer tire going down and it had a nail in it. Tried to get it fixed at a TA truck stop, but the nail was too close to the sidewall and they couldn't. We always carry a spare on the back of the cab in a tire rack so that the company doesn't have to buy one on the road. I had just picked this one up at the Dallas terminal 4 days before since I had used the last one just before going home. I had made a special trip by the terminal just to get a new spare and it paid off.

From Trenton they sent me up the road to Richmond, IN to pick up a load of fish food going to Emporia, KS. On the way over I made a special trip back by the KC terminal to pick up another spare. They didn't have any. The tire man came a hour later that usually drops off new tires and picks up the bad ones. I checked with them again and for some reason they still didn't have any. Said to myself right then that was going to be costly. It was the first time in 6 years I ever went by a terminal and couldn't get a spare.

Dropped the load in Emporia on Tuesday and went up to Topeka to pick up a load of cat food going to Nashville, TN. Dropped that load Wednesday and then they gave me a hot load out of Springfield, TN that was already late and needed to be in Atlanta at 7 pm at a Kroger grocery warehouse. I told them I could not make that appointment and they told me to do best I could. I drove up and got the load, took a hour to get there going back up through Nashville. Load of Ole Yeller dog food. They wanted to know when I could be there and I told them 8:30 pm. It was out on the southeast side of Atlanta and I had it figured too close, but I was going to run out of hours at 9 pm and had to get there or not get there at all. I had to stop and scale out the load and got held up 20 minutes because of a line at the fuel desk at the truck stop was lined out the door. Of all times...

I got there at the customer at 8:50 pm. That 20 minutes....even though I was late they got me in the gate in about 15 minutes. I guess they needed that dog food. Whole country is out of work, but the dogs, cats and fishes are eatin'.

Got lucky and found a spot out on the street to park after unloading to sleep. I had to go over east of Atlanta in the morning and pick up a load from General Mills going to another grocery warehouse in Elloree, SC that delivered that afternoon. Found a tire on my tractor that had a leak in it. I couldn't find a nail or anything but it was low for some reason. I got the load picked up by the appointment time and since I had some extra time I stopped at a TA truck stop to get the tire repaired. Well....it was not fixable...and no spare. They had to buy a tire and they weren't happy. Guy in breakdown had the gall to tell the man at the TA shop to go out and check my tractor and make sure I did not have a spare. That statement right there tells you how much respect a truck driver gets. Like I didn't know I didn't have a spare or not. I'm still a little hot about that one. I was standing next to the guy at the counter when he read the email from our breakdown department out loud.

I still don't have a spare and not making any extra trips out of the way to get one any time soon...

I needed a shower but by the time they got the ok on the tire and got it on the truck I had to go on to make delivery. The load had so many different types of canned goods on it that it took them 8 hours to unload, sort and count in the load. It was midnight by the time I was done, they let me sleep on the yard. I had told dispatch I had to get some sleep since I had been at the customer 8 hours and only needed 10 hours sitting to be actually legal to work another 14 hours, they wanted me to take another load right then. I had not slept good the last night so I said I had to get some sleep first and I could go at 6 am. Two hours after I laid down, they beeped me with a load offer that didn't pick up until noon that day and here it was 2 am. Dummy...

Was a load of, GUESS WHAT...dog food...going to Walmart in Cullman, AL. That was delivered at 5 am this morning and then picked up a load of plumbing supplies going to Lowes DC in Findlay, OH. Got until 8 am Monday to get there, so I'm sitting outside Louisville, KY until about 3:30 am Monday and then will drive on up there. It's not dog food though, them loads are heavy.

Land of OZ

Feel a little like Dorthy with the truck shaking and rattling, and hopefully not rolling, around. Heavy thunderstorm passing through. Up in the morning and back on the yellow brick road in Topeka, Kansas. Coming out of Denver where I had 3 drops on Thursday of air conditioners. All these things that Eric and Jamie are missing and loving in Saudia Arabia. Loving a/c's and missing the rain.

I had to wait until this morning to pick up my load in Golden, CO. I have a load of packaging from there going to Miller/Coors Brewing in Ohio. Got to package that stuff up after you brew and bottle it. Wasn't aware that Miller and Coors were attached, missed something somewhere. Or just forgot maybe.

The being sick as a dog, feel sorry for the dog that was that sick, it threw me out of routine getting ready to leave home. Found out the day after I had left that I had left my bag with my medications sitting in the kitchen. Bummer. I had to wait until I got dispatched in Denver to see which direction I was headed so I could get Pat to over night it for me. A risky move since I have had loads cancel on me before, and I had to wait overnight to pick up the load the next day. Seems to be working out though, she over nighted the meds to the Kansas City terminal and they are in there on Saturday morning from 8am to noon. I should get in there around 8am in the morning and get them picked up. Was a hard $52 to give up, but eating at Cotton Patch, well I ought to bill them for it.

Still....

...among the living!!!

Been a little remiss, I reckon I'm keeping everyone guessing if anyone actually still reading it.

Had to get into our Dallas terminal this past week to renew my physical. I had wanted to go home on Monday so I would be back on the road by this past weekend. Don't care to be home on the holiday much since I can't get anything done. They didn't get me to the terminal until Wednesday, so I got my truck serviced while I was getting my physical done. I liked this doctor, he believed in the cattle chute method of physicals. Waited for over a hour to get in the office and wasn't in there 5 minutes.

I delivered the load I was under at 2 am Thursday morning and thought I would go home, but dispatch had other plans. They needed me to pick up a load that had been dropped on the yard and deliver in Houston late that night. That wasn't bad enough, but had a flat on the trailer had to fix before heading home and I didn't get there until 3 am Friday morning.

After about 5 hours sleep I got up and tried to straighten out the home computer. Come to find out the Norton anti virus had not done a full scan since it was installed after I left a month ago. Every time it tried to scan it would get up to a certain point and freeze the computer. Somewhere at the point where it was scanning for viruses. Got on chat with Norton and it ended up taking 14 hours. It was 3 am Saturday morning before I went to bed and it was still messed up. I had gone through 5 different techs, then a supervisor and lastly an engineer. They were all bald by the time I got off. Then engineer finally told me he would call me back in 24 to 48 hours. Well 72 hours came and went and so did I, had to go back to work, but not after getting back on chat and giving some poor tech what for. They can't speak English, they don't know what a time zone is, and they repeat the same play book every time you chat with one. "Rest assured we will solve your problem". Well they ain't done it yet. Today I got 2 different emails from a supervisor and I had told them to call Pat after 3 pm because she had a doctor appointment this morning, they called at 10 am.

Sunday I came down with a virus or food poisoning. I blew out the toilets in Kmart, Sam's Club and Walmart before made it back home to work on ours. I hadn't been that sick in years. Managed to go back out today with only half the things I normally take with me since cut my grocery shopping real short Sunday. Spent rest of day Sunday and most of Labor Day in bed.

Colorado

I got into St. George, UT Sunday afternoon and it was 105 degrees. Won't be cutting back on my idling time that day. I delivered the first of 4 drops in St. George on Monday morning. I was carrying vinyl siding. When I first started carrying these loads out of Ennis, TX they were all loaded on the floor and it would sometimes take up to 8 hours to get unloaded. Now about 50% of the loads are on long 10' pallets that can be pulled off pretty quickly.

After unloading I drove up near Orem, UT and spent the night and I had 3 drops beginning Tuesday morning. Orem, West Jordan and Ogden. I had all 3 drops off in 4 hours. I was then offered a load going to Riverside, CA, and they then took it back about 5 min later. I guess they realized that my truck was not a California truck. California keeps passing laws about clean idling trucks and APU's (auxiliary power units, a small generator that runs on diesel and cools and heats your cab. It only uses a fraction of the fuel that idling your truck does). No one can keep up with them. You buy a rig all outfitted out so it will be legal in California, and 2 years later they change the law and make what you just spent $120,000 on obsolete. My company went out and started putting the APU's on all their trucks back in 2007, and within a year California said they weren't good enough and started fining trucks that were using them for cooling their cabs in the 100+ deg heat. Now the newer trucks have a battery system, but those will go dead in 8 to 10 hours and you have to idle the truck 3 hrs to recharge the batteries. Can't win.

They gave me a load from Ogden going to a drop in Parker, CO and final drop in Colorado Springs, CO. Would hope to see David when get in there, but being a work day and I deliver at 8:45 am, I will most likely be unloaded and on way to pick up another load before noon. Same thing happened last week when I went in to Springfield, MO where Merna lives. No time to stop long. Do better if can visit when I am passing through a town than when I deliver to one. We don't wait for the next load to come along very often.

Pictures from today

Pictures from this last month, mostly over last few days.

Update

Been a little busy over last two weeks. I got home and had nothing but doctor appointments. I had to travel to Houston on Tuesday to have a CAT Scan of my ear. I had one last year and discovered the ear canal on my right ear had started closing up again. The doctor wanted another this year to compare the pictures.

Had a visit to my family doctor on Wednesday, hadn't seen him since last year and he figured I better show up before he rewrote my prescriptions again. Then back to Houston on Thursday to see the ENT. He was pleased in the fact that the pictures were the same as last year, so it wasn't any worse. Still don't hear very good out of it though. Nothing much to be done, going through that surgery again would not be much fun.

I spent rest of the day Thursday and most of Friday trying to install Windows 7 on the home computer to upgrade it from Vista. It upgraded fine and did some installs on new drivers. Had 31 updates from Windows that downloaded. Then shut it down and went to bed Thursday night. Got up Friday morning and computer wouldn't boot up at all. Just sat there and beeped at me. Got on line chat with HP tech and after a bit he told me the Windows 7 needed minimum of 1 GB RAM to boot properly. So off to town to get a 2 GB RAM to stick in the computer. Plugged it in and still didn't work. I had to go back to work so like the sucker I am, let Pat call Geek Squad to come out and get it started. They said on the phone would be $130 to come out and get it going. He came out on the following Wednesday and since I had pulled out the 2 GB RAM with the intention of taking it back, he stuck it in the computer, started it up and then informed Pat that since he had installed hardware it would be another $20 charge on top of the $130. So tax and all he got $160 left and the computer froze up. Every time Pat turned it on it froze up again. Got Pat to call Microsoft and they ran through a custom install, lost the programs but got it started up. Complained to Best Buy and Pat got a $20 gift card since no one informed us they were going to charge extra for the 2 second installation of the RAM chip until after he installed it. Then I spent a couple of hours on the phone with Pat last night talking her through reinstalling anti virus and a driver for the printer and now, finally, the computer is up and running with Windows 7 on it. For all I spent upgrading it, I could have added $100 and bought a new tower that had Windows 7 already on it.

I left out on Saturday going back to work. Got a load out of Tyler going to Knoxville, TN and got to stop by and visit Mom at Charlie's. Got fed.

Delivered on Monday and they surprised me by sending me all the way to Kennesaw, GA to pick up a load to deliver Tuesday night to a grocery warehouse in Brookhaven, MS. I made it to Meridian that Monday evening with the load. I got up early and drove on over to Brookhaven. I did not deliver until 11pm Tuesday night so I had to set all day. Another one of those time where I lay down in the afternoon and try to nap before a late night delivery. Never works and didn't work that day either. It took them saps until 5:30 am to get me unloaded.

They sent me over to Monticello, MS about 20 miles away to pick up a load at Georgia Pacific going to Springfield, MO. I drove up to Harrison, AR in the northwestern corner before shutting down for the night. I was up 38 hours before finally getting some sleep. Don't like doing that, but since I can't take naps in the daytime, it happens every time I get a late night delivery.

I delivered the load in Springfield the next morning and was sent up to Meta, MO to pick up a load of dog food going to Tractor Supply warehouse in Waco, TX. Meta, MO is just south of Jefferson City, MO and there is no easy way to get there in a truck. Forty miles of very narrow curvy Missouri roads.

I delivered the load in Waco Friday afternoon and then got a real good load. I was sent over to Ennis, TX to pick up a load of vinyl siding going to Utah with 4 drops. The first on in St. George, UT. This is at the very southern tip of Utah and I had to drive over to Flagstaff, AZ and north on US-89 up to Page, AZ where I crossed over Lake Powell. Beautiful area that I had never seen before. Not much green, but a lot of red and grey rock. This is the heart of the Navajo Nation. There are roadside stands every 10 miles or so where they sell their wares.

Taking a lot of pictures, which I do more of when I see new things. Will post these in a few days.

Something to Ponder

THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER

This one is a little different… Two Different Versions... Two Different Morals!


OLD VERSION

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE OLD STORY:

Be responsible for yourself!


MODERN VERSION

The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant
is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.

CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled
with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green...'

ACORN stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, “We shall overcome.” Then Rev. Jeremiah Wright has the group kneel down to pray for the grasshopper's sake.

President Obama condemns the ant and blames President Bush, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope for the grasshopper's plight.

Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant
has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar
and given to the grasshopper.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant’s food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and peaceful, neighborhood.

The entire Nation collapses bringing the rest of the free world with it.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Be careful how you vote in 2010.

This Week

Been busy. After Metairie, LA I picked up a load of imported coffee going to Cincinnati, OH. From Cincinnati picked up a load of plastic bottles going to Harrisonville, MO just south of Kansas City, MO.

Then got stuck, they had loads that would get me home for home time, but I didn't have the hours to get them delivered by the appointment time. Ended up getting a load (after being offered 3 different loads I couldn't deliver) that picked up after midnight Friday night going to Houston. Doesn't deliver until Monday so a lot of time wasted. Wouldn't have been so picky but have a CAT Scan on my ear that follows one I had last year for a comparison. Had to get in by Monday in order to drive back to Houston to get it done on Tuesday morning. Ended up losing money this week by not moving much over 4 days.

Ever now and then I get low on fuel on these trips. Everything is done by computer when you get your load assignment. When you report in that you are empty you also let them know how much fuel you have. Their Fuel Solution computer system assigns you fuel stops along the way on your next load. The computer is a little ignorant when it comes to head winds, or heavy loads and mountains though. Sometimes I have to call my home terminal and request an extra fuel stop. It is imperative that you stay on top of your fuel mileage and know how much you are burning. I have become pretty accurate with it over the years.

I have a digital reading on the dash that gives your miles per gallon read out, which is an estimate that is rarely right on the money but at least within 5 gallons or so usually. The fuel gauge is all but useless. It does OK until it hits a 1/4 of a tank. Then the orange warning light comes on and the gauge drops like a rock down to the "E" within a hundred miles. This gets a little disconcerting to say the least. The digital readout saying you have used approximately 140 gallons and the gauge says much more. I have two 100 gallon tanks on the truck. You can only get 95 gallons maximum in each tank, then as a rule you can only pick up all but about 10 gallons out of each tank. So that is 170 gallons of usable fuel. I have run down to 160 gallons once. Didn't like the feeling much since the gauge had been sitting on "E" for almost 200 miles. Normally I never let myself use more than 150 gallons without getting fuel somewhere. I think I did that one just to check and see if I could have a heart attack. Didn't work.

Weekly report

About all I get to now adays...

Delivered over in Alsip, IL, then loaded just north of there at Northlake, IL going to Menomonie, WI for the next day. They sent me from there over to Green Bay, WI to pick up a load from Georgia Pacific going to a grocery warehouse in Monroe, MI on south side of Detroit. It delivered at 1 am Thursday morning. Love those.

There was a truck stop 3 blocks from the warehouse so I was able to get in there in the morning and park and try to sleep before delivery. Got lucky and got 4 or 5 hours before getting up. It took them 3 hours to get me unloaded, wasn't busy they were just slow. From there I drove down to Lima, OH to pick up a load from Procter and Gamble going to Procter and Gamble in Pineville, LA. This load was supposed to be ready at 8 am when I got there, but they had problems and it was 1pm before I finally got the load. That was fun since I had been up since midnight. I got down to Louisville, KY though and went straight to bed. Got up early as soon as my 10 hour break was up and drove hard down to Brookhaven, MS. I needed to get as far as fast as I could because it had to be delivered before 4am on Saturday morning. The 5 hour delay getting the load messed me up on being able to take my time.

Getting up at midnight Friday night, I made it into Pineville with about 30 minutes to spare. They loaded me out of the same plant going to Cleburne, TX on the south side of Ft Worth and it had to be delivered same day. So had to hot foot it over there. Wasn't hard drive since I did get a good night's rest before hand for a change. Once I dropped the load at Walmart, I drove a mile away and picked up a load of insulation from Johns Manville going to Metairie, LA for Monday morning. Stopping at the terminal south of Dallas and waiting to get my truck serviced this afternoon. Hopefully....

If they get me in tonight then I will drive on down to Metairie tomorrow and park until Monday morning.

Up the Pipe

I delivered to General Mills and then got another load out of the General Mills warehouse 15 miles east of there going up to Indian Trails, NC to a grocery warehouse there. I delivered it at 6 pm the next afternoon. Liked this grocery warehouse, they had me in and unloaded in 30 minutes. No lumper to mess with, just did their job. Wow, an anomaly.

Once unloaded they gave me a load sitting on their drop lot in Greensboro, NC 110 miles away that needed to deliver to York, PA asap. I still had to take a break before delivering it, so I only got up into southern Virginia before I went ahead and took a break. I was only picking up 5 hours to work with at midnight and only had 4 hours left for that day, so I couldn't work more than 9 hours total over 2 days anyway.

Friday morning I got up and drove back road up to Richmond, VA and jumped on I-95 going up to north of Baltimore. I call it the "pipe", running up 95 through Richmond, DC and Baltimore all in about 3 or 4 hours. Depends on severity of traffic. Going into DC there was a 30 mile backup going south, glad I was going north. It was only noon on Friday, where all them people were going was beyond me. Got around DC and headed up the 30 miles to Baltimore and there was an accident on the south side and another 4 mile backup, glad I was going north.

Made it up to York about 2:30 pm and dropped the load and was finally given one out of the Church & Dwight facility that I had just dropped in going to the Chicago area. My directions said it was not supposed to be ready until 9 am on Saturday which means I had to leave and there was no place for me to park for 30 miles. On a hunch I stopped by shipping office and found out they had just finished loading the load and it was ready to go. She had just brought in the paperwork for it, or dead tree. There were over 50 pages in the bill of lading. There were that many different products on the truck and it had 7 different P.O.'s.

I got out of there with it and it allowed me to get about a 140 miles up the road. I shut down for a day so I could restart my hours, and will get up Sunday morning and drive the 540 miles over to Gary, IN, and have a fresh start for the delivery on Monday morning.

Hoosier State

I spent the night at the Indianapolis terminal last night because I had an annual review that had to be filled out, along with watching a safety film. Took me a little extra time, but I only had 160 miles to go for my delivery and my load information said I could deliver up to 1 pm.

I got about half way up to Nappanee, IN and I stopped to call the customer to get directions since this was a new one. Should have called the day before, turns out that they stop receiving at noon instead of 1 pm. So I had to push it harder and I got there with about 15 minutes to spare.

Leaving Atlanta it was in the 90's and just hot. When I got up to northern Indiana it was rainy and 68 degrees. Kinda nice. Going north to south helps the spirits sometimes on the heat and humidity. Of course it works in reverse in the winter time.

After unloading my load of insulation at the mobile home manufacturer, I ran 40 miles east to Kendallville, IN to pick up a pre loaded trailer going to Covington, GA. Yep back to Atlanta. Can't get them loads like that in the winter time. The trailer only had 5 pallets of packaging on it going to General Mills. Cereal boxes I believe. I will deliver this one at 3 am Thursday morning.

Back to Abi-Normal

Made it home on the 28th of June for 4 days. Supposedly...early the morning after I got home Pat fell and suffered serious sprain of her left ankle. Thought it might be broke. Took her to the doctor as soon as she was in and she sent us over for x-rays. I ended up taking 2 extra days off and didn't get back to work until July 6th. I had to wait until Pat was at least able to hobble around and take care of her self.

I picked up a load from Longview going to Hutchinson, KS for next day delivery. I unloaded early next morning and waited until 4 pm that afternoon before they gave me a load that picked up Friday morning in McPherson, KS going to Addison, AL. They said I could drop the load on the Kansas City yard since it did not deliver until the following Monday. I was supposed to be able to pick up the load anytime after midnight, so I tried to take a nap, didn't work, but went on over to pick up the load arriving about 12:30am. Wasn't ready. He told me they were loading it though and would call me when it was finished. Two hours later they called me in and gave me the paperwork and....whoa...load was going to Indiana. Wrong address and wrong bill of lading number. He double checked and told me that the load I was waiting on had a glitch in the bar codes, one product had two different codes and couldn't load the trailer until morning when the IT department came in and fixed it.

Well, thanks a lot. Could have told me that 2 hours before. Come to find out they had another load on the yard preloaded going to the same place. Dispatch canceled the original load and redispatched me on the other load. I drove over to Kansas City and dropped the load at 7 am. They then gave me a load that was loading in Kansas City going to Fairburn, GA outside Atlanta. It didn't unload until Monday either but I gained 200 miles.

When I showed up to pick up the load it was delayed because Nestle Purina could not decide what they wanted on the truck. I had to wait 2 hours for them to figure it out. That only left me 45 minutes to find a parking place before I ran out of hours.

It was only 12 noon when I shut down, but since I didn't get any sleep the previous night I was ready for bed this time. I woke up at midnight and ate some breakfast and headed out for Atlanta. I stopped in Murfreesboro, TN for the night, and was thinking of staying until early Monday morning before heading on down to Atlanta, but I had an air leak on the tractor and I left out next morning so I could try and get it fixed along the way.

I figured it was the small air bag that the back of the cab rode on, same thing I had the year before. It could be fixed at a TA truck stop and the only one was in Cartersville, GA. When I got on the south side of Chattanooga I sent a message to break down department and they surprised me by sending me to a truck shop in Chattanooga to get it fixed. I turned around and went the 5 miles back to town and down to the shop and sat and waited until the mechanic showed up. Took him 1 1/2 hours to show up. Took him 5 minutes to tell me he didn't have the part to fix it. Break down then sent me down to the TA truck stop...surprise. I sat outside their shop for 1 hour for an open bay. When he pulled me in it took him 5 minutes to jack up the cab, bleed the air bag, pull it off, slip on the new one, air it up....done. Total down time 4 1/2 hours from time I first called in.

Drove on down to Fairburn where I delivered this morning. Got a load now of insulation going up to Nappanee, IN for tomorrow.

Back to Work

I have been very busy since the last entry. I delivered my load on Friday morning in Medford, OR and then was given a load to pick up at Cascade wood products in White City just down the road. It was not ready yet, so I had to set and wait until they were finished. It was around 4pm by the time I got on the road and I returned the same route that I came over by going up and around Crater Lake. Of course I took pictures again which are attached. I have got to get them labeled where they are before I forget them, but no time this morning.

I had to run very hard every day in order to deliver the load in Knoxville, TN on Wednesday the 23rd. There was no time to stop and eat much less stretch my legs. The problem was my hours to work each week and the distance. I pushed hard to get to Grand Island, NE by Sunday afternoon so I could set and restart my hours over 34 hours. That allowed me to start out Tuesday morning at 3am, run hard that day, and then get up at 2am on Wednesday morning and run the last 7 hours to the customer. I had until 2pm to deliver that day. Good thing I pushed hard because I got a message that morning that they would not take the load after 12 noon. I got in there by 10:30am.

Next I was given a hot load just down the street that had to be delivered in Vineland, NJ the next day by noon. I let them know I could not make that time. It was already 2pm and would be 3pm by the time I picked the load up and got going. It was a 630 mile trip which is a good 10 1/2 to 11 hours driving plus had to take a 10 hour break in there. They said go with it anyway. So another hard drive. Only had 3 hours to drive when got load, so I had to drive the last 8 1/2 hours the next morning starting at 3:30am. Other than a drag down going around Washington, DC, I did pretty good and actually got in there by 12:30pm.

I next got a load out of the same plant going to Social Circle, GA. It was not supposed to be ready until Friday morning, but I actually got it that night after I got my 10 hour break in. I drove all night stopping in Duncan, SC Friday morning. The load did not deliver until 1am Sunday morning but I was able to deliver it Saturday morning since it was a drop and hook at General Mills warehouse. I ran a shuttle load for them from their plant down the road back to the warehouse, and then got a load of insulation in Winder, GA going to Olive Branch, MS outside Memphis. The load was supposed to be ready at 6pm Saturday, but I did not get it until Sunday morning at 8am. Then drove all day delivering the load at 3pm Sunday, I had to get it in there before 5pm. It was another drop and hook.

Next load was out of Kelloggs in Memphis going to Garland, TX. They offered me one that had to be there at 3am the next morning and I had to tell them I couldn't do that load in 12 hours since it was a 7 hour drive and I had to have a 10 hour break since I drove all day already. They gave me another load out of same plant to same warehouse but it delivered at 7pm Monday night. That worked better.

All of this late pickup and rush rush has happened because warehouses ran their inventories down. My company quit replacing drivers that quit and had over 500 trucks setting. They kept their customers, but when they started filling up their warehouses again there weren't enough trucks and drivers. Now they are pushing everyone until they get those trucks with drivers in them again. Then what? Another slow down and too many drivers?

I made it over to North Little Rock, AR and spent the night. I am now waiting until about 11am to 12 noon before I leave. That way can drive in, drop the load and have some hours left to move. Which won't be far since I don't pick up any hours at midnight and will only have 4 hours to work over 2 days. Confusing?? Log books are a pain and some people can't get a handle on them. I have been doing them since 1975.

New Sites

Ever now and then, after 34 years of doing this, I actually see something new and exciting.

After unloading in Wilsonville, OR they sent me to Hood River, OR to pick up a load of imported Rum/Vodka/Whiskey etc. and I delivered it to the Utah Alcohol and Beverage Control warehouse in Salt Lake City Wednesday morning. In Utah all liquor sales are strictly controlled by the state. After unloading they sent me about 2 miles away to pickup a loaded trailer going to Medford, OR.

What was neat about this load was the routing. There is no easy way to get to Medford from the east. It is located 30 miles north of the California border on I-5 and has mountains on the east and west sides. North and South to actually. My good friend with the 76th Division, Jay Hamilton Ltc-Ret. lived in Medford. I have wanted a load up here for 10 years to visit with him, but sadly he passed away in 2008.

From Salt Lake City I came back in to southern Idaho and across to Boise on I-84 again. From Boise over to the Oregon state line and then picked up US-20 over to Bend, OR. The entire trip of 255 miles has only one town on it by the name of Burns. There is one stretch of 99 miles with no gas stations between Burns and Bend. The first 70 miles or so there is no cell service and it follows a river through valleys most of the way. One poor deer like to have bought the farm and my bumper. She decided to change direction in the middle of the highway and her hoofs were like ice skates. Luckily I had seen her in time to get slowed way down. Didn't have to worry about traffic, wasn't any. I saw another vehicle that first 125 miles about every half hour.

Bend, OR has a population of 80,000 and is kind of like a tourist trap city at the edge of the mountain range. Mt. Hood and 3 Sisters peaks are to the north and northwest. There are state and national parks and camp grounds and trout streams everywhere. Seventy miles south of Bend is Crater Lake. My route took me down and around the north side of Crater Lake and talk about beautiful scenery.

Normal states wouldn't let trucks that close to a National Park, but up here there just aren't any other routes through there. There is a highway on the south side of Yellowstone in Wyoming that swings down by Grand Tetons National Park that is the same way. Very close but just not into the park.

The pictures I have added I haven't labeled yet but will try to later. I have been up a long time and got to hit the hay. Basically the first 17 pictures are leaving Portland going along the Columbia River again, over Cabbage Pass at Pendelton, OR and the rain showers in the distance are around Baker City, OR. Last of these is at truck stop in Salt Lake City.

From there I have a couple in southern Idaho again. Then they pickup with the early morning shots beginning just outside Ontario, OR all the way to Medford, OR. All of the pics of basically vigin ranch land is the 255 miles to Bend. The city pics in middle of shots is one coming in to Bend on US-20. Then I pick up US-97 going south toward Klamath Falls, OR and this is where it starts to get pretty. Stopped at the truck stop for a quick shower in Chemoth, OR.

Leaving there, I went 10 miles south and picked up Oregon hwy 138 west to Oregon hwy 230 south and then picked up Oregon hwy 62 that comes out of Crater Lake National Park.

The last two pics are my sitting in the truck stop on south side of Medford looking at the mountains on west side of I-5 and 2 para-sails. I used my telephoto lens fully extended to catch them. All morning was 35 to 40 degrees until I came down into Medford. Here in Medford they had a high of 70 today. Like it up here.

Oregon Trail Again

I go a little crazy with the camera when I come out this way. Probably because I seldom get out here, and every where else I go I see all the time. The northwest is unique and at certain parts of the year very beautiful. This is one of those times.

End of spring and all of the winter snows have melted, still getting some spring rains and everything is very green. By next month it will start turning brown all over. There's some snow on some of the peaks from recent snow, because they still have a bit of cold weather out here in the mountains.

I drove hard coming out this way and have been able to relax last couple of days since I have the hardest part behind me. I was able to stop a time or two to get some pictures I normally wouldn't stop to do.

I came on into Troutdale, OR this morning. Fueled and parked and I am 35 miles from my delivery at 6am tomorrow. I hope you enjoy the pictures, not exactly like seeing it in person, but better than nothing I guess.

Beautiful drive out this time, and I haven't been out this way this time of year in very long time...over 15 years anyway.

Evanston, WY

Made it in to Evanston this evening. They had a high of 44 degrees today and now is raining. The trip across I-80 today was stunning. With the recent rains and melting snow from the winter, the ground is unusually green all the way across the state. The low temperatures coupled with the beautiful mostly cloudy skies was breath taking. Everything fell in to place to make it a nice trip. It is getting down to around 39 degrees tonight, danged wonder it don't snow. I don't care for that after the winter just went through. Snow in middle of June would just about cap it.

Every year during the first or second week of June, the U. S. Department of Transportation has a 72 hour Blitzkrieg. They have every state set up inspections across the country to inspect trucks for 72 hours straight. It will start at midnight on a Monday night and go through Thursday midnight. I left home Tuesday as it was kicking off, went from Tyler down to New Orleans, to Slidell, LA and all the way to Evanston and passed 14 scale houses and only crossed 4 scales that were open and none of them were doing inspections. I guess they were concentrating somewhere else. Didn't bother me any. It is over for another year and things are back to abnormal.

I will leave here early in the morning and make it to Pendleton, OR tomorrow afternoon and then on in to Portland Sunday morning.

Home and Gone

Made it to the house on the 3rd for 4 days off. Worked in the pasture cleaning up old trash. Has been very dry over the last month at home and all of the grass as just about turned brown. Got some rain as I was leaving out and so far have about 1" which has really helped.

Picked up a load of water on Tuesday that had to be delivered to a Sam's Club in New Orleans that night. Where ever there is a disaster brewing then everyone stocks up on bottled water. Last month I took load to Oklahoma City after the tornadoes had hit. This month it is the oil spill and all of the workers on the beaches near New Orleans.

Really snared a good load this morning. Picked up a load of imported coffee going to Wilsonville, OR. Won't turn down 2700 mile loads if I can help it. Management keeps telling us that loads over 500 miles are a rarity now because the industry is changing. Longer loads are supposedly going by rail. I guess this one was needed quicker. Shipping a load by rail takes 2+ weeks. You know how those people in the north west need their coffee.

Stopped by terminal in Wilmer, TX to get truck serviced before heading out. Thought would be here most of tomorrow getting that done and then would have to rush to get there, but they got me in tonight and now I can leave at a decent hour in the morning.

Memorial Day

This is the time of year that we remember our veterans and those who served and gave the ultimate sacrifice. PFC Hollis A. Cloyd was one and if you haven't read his story you can access here: http://76thdivision.com/indexhac.html

The load I was on coming out of Port Allen, LA they let me drop on the yard in Memphis, TN. I had thought would get a load that could run more, but I ended up picking up a load that delivered only 50 miles from where the Port Allen load was going and only 5 hours earlier at Minooka, IL. Didn't gain much. They gave it to me because it was a Kelloggs load and they didn't have it covered. Big account.

I delivered that load at 11pm Monday night and had to drive 80 miles south to pick up load that needed to be in Memphis the next morning so I ended up running all night. I delivered that load at 10am Tuesday morning and was given another Kelloggs load to pick up when I got off my break that was going to Bethlehem, PA near Allentown. I delivered that one on Friday at noon and picked up a load of bottled water 10 miles away going to Wintersville, Ohio Walmart DC. Delivering that Saturday morning, I crossed back over the river into West Virginia to Wierton and picked up a load of metal going to De Forest, WI near Madison. I delivered that this morning. Going south 20 miles I picked up a load of tomato sauce going to Nashville to deliver on Tuesday morning.

That is my week. Been moving good. Company announced this week that the 500 trucks they have sitting without drivers that they are going to start hiring again. As drivers quit or were let go for various reasons over the last 1 1/2 years they have not been hiring anyone to replace them. After freight has been picking up and after talking to their customers to make sure they were going to be still shipping freight, they decided to get the trucks moving again. Maybe that is a good omen and at least freight is picking up or staying steady.

Still in the South

After delivering in Irving Monday morning I was given a load out of Wilmer, TX on the south side of Dallas that went to Brookhaven, MS. They asked me if I could get it there in the same day. After checking my hours I told dispatch that I could if I didn't get an abnormal delay in loading. I rushed over to the customer and it took 2 hours to get loaded. By my calculations that was all I could give up and still make the 420 miles to Brookhaven before my hours ran out for the day.

I had to drive non stop to Brookhaven, stopping only for 15 minutes in Greenwood, LA to get fuel. I made it to the customer with 15 minutes left on my 14 hours for the day. From there I picked up a load from Georgia Pacific in Monticello, MS 20 miles from Brookhaven the next morning going back to GP in Waxahachie, TX. Seems they can't find me a load to Texas when I need to get home. Here I got 2 in 4 days.

The load didn't deliver until Wednesday night at 10pm and I picked the load up Tuesday morning. So the drive back was slower. After making the delivery my next load was over in Mineola, TX the next morning going to a WalMart DC in Robert, LA. I made it to Port Allen, LA that afternoon and stopped there because there was a truck wreck over on I-12 that had traffic backed up, and I had to go that way to get to my drop the next morning.

The next morning I got up and started out for my 1 hour drive to Robert, LA and found out that the accident the day before was a hazmat load and the freeway was still shut down. I made the decision to make a u-turn from I-12 and go back to I-10 east toward New Orleans where I picked up I-55 north to Hammond and over to my delivery appointment at 10:30am. Going that way was 30 miles further but turned out to be a good decision. The back up was over 10 miles long and was taking 1 1/2 to 2 hours to get through it. I made my appointment with 30 minutes to spare.

After unloading I was given a load out of Port Allen, LA where I had spent the night going to northern Illinois. I had 1 1/2 hours to get back over there before they closed. They had given me a fuel stop in Hammond on the way so I had to stop to get that done. I was supposed to fuel at the same truck stop on the way to deliver in Robert, but I passed it up because it would have made me late. As it was it almost made me late to pick up the next load. I did make it though. Problem was I was supposed to go right back out I-12 to get to I-55 north, right back through the accident. Didn't do it this time either. From Port Allen I took off north through the sticks into southern Mississippi. It was all 2 lane road up to McComb, MS, but wasn't much traffic. Except for several trucks that had the same idea I did. Go figure. It was actually about 15 miles or so shorter going this way, but a much slower pace.

Same Customer

This week I have gotten into interplant deliveries for Owens Corning. This doesn't happen often now a days. I picked up empty pallets/crates from their plant in Amarillo on Thursday evening and delivered to their plant in Jackson, TN Saturday morning. After unloading I was given a load out of the same dock going to their plant in Ft. Smith, AR that delivered Sunday morning. Once unloaded, I was given a preload from same plant going to Owens Corning's plant in Irving, TX that I deliver Monday morning.

Not a lot of miles really, but it saves on time from dead heading to some other town to get the next load. In the last two locations I was in the same plant and out fairly quickly with next load. I had empty crates first load, raw material on the second load, and finished product on this load.

Got to shut down in time this afternoon to catch the last half of NASCAR race, get a shower and a burger and now can rest the rest of the day.

Back to the Mines

Vacation's over...^&)*^

Tried to get a late start on Tuesday so I might not have to go to Hawkins to pick up another load of bottled water...not to be. The tornadoes in Oklahoma City area had a lot of shipments of water and I had to pick one up and deliver to Sam's Club in Oklahoma City the same night. With natural disasters water shipments pick up...a lot!

Once I was unloaded I picked up a load of dog food close by going to Family Dollar in Odessa, TX. I delivered this on Thursday morning. Wednesday night had a bad storm pass through with a bit of hail, kept me awake for at least 5 minutes. Temperature next morning was in low 40's...drag back out the long pants.

Once unloaded around noon Thursday they finally gave me a load to pick up in Amarillo, 260 miles away,that's a lot of deadhead miles, but guess they didn't have anything else close. Got there around 6pm and it was a load of empty plastic pallets that are used to transfer plastic fiber from one plant to another. They weigh 270 lbs. a piece and have 150 of them on the trailer. I am delivering the load to Jackson, TN.

Coming through Memphis I hit a large line of storms and traffic was moving at 20 mph for over 30 miles. The storm out in front of us was dropping golf ball size hail and no one wanted to catch up to it I guess.

Tomorrow another day...hopefully with more sun.

Branson Vacation 1st Day

I finally got in on Monday the 3rd. I had wanted in on the 2nd, but they couldn't get me there, so when I got in at 3pm Monday we loaded up and left. I drove all night in order to get to Merna's in Ozark, MO. This is 30 miles north toward Springfield from Branson.

We rested a little on Tuesday morning, visited and got tickets for our first show on Wednesday. Not that active right now since is 3 weeks before Memorial Day, so it was easy to get front row seats for the outdoor drama "Shepherd of the Hills". This show is celebrating its 50th year this year. It is the longest running outdoor drama anywhere and is worth seeing.

We started the afternoon by attending the dinner show on the Shepherd of the Hills grounds at the pavilion. The "Sons of the Pioneers" show was simply great. Growing up watching Roy Rogers (who was one of the original artists when still known by the name of Leonard Slye), this was a real treat. There are 6 members of the group now and they celebrated their 75th anniversary as a group in 2007. We were served dinner at 4:15pm from the chuck wagon in the open pavilion. At 5pm the show began. At intermission I was able to get all of their autographs, finished the show and then we sat outside in the beautiful Missouri weather and waited to catch the jeep drawn tram down to the outside theater.

The show for "Shepherd of the Hills", based on a novel of the same name from 1907, began at 8:30pm. I got VIP seating on the front row and the tram delivered us right to our seats. It was a lot less walking for Pat, the stairs down from the top would have been difficult to say the least. There were up to 80 people involved in the production and plenty of mules, donkeys, horses, sheep and other varmints. Gunfights, socks blown out with a shotgun, cabin on fire to keep your mind going. We all recommend both shows highly.

I have included pictures of the night taken with my Canon digital. Flash photography was not allowed because of frightening the animals, but the settings I used worked well as long as could catch them fairly stationary.

We will rest today and will see the Titanic museum tomorrow and hopefully take in another show.

Home

Well didn't get to go directly home from Pittsburgh. I knew it would happen being Saturday night and no way to get with fleet manager in home terminal to get some help. Weekend dispatch sent me up to Erie, PA to pick up a load at midnight going to Budweiser in Jacksonville, FL. Complained that wasn't headed anywhere near home and got the usual message that it was all he had...not like I could prove he was lying.

Delivered there on Monday afternoon and meanwhile had been on the phone with fleet manager getting some assistance to get home. They gave me a load from Jacksonville to Hattisburg, MS to deliver Tuesday night at midnight at a Sam's Club. They preplanned me on a load from Meridian to New Caney, TX that got me home on Thursday morning.

Did pretty much nothing for 4 days enjoying my living room and my recliner for the most part. I did get out Sunday afternoon and crawl under the house to level the bathroom. It had settled a couple of inches on the outside corner. I had borrowed some jacks from a friend over 6 months ago to get it done. All ways something else coming up, until now. The people we paid to level the house had not done a very good job at that corner. I had to add some blocks to brace it in between the widely spaced blocking. Now you can go in the bathroom without holding down your brake peddle.

Left out again Monday morning and picked up a load of water going to a Sam's Club in Metarie, LA near New Orleans. Will deliver there in the morning. I will only stay out 2 weeks this time and take a vacation the first week of May. Finally getting a chance to go to Branson, MO for a few days. A very special friend just recently moved to the area and we got free lodging. More money for shows.

Short loads

Getting a lot of them the last 2 weeks. I hope this is not a trend that stays. I'm getting loads 250 to 500 miles and that is it. A good week is 2,500 miles and up. This week I only got 1,400 miles on 4 short loads. They eat up your hours because you spend so much time loading and unloading instead of rolling. No rolling, no money. The loading and unloading, breakdowns, etc. are part of the job not something you get paid for. When the "parts of the job you don't get paid for" become a lot more than the "parts of the job you do get paid for" you start to get ticked a bit. It is what is wrong with this job and has always been that way.

The company has you over a barrel. I have topped out in mileage pay here, and their top pay is better than 95% of the other companies, but they hire new drivers and at 11 cents less per mile and they get their mileage most of the month. In order for them to get a raise they have to make 10,300+ miles per month for 3 months running. Dispatch gets them close to that and cuts back their miles so they can't make the raise. On the other hand since I make 11 cents more per mile, they don't give me the good paying mileage loads because it costs them more and they would prefer I just quit so they could hire someone at a lower mileage rate. It's all a game and the driver loses. If I do quit and move on to another company I start at that mileage rate 11 cents lower than I am making now and work my way up again. Stuck...

Not a good profession to be in and you get pretty cynical about it. You never know what loads are on the board to be offered, so you can't complain about it. Everyone complains about unsafe trucks. Fact is that safety rates for trucks and miles traveled has increased for several years now. Trucking has never been safer. The only thing that keeps it from being totally safe is the pay per mileage game where drivers have to drive their lives away to make a decent wage. Companies pushing them to make on time deliveries or they lose their jobs. Doesn't matter that you were held up in traffic because of an accident, weather, or shipper who held you up 7 or 8 hours...still have to make the on time appointment which is normally preset before you even pick up the load. These are the things that make it unsafe. Rookie drivers pushing too hard to get the load there instead of just telling dispatch it ain't possible and they need to reschedule the delivery appointment. They are too worried about their jobs to learn the tricks yet.

I, on the other hand, have to worry about my job because of my high mileage rate cuts into the companies bottom line. I have hit 60 years old now and chances of finding a better job has decreased. Companies want drivers who don't know the ropes yet and can be bullied around, and work scared of losing their jobs. Well really, everyone is scared of losing a job now a days. Back home there are no want ads running much at all. No local jobs to speak of that pays above minimum wage. I'm not quite to that point in my life where I can take that big a pay cut. Nor do I want to move to where I can find a better paying job.

Strange and scary times. Don't think they are going to get better any time soon. The grand kids will never have it so good, they will be taxed on 70% of their earnings to pay for those who do not work. Entitlements only force people down into the government sludge. You can never get out so you keep voting in the idiots that are holding your head under so they will give you a tube to breath with.

I am in Maryland today, I had a heck of a time getting through Baltimore yesterday afternoon. Traffic in the northeast is bad. Too many people up here. Headed over to Pittsburgh to deliver to a grocery warehouse tonight. I was supposed to be home Monday, but surprise, they don't have any loads that are over 250 miles. At this rate it will be May before I make it there.

Spring is Springing

Thank goodness. This has been a long winter with storm after storm blowing through. I have never been in so much snow during the winter. As long as I'm running up north it is not too much of a problem since they have the equipment and know how to keep the roads clean. You can go to bed in a bad blizzard, and if it blows on through over night, they will have the roads pretty well cleaned off by morning. Of course, this many storms in a year really blows their state budget. I'm glad they continue to clean them off even without money. States aren't like the federal government who just prints more paper to pay their bills.

I have been running hard for the last week. The last two weeks I have run out of hours in 6 days and had to shut down to rebuild my hours, that means 12 to 14 hour days every day. Of course the selection of runs don't help. I have had a lot of 200 to 400 mile runs, some of them pick up in the morning and have to be dropped that same day. Short loads eat up your hours burning up an extra hour per day off your logs. Hours you don't get paid for. If your not rolling your not making money. Spending time at each end of the trip making pick up and delivery you have to log, but you don't get paid for it. If you get delayed at shipper/consignee you don't get paid unless it is over a 2 hour wait. Then you get paid a few dollars for it, for the time over 2 hours not the first 2 hours.

You can set 2 hours at the shipper, then 2 hours at the consignee at the end of the trip and get paid nothing. You can only work 14 hours in a day, so that is 4 hours off your driving time. Add in time to stop and fuel, get a bite to eat or go to rest room and you suddenly have lost 100 to 200 miles off your day...less money. Small wonder you go all day long without stopping to eat, just munching, or holding your legs crossed and stopping at a rest area to use the rest room and out in a few minutes. This is getting harder to do with age, and the fact the states are closing all their rest areas.

Then there are more and more regulations coming down from the federal government spurred on by interest groups that want drivers to work less hours in a day. It is not bad enough that we have to stay gone from home 24 to 30 days in a month and only getting 4 days at home each month. Now they want us to stay out here on less pay and spend more time setting in truck stops, which are fewer since they are closing too. The end of my days driving are fast approaching and a lot of drivers feel the same. What will the country do when they regulate all of the drivers so much they force them to quit because they can't balance making a good pay check against justifying being away from home so much.

There is already a shortage of drivers and companies are needing more trucks and can't get them to move their product. How do you as a consumer get you food from Walmart, clothes? Everything else you buy at the store. No drivers to get them there so you can buy them. Learn to grow a garden and sew. The day is coming you will need the skill. All of the necessities will cost more than you make to buy.

Off my soapbox. Made it into Nashville, TN yesterday morning on the way to Atlanta, GA. I will stay here until Monday morning early and run down to deliver. Got to watch the final four basketball tournament last night which was fun. Tennessee is out so Go Butler!!! Break out my "Hoosiers" movie and get excited about them hopefully knocking off Duke tomorrow night.

Pictures for first of 2010

Here are the pictures I have been taking for the first part of the year starting at the end of January. Have some pictures from Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and NE New York. All were cold, but Minnesota was coldest with highs below zero. Hearty bunch up there.

Final pictures are of last time home when I finally got the living room finished except for painting the trim and putting up some curtains. Got the furniture in there and out of storage was the main thing. Took 3 years from the time David and Dick helped me tear out the walls and replace the windows until now. Lot under the bridge in that time. Next time home I am going to set in the recliner for 3 days straight. The next time home I will decide what I do next. Maybe take a vacation.

Now back to the Tennessee Vols/Ohio State game....

All right Vols on to the elite 8 for the first time. Way to go.

Back out

Have not updated since going home almost 2 weeks ago. I stayed out long enough last time to get the ok for an extra day off. I was home a total of 5 days and finally managed to finish remodeling my living room that I tore out 3 years ago with the help of David and Dick. Seems like every time I came in there was always something else that I needed to do or take care of and was hard to make the time to just finish it. Little by little I got it though. This time I had my son and grandson corraled to help. Good thing too, my right knee was locked up and I believe I cracked/broke a rib on my left side. Getting old sucks!!

Went back to work last Friday and have been moving 10 to 11 hours every day. Over to Georgia, up to Indiana and back to Arkansas. I deliver to Ft. Smith this afternoon and then will have to shut down to let my hours build back up again. Have some pictures and if I can get a strong enough signal for my computer I will get them loaded up.

Another Long Week

Kinda catches up to me. I had meant to add to this blog more than I have. When I started it freight wasn't all that heavy, but it has picked up some, at least enough to keep me rolling. I have been away from home 31 days now and will be going home on Friday.

I had made my delivery in Dandridge, TN last Monday and they ran me over to Newport 17 miles away to pick up a load at Conagra, used to be Bush's Beans, and the load went up to Tomah, WI to a Walmart DC there. I remember growing up in East Tennessee, that when we would go home to Texas for a visit mom picked up 2 cases of Wolf Brand Chili to bring back to Tennessee. In the 60's they didn't have decent chili in Tennessee.

In 1996 I went into the Bush's plant in Newport, TN and picked up a full load of Wolf Brand Chili and took it to Texas. Times change. Couldn't get Mexican food in Tennessee back then, now you can get it in Canada.

After I dropped my load in Tomah they sent me over to Oshkosh, WI to pick up a load of paper packages going to Kelloggs in Omaha, NE. As I left to go to Oshkosh my signal lights went out on my tractor. So back in the shop again. Found a wire that had been rubbing against the frame and had shorted out.

After delivering in Omaha they sent me downtown Omaha to pick a load of paper bags going to Conagra flour mill in Columbus, OH. Was interesting here because it was supposed to be a drop and hook on Saturday morning. When I got there there were no empty trailers and they were refinishing their floor and couldn't unload the trailer. I got to drop it in their dock and just drive about 2 miles to our terminal in Columbus and picked up an empty trailer there. I went up to Lima, OH and picked up a load at Procter & Gamble going to Walgreens DC near Greenville, SC.

I was supposed to go down to Knoxville, TN and across to Asheville, NC on I-40 and then down to Greenville, but I-40 is closed through the Smoky Mountain Gorge because of a rock slide couple of months ago. The detour is up to I-26 near Kingston, TN and through the mountains to Ashville which is an extra 45 miles. Which I don't get paid for. Doesn't matter if roads are closed or not, they only pay what the rate miles are, and that is all the driver gets.

I delivered the load to Walgreens this afternoon, now I go to Columbia, SC tonight and pick up a load to run over to Target DC in Tifton, GA. Hopefully work my way home from there.

Too Cold

Spent the night in Hudson, WI just across from Minnesota. I had stopped here to fuel and then went to bed. I had been adding fuel additive to my tanks the day before to keep fuel from gelling up on me because the temperatures had been around zero even during the day. Even with the truck stops treating their fuel, I don't trust it at the temperature.

I got up the next morning and added my last jug of additive before leaving out because it had gotten down below zero that night and I thought it was supposed to stay in the upper teens. Surprise to me. I took off about 4 am headed east to Indiana and about 50 miles down the road I started bogging down on the hills. I was losing power and on every hill I was dropping 2 extra gears over what I normally would have. I knew pretty quick I had a fuel filter clogging up.

Had to go into a shop to get the filter changed in Tomah, WI (Ft. McCoy is about 20 miles away, where Hollis Cloyd joined up with the 76th Division in August 1942). Sure nuff I had ice crystals stopping the fuel line, the mechanic added additive to clear them out. I had added the fuel additive I had too late and should have put it in when I fueled the night before. Should have watched the weather report closer.

Went on down through Chicago to around Gary, IN and spent the night there. I delivered the load early Friday morning and they had me run over to Valparaiso, IN to pick up product going up to Milwaukee, WI to deliver to a Coca Cola bottling company there at 4pm that afternoon.

Once I delivered that load I ran up the road about 10 mile north of Milwaukee to nearest truck stop. I picked up a load of cans Saturday morning about a mile from where I delivered the load Friday evening going to Dandridge, TN for delivery on Monday morning. They will be used for Bush's Baked Beans there.

Tonight I am in Richmond, KY just south of Lexington, KY. I will stay here until early Monday morning and drive on down to make my delivery. Only in the 20s so maybe can thaw out. Will be high 30s tomorrow, may have to lay out and get a tan.

North Woods & Icy Ponds

After delivering my load Monday morning in Camp Hill, PA I went down to Carlisle, PA to pick up a load of tires going to Brainerd, MN. This is about 60 miles north of St. Cloud, MN, sort of dead center of Minnesota. Had a few snow showers across northern Indiana and up in Wisconsin, but for the most part it was a good trip.

Spent the first night on the Ohio toll way south west of Cleveland. The next night I made it over near Eau Claire, WI. Cold front came through that night and dropped the temperatures from a nice sunny 38 degrees to -6 degrees Wednesday morning.

I got up at 4am and headed over into Minnesota, got through the Twin Cities before rush hour and was up at St. Cloud by sunrise. The winds had died down over night with the passage of the cold front so the negative temperatures were not nearly so bad. Have to take care to treat my diesel fuel in these temperatures to keep it from gelling on me. The truck stops will treat their fuel for the cold temperatures, but I will add my own additive when the temperatures get into the low single digits and lower. Feel safer that way. Never been stuck on the side of the road with jelly in my fuel tanks and don't care to start.

After delivery in Brainerd, MN this morning, they sent me over to Wahpeton, ND, which is 40 miles or so south of Fargo, and I picked up a load of particle board material going to northern Indiana. It was a beautiful trip over the 2 lane roads to North Dakota. Frozen lakes and woods, farm land (it was frozen too) all snow covered. The roads were completely dry and had a bright sunny sky. Easy to see how snow blindness could be a problem. Drive for miles and go through a small farming town ever so often with a population of about 75 people. Who the heck lives up here!!! High temperature for the day is 3 degrees.

When I arrived they had one of our trailers already in the dock and almost had it loaded. I was hooked up and gone within the hour. Drove back over into Minnesota and hopped on I-94 headed back east to the Twin Cities again. I got just over into Wisconsin, got fuel at my fuel stop and shut down for the night. It will be back down to a low of about 5 degrees tonight, not quite so cold. At least I'm not over in eastern Pennsylvania again, nor'easter went through there today, another one.

Sunday Rest

OK, snow doesn't actually stink, unless it is yellow.

Got up the next morning and the high winds and snow had moved on. West Virginia had gotten their roads cleared off over night so I had wet and dry roads on down to Kentucky. I made my delivery in London on Saturday morning early and they sent me up to get some cardboard packaging materials in Nicholasville, KY which is just south of Lexington.

Sun was out and temperatures back up in the 40's, which is nice. The load is going right back to Harrisburg, PA for a Monday delivery. I made it to Hagerstown, MD by 7pm Saturday night. I am about 70 miles from my delivery and have enough time to just set for the day. Supposed to be some snow showers moving in in the morning, but with temperatures rising it is going to change back to rain for a change. That will be nice. Rain has been hard to find lately even in the south.

I'm not planning on going home until around March 12th. Corey (grandson) is supposed to come up during spring break. Try to be home while he is there. Be almost spring time by then, I hope.

Stinking Snow

Trip across New York was fairly easy going, actually once got past Buffalo it was sunny to partly cloudy all the way to Albany. Got a parking place just north of Albany on I-87 about 2 hour drive from Plattsburgh, NY. Got an early start next morning and got there with 2 hours to spare then settled in to wait for customer to come to work.

After unloading I was offered a good load to Illinois and after figuring my hours I came up about 1 to 2 hours short having enough hours to make an on time delivery so I lost the load. Got another one going to Harrisburg, PA to deliver Wednesday night at 9pm to a grocery warehouse. Hit snow in Newburgh, NY just north of New Jersey and went ahead and stopped for the night. I was only a 4 hour drive from my destination from there and since it was a late night delivery I could sleep late and leave after lunch. The last 3 mornings I had gotten up at 1 am to make sure I made the delivery appointment on the load in Plattsburgh, so the relaxed morning was welcome.

Wednesday morning the snow had moved off and it was up to 42 degrees so had clear sailing to Harrisburg. Got into the customer at 8pm which was a hour early. Turns out they did not open receiving window until 9pm and it was first come first serve when they did. When I walked in there at 8:30pm to check in there was already 7 drivers standing there. It was 3am before I finally got unloaded, don't like that place much. Now I was out of hours and had to find a parking place, which isn't easy at 3am in a big city. Luckily we had a terminal about 15 miles away and I went there knowing I would be able to park.

They gave me a load going to Michigan for delivery at 6am on Friday morning, but my hours wouldn't allow me enough time to make it so they took me off of that load and gave me one going to London, KY that could deliver anytime on Saturday. Well this load got me into a mess in Maryland. Once I dropped down to I-68 in Maryland, which goes across the Maryland panhandle through the mountains, I hit snow. I was running out of hours for the day and there's only 3 little truck stops on that 80 mile stretch and no rest areas. Every one of the truck stops had trucks piled into them and I made the mistake of going in to one to try and find a spot and took me almost a half hour to get out again it was so crowded. Other 2 stops were the same.

I was running out of hours and headed into West Virginia where they were saying they hadn't worked on the roads at all and they were badly snow covered. It was dark, winds were blowing 30 mph on top of the mountain. At the state line there is a welcome center and rest area so at the last minute I decided to risk running through there to see if I could find a spot. Found one spot I could squeeze into at the very end up against a snow bank. I will have to try and back out in the morning, but I'm at least stopped. The wind is blowing so hard I can sing "Rock a Bye Baby" while going to sleep and see if I can get off this mountain in the morning.

Nebraska

Got up next morning and all of the interstates were open except for I-78, which is the one they closed right after I came down it. They didn't open it again until late in the day. By that time I had made my delivery in Wintersville, OH.

Went over the river to Wellsburg, WV to pick up a load going to Norfolk, NE (Johnny Carson's home town). This was Thursday and was not supposed to deliver until Monday. I got into Norfolk on Saturday morning and since this was a small company I gave them a call and lucked out that they were open and out of the product I had. Needed it so I was able to get unloaded that morning. They gave me another load right there in Norfolk going to Plattsburgh, NY - whoopee!! Plattsburgh is on I-87 just a few miles south of Quebec, Canada. Wonder if anyone is getting down to Miami, FL, certainly not me.

In order to make the delivery appointment on Tuesday morning at 6am, I have been getting up at midnight each night to drive 10 hours. The last leg of the trip I will need to be as close as I can be and get up at 2am to get there. Anyway, have to work out my schedule with the few hours I am picking up on my logs to make it work out. Only thing that may blow my schedule is if I hit snow along the New York Thruway tomorrow. I beat the last storm pretty much this morning by leaving Des Moines, IA at midnight before the full force of the storm had hit. I got out in front of it and it moved on to the south. What I will see in New York will be lake effect snow. It doesn't need a front to stir that stuff up.

Happy Valentine's Day All.

2010 Nor'easter/Blizzard

The trip over to my delivery in Breinigsville, PA was fairly easy. It didn't really start snowing until 10 or 11pm. There was 3" on the ground when I pulled out. Biggest problem is the customers want you to slide your trailer tandems all the way to the rear of the trailer for safety reasons, keeps the rear of the trailer from bouncing so much when they are going in and out with fork lifts. With the tandems all the way to the back it stops it from teetering like a see saw behind the tandems. Sliding them on snow is nigh near impossible especially with a load. I was lucky that the dock I backed into was bear concrete where they had just pulled out a trailer. I used the dry concrete to slide the tandem and made it easier.

I was also fortunate that the next load I had to pick up was another customer just across the street. I had a 4 hour wait so I eased just down the street and found a spot to park and wait. Pulling an empty trailer on slick roads is very dangerous, nothing to hold it down, nor can you get traction with your drive tires. I was thankful not to have to drive to far empty.

Once I got the load I headed out toward Harrisburg, PA to get on the Pennsylvania turnpike over to Pittsburgh. Up to 8" to 10" have fallen by this time and still coming down hard. Got some ice build up on my drivers side windshield in the upper right corner that pushed the wiper blade up...and it froze in that position. The blade was u-shaped and I could only see out of the lower left corner. No place to pull off because only had one lane with ruts in it, and they came and went. Got to my exit for my fuel stop and trucks were lined up a 1/4 mile trying to get off. Needless to say I didn't stop in the middle of the road, I went around and on down 20 miles to our terminal in New Kingstown and got fuel there...no waiting and finally got the wiper blade snapped back in place so would clean windshield. By this time all of the interstates were being closed down by the state, including the ones I had just come down from Allentown. I drove from the terminal 4 miles to the nearest truck stop and took 20 minutes to get in and back out...no parking and trucks circling the lot looking. I drove back to the terminal and parked there. Just have to eat out of the truck.

Snow is supposed to be ending and hopefully they will start getting the roads cleared off over night. Will try to get over to Steubenville, OH and drop the load by tomorrow afternoon.

Hometime

Next morning from Memphis I waited until around 10am and then headed out. The ice came right up to the white line on the shoulder, but the two main lanes were dry so I made it on down to Dallas with no problem. Saw 7 semi's in the median between Memphis and Little Rock that didn't make it though.

I delivered the load early on Monday without having to wait until Tuesday and headed on to the house. Worked on some fence around the pasture on Tuesday, had eye exam and teeth cleaning on Wednesday. Started working on taxes on Wednesday night through Thursday and to town to restock the truck on Friday.

Saturday morning got load of rolled paper from Evadale, TX to Grand Rapids, MI. Delivered that on Monday morning and then picked up a load from Kelloggs in Grand Rapids that morning going to Allentown, PA. Pushed hard and got into Allentown before noon on Tuesday and now waiting for the winter storm to hit. Can't deliver the load until 4am in the morning and no telling how much snow will be on the ground by then. Expecting 8" to 18" by Wednesday afternoon. Supposed to be two separate storms pushing through within 24 hours. Fun day tomorrow, but at least I am within 5 miles of my delivery in the morning and will make that ok, I reckon.

Moving along

Shucks another week gone by since been on here. Got to do better.

Lets see, I guess I pick up with dropping the load in Buford, GA on Monday morning and then running down to Winder, GA to pick up a load of insulation going back to Olive Branch, MS on the south side of Memphis. This load was a drop and hook that had to be dropped before 6:30am the next morning. I got it there at 5:30am, but they didn't have any empty trailers. There were at least a dozen company trailers there and all of them were still loaded. I had to wait on the premises until they came into work and unloaded one. The first one out of the dock was an old trailer and it had a damaged door on it. Great, back in the shop again. This time it took 6 hours to get it repaired, they had to replace the entire door.

My next load picked up that night at Kelloggs there in Memphis going to Kelloggs in London, OH near Columbus. I got the load picked up and made it up about half way between Memphis and Nashville and went to bed. Next morning did my pretrip and had a flat on my tractor. Rats in the shop again. Fifth time in a week. This was getting old. Found a nail in the tire and I was gone. Delivered the load the next morning and picked up a load near Columbus going to York, PA. Another short trip but an easy one.

I delivered this Friday morning, it was another drop and hook. It was time to go home and I had it set up already to get a load that way. Had planned on the 1st. They gave me a load out of Muncy, PA which is north central part of the state, going to Mansfield, TX to deliver on Tuesday the 2nd. I picked the load up before noon and headed out. I had to cut down through the mountains northeast of Pittsburg on the way down to I-70 which is never fun with a heavy load.

Another front was bearing down on the southeast and a nasty one. I made it to Columbus, OH Friday night and when I got up the next morning it was 13 degrees but it was clear. I did not get to where the snow was until I got halfway between Cincinnati and Louisville. By the time I got there it was just wet roads all the way to Nashville. All the ramps were iced over but the roads were good. Nashville had gotten 7" of snow and was a mess. Lots of wrecks. Had to make one detour coming in to town because one accident had the entire freeway closed. I got off with a couple of other trucks and went down Dickson Pike for a few miles and hopped on the other side of the wreck. Stopped got fuel and was gone to Memphis.

I got to West Memphis, AR tonight and the roads west of here to Little Rock are iced over. Will wait until the sun comes out tomorrow and thaws it out before heading on down to Dallas.

In the South

Delivered in Allentown, PA and then picked up a load of water in Allentown going to Steubenville, OH which was the home town of Dean Martin. From there down to New Concord, OH to pick up a load going down to London, KY that was supposed to be a drop and hook at a Walmart DC as soon as I got there that afternoon. Got in there at 4:30pm and they told me I had a 4:30am appointment that morning. Dispatch didn't even dispatch me to go pick the load up until 8:30am. I was 4 hours late before I even headed down to pick up the load.

They must have needed it because they decided to fit me in, but it took them 4 hours to unload me.

They dispatched me on a load to pick up over in Bowling Green, KY that had a pickup time of 4pm the following day. I went to bed, slept late and went in and had leisurely breakfast the next morning. When I got back out to the truck I had a message the load was ready and to go on in and pick it up because they needed my empty trailer.

I pretripped my truck and trailer and found the trailer had a leak. It was raining hard for the last 3 hours. I was picking up a load of dog food and it didn't need water added so I had to get it repaired. They sent me to a shop in Bowling Green which was a 2 1/2 hour drive away, and when I got there it took the guy about 15 minutes to repair the leaks. They have a tape that works pretty good, even in the rain.

I drove over to pick up the load. The loaded trailer I picked up had a flat. Sent to a tire shop to get that fixed. Finally off and running to Ennis, TX. Made it down to West Memphis, AR that night, which was Wednesday. Next morning made it on into our Wilmer, TX terminal around 3:30pm Thursday and was able to get tractor into the shop for a service. Next morning unloaded in Ennis at 7am. Then to Hawkins, TX on north side of Tyler to pick up another load of water going to Kroger in Memphis, TN for Saturday morning delivery.

From there they deadheaded me 180 miles to McGehee, AR to pick up a load of paper going to Buford, GA. Had to go down a lot of narrow, narrow 2 lane roads. Some only had 9' wide lanes. Difficult with a 8' 6" wide trailer. Especially with the curves thrown in.

Today is Sunday and made it to Villa Rica, GA by noon. Shut down here since very heavy rains, plus wanted to watch games. I get to watch 3 mins and then get no signal for 4 or 5 minutes. This thanks to digital signal. Since that went into effect I can't pick up TV signals anymore unless right under a tower. Something better than nothing, when I do get a signal it is a nice picture.

November and December Pictures

Start with some pictures from the week we said goodbye to dad. A fine man and dad and we miss him.

The next series of pictures are from November, December and up to this last week. Trips to Wisconsin, and over to New York are on here. The cat is Miss Minnie who keeps Pat company at home.

I am sitting today in Harrisburg, PA watching poor Cowboys get stomped in the first half. Don't know if they will turn this one around or not.

Thawing out

It has been a long week. I got down in my back and was too difficult to set up in the evening to type on computer. Probably from cranking on dolly in the cold temperatures, the grease stiffens up in the cold and is hard to crank, well everything stiffens up in those temps. Been in 50s and 60s last couple of days and feels good.

I delivered the load in Kansas and was given a load out of Lawrence, KS going to Kentucky. It was such a rush deal that I didn't figure my available hours very well and did not have the hours to make it to the delivery. I dropped the load on our drop lot in East St. Louis, IL and sat until Monday morning. I went over to pick up a load at Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis going to Queens, NY. Got the load but instead of going to Queens it had an address in the Bronx across the river. I had to send the info on the change of address to dispatch and wait for them to clear it before I could leave with it. That took over a hour waiting on them. I think they just forgot about me until I reminded them and then was told to deliver to address on paperwork, which I already knew.

Over 90% of our customers we have directions for in their system. This one was no exception. Problem is that directions are only as good as the driver who sent them in. I found that this driver was stupid as a rock. I was fortunate that the night before I looked up the place on Google Earth and I drew myself a map and wrote in the main cross streets. If I hadn't done that I would have gotten lost. The directions in the system had me going down Westchester St for 14 blocks and turning left on 156th St. Well about 5 or 6 blocks down the street there was a 11'2" underpass for the subway tracks overhead. I had to make a left turn and hope for the best. Having the map I drew up I was able to catch a cross street going in the direction I needed, and after quite a bit of weaving and trial and error I made it to the customer. The streets in the Bronx are about like San Antonio in getting around. There is no such thing as going around the block. Streets are narrow to start with pedestrians jay walk every where, and I mean a lot of them. Took about a half hour and finally made it to the delivery.

Went up to Milford, CT to pick up a load from Schick Razor going to Atlanta, GA. Was coming back south on I-95 and went around the north side of the city instead of down through the Bronx again since it was 5:30pm.

Delivered in Atlanta on Friday morning and then picked up a load in Athens, GA going back to Allentown, PA area. Drove hard all day and got into Harrisburg, PA in time to settle in for NFL playoffs to begin. Will set here until Monday and have a 1 1/2 hr drive to my delivery.

Will try to post some pictures tomorrow since I have a good signal at this location.

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Too Cold for Humans

Well the trip to Baton Rouge was short lived. Had load back to Dallas and then a 4 drop load going north again. Way north. Had 2 drops in Chicago, one in Madison, WI and final in Green Bay, WI.

It took 8 1/2 hours to get loaded so I sat at the shipper for the next 1 1/2 hours so would have 10 hour break in. That way I could go as far as I needed that night. There was a bad winter storm pushing south east from Canada...again!!

Well, I ended up driving all night because it was about to push into central Missouri. I made it to St. Louis, MO by 7am the next morning, showered and went to bed. The snow had come in behind me in central Missouri and dumped 8". When I got to St. Louis the sun was shining and when I got up it was cloudy and the storm had just about caught up to me. The second my 10 hour break was up I pushed up I-55 to Chicago. I called ahead and the first drop said I could park for the night in their dock, so that gave me a place to go. Good thing to because it started snowing 2 hours after I got in there at 11pm. There was 4" on the ground when I unloaded the first drop and the second drop was only 1 mile away so it was easy too. The rough part from there was to get over to Madison, WI.

Chicago was getting hammered pretty bad and was expecting up to 14" of snow by Friday morning when the storm got done. Once I got away from Chicago it was not too bad, the salt trucks had the freeway in decent shape and could get up close to the speed limit. I made it to Madison and got the third drop off. I next called the last drop in Green Bay to make sure I could park in their dock and they told me I could. Since it was only 230pm I headed that way. I did not want to fight the icy roads the next morning to get there.

I got to the last drop at 430pm and settled in. At midnight I got a cussing by the guy coming in to plow their parking lot. Said I wasn't supposed to be there. I didn't mind moving til they got done, but his attitude wasn't called for. He must have been from New York or something. No, I forgot I was in Green Bay...you know how those Cheese heads can get. Anyway, I just pulled up where they had finished plowing and went back to bed, I wasn't leaving.

This morning I unloaded the last few pallets and got a load out of Manawa, WI which was 60 miles west of Green Bay going to Ottawa, KS. As bad as the storm was on Thursday and all the high winds over night, the roads were in great shape. They were complaining on TV about the price of salt going up from $29 a ton to over $54 a ton just this year. That's a heck of a difference. Glad they are still paying for it though. Salt is a wonder drug for icy illness.

I ran over to I-90 near Fort McCoy, WI, and headed west into southeast Minnesota. Then south on I-35 through Iowa toward Kansas City. The temp in Minnesota was -5 degrees at 5pm and was dropping to -20 overnight, that was not wind chill temp either. Where I'm at just inside Missouri it is getting down to -5 tonight. Too blasted cold...