These are what Joe and I use to keep in contact with each other as we drive in separate trucks. I used one of these radios to let Joe know his wheels had come off in our most latest bit of mayhem.
These radios take six (6) double A (AA) batteries and last over a week. We bought them from a Cabela’s somewhere. Since they are exactly the same we can’t tell whom had which one and put fresh batteries in. Each of us will tell the other “But I just put batteries in mine!”
So while I’m waiting for the last bit of stuff to do before we leave town for California today I decided to just choose one and make it MINE!
MY radio
I’ve used a strip of aluminum tape and ran it through a Tim Holtz embossing folder, liberally sprinkled it with Alcohol Ink, added some swirly pearls, and some Tim Holtz gears to the front. On the antennae I’ve added two ribbons (don’t know how long they will stay on) and attached a metal tag that says “Journey” on one side and a key to the other end of the ribbon.
Thus, the “Key to the journey is to just keep shifting gears”.
Whatever. At least there is no mistaking which radio belongs to whom now 🙂 No more whining by either of us that we’ve just replaced batteries in one of the radios.
I’ve also been able to do more creating the last couple days. Check out my OTHER blog Message In A Fold to see what I made for a friend of mine that has recently lost her husband. It started life as a momento holder. A wood boxed frame to hold a medal or service pins. This is a link to the post.
Okay, I’ve still got some things to do before we leave. I can hear Joe calling “Are you ready yet?!”
I had absolutely NOTHING to do with this. He did this all by himself. Maybe it was a bit of self flagellation for running me all over tarnation these last few days.
Big honkin paper trimmer
This is my ginormous Tonic Studios paper trimmer Joe is fond of using. The cushioned handle has a major flaw. It keeps coming off. He knows this from many other times of grabbing the trimmer by the handle and carrying it around unsupported. It has hit the floor many times and each time he says the same thing….”I’m going to put Super Glue on this handle”. Each time I tell him to not hold it by the handle because it is made to come off and be stored under the trimmer.
One of the corners landed on his toe and caused a gusher from the split it made 😦 I wonder how much longer his great toes will remain on his feet before they run off and hide somewhere?
We will be driving to Red Bluff, California come Thursday (tomorrow) or maybe Friday. He was attempting to alter an inspection form for the upcoming jobs we will be doing. Wal-Mart in Red Bluff, California is having more trucks moved to auction sites in Fontana, California and Las Vegas, Nevada. July is already planned for us.
Just in case I have confused anyone. Wal-Mart is NOT going out of business. They are buying new trucks to replace the older ones. They were going to eventually switch out their entire fleet from International to Peterbilts. They have found that the Peterbilts are quite the fuel guzzlers and are now trying to get rid of the Internationals and Peterbilts to be replaced with Freightliners and newer models of Internationals.
While going through my emails the past couple days I found this little ditty Joe forward to me from a friend of his way back in March. I’ve been holding it because it is cute and the recent events in our life…this seems appropriate to share with you now.
The email was titled “When the male has had enough”.
Be Quiet!
In light of my post of yesterday…..well, need I say more?
Whole Lotta Scrap sent me an email with an invitation to the classes being held this week. I called to get in on the one last night. I told Joe I was leaving for a few hours and would be back after the class. If I couldn’t get any crafting “mojo” going at home I could get it started elsewhere. I’m so glad I went. This is the scrapbook layout kit for last night. The ribbon “Sun” was taught at the class, along with how to make the pinwheel from a 2″ x 2″ square of paper. Really cute 🙂
Ribbon sun
This is the layout.
Summertime layout
The papers are from Little Yellow Bicycle.
Now…I’m off to my craft room for some much needed meditative creating.
Most of the time I get a good chuckle from them. Sometimes they make me laugh so hard I have a coughing fit while I’m trying to hurry up and get to the bathroom before I have an accident….or as I heard from a public speaker once “I laughed so hard my water broke and I wasn’t even pregnant” (Jeanne Robertson @jeannerobertson.com).
These past several days have been a whirlwind of activity. I had been hoping for time to myself so I could be in my craft room playing around but that hasn’t happened yet. Doctor appointments, following Joe to the car wash to plug in quarters while he gets the work trailer cleaned to be repaired, grocery shopping, a trip out to our property to get some items he will need for work he has yet to do on the work trailer after it is repaired. Treks to parts shops, getting the work truck in for service, going to the office supply store for much needed supplies for the paperwork mess I have that keeps growing. A trip to our lawyers office and another trip to our accountant. My DOT Physical will expire on July 2nd and I need to have that taken care of. Did that yesterday and have faxed off the appropriate documents to the companies we drive for to put in my files.
My days have not been relaxing and I’ve been wound up tighter than an “8 Day Clock” (whatever the heck THAT is) and I’m getting grumpy and short tempered. I did spend about 1-1/2 hours in my craft room on Friday and just could not find the interest or spark to do anything in there. I gave up. In between the running around and all the errands that have had to be done all that I have really accomplished (besides making dinner nightly) is reading through the gazillion emails I have and the comments posted on this blog.
Lynn Claridge from the UK “gardenpinks” had sent me an email June 9th that I finally had a chance to read. According to this email the Canadians have a bit of a speed problem in their larger towns. Being very familiar with potholes and the damage to their vehicles it is a common thing for the Canadians.
Potholes on Canadian roads
Seems “Pioneer Suspension” is lending a hand to the speed problem……
Potholes?!
Those tricky buggers 🙂
Thank you Lynn for the chuckle I needed to have. Also for the mental picture of your husband, Rod, tearing around in your gardens at night in his pajamas, bathrobe, and slippers with a pail or a jar hunting down the glow worms that have appeared. It is so good to know the “boy” is still in the heart of the man 🙂 and still fleet of foot to capture the glowing treasures. Glow Worms
My friend, Janice, who lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming has sent me an email that has made me take a look at myself and find me wanting 😦 Here is what she has sent me….
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying A word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.
Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.” “Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma the daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its insides became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
*Think of this:* Which am I? *Am I the carrot* that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
*Am I the egg* that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or *am I like the coffee bean*? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.
When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
Sadly, I have to report this week I have flip flopped from being a carrot and the egg 😦 Starting the days out being glad to be home with thoughts of spending time in my craft room. When that didn’t pan out as I had wanted I sat in my craft room and became a “mushy carrot”. Throughout the remaining days I’ve become the hard boiled egg.
There are still errands to run for Joe today, and I’m getting increasingly more hard hearted at his constant interference in my plans. We spend all of our time together 24/7 – 365 and some days – like these – the mean old witch in me comes out.
I have a very important task that I absolutely need to get done. One single thing that is of the utmost importance to me. More important than Joe’s damned errands. Even more important than the paperwork that is piling up and needing to be attend to.
My friend, Leslie Haddad, owner of Whole Lotta Scrap in Norman, Oklahoma has lost her husband to cancer. He had pain in his side and was running a fever in April. Leslie got him to the hospital. Tests found he had a bowel cancer that strikes ONE in 100,000 people. By this time it had already spread to his liver, intestines, kidneys, and other organs. He passed a week after the diagnosis.
You may remember Leslie from the “interview” I did with her last year as my very first in a series of Scrapbook Store Interviews.
The single thing I need to accomplish is a sympathy card for her and a small gift from my heart. I’m torn at being so upset with Joe over all these stupid errands and knowing that one day he won’t be here any longer to torment me with places to go. My ugly temper is part aggravation at all the running around and part shame for being so short with him.
So….until I have to take him to get our work truck after being serviced I think I will go spend the time in my craft room cleaning up in there and getting my thoughts in order and my emotions and anger under control.
Thank you, my friends, for being my friends. I do appreciate everyone of you.
Well…..I would not be a good witness nor would Joe. Today is proof that we live in a different world as is evidenced by the following photo.
Wearing two different shoes
We got home really late Thursday night. Yesterday (Friday) we were all over town nearly all day long running errands. Today we had more to do and Joe’s doctor appointment more than ten miles from home. I’m so sick of driving I could just commit my own sort of foolishness and mayhem.
After we got back from the hospital where Joe had some kind of radioactive die injected in his arm then had to lie upon a table with a special camera beneath to view his kidneys we came home – only after a couple more stops. I took my shoes off and put them by the door.
I’ve needed to vacuum the house but had not found time recently to do it. One more errand of going to the bank and then we are home for the evening. While vacuuming I came to the shoes….
This looks weird, where are the other shoes?
Seeing these shoes on the floor I thought they looked out of place….just plain weird. That is until I looked down at my own feet! I’m losing my mind I tell you. Have I been wearing two pairs of shoes over the last couple days all the time?!
As I said, we got home Thursday night pretty late in the evening. Just at dusk. A hail storm had come through over a week ago while we were in Covington, Tennessee checking on the Mack trucks. Our neighbor, Hugh, told us of the storm. Flat straight line winds of 80 miles an hour with golf ball sized hail pelted our neighborhood for quite a while. We were so far from home and there was nothing we could do except have Hugh take a walk around our home to make sure no windows were broken.
Seeing our home when we drove up…..I tell you this. You’d think we lived on a military strafing field from the results of the hail storm.
Hail damage
As we drove through the neighborhood on our way home there was house after house with damage. Some were only slightly damaged and others are riddled just like ours.
Three doors down
Not many windows were broken. Thankfully none of ours were. There is some damage to the outside vinyl parts of the windows but the glass itself is still intact. I just can’t believe the randomness of it all.
Last night we got back late to the hotel in Cameron, Missouri after delivering my trucks near Peoria, Illinois. 10pm it was.
We slept in to 7:30 this morning instead of our normal 5 am. Outside of the hotel and on the street Joe’s trucks were parked. It took us just about an hour to get his chains, hoses, electric cord, and fairing straps off stored away then get him set up as a single.
Joe checked the tires on the trailer to make sure they were properly aired to carry the weight of our pickup then we went back to our room for showers and breakfast before checking out and leaving for Peoria.
As we neared the trucks, ready to leave, one of the trailer tires had gone flat. Joe brought out an air line and attached it to the truck’s supply line to get the flat tire aired up. Less than half a mile away was a truck shop so he headed over there to have the tire checked for damage. After a bit of work by the mechanic it was decided Joe had shoved some road debris into the valve stem which caused the air to leak out. No big deal to take care of. The mechanic reluctantly charged Joe $45 for the work done then we got on the road.
My Arizona daughter called me while Joe was taking care of business. She and I chatted for the next 40 minutes until all hell broke loose and I had to hang up on her.
It’s too bad I didn’t have the video feature of my phone documenting the next few interminable seconds.
Following behind Joe and trying to keep an eye on the trailer tire that had gone flat earlier, talking to Carissa also two black vertical lines rose from the right side of Joe’s truck to about three feet off the ground. What had he ran over?
The two vertical lines came down, hit the right shoulder and split apart. It was then I realized two of his wheels had come off his truck and are now running amok full tilt. Quick thinking I pulled on the air horn. Realizing that wouldn’t do any good because he was too far in front of me to even hear the blasted thing. Next I snatched up the two way radio and told him to shut it down he had lost his tires!!! That was when I hung up on Carissa.
The two tires stayed together for the next bounce rolled for a little distance then bumped into each other. The right most tire went off the road to the right and headed for a farm implement dealership. The left tire took off from the right shoulder across the left lane down the median and over into the oncoming traffic lanes. A tanker truck was coming at full speed and about to collide with the errant tire before it veered off into the ditch on the far left. Tanker truck and driver were safe and avoided the catastrophe unfolding right before my eyes.
Holy Moly!!! All this transpired in about 10 seconds and all I could do was watch it all happen in stunned disbelief as I too tried to get my truck safely to the shoulder and shut down.
Thank God no one got hurt and no accidents occurred because of all the excitement. There were three cars trying to pass me on my left but the drivers had enough sense to slow down and stay well back until the road was clear.
Now, as it so happens just about 1/4 of a mile behind us is a truck shop. Joe was able to get across the highway and go back a little way to get to the shop.
One of the wayward tires – the right one – had some how leapt a 6 foot fence and came to rest on a pile of water pipes stacked on some wood. The left tire had gotten lost in shrubs and weeds that were over 4 feet tall.
I had gone to the other side of the highway in search of that crazy tire. The weeds and shrubs were so dense that tire was totally obscured and hidden from view. I did brave chance encounters with an alligator (there are none in Missouri but this is my drama), snakes hiding in the brush (there are snakes in Missouri), ticks, and other unsavory insects like spiders in my search for that crazy tire.
4-1/2 hours and $450 later both tires had been found and mounted back on the truck. Off we went to get these trucks delivered to Peoria, Illinois.
If you find yourself on US 36 in Chillicothe, Missouri and in need of mechanical service Joe recommends this place.
These trucks are parked at the delivery point and I’ve had enough excitement for one day. I’m going to bed!
I guess Joe felt left out. Nothing exciting happening around him ;-). As if being with me isn’t enough drama.
Just to the right of where Joe is standing, inside and under the trailer….
The main support beam is cracked. This time only on the left side. Four years ago both sides cracked in this same area and we were done until he got it fixed.
We do a walk around twice a day on our equipment to check on it all. The crack was not in evidence when we loaded in Ottawa, Kansas at the Walmart Distribution Center.
Last night when we parked at the hotel in Cameron, Missouri we both were tired, hot, sweaty, grimy, and focused on getting to our room to clean up and cool off or we would have caught it last night.
The outcome would have been the same had we found the crack last night. We had to get Joe unloaded right there and then this morning. His two trucks were left at the hotel while we left to deliver my two trucks to Illinois. Joe followed in the pickup all 387 miles. My trucks, complete with my boom, have been left at the delivery location. Now we are heading back, in the pickup, to Cameron, Missouri and the hotel for another night.
Tomorrow we will get Joe loaded with a single and I will drive his back truck to the delivery point. There we will unhook my trucks and get the boom off.
Right now, had this problem not occurred, we would be on our way to Chicago, Illinois for JB Hunt trucks going to O’Fallon, Missouri then heading for home. That has been changed only by a delayed timeframe. Chicago trucks will be Tuesday instead. We will hook up my boom to two trucks and leave them there while we get two of the four delivered to O’Fallon. Drive back to Chicago for my boomed set and deliver them on Thursday or Friday then we can head for home.
There is a pad if 12″ x 12″ Graphic 45 Magic of Oz paper waiting for me at Whole Lotta Scrap. I got a call yesterday letting me know it is in. They are holding it for me until I can get back home.
I haven’t had ANY time to catch up on all my friend’s blogs nor see the delights that have been created 😦
I NEED A FIX!!!! A crafting fix that is. Paper, glue, ink, rubber stamps, glitter……..
Located at 500 West Pearl Street in Tremont, Illinois is a little home town cafe which is the favorite of locals to meet up with friends for lunch or dinner and for those that just don’t feel like cooking.
This little cafe seats about 50 people. The place was nearly full when Joe and I walked in the door. One thing we’ve learned in our travels is this. If the locals congregate at a restaurant then the food is good, prices are reasonable, and service is good also.
Vickie’s Place is one of those “If you leave hungry it’s your own fault”. Portions are huge as well as tasty. For example, the pork tenderloin sandwich Joe ordered and the mustard and dill pickle potato salad.
I had a burger and fries because I was eating badly, and we shared the onion rings recommended by other diners.
Monster portions are served so consider yourself forewarned 🙂
Time has run away from me lately. I’m not sure what day it is or where I am.
Wednesday we delivered the Peterbilts to Kansas City, Missouri. The place we left the trucks has a sister company in Omaha, Nebraska. The trucks will end up in Omaha where the sleepers will be removed from the cabs, the holes closed, and then be sold to farmers around Omaha as daycabs.
We had the chance to get four trucks out of Omaha, Nebraska going to Dallas, Texas. Joe was trying to get us home for his doctor appointment but he was going to be late for it and he called to let the doctor office know. “You snooze, you lose” and he did. His heart doctor is now on vacation until after the first of July. Joe has an appointment the last part of June with his kidney doctor (Nephrologist).
The Omaha trucks were put off for someone else to take and we were shuffled off to Ottawa, Kansas to another Wal-Mart Distribution Center for 24 trucks of which 16 are now ready.
We picked up four of them yesterday and took them to Peoria, Illinois today at Expo Gardens Fairgrounds. Just as we were getting set to start the unhooking process a man who manages the place stopped us to say we couldn’t leave the trucks because the area we were in was to be used for a Fair over the weekend.
After about 20 minutes and several phone calls by both Joe and the fairground manager we took the trucks 23 miles further to unhook.
Hungry and thirsty we hunted for a place to slake both and found Vickie’s Place.
Now we are on our way back to Ottawa, Kansas for more trucks. Traveling through small towns linked on US highways like a string of Rosary beads we see a lot of old buildings.
This old building once was a school. The fire escape was the chutes. I bet the teachers had to keep watch for the rascals (count me as one) who would try to sneak out the door and have a quick ride down before they got caught.
The chutes are now boarded up.
Four hours earlier these old downtown businesses in Rushville, Illinois were busy selling their wares and the street was filled with cars. Now it looks rather forlorn.
We will be working through this weekend. Encountered rain most of the way to Peoria today. Now it is cool and feels good. Hopefully it will remain cool.
Enjoy your weekend. Oh, and before I forget “Happy Father’s Day” to all the Dads out there this coming Sunday.
Do you remember the Wal-Mart trucks from Raymond, New Hampshire? Last month? We delivered them to Charlotte, North Carolina. Well…mine got delivered while Joe’s were left at a truck center to be fixed.
We picked up these trucks at the same place I delivered. More Wal-Mart trucks. This time Peterbilts instead of Internationals.
They have a clutch that comes out of the floor. It freaks me out all the time. Fear of my foot and ankle getting trapped behind the clutch when my foot slips off. I have had my foot slip to the heel a few times then mad crazy panic prevails until I can work the ball of my foot back down to the pad of the pedal. Crazy old broad.
We stopped at the auction lot last night before we headed to the hotel we had reservations at. Found my lead truck and moved it out to a spacious area to hook my boom on. Found Joe’s back truck and moved it near my truck to get his trailer attached. The rain came pelting down fast and furious with lightning ripping open the sky so we stopped.
The truck Joe was going to drive started and ran while the batteries in the truck I would be towing are totally dead and, of course, that truck is wedged in amongst several others.
On our way off the auction lot Joe asked the guy in charge of the lot if they had a jump start truck. It had left minutes earlier on the way to Pennsylvania. Drat and double drat.
At the hotel our reserved room had been given away to someone else and no others were available. Joe was fit to be tied. Maybe the hotel clerk did us a favor anyway. We found a room closer to where we needed to be anyway and they had a room with a king size bed waiting for us.
6 a.m. this morning – 7 local – we were at the lot trying to figure out how to get my back truck out of the space it was blocked in and moved to where our other trucks were. Took us 4 hours to get it done but I have my Mr. Fix-It along and we got it done.
Through some fancy maneuvering I was able to get my front truck squeezed through the long line of trucks and get my boom partially attached to the dead truck. Joe got in it and gave instructions over the hand held radios what he wanted and we did get that blasted truck started and running long enough to get my boom off and drive it out of the tight quarters.
By 10 all four of the trucks were in a wide open area and we got our work done. Stopping just short of being finished to go get something to eat.
At the restaurant I ordered the beverages while Joe went and washed up. While I washed Joe ordered our food. When it arrived I was stunned I tell you!
I had sausage and eggs while he had a fruit plate. This is just backwards from our norm. I usually go for the fruit. BUT
Joe is actually eating YOGURT!!! He says YUCK when I even mention the stuff. He did eat most of it though and did enjoy it. Not that you would ever know it.
Especially with that face he gave me when I said I would have to document this day lest I forget it – and you all know I can’t do that! 🙂
By 11:30 we were on the road. Poor Joe has no air conditioning nor cruise control. He’s trying to keep his foot on the gas pedal while his knee and calf are balking and bunching up. The hot air is blowing through his open windows as he tries to find relief from the heat.
We’ve shut down early tonight. Let the sun go down a bit then we will go out to the hotel parking lot and switch his trucks out.
The fun we have. Oh well home Thursday for a few days and Joe’s doctor appointment.
Maybe a better title would be “Where AM I and what DAY is it?” This has been about the most strange week I’ve had in my 10 years of doing Drive-Away.
Because of the fluid nature of this business, meaning everything changes in 30 minutes or less, on any given day available work is agreed to or declined at the moment the job is presented to us. There are quite a few other Drive-Away people vying for the same work. The factors involved in acceptance or declining is where that driver happens to be on the US Interstate system at that very moment and where they wish to be in the next few days.
Joe works like a border collie herding sheep when it comes to lining up work for us to do. He asks first “Where is your work?” of the dispatchers. Narrowing down our possibilities of the available work first by where we happen to be sitting at the time of his call and the logistics and time frames of pick up and delivery is how he works the business of “culling” the herd, or in cattle parlance – “cutting”.
While we were at home the last couple days of May Joe was calling about available work near Oklahoma City. Through the different companies we work for he decided we would be going to Dallas, Texas first with trucks going to Akron, Ohio. Next we were going to Bardstown, Kentucky for one truck and drive it to Nashville, Tennessee where it would be parked while we went on further west and south to Covington, Tennessee for three trucks. These four would end up going to a port in Jacksonville, Florida. With another company he had indicated our interest in taking four trucks from Atlanta, Georgia and taking them to somewhere in Connecticut. This last load was only if the company we drive for actually won the bid on the trucks. It has since fallen through and another company we don’t drive for won the bid.
We did go to Dallas, Texas and get four trucks to Akron, Ohio. We delivered them on Thursday. Delayed a day first because of one truck with no keys and that took most of Monday to get sorted out. Tuesday we lost quite a bit of the day due to accidents with fatalities which tied the roads up on both sides of the interstate for over an hour each time. God bless the families involved and I’m most sorry for their loss, but the yahoos that were not involved in the accidents and had to rubber neck their way past the scenes made the lines long and aggravating. Wednesday we encountered road construction and over an hour long delay in two separate areas. Usually an 1100 mile trip would take only two days and a couple hours of the third.
Those trucks got delivered in Akron a day later than we would have liked, which put a time pinch on the one truck in Bardstown, Kentucky to be picked up on Friday. They (Bardstown) had been under the assumption we would be there on Thursday to get that truck. Oh well, it all worked out. The truck, when we did get there Friday afternoon to look at it was not DOT (Department of Transportation) road worthy. The frame was cracked in places (which is not a good thing), two of the tires were bald (another bad thing), and finally there was a problem with the turn and stop lights on the back of the truck. Not to mention a cryptic note scrawled on the lid of one of the fuel tanks to not put any fuel in that tank. We had to decline taking that truck since it most definitely would have been one for the Highway Patrol to see coming and get their cash register ringing with fines. The officer that caught us would have his entire monthly quota of tickets in one swell foop (okay, okay I know it is “one fell swoop” but I like mine better).
I was so rattled thinking about driving that truck off the lot that I forgot to take pictures of it for reference.
304 miles of deadhead from Akron, Ohio to Bardstown, Kentucky and had to leave the truck there. Not a very profitable trip…things like this happen and you have to be prepared for these things.
From Bardstown, Kentucky we deadheaded another 331 miles to Covington, Tennessee for three trucks to be picked up and taken to the port in Jacksonville, Florida. Oh Mother McCreedy!!! These trucks were in very sad shape also.
Blue Mack truck
This old girl had quite a number of problems that would not allow her to be driven on the US Interstate system. Not the least of which were bad tires. There is a massive air leak coming from the back of the truck when the brakes are applied and there is some kind of oil leaking from the pumpkin at the drive line. That just looked like trouble waiting to happen.
White Mack truck #1
and
White Mack truck #2
Both of these girls have problems also. All three of them have really bad tires.
Bad tires
This alone, the bad tires, if stopped by a Highway Patrol or DOT officer would be fines of up to $500 to $800 per bad tire. There are eight of them on each of the two trucks that would be driven on the highway system. You do the math and see how much that is….at a minimum a fine of $4,000 per truck, plus the cost of having to call out a service truck to have all of the tires replaced at about $300 per tire per truck or 16 tires at $300 a pop!!
Then there is the matter of the electric line that runs from the back of the truck cab and attaches to the trailer (if there were one to attach to) for lights on the trailer. These were either burned from coming into contact with the hot exhaust pipes or just rotting from age.
Decaying pigtail
With the insulation nearly gone on this pigtail the DOT would give us a fine of not less than $80 for faulty equipment. The cost of a new pigtail is about $175. What else is the matter with the electrical system in these trucks that is hidden and we can’t see?
Joe and I talked it over and we both decided that the pay for this run of about 800 miles and about $1,000 was not worth the headaches that we might incur. Not to mention if one of the tires blew and we caused an accident with fatalities. No…best to leave these girls to be taken to the port in Jacksonville riding on the back of a flatbed trailer and not driven anywhere. These girls have had a rough life, no sense in causing them an indignant end to their hard working life by being crumpled in a ditch some where. Not to mention the loss of our own equipment and livelihood forever all for $1,000. Best to walk away.
So now we are going back over the same highways we have travelled in the past couple of days and going to Charlotte, North Carolina to get four Peterbilts going to Kansas City, Missouri.
Early to a hotel tonight so I can mess about with my computer and figure out why I’m having trouble with YouTube recently. Tomorrow, Sunday, we will drive the remaining 300 miles to Charlotte and get another early night before we show up Monday morning and get back to work. So far we will have deadheaded nearly 1,000 miles to end up in Charlotte. Like I said, you have to be prepared for things like this to happen and know what your limits are.
All has not been lost in this craziness. We met a young woman that drives, with her husband, for Stevens Transport and we got to spend some time talking with her while we were in the process of loading on Monday in Dallas. Thursday morning I was blessed by meeting an elderly woman working the breakfast bar at a hotel we stayed in. Gray haired, stooped shouldered, and really happy to have her job. She scurried quickly around from the kitchen area bringing food out to replenish the empty containers, briskly wiping tables down with her bar towel and squirt bottle of disinfectant, and giving everyone a friendly hello and welcome as they came in and thanking them for having breakfast. She and I talked for a few minutes and my heart was blessed to be around such a lively and spirited person.
I had a truck with a working CD player and could actually listen to a couple of books as one mile passed another in a blur of trees and roads. Jeffrey Deaver’s “Cold Moon” had me cringing at gory details and not wanting to leave the truck for fuel and food as the suspense built along in the story. His books are a bit too bloodthirsty for my tastes but this one was tame by comparison of some of his work and I really enjoyed it. The other book I listened to was Lee Child’s “Bad Luck and Trouble”. That one was another that helped to eat up the miles as we mindlessly drove hour after hour. Waiting in the long lines of blocked up highway during the road construction and accidents kept me from becoming witchy and growling at everyone near me.
All in all, not a bad week to be sure. I hope you all are having a good weekend, resting up for the upcoming work week. Us, we work nearly every day and they run into each other. I don’t know what day it is any more. I have to look at my phone to see the date then look at a calendar to see what day it is. Enjoy your family and your friends. Feed your soul along with your bellies 🙂
This morning dawned with slightly cooler temps and high humidity. Getting finished with the hook up of Joe’s trucks was accomplished with no problems.
We got on the road at 9:30 this morning intending to get our 500 miles in as the sun begins to set past Memphis, Tennessee.
One stop at a truck stop for water and Gatorade then some serious driving.
At the truck stop Joe told me to hurry and get up to him with my camera. His sign language leaves a lot to be desired as he pointed off to his left and forward. I couldn’t see anything more exciting than a bunch of trucks at the fuel bay.
This is what he told me to look at as he pointed.
Upon closer inspection of the rear of the flatbed trailer I saw what all the fuss was about.
The Tonka truck is so cute strapped to the back end of the flatbed. Balancing the load 🙂
Back on the road another 75 miles I came up behind this chicken or turkey truck. Those poor things are jammed in the cages with no room to move. This trailer is empty, possibly going back to reload.
Here the cages are closer as I pass the truck.
We were making pretty good time until we got closer to the Texas and Arkansas border heading east. The west bound lanes were shut down because of a big truck and RV trailer wreck. Not much left of the RV trailer as we saw passing by. The west bound lanes were shut down for over 7 miles while the wreck was being handled.
That poor vacationing family has had their world come to a screeching halt. Not a good thing.
Later, about 150 miles further our travel lanes were shut down. Took us one hour and 20 minutes to creep 2-1/2 miles. Another truck wreck. This time the trailer was on fire near a bridge and a water truck was spraying it down from atop the bridge.
Perspective. Get pissy over the little things, as I have a want to do, instead of working through them. The little things that make me crazy are nothing compared to what several people are experiencing today in their lives.
Both wrecks had fatalities because the police presence at both places was immense. Traffic flow was shunted off onto side roads and around the accidents for investigation.
We have nuisance things happen. There are families involved in today’s two major wrecks. I have nothing to complain or whine about but they most surely do. My heart goes out to all the families affected in these two events.
You guys, please be careful in your travels. I need you all.
Foolishness and Mayhem 