MS-TN-MO

Sat at the truckstop in MS all day figuring that I was stuck there for the weekend when dispatch called at 1800 with a load from Ripley, TN to Peoria, IL for Monday delivery.

Picked up in Ripley at 2030 and drove to a truckstop in MO for the night. Will drive some tomorrow and some Sunday to get close to the drop.

Sure beats sitting in one spot for three days.

OH-TN-MS

Finally got a load. Dispatch called at 0545 Thursday morning with a load going from Bucyrus, OH to Memphis, TN. I was beginning to think that I was going to be home for another weekend.

Picked up at 0830 and left at 0900. Even though it was listed as a direct load, the drop time was 2359. I didn't hurry and dropped at 2115.

Had my choice of truckstops to go to. Two Pilots and two Flying J's. I prefer the J's since they have large parking lots and I can park away from other vehicles and run the Idlebuster without disturbing anyone's sleep. Not that it makes a difference since I will not freeze for anyone, but I try to be considerate as much as possible.

It was somewhat odd about the truckstops though. The two Pilots were a block apart, and one J was in Arkansas and the other in Mississippi. Memphis sits right in the corner of TN, so 5 miles west and you're in Arkansas and 5 miles south and you're in Mississippi. I picked the J in MS since it was closer. It was a good choice since it's a nice newer one. Both are still considered to be on the Memphis board. Go figure.

I'm #3 on the Memphis board and since I've never been on it before I don't know how it moves. Hopefully, I don't have to spend the weekend here.

Chores Page 2

Well, the carpet is in the middle bedroom and the Rumble Bee is in the garage.

Now all I have to do is get the truck ready to roll Monday, and complete my laundry. I don't know why I always wait until the last day at home to do the wash. I suppose it's a man thing or maybe it has to do with the fact that I live out of a suitcase. Sounds like something a think tank should ponder over and supply an answer to.

Me, I'll just put the next load in the washer and go to bed. Simple.

Chores at Home

Freight is pretty slow right now with the holiday and all, so I decided to stay home until Monday and take care of some projects I've been putting off.

Going to replace the carpet in one of the bedrooms today, and clean out one side of the garage so I can get my Dodge Ram Rumble Bee in so it won't sit out in the winter weather. May take more than one day to do all of this, but we'll see.

Will be getting the truck ready to roll as well, doing some laundry and such. Plan to leave the first of the week when a load comes up and staying out until just before Christmas if the freight holds. Would like to have a strong December so we can start the new year on a roll.

Second truck is doing great and I hope to increase my trucks income now that the family situations that kept me home recently have been pretty much cleared up. Plus, I just need to get out of here. I need some solitude to get into the Christmas spirit, and the road has been calling.

Measure of a Man

Sunday we held the memorial service for my father-in-law. The church was packed. The number of people that came to pay their respects on this cold gray afternoon was surprising to us.

During the portion of the service where people were given time to make a comment or tell a story about him progressed, a common thread began to emerge of how this quiet yet forceful, compassionate yet firm, man had affected their lives. Some stories were funny others inspiring. His life affected so many others, some he had never met face to face. That is the measure of a man.

This man, a product of our greatest generation, tested by the depression, forged in the furnace that was WWII, lived his life with dignity and honor. His life was described best by the pastor of the church when he said: "He never complained about the ups and downs of life, even as he neared the end. He just lived it." That is the measure of a man.

After the service we went to a nearby private lake that was his favorite fishing hole to spread his ashes in the lake. We thanked the owner of the lake for allowing us to fulfill Dad's last wish. He said "No, thank you for the honor of having him with us." That is the measure of a man.

Good-bye Dad. You are no longer with us on the physical plane, but you will live on in our hearts and in the hearts of so many others. We love you always. That is the measure of a man.

To Jim in Toronto. I appreciated your comment and glad you like the blog. I wish more readers would take the time to comment as you did. I started this blog so those interested could track the life of an OTR truck driver and to wile away some of the lonely hours spent on that road. It's nice to know it's being read.

PA-PA-PA

Dispatch is keeping me busy while keeping me close to home. Picked up a load in Apollo, PA on Weds. going to Shawville, PA. Odd part about this one was that the driver of my other truck got a load from OH to the same consignee in Shawville. We met up at Sapp's in Clearfield, PA and had dinner. I crashed early as I had a 0730 pick up today in Johnstown,PA going right back to the same plant in Shawville. Dropped that load at 1014, and went 25 yards to pick up the next load going to Export, PA. Dropped that load at 1338 and went back to the J in Smithton, PA, exactly where I was Tues. night only three parking spaces east.

I'm #1 on the Pittsburg board right now, so hopefully dispatch will find an OH load tomorrow. They will pass me up for any other loads since they know I need to get home.

Either way, I'll be glad to get out of PA. This is a dirty area and the truck is covered in muck from dirt on the roads being thrown up from the wet roads. I went through snow, ice, and rain this afternoon since I've been going up and down the same mountains for two days. If I have to go onto Route 119 again, I'm going to puke.

NY-OH-PA

Got bonused to Cleveland,OH after sitting all weekend in Buffalo, NY. Got a load from Wooster,OH to the Kenworth plant in Chillicothe since I had to get home due to the death of my father-in-law.

Went back in service this past Sunday and sat #3 on the board until this morning when a load that was too big for a standard van came up. Picked up at 1200 in Groveport, OH and dropped at 1555 in Coraopolis, PA. Actually picked up from and delivered to another expediters dock. They couldn't do it fast enough to meet someone coming down from Canada to inspect the freight.

Hopefully, I can get a couple of good loads in before I have to get back home for the memorial service. Don't know if I'll come back out the following week since it's Thanksgiving and three days doesn't leave a lot of time to run very far.

Still NY

Still sitting in Buffalo as I figured I would be. Don't know how active this board is, but I'm #1. Will sit here until 1500 and if nothing happens I'm going to head to the Cleveland board as it is the closest active board.

My father-in-law passed away last night around 2100, so I'll be going home for the weekend and hopefully I can get some runs in Ohio or the surrounding states until then.

I actually have to be home the next three weekends when you include Thanksgiving, so we'll see how T/S is in keeping me busy when I limit the travel distance to the surrounding states.

OH-GA-VA-NY-Almost MI

Sitting on the Cleveland board when dispatch called at 1300 with a load from Valley View, OH to Smyrna, GA. with a p/u tim e of 1500. Load was direct and consisted of three lawn mowers and a tiller. That grass must really need cut in GA. Drove all night and arrived at o600. Consignee didn't open until 0800. So much for the rush in getting it there. Unloaded and went to a nearby truck stop to sleep number #3 on the Atlanta board.

Dispatch calls at 1500 with a load from Atlanta to Roanoke, VA a transfer shipment with the ultimate destination being Wall, NJ. It was another direct load and the transfer driver was already in Roanoke. Load was five links of elevator chain weighing 1200 lbs. Drove all night again arriving at the Overnite terminal in Roanoke at 0230. Transfer was made and I headed off to the truck stop in Roanoke, #5 on the board. Didn't think I'd get out that day.

Having a Sprinter got me another load ahead of the other vans on the board. Picking up at 1800 in Altavista, VA going to Auburn, NY. I was enroute to the shipper when dispatch called saying that a line went down and the shipment wouldn't be ready until 2100. Found a Wal Mart and picked up some supplies and sat in their parking lot until time to leave. Arrived at the shipper at 2100 only to be told that it would be another hour before the load was ready. Finally got loaded and left at 2200.

It was a direct load so I drove all night (is there a pattern here???) and arrived in Auburn at 0851. Unloaded and went to a real nice truck stop off of I90. #2 on the Syracuse board. Now it gets dicey.

I had a real nice parking spot away from everything, buster was running to keep me warm, and I was just getting ready to fix dinner when dispatch called at 1930. They had a load from Elma, NY (103 miles away) to Auburn Hills, MI. There were no other vans in the area and I had moved up to #1 on the board. P/U time was 2200.

Packed up and jumped on the horse. Arrived at shipper at 2205 despite customer service sending QC messages saying I was 40 minutes behind schedule. Shipping clerk tells me that another T/S driver had already picked the shipment up. Needless to say, I wasn't a happy person when I called dispatch. They knew nothing about it, and the clerk confirmed that it was picked up. Apparently, dispatch had orders for TWO shipments from this shipper, when in fact there was only one. The other driver grabbed it and took off without contacting dispatch like he was supposed to, or at least it looks that way. I was told to submit a request for a dry run. That I won't take lying down. I sent a message to the Fleet Coordinator asking him to check the QC and phone logs to see what happened. If the other driver didn't contact dispatch, he violated protocol and in my opinion shouldn't be paid for the load. If dispatch screwed up, I should have been notified prior to going into the shipper's location, and there should be more compensation other than the dry run charge.

So here I sit in a crowded truck stop outside of Buffalo, NY for what appears to be for the weekend. I am certainly going to enjoy blowing stuff up on my Playstation.