A Cloud Factory at a remote outpost on Planet CB-IA
While driving around the country in the big rig, I'm always taking pictures of the wonderous sights I encounter. Check out high resolution versions of these pictures on my Flickr page. http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevetucojacobs
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
How does a trucker spend New Years Eve?
Wow, it's been four months since I've last posted a blog. Well, I've decided a while back that posting the blog as frequently as I had been, telling everything about all of my day to day activities, was way too time consuming. It took every minute of my life that wasn't spent driving or sleeping. So now, I'm going to post less frequently, only telling the best stories...like this one:
Tuco and The Flaming Lips! Or, How does a trucker spend their New Years Eve?
My New Years Eve found me with the option of spending the evening in Oklahoma City or Tulsa Oklahoma. So, I hit the internet in search of a fun way to ring in the new year/decade. The Myspace page of the Oklahoma chapter of NYDM listed a metal show with several bands that I’d never heard of before. I thought that this show could be fun because It’d give me a chance to hang out with the OKDM crew. But, the show was out of my reach because it would have had to have been roughly along my route, and have a place near by where I could park my 70’+ rig.
So, back to the web I went. I Googled “Oklahoma Music Calendar.” That’s when I discovered that my landing in OKC perfectly coincided with The Flaming Lips’ New Years Eve Freakout!!!
I didn’t know much about The Flaming Lips. I did know, however, that they were supposed to be pretty flippin’ cool! In the mid 90’s when I was a manager at a record store, The Flaming Lips simultaneously released 4 separate CD’s that were designed to be played all at the same time. That meant that you’d need to gather 4 stereo systems together in one place to do so. To tell you the truth, I never heard even one of those CD’s, let alone all 4 simultaneously, but I’m sure it must be quite the experience. Of course, I’d heard their hit “She Don’t Use Jelly” which you know may better by the lyrics “She uses Vaseline.” I’d seen them on Later With Jules Holland. I’ve seen Youtube videos. I had also just learned that the band had the honor of having an alley named after them in OKC earlier that year. But, that was about the extent of my knowledge of the band.
The show was about 8 miles from the truck stop that I was parked at. With some further Googling, Mapquesting, etc, I was unable to locate a place any closer to the venue where I could park the truck. At this point though, I had it set in my mind, “I’m going!” Back to the internet to find a taxi service.
It only took about a half hour for the cab to arrive. I wasn’t ecpecting him to show up so quick, so I had to scurry to shut off and stash my laptop, grab my belongings, and rush out to wave him down before he drove away. On the way there, he informed me of a place near the venue where I’d be able to hail a cab after the show. The fare was $13. I flipped him a twenty.
Next, I had to figure out which entrance to the Cox Convention Center led to our show. After a little wandering, I found a mob of lunatics, half of them dressed in outlandish costumes, waiting roughly in a line. This must be the place!
At any concert, no matter the size of the show, the energy (or lack thereof) of the crowd can make or break the show. It’s all about the enthusiasm. For example, when I went to see Rigor Mortis in Des Moines, there was a crowd of about 8 people (3 of us from Omaha), but we had the enthusiasm of 100 men! Did you ever see the movie 300? ‘Nuff said. Anyway, this crowd, from the moment I got there was very energized. Every time there was even the slightest sign that they may be letting us in, the crowd would erupt and roar into a frenzy. Time after time it was just a false alarm.
While waiting in line, I began to wonder what it was like inside the arena. Was it even an arena? Was it decorated for the occasion? It was New Years Eve after all. Was it a full arena? Was half of it going to be curtained off?
When they finally opened the doors and I made my way in, what I saw blew my mind! First, it was the full 15,000 seat arena. From the ceiling hung dozens of giant balloons, the kind you see being tossed across the tops of audiences at an occasional arena show, Alice Cooper, for example. There was an enormous disco ball hanging in the center of the arena that must have been 20’ across! They had a big half-circle light display behind them on stage that, at first glance, looked like a total piece of crap. Everything was poorly painted orange. I was thinking they’d bought some crappy 80’s band’s used stage show so they’d have something big enough for an arena show. I found out later that it was actually a pretty high-tech video screen system. A few giant hands littered the stage. And, the most mid boggling of all were the 2000+ giant balloons that filled all the seats behind the stage, floor to ceiling! The appearance of the area alone was overwhelming, and the show hadn’t even started yet!
There was a full moon outside. Not only was it a full moon, but it was also a blue moon which only occurs every several years! Thus the term “once in a blue moon.” Well, that phrase perfectly describes this show because, this wasn’t an ordinary Flaming Lips show (not that there is such thing as an “ordinary” Flaming Lips show). This was one of those special events where they pulled out all the stops. One of those shows that the die-hard Flaming Lips fans travel from all over the country to see. I, for example, rationalized that I had traveled over 50,000 miles to see the show!
The opening act, Stardeath And White Dwarfs (www.myspace.com/stardeath), are a psych/prog/experimental band from Oklahoma City featuring the singer of The Flaming Lips’ nephew. Their set opened with the intro to The Butthole Surfers album Locust Abortion Technician, Sweet Loaf, a copy of Black Sabbath’s Sweet Leaf, but, instead of playing the whole Butthole Surfers song, they played the Sabbath version instead. I’m sure it was meant to be much more “kick ass” than it actually was. I preferred their own material much more! They were actually quite good. They often reminded me of early non-Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd. I’m definitely going to investigate them further. During their set, about 50 of them balloons had already made their way to the crowd. It was already quite impressive, but as Wayne, The Flaming Lips vocalist pointed out afterwards, “you haven’t seen nuthin’ yet! Nuthin’!!!” They closed their set with a great psychedelic rendition of Madonna’s Borderline.
After their set, and after a little bit of re-arranging on stage, it was time for The Flaming Lips to take the stage.
Some intro music started playing while their video system showed some kind of spacey scene with the white silhouette of a naked woman dancing around. After dancing around for a while, the silhouette of the woman sat down kind of in a birthing position. It kept zooming in on her privates until it nearly filled the giant screen. Then, one by one, the band members climbed through the screen as if she was giving birth to them! All of the members, that is, except Wayne who was in a womb of his own! He was busy being inflated inside a giant inflatable hamster ball! When the ball was finished being inflated, they began the first song. The music intensified, and Wayne walked inside the ball to the edge of the stage…then kept going! Onto the crowd! He was tumbling around in the ball on top of the crowd, occasional catching his balance enough to stand upright with a hand in the air! The crowd of approximately 10,000 people roared triumphantly every time he was actually able to stand for a moment as if some huge victory had been accomplished! Then he made his way back to the stage where they let him out of the ball so he could continue with the rest of the show. Huge amounts of confetti rained down as the band performed “Race For The Prize.” About 30 or so people costumed as caterpillars, flowers, butterflies, and other assorted oddities lined each side of the stage and bobbed to the beat of the song. And, of coarse, don’t forget all the balloons that were bouncing around on the crowd.
Other songs included “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song,” “The W.A.N.D.,” “Vein of Stars,” “In the Morning of the Magicians,” “Pompeii Am Gotterdammerung,” “Silver Trembling Hands,” “Convinced of the Hex,” “See the Leaves,” “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1,” “Do You Realize?,” and, of coarse, “She Don’t Use Jelly.”
This song was dubbed the official Oklahoma State Rock Song (I love it when you can hear the girl near the beginning, very enthusiastically singing along out of key)
At midnight, he counted down the New Year. All the while, a crew of people were busy releasing the remainder of the giant balloons. Nearly 2000 huge balloons, ranging in size from 3-6 feet, bouncing around above the heads of the audience. The quantity of balloons kept getting greater and greater. There were so many balloons that it was impossible to defend yourself from them. While you were batting one away, another would be hitting you on the back of the head. You couldn’t even see the other side of the arena. Couples were kissing and people were wishing others a happy New Year.
The band had long since left the stage before the quantity of balloons finally dwindled. A crew was busy clearing the stage of debris so The Flaming Lips and Stardeath & White Dwarfs could come back out and, perhaps in celebration of the Blue Moon, perform Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon album in it’s entirety. While Wayne was getting some of his gear ready, a group of people called to him and got his attention. “What just happened?” he asked them. Turns out, during the New Years celebrating, there was a marriage proposal in the crowd near the front of the stage. She said “Yes.”
Before they started performing Dark Side Of the Moon, Wayne instructed everyone in the auditorium to set their cell phone alarm clocks for 12:55am. I deduced that it was to simulate the alarms at the beginning of the song “Time.”
The room went black. Then Wayne appeared in the center of the arena beneath the giant disco ball donning a pair of giant hands. While a robotic voice and keyboards performed “Eclipse,” the giant hands shot lasers onto the huge disco ball, scattering the lasers throughout the crowd.
Then he made his way back to the stage. They performed “Speak To Me,” “Breathe,” and “On The Run.” 12:55 was rapidly approaching (remember our alarms?). The band was in full swing when our cell phones reached 12:54. They continued jamming at full pace. Everyone was watching the time. There’s no way they’re going to stop in time to hear our alarms go off! Oh well, it was a good idea though. Just then, the band abruptly comes to a stop, and everyone’s alarms go off all over the arena!
They continued to play the rest of the album, Wayne and his nephew each singing some of the songs. One of the highlights for me, was when they performed “The Great Gig In The Sky,” their keyboardist Steven Drozd belted out the vocal solo, perhaps more intensely than even Pink Floyd could do it!
When the show was over I meandered outside to hail a cab. I realized at this time that I had forgotten to ask the cab driver earlier for the directions to the spot where I could hail a cab after the show. Luckily a lady working in the arena was able to point me in the general direction. “It’s down that way past The Sheraton,” she told me. I wandered that way, never seeing any taxis. I went a few blocks past. Nothing. I headed back towards the arena. Some city workers were busy taking down barricades where they had apparently been having some New Years celebration in the streets. One of them was able to point out a cab-less street, telling me that usually there’s a bunch of cabs waiting there.
I waited a while at the intersection there hoping for a cab to come along. They were few and far between. Very few, and very far between. Usually they already had passengers. Often they were empty, but didn’t stop. More and more people started arriving at the intersection looking for a cab. It soon became a battle to try to outwit, out-wave, and out-hail the opponents. I lost.
I was able to hail one cab. Out of his window he asked me where I was heading. He explained that he really wanted to grab a large group of people heading in the same direction. He found a group heading the other direction that were willing to pay him $20 on top of the fair, and away they went. It was very cold outside as you could imagine, being that it was about 2am on a January 1st. Many other people showed up wanting cabs. One by one they all gave up. Usually they called a friend to come pick them up. I didn’t have that luxury. I was a stranger in a strange land, 8+ miles from my truck. My only option was a cab.
I made many attempts to call the cab companies. The phone was always busy. Then finally I got through. They explained to me, however, that they were too busy to send a cab specifically for me, that it was first come first serve, and that I’d just have to hail a cab. I explained that I had made many attempts to hail them with no luck. “I’m sorry,“ the lady said, and she hung up.
After a very long time, I was finally able to hail another cab. It turned out the same guy who had left me high and dry before, taking that group the opposite direction. He remembered me (my Fu Manchu moustache/beard thingy is easily recognizable). He asked me what way I was going. “You’re going South, right?” “Yeah, about 7 or 8 miles South on I-35,” I told him. With a very noticeable look of not wanting to take me, he looked around hoping for a better fare. “I’ve got to pick up this group I just dropped at The Residence,” he bullshitted me, and he drove off leaving me hanging again!
I tried every different variation of cab-hailing that I could think of. I tried different corners of the intersection. I tried different intersections. I tried waving while the cabs were still 1 to 2 blocks away. I tried yelling. I tried running out directly in front of the cabs. Then I repeated all these techniques. One couple crossed the street asking out loud, “what’s the best location?” “There is no best location,” I answered.
It got to a point where about a half hour had passed where I was the only person still out there. Finally another cab came along. I ran to him waving. He stopped. He asked through his window where I was heading. “I’m going to the Love’s Truck Stop about 7 or 8 miles South on I-35.” He looked around with that same look of not wanting to take me. No one else was around. “All right,” he said. I finally had a ride back to my truck. What a relief.
Looking back, though, if I had to do it all over again, attend that show again knowing that I’d be standing outside for 2 ½ hours afterwards, freezing, trying to hail a cab…I’d do it all over again. The show was that good. In fact, I’d probably endure even more torture to witness that spectacle again. The Flaming Lips! I am now a full-on fan.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
The DARK AGES, This Trainers Gotta Go, and My Own Truck!
OK, I’ve got a lot of catching up to do, so this is going to be long. But, at times, it’s quite juicy!
Tuesday August 4th 2009
Chris called at 10am and said he’d be in Council Bluffs at about 1pm. He ended up picking me up about 5 (?) He drove to North Platte to the Walmart DC where I spent the night in the truck. He went home for the night. He said he’d pick me up about 7am to have me help him move some stuff in his storage. I reluctantly agreed. This had better be worth some brownie points. Then he tells me his wife may want to have some drinks so it may be a little later in the morning.
Wednesday August 5th 2009
Chris called and said he’d be late. He ended picking me up at about noon. One thing I have learned is that when he gives you a date & time, you can count on it being much later than originally stated.
We went to his storage unit, took everything out, they went through most of it, and we stacked it all back in there with much better stacking. They took me out for dinner afterwards. It was at a steakhouse called Whiskey Creek by the Buffalo Bill Cody tourist trap.
We went to his storage unit, took everything out, they went through most of it, and we stacked it all back in there with much better stacking. They took me out for dinner afterwards. It was at a steakhouse called Whiskey Creek by the Buffalo Bill Cody tourist trap.
Thursday August 6th thru Tuesday August 11th 2009
OK, here goes. It’s actually Aug 30th that I’m finally writing this. I’ve just had no desire to think about this period of my training, let alone write about it. I now refer to it as the “Dark Ages.” At first, it was all right cruising through the Dakotas. It’s really pretty. But, I had no internet access for about three weeks. Plus I wasn’t able to take pictures. So, the blog suffered. Eventually it got really old running over the same roads over and over again.
But, the main problem I had during this period was my trainer. I couldn’t stand him. There, I said it. “I can’t stand him!” It feels good to say that. Is that wrong? He doesn’t treat you like an adult. He’d say “there’s no such thing as a dumb question,” but often when I’d ask a question, he’d give me this real sarcastic look like I’m dumb. That is one of my biggest pet peeves. Don’t treat me like I’m stupid.
He’s very quirky. Anal retentive. I wasn’t sure if that was the right term for him, so I looked it up on Wikipedia. “Orderliness, stubbornness, a compulsion for control.” Yup, that’s Chris. He has his set methods. HIS way of doing things, not the normal way. And he wants you to do these things his way.
I’ll admit, some of his ideas that he implemented are pretty clever. I actually use a couple of his ideas, but don’t tell him that. For example, he has you write your directions on the windshield with dry-erase marker, right in your line of view. I didn’t like the idea of having something on the windshield in my line of view. His theory was, if it’s right there in your view, it’s beat into your head so it’s easy to remember. He insisted that I do this. We clashed on this. We clashed on a lot of things. Anyway, I compromised, I wrote them on the windshield as far down as I could reach.
(WARNING! This paragraph contains harsh language) I always felt like I was walking on eggshells around Chris. (Oh, I shudder every time I say that name.) Anytime you’d do things contrary to his way of doing things, you could always count on that look. Oh, that look. The one I mentioned earlier. That sarcastic look. Now, body language is no myth. It’s very real. And his body language says, “are you really that stupid?” And my response, that I always kept to myself is, “no I’m not you f***ing d****bag!” Pardon my French, but that’s the way I felt about him. He’s a d**k! If there was ever a person you could call that, it was Chris. Like I’d mentioned in my first blog, I’m not the most PC person on the planet. He’s hot headed. Sometimes he’d turn bright red. I’d wonder if he was about to pop. I wanted to stick a pin in him and see. I made the mistake of placing the map in the wrong place (according to Chris) on the dashboard and, sure enough…that look and a lecture.
He’s been married three times. I can see why his first two wives left him and why he’s having problems with his current wife. The thing that I find very strange is that he’s very religious. How can you be very religious and an unkind person at the same time? He’s probably a truck driver because he can’t get along with others.
With Chris, you’re wrong, even when you’re right. Often I’d say something, then he’d say “no,” and proceed to lecture me about it, even though he’s just saying the same thing I just said. He’d tell you something that you know is wrong, but don’t you dare try to tell him different.
Like I’d said before, some of his ideas are pretty clever, it’s just how he presents them to you. His approach. Like you’re a child. Like you’re dumb for not doing it his way. Let’s go back to how he has you write the directions on the windshield. How many thousands of truckers are on the road today? How many truckers have there been throughout the years? How many of those truckers wrote their directions on the windshield? Almost none! And they got by fine. I rest my case. But, in Chris’ mind, you’re stupid if you don’t write them on the windshield.
I could go on and on…
Oh yeah, one more very important fact. When a trainer has a student, once they trust the student’s driving, they can contact the training department and get approval to run what is called “Super Solo” which means, between the two of you, you can drive 19 hours a day and have 5 hours off. Well, Chris had us running 24 hours a day! We were always in the truck and the truck was always moving. We only stopped for fuel and to load/unload. That means when you’re not driving, you’re sleeping. Or, should I say, trying to sleep. I had the top bunk. Every bump and sway of the truck is amplified in the top bunk. I could not sleep. Every once in a while, due to complete exhaustion, you’d get a bit of sleep, but it was mostly tossing and turning. Night after night. You know how miserable it is to not get any sleep one night. Well, try doing that for a week straight!
Truckers usually get paid by the mile. Trainers do too. But they get paid for every mile put on the truck. Their miles AND the students miles. I truly believe that I was just a bigger paycheck to him. Plus he gets an extra $200 a week for training. He was rolling in the dough. One of these days I’m going to have to figure out just how much money I made for him.
Chris gave me a much greater appreciation for Al.
But, the main problem I had during this period was my trainer. I couldn’t stand him. There, I said it. “I can’t stand him!” It feels good to say that. Is that wrong? He doesn’t treat you like an adult. He’d say “there’s no such thing as a dumb question,” but often when I’d ask a question, he’d give me this real sarcastic look like I’m dumb. That is one of my biggest pet peeves. Don’t treat me like I’m stupid.
He’s very quirky. Anal retentive. I wasn’t sure if that was the right term for him, so I looked it up on Wikipedia. “Orderliness, stubbornness, a compulsion for control.” Yup, that’s Chris. He has his set methods. HIS way of doing things, not the normal way. And he wants you to do these things his way.
I’ll admit, some of his ideas that he implemented are pretty clever. I actually use a couple of his ideas, but don’t tell him that. For example, he has you write your directions on the windshield with dry-erase marker, right in your line of view. I didn’t like the idea of having something on the windshield in my line of view. His theory was, if it’s right there in your view, it’s beat into your head so it’s easy to remember. He insisted that I do this. We clashed on this. We clashed on a lot of things. Anyway, I compromised, I wrote them on the windshield as far down as I could reach.
(WARNING! This paragraph contains harsh language) I always felt like I was walking on eggshells around Chris. (Oh, I shudder every time I say that name.) Anytime you’d do things contrary to his way of doing things, you could always count on that look. Oh, that look. The one I mentioned earlier. That sarcastic look. Now, body language is no myth. It’s very real. And his body language says, “are you really that stupid?” And my response, that I always kept to myself is, “no I’m not you f***ing d****bag!” Pardon my French, but that’s the way I felt about him. He’s a d**k! If there was ever a person you could call that, it was Chris. Like I’d mentioned in my first blog, I’m not the most PC person on the planet. He’s hot headed. Sometimes he’d turn bright red. I’d wonder if he was about to pop. I wanted to stick a pin in him and see. I made the mistake of placing the map in the wrong place (according to Chris) on the dashboard and, sure enough…that look and a lecture.
He’s been married three times. I can see why his first two wives left him and why he’s having problems with his current wife. The thing that I find very strange is that he’s very religious. How can you be very religious and an unkind person at the same time? He’s probably a truck driver because he can’t get along with others.
With Chris, you’re wrong, even when you’re right. Often I’d say something, then he’d say “no,” and proceed to lecture me about it, even though he’s just saying the same thing I just said. He’d tell you something that you know is wrong, but don’t you dare try to tell him different.
Like I’d said before, some of his ideas are pretty clever, it’s just how he presents them to you. His approach. Like you’re a child. Like you’re dumb for not doing it his way. Let’s go back to how he has you write the directions on the windshield. How many thousands of truckers are on the road today? How many truckers have there been throughout the years? How many of those truckers wrote their directions on the windshield? Almost none! And they got by fine. I rest my case. But, in Chris’ mind, you’re stupid if you don’t write them on the windshield.
I could go on and on…
Oh yeah, one more very important fact. When a trainer has a student, once they trust the student’s driving, they can contact the training department and get approval to run what is called “Super Solo” which means, between the two of you, you can drive 19 hours a day and have 5 hours off. Well, Chris had us running 24 hours a day! We were always in the truck and the truck was always moving. We only stopped for fuel and to load/unload. That means when you’re not driving, you’re sleeping. Or, should I say, trying to sleep. I had the top bunk. Every bump and sway of the truck is amplified in the top bunk. I could not sleep. Every once in a while, due to complete exhaustion, you’d get a bit of sleep, but it was mostly tossing and turning. Night after night. You know how miserable it is to not get any sleep one night. Well, try doing that for a week straight!
Truckers usually get paid by the mile. Trainers do too. But they get paid for every mile put on the truck. Their miles AND the students miles. I truly believe that I was just a bigger paycheck to him. Plus he gets an extra $200 a week for training. He was rolling in the dough. One of these days I’m going to have to figure out just how much money I made for him.
Chris gave me a much greater appreciation for Al.
Wednesday August 12th 2009
I couldn’t take anymore. For the last several days I’d been contemplating calling Jenny at Crete training and ditching this clown. I had actually called her once a couple days before, but she wasn’t in. If I’m going to be making someone a bunch of money, I’d rather it be someone besides Chris.
Chris and I were on our way back to North Platte from Northern Iowa. When we got back to North Platte it would be Chris’ home time, so I would be stuck at the terminal for two days. Yay. That is to say, I’d be stuck at the terminal except for the time that Chris wanted me to help him haul furniture. Can you believe this guy? I told him “no thanks, I need to get some rest.”
Anyway, like I said, I couldn’t take any more. I finally made up my mind to call Jenny. I needed to get off this truck. I figured, since once we got back to North Platte, I’d be stuck at the terminal for two days, it was now or never. I let Chris off the hook, though. I told her the reason I wanted to switch was because I felt I’d already learned all that I could on this Walmart account, which was true. I told her that I felt that since the Walmart account is so different from what I’ll actually be doing in the real world, it’d be better if I got back into the routine of how I’m actually going to be doing things (paperwork, etc). I really did learn very little in those three weeks.
I could have reported Chris. He was spared. I feel sorry for his students though.
Jenny asked we’d be heading through Lincoln. I told her we would be heading through there in a few hours. She informed me that she had a trainer there right now. Yay!!! I’m getting off Chris’ truck!!! You have no idea what a relief that was. She called back a little later and said that he’d already left Lincoln but I could meet him in Council Bluffs Iowa instead. Even better! That’s an hour sooner!
I called my new trainer, Robert, and finalized the details. Chris, who had been sleeping through my phone calls, apparently heard one or both of them because, about a half hour later, he came out of the sleeper and said, “so, we’re going to the terminal?” I didn’t know how much he’d heard, and, since I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, I told him that Jenny called me and suggested the change, and that I’d agreed with her that it was a good idea. He said he wished I would have let him know about my plans so he could have planned things differently. I didn’t feel sorry for him. He went back to bed.
I pulled into the Council Bluffs terminal and parked next to another Crete truck. I soon found out it was my new trainers truck. Robert helped load my gear into his truck.
My first impression of Robert was that he looked a lot like Chris. Oh great! He had a leather vest on which gave him a bit of a biker look. I later came to realize that he always wears that vest, and, it’s not a biker vest, it’s one of them that has a silk back on it. That you wear with a suit. I can’t remember how, but I started getting hints that he was very religious too.
Robert was under a load that was heading from, I believe, Cheyenne Wyoming and going to Pittston Pennsylvania. So, we headed East. He drove almost to the Illinois border where we spent the night.
Chris and I were on our way back to North Platte from Northern Iowa. When we got back to North Platte it would be Chris’ home time, so I would be stuck at the terminal for two days. Yay. That is to say, I’d be stuck at the terminal except for the time that Chris wanted me to help him haul furniture. Can you believe this guy? I told him “no thanks, I need to get some rest.”
Anyway, like I said, I couldn’t take any more. I finally made up my mind to call Jenny. I needed to get off this truck. I figured, since once we got back to North Platte, I’d be stuck at the terminal for two days, it was now or never. I let Chris off the hook, though. I told her the reason I wanted to switch was because I felt I’d already learned all that I could on this Walmart account, which was true. I told her that I felt that since the Walmart account is so different from what I’ll actually be doing in the real world, it’d be better if I got back into the routine of how I’m actually going to be doing things (paperwork, etc). I really did learn very little in those three weeks.
I could have reported Chris. He was spared. I feel sorry for his students though.
Jenny asked we’d be heading through Lincoln. I told her we would be heading through there in a few hours. She informed me that she had a trainer there right now. Yay!!! I’m getting off Chris’ truck!!! You have no idea what a relief that was. She called back a little later and said that he’d already left Lincoln but I could meet him in Council Bluffs Iowa instead. Even better! That’s an hour sooner!
I called my new trainer, Robert, and finalized the details. Chris, who had been sleeping through my phone calls, apparently heard one or both of them because, about a half hour later, he came out of the sleeper and said, “so, we’re going to the terminal?” I didn’t know how much he’d heard, and, since I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, I told him that Jenny called me and suggested the change, and that I’d agreed with her that it was a good idea. He said he wished I would have let him know about my plans so he could have planned things differently. I didn’t feel sorry for him. He went back to bed.
I pulled into the Council Bluffs terminal and parked next to another Crete truck. I soon found out it was my new trainers truck. Robert helped load my gear into his truck.
My first impression of Robert was that he looked a lot like Chris. Oh great! He had a leather vest on which gave him a bit of a biker look. I later came to realize that he always wears that vest, and, it’s not a biker vest, it’s one of them that has a silk back on it. That you wear with a suit. I can’t remember how, but I started getting hints that he was very religious too.
Robert was under a load that was heading from, I believe, Cheyenne Wyoming and going to Pittston Pennsylvania. So, we headed East. He drove almost to the Illinois border where we spent the night.
Thursday August 13th 2009
I drove in the morning. At some point he mentioned that he was having problems with his wife. That’s three for three. Three trainers, all having problems with their wives.
It wasn’t long before he was digging out a sermon that his dad, who is a pastor at a church somewhere, recorded at his church. He was told to listen to it because it was a highly controversial sermon which caused him to lose several members of his church. Robert played the CD in the truck CD player. I wasn’t paying attention, though, because the talking was too quiet to hear and the singing was really loud. After the sermon was over, Robert called his dad and told him that he couldn’t figure out what was so controversial about the message. His dad said, it wasn’t the message, it was because they had the music turned up too loud. Hmm.
Later that day, he told me that the reason that he was having troubles with his wife was because last month he was drugged at a truck stop and robbed. He said that while he was drugged, he seemed to remember having sex with someone.
I’m pretty suspicious of this story. I’ve already heard him say some slightly dirty things and sexual innuendos. I think, based on what I could tell by being around him, that he is fully capable of propositioning a prostitute of his own free will. I think that’s what he did, and in turn, got drugged and robbed. But, what do I know?
He’s a very loud talker. Very loud! I seriously thought about buying earplugs. He finishes almost every sentence with a sarcastic “um.” It’s really odd. “Um.” I think it’s similar to the sarcastic comment “Um, Hello?” If you want to pronounce it right, think “Um, Hello? McFly!” then remove the “Hello? McFly” It’s a weird quirk. “This truck only does 62 miles an hour. Um!” Also, he laughs at everything he says. Funny or not. Usually not. “This truck only does 62 miles an hour,” then he’ll have a slight pause, then let out a pretty hearty laugh followed by “aaaahhh,” as if he’d said something very deep and, hidden somewhere within it, was something humorous and very clever. There was not.
Sometimes he’s on the phone with his wife, loud of coarse, I wouldn’t call it arguing, but having unpleasant sounding conversations. He usually takes an awful, unfriendly tone of voice when talking to her. I rarely heard him use a pleasant tone with her. When arguing, they’d give each other bible versus to read.
In some ways, he’s like Chris. Like their religious hypocrisy. Relationship problems. Financial problems. Chris is unfriendly. Robert is unfriendly to his wife and kid. Robert and his wife, Jenny, spy on each others emails. Dysfunction.
I drove most of the way through Ohio (Devo!) and we stopped for the night at a service station.
It wasn’t long before he was digging out a sermon that his dad, who is a pastor at a church somewhere, recorded at his church. He was told to listen to it because it was a highly controversial sermon which caused him to lose several members of his church. Robert played the CD in the truck CD player. I wasn’t paying attention, though, because the talking was too quiet to hear and the singing was really loud. After the sermon was over, Robert called his dad and told him that he couldn’t figure out what was so controversial about the message. His dad said, it wasn’t the message, it was because they had the music turned up too loud. Hmm.
Later that day, he told me that the reason that he was having troubles with his wife was because last month he was drugged at a truck stop and robbed. He said that while he was drugged, he seemed to remember having sex with someone.
I’m pretty suspicious of this story. I’ve already heard him say some slightly dirty things and sexual innuendos. I think, based on what I could tell by being around him, that he is fully capable of propositioning a prostitute of his own free will. I think that’s what he did, and in turn, got drugged and robbed. But, what do I know?
He’s a very loud talker. Very loud! I seriously thought about buying earplugs. He finishes almost every sentence with a sarcastic “um.” It’s really odd. “Um.” I think it’s similar to the sarcastic comment “Um, Hello?” If you want to pronounce it right, think “Um, Hello? McFly!” then remove the “Hello? McFly” It’s a weird quirk. “This truck only does 62 miles an hour. Um!” Also, he laughs at everything he says. Funny or not. Usually not. “This truck only does 62 miles an hour,” then he’ll have a slight pause, then let out a pretty hearty laugh followed by “aaaahhh,” as if he’d said something very deep and, hidden somewhere within it, was something humorous and very clever. There was not.
Sometimes he’s on the phone with his wife, loud of coarse, I wouldn’t call it arguing, but having unpleasant sounding conversations. He usually takes an awful, unfriendly tone of voice when talking to her. I rarely heard him use a pleasant tone with her. When arguing, they’d give each other bible versus to read.
In some ways, he’s like Chris. Like their religious hypocrisy. Relationship problems. Financial problems. Chris is unfriendly. Robert is unfriendly to his wife and kid. Robert and his wife, Jenny, spy on each others emails. Dysfunction.
I drove most of the way through Ohio (Devo!) and we stopped for the night at a service station.
Friday August 14th 2009
Robert drove a little bit in the morning and I drove the rest of the way to our drop in Pittston PA. It was a very quick drop & hook at Kimberly-Clark who manufacture supplies for public restrooms like paper towel dispensers, etc.
We got a load offer to pick up in Newark New Jersey right by New York City in a couple hours. Everyone says you don’t want to go into New York City, so, I was kinda hoping to find out why. We’re at least 2 ½ hours away though, so we can’t do it.
We get another offer. Allentown PA (Purina Dog Food) to Lincoln NE. Yay! Allentown is just an hour north of Philly! It takes a couple hours to get loaded. It’s a very heavy load, especially for the mountains. That means I’m going to be doing a lot of gear shifting. Once again, I’m hoping to get some Eagles paraphernalia and a good Philly Cheese Steak. Robert is almost obsessing about getting me a Philly. He was much more worried about it than I was. I saw a Philly restaurant at a service station, but I’d already eaten. When we were no longer in the Philly area, Robert was still suggesting places for me to get a Philly. Subway? He doesn’t get it. The whole idea was to get one while in the Philly area. And a good local Philly, not a Subway Philly. Oh well, his intentions were good. I drive ’til 9:30 and we stop at a Pilot for the night in Mill Hall PA.
We got a load offer to pick up in Newark New Jersey right by New York City in a couple hours. Everyone says you don’t want to go into New York City, so, I was kinda hoping to find out why. We’re at least 2 ½ hours away though, so we can’t do it.
We get another offer. Allentown PA (Purina Dog Food) to Lincoln NE. Yay! Allentown is just an hour north of Philly! It takes a couple hours to get loaded. It’s a very heavy load, especially for the mountains. That means I’m going to be doing a lot of gear shifting. Once again, I’m hoping to get some Eagles paraphernalia and a good Philly Cheese Steak. Robert is almost obsessing about getting me a Philly. He was much more worried about it than I was. I saw a Philly restaurant at a service station, but I’d already eaten. When we were no longer in the Philly area, Robert was still suggesting places for me to get a Philly. Subway? He doesn’t get it. The whole idea was to get one while in the Philly area. And a good local Philly, not a Subway Philly. Oh well, his intentions were good. I drive ’til 9:30 and we stop at a Pilot for the night in Mill Hall PA.
Saturday August 15th 2009
Again, Robert drives in the morning. I take this opportunity to write this section of my blog.
More about Robert. Robert wants to become a pastor at the truck stop churches. He generally gets and understands humor, but there’s some times when he just doesn’t get it. I’ve said things that were an obvious attempt at humor, an Robert, not getting it, would correct me. No duh! That was the joke. The stupid part that you felt you needed to correct, that was the joke.
After he gets off the phone, whether it be with his wife, or with someone else, he always wants to draw me into a conversation about the conversation he just had with someone else. I’ve never told him, but, I don’t want to be in any way involved with your personal relationship. I’ve always stayed out of others relationship matters. I’ve never been a shoulder to cry on. I mind my own business. I’m sorry, but, I don’t want to talk about the problems you’re having with your family. Besides, near as I could tell, I’d take his wife’s side anyway.
But, he doesn’t run me to death. He never starts before 6am and rarely goes past 8pm. There were only two nights that we ran a little later. One was to finish a run and get the paperwork sent in so he’d get paid for it on his next check. The other time was so we could park at a Pilot because we’d get free showers there. So, I got to sleep in a parked truck instead of trying to sleep while being shaken and bounced to death in the top bunk of a moving truck. And, I don’t feel like I’m being scrutinized nearly as much. Actually I didn’t feel like I was being scrutinized at all. This is way better than working with Chris!
More about Robert. Robert wants to become a pastor at the truck stop churches. He generally gets and understands humor, but there’s some times when he just doesn’t get it. I’ve said things that were an obvious attempt at humor, an Robert, not getting it, would correct me. No duh! That was the joke. The stupid part that you felt you needed to correct, that was the joke.
After he gets off the phone, whether it be with his wife, or with someone else, he always wants to draw me into a conversation about the conversation he just had with someone else. I’ve never told him, but, I don’t want to be in any way involved with your personal relationship. I’ve always stayed out of others relationship matters. I’ve never been a shoulder to cry on. I mind my own business. I’m sorry, but, I don’t want to talk about the problems you’re having with your family. Besides, near as I could tell, I’d take his wife’s side anyway.
But, he doesn’t run me to death. He never starts before 6am and rarely goes past 8pm. There were only two nights that we ran a little later. One was to finish a run and get the paperwork sent in so he’d get paid for it on his next check. The other time was so we could park at a Pilot because we’d get free showers there. So, I got to sleep in a parked truck instead of trying to sleep while being shaken and bounced to death in the top bunk of a moving truck. And, I don’t feel like I’m being scrutinized nearly as much. Actually I didn’t feel like I was being scrutinized at all. This is way better than working with Chris!
Sunday August 16th to Wednesday August 19th 2009
At some point during this time period, Roberts dog died. Robert was very heartless about the whole thing. Instead of being comforting to his wife, he was complaining about how they’re not getting another dog. She wanted him to come home and help deal with the dog. He reluctantly agreed. So he put in for home time. Since we were going to be coming back through Lincoln, Jenny decided to put me into orientation 5 days early. So, Wednesday afternoon, Robert dropped me off at the Lincoln terminal. They had me do another road test. It was in a beat up total piece of crap truck that I couldn’t find the gears in. That was an adventure. I eventually figured it out though and did just fine. Afterwards, I put my gear in the storage room, packed an overnight bag, and caught the shuttle to the Days Inn Hotel where Crete has an account. My room was apparently the cheap “trucker special” because, let’s just say, it wasn’t the nicest room I’ve ever stayed in. But, it was nice to stretch out on a full size bed for a change and watch cable television. I called my son Abram, who lives in Lincoln, to see if he & his mom could come pick me up so I could take him shopping for school. He wasn’t able to that night, but we made arrangements to do it the next night instead.
Thursday August 20th 2009
I head down to the lobby early in the morning to catch the shuttle back to Crete. There’s a handful of other drivers waiting for the shuttle too. When we got to orientation, the first thing we did was go down to the cafeteria for a free breakfast. They have pretty good food there. Then we spend the first half of the day learning a whole bunch of Crete policies, etc. Then we head back down to the cafeteria for a free lunch. I love a company that feeds me! Then back for more policies. Then the shuttle back to the hotel. It’s a while before Sarah and Abram can come pick me up. When I headed down to the lobby, I could hear a couple really going at it in one of the rooms. I think I’m staying at the Love Shack! What a dive. Crete provided a $10 gift card for the Perkins next door, so, Crete treated me, and I treated them to dinner there. Then we head out shopping. But, due to poor planning on my part, the dinner made us late. The mall was about to close when we got there. They were out of the shoes that Abram wanted, and when we went to check out the other stores, they were all closing. We went to Walmart, but there wasn’t anything there he wanted. He got some socks and a few school supplies. All in all, it was a failed mission, but it was great seeing my son for the first time in two months!
Friday August 21st 2009
More orientation. More free food. After orientation, we got our trucks. I don’t know what trucks others got, what I do know is that me and another driver, Earl find out that we have to go to the terminal in Indianapolis to get our trucks. Our fates would have us heading in the same direction. Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the Crete terminal in Lincoln, which happens to be their headquarters, but there’s hundreds of trucks sitting there without drivers. But, they’re trucks that they pre-bought, and they aren’t putting drivers into them until they’ve got their full use out of their old trucks. So, me and Earl are heading to Indy. Crete provides us with a rental car. We take a company car to the airport to pick up the rental. We drop the company car back off at the terminal, load all our gear into the rental, and off we go.
Earl, who is probably in his late 50’s turns out to be totally kick ass. He’s very funny and a music buff. First, we stopped at the terminal in Council Bluffs so I can get more gear out of my car, then we spent the rest of the evening driving across Iowa discussing music and making each other laugh. We stopped at a small town in Iowa for the night. We get hotel rooms, also on Crete’s dime. At the hotel, they recommend this restaurant to us, so, we go into town to get some dinner. It’s prime rib night. We decide that getting our trucks is reason enough to celebrate, so we splurge and get the prime rib. We joke about starting fights with the customers. “Is that old lady looking at us funny?” Then, early to bed and early to rise.
Earl, who is probably in his late 50’s turns out to be totally kick ass. He’s very funny and a music buff. First, we stopped at the terminal in Council Bluffs so I can get more gear out of my car, then we spent the rest of the evening driving across Iowa discussing music and making each other laugh. We stopped at a small town in Iowa for the night. We get hotel rooms, also on Crete’s dime. At the hotel, they recommend this restaurant to us, so, we go into town to get some dinner. It’s prime rib night. We decide that getting our trucks is reason enough to celebrate, so we splurge and get the prime rib. We joke about starting fights with the customers. “Is that old lady looking at us funny?” Then, early to bed and early to rise.
Saturday August 22nd 2009
We head out at 5:30am and drive the rest of the way to Indianapolis. Earl did all the driving, which was just fine by me. We finally arrive at the terminal, head into the shop and tell them we’re here to get our trucks. They didn’t ask us who we were, ask for ID’s, or anything, they just gave us the keys. So, if any of you want a semi, go to Indianapolis, they’re giving them away free. My truck looked kinda like a beater to me at first, but I’ve kinda warmed up to it now. It’s a Shaffer truck, so it’s blue. It’s a 2006 Freightliner Century Class S/T. It’s got 381,380 miles on it. With an empty trailer and me in it, it weighs 34,040 lbs.
I spend the evening putting away my gear. Earl and I bobtail in his truck to a bar to get some dinner. They have some fairly decent ribs. There was a pretty crappy local country band doing their sound check. I spend the night at the terminal.
OK, I’ve done all the writing I can handle for one day (I’ve been at it for hours), so, I’ll tell you about my first solo runs in my next blog.
I spend the evening putting away my gear. Earl and I bobtail in his truck to a bar to get some dinner. They have some fairly decent ribs. There was a pretty crappy local country band doing their sound check. I spend the night at the terminal.
OK, I’ve done all the writing I can handle for one day (I’ve been at it for hours), so, I’ll tell you about my first solo runs in my next blog.
Monday, August 3, 2009
The Holy Land, Revolutionary War, a new trainer & the Black Hills
Sunday July 19th 2009
Cities/States: Chicago IL, Gary IN, Toledo OH, Cleveland OH
We get up, pick up our load at Kellogg’s, and head out of Illinois past the southern tip of Chicago and through Indiana, at times skimming along the Michigan border. We pass Notre Dame and the College Football Hall Of Fame. Then into Ohio.
Kid Rock’s tour entourage passes us going the other direction. On our way through Cleveland I saw signs for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and the Brown’s Stadium, but we won’t be taking that stretch of interstate today.
I’ll definitely drive that way when I’m in my own truck because it doesn’t look like it’s really any longer. Outside of Cleveland I saw a dead wolf (maybe coyote?) on the side of the road. We drive along Lake Erie for a while.
It was getting late so we stopped at a TA in Kingsville Ohio for the night, not too far from the Pennsylvania border. I’m looking forward to going into Pennsylvania because I’d like to stop and buy some Philadelphia Eagles souvenirs.
We get up, pick up our load at Kellogg’s, and head out of Illinois past the southern tip of Chicago and through Indiana, at times skimming along the Michigan border. We pass Notre Dame and the College Football Hall Of Fame. Then into Ohio.
Kid Rock’s tour entourage passes us going the other direction. On our way through Cleveland I saw signs for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and the Brown’s Stadium, but we won’t be taking that stretch of interstate today.
I’ll definitely drive that way when I’m in my own truck because it doesn’t look like it’s really any longer. Outside of Cleveland I saw a dead wolf (maybe coyote?) on the side of the road. We drive along Lake Erie for a while.
It was getting late so we stopped at a TA in Kingsville Ohio for the night, not too far from the Pennsylvania border. I’m looking forward to going into Pennsylvania because I’d like to stop and buy some Philadelphia Eagles souvenirs.
Monday July 20th 2009
Cities/States: Ohio, Erie PA, Buffalo NY, near Niagara Falls, Rochester NY, Syracuse NY, Utica NY, Schenectady NY, near Albany, Troy NY, then an amazing drive on NY Hwy 7 through Pittstown NY, Hoosick NY, VT Hwy 9 Bennington VT, Woodford VT, Searsburg VT, Wilmington VT, Marlboro VT, Brattleboro VT.
We leave Kingsville OH at 8:15am. I had already been up a couple hours, ate breakfast, took a walk, and took some pictures.
We stopped at a Pilot in Pennsylvania to see if I can find some Eagles gear that is embedded with genuine Pennsylvania mojo guaranteed to win games if you sport it! No luck. I had a feeling it was just wishful thinking because we were just crossing the very northwest corner of the state, more in Pittsburg Steelers territory.
We drive through Erie PA. I get another look at Lake Erie. It makes me wish I was laying eyes on my Great Lake, Lake Superior. There were lot’s of vineyards in the area.
I see a sign for Niagara Falls. Whoa! I didn’t realize I was towards that!
It doesn’t take too long to get through Pennsylvania before we arrive in New York. We head into Seneca Nation.
They have billboards saying how people shouldn’t break treaties. I agree. We stopped at a rest area that was in the middle of the Interstate. I have a slice of incredibly average pizza. We head through Buffalo New York just miles away from Niagara Falls. I wasn’t able to see the Bill’s stadium. Along the highway we pass a site of an old Erie Canal lock, then we cross the Erie Canal.
The last part of the trip, from Schenectady to Brattlesboro was awesome. One of my favorite stretches of road I’ve been on yet.
It goes through the Adirondack Mountains, Green Mountain National Forest, Hoosac Range, Taconic Range, Hogback Mountain, and through many awesome small towns from the colonial era. Unfortunately, it was so hilly and curvy that I was too busy shifting gears to be able to take pictures. What a shame. We arrive at the receiver in Brattlesboro Vermont the night before our scheduled appointment so they send us down to the waiting lot for the night.
We leave Kingsville OH at 8:15am. I had already been up a couple hours, ate breakfast, took a walk, and took some pictures.
We stopped at a Pilot in Pennsylvania to see if I can find some Eagles gear that is embedded with genuine Pennsylvania mojo guaranteed to win games if you sport it! No luck. I had a feeling it was just wishful thinking because we were just crossing the very northwest corner of the state, more in Pittsburg Steelers territory.
We drive through Erie PA. I get another look at Lake Erie. It makes me wish I was laying eyes on my Great Lake, Lake Superior. There were lot’s of vineyards in the area.
I see a sign for Niagara Falls. Whoa! I didn’t realize I was towards that!
It doesn’t take too long to get through Pennsylvania before we arrive in New York. We head into Seneca Nation.
They have billboards saying how people shouldn’t break treaties. I agree. We stopped at a rest area that was in the middle of the Interstate. I have a slice of incredibly average pizza. We head through Buffalo New York just miles away from Niagara Falls. I wasn’t able to see the Bill’s stadium. Along the highway we pass a site of an old Erie Canal lock, then we cross the Erie Canal.
The last part of the trip, from Schenectady to Brattlesboro was awesome. One of my favorite stretches of road I’ve been on yet.
It goes through the Adirondack Mountains, Green Mountain National Forest, Hoosac Range, Taconic Range, Hogback Mountain, and through many awesome small towns from the colonial era. Unfortunately, it was so hilly and curvy that I was too busy shifting gears to be able to take pictures. What a shame. We arrive at the receiver in Brattlesboro Vermont the night before our scheduled appointment so they send us down to the waiting lot for the night.
Tuesday July 21st 2009
Cities/States: Vermont, Albany NY, near Poughkeepsie NY, Newburgh NY (about 30 miles from NYC), near Newark NJ.
It’s taking a long time to get unloaded. Al, being as impatient as he is, goes into the receiving office to complain. I’m just guessing, but I don’t think they took too kindly to it because we had to wait a couple more hours before we were finally unloaded. If Al would only learn that being nice and being patient will get you much further than being an @$$#o!e. The good news is, they had a cafeteria there with some pretty good food.
We get another load offer, Fort Edward NY to Bedford PA. So, we get to go back through all the awesomeness of VT Hwy 9 and NY Hwy 7 of the day before. We “get” to go back through it, or “have” to go back through it, depending on which one of us you ask. This time Al was driving so I’m able to take picture. But, it’s raining now, so it’s not the most ideal conditions for photos.
I don’t recall the load at Fort Edward, but afterwards, we head south.
I don’t recall where this fits into the whole scheme of things, but, we were dangerously low on fuel. We stopped at a small truck stop somewhere, but it was not on our list of approved fueling locations, so we have to wait to get authorization from Crete to fuel there. But, Crete’s computer is down so we have to wait. Next to the truck stop is a cool old cemetery so I go over to investigate. It turns out it’s a Revolutionary War era cemetery and has graves from the Civil War era too. It’s actually two small cemeteries side by side. It looks really odd because the graves on the right half of the cemetery had all turned black from age. The graves on the right side were all white.
Anyway, Al gets tired of waiting so we head out with very little fuel in hopes of making it 60 miles or so to the next truck stop. (we made it by the way)
We go through Albany NY and near Poughkeepsie NY. I had always heard stories of how the traffic is hectic everywhere on the east coast, so, I was surprised that we drove about 30-40 miles away from New York City, and all I saw was tree-line interstates. I hardly saw any signs of civilization. The only building I recall seeing was a storage unit. This isn’t what I had imagined at all. We were driving at night, so the traffic was pretty light too. We go by Ramapo Mtn. Then we drive near Newark NJ. Still no sign of bustling big cities. Boy, that Frank Sinatra was full of crap. We stayed in Newburgh NY for the night.
It’s taking a long time to get unloaded. Al, being as impatient as he is, goes into the receiving office to complain. I’m just guessing, but I don’t think they took too kindly to it because we had to wait a couple more hours before we were finally unloaded. If Al would only learn that being nice and being patient will get you much further than being an @$$#o!e. The good news is, they had a cafeteria there with some pretty good food.
We get another load offer, Fort Edward NY to Bedford PA. So, we get to go back through all the awesomeness of VT Hwy 9 and NY Hwy 7 of the day before. We “get” to go back through it, or “have” to go back through it, depending on which one of us you ask. This time Al was driving so I’m able to take picture. But, it’s raining now, so it’s not the most ideal conditions for photos.
I don’t recall the load at Fort Edward, but afterwards, we head south.
I don’t recall where this fits into the whole scheme of things, but, we were dangerously low on fuel. We stopped at a small truck stop somewhere, but it was not on our list of approved fueling locations, so we have to wait to get authorization from Crete to fuel there. But, Crete’s computer is down so we have to wait. Next to the truck stop is a cool old cemetery so I go over to investigate. It turns out it’s a Revolutionary War era cemetery and has graves from the Civil War era too. It’s actually two small cemeteries side by side. It looks really odd because the graves on the right half of the cemetery had all turned black from age. The graves on the right side were all white.
Anyway, Al gets tired of waiting so we head out with very little fuel in hopes of making it 60 miles or so to the next truck stop. (we made it by the way)
We go through Albany NY and near Poughkeepsie NY. I had always heard stories of how the traffic is hectic everywhere on the east coast, so, I was surprised that we drove about 30-40 miles away from New York City, and all I saw was tree-line interstates. I hardly saw any signs of civilization. The only building I recall seeing was a storage unit. This isn’t what I had imagined at all. We were driving at night, so the traffic was pretty light too. We go by Ramapo Mtn. Then we drive near Newark NJ. Still no sign of bustling big cities. Boy, that Frank Sinatra was full of crap. We stayed in Newburgh NY for the night.
Wednesday July 22nd 2009
We continue on in the morning. We go through Allentown PA. We’re just an hour north of Philadelphia. I’m near the Holy land!
Shart?
We go through Harrisburg PA, through the Blue Mountain tunnel, Kittinny tunnel, Tuscarora Mountain tunnel, down the historic Pennsylvania Turnpike, and by Tussey Mountain.
We drop our load at Bedford Pennsylvania which is a ways east of Pittsburgh. There’s no load for us so we’re going to have to sit at a truck stop in Breezewood PA and wait for a load offer.
The truck stop is very nice, and it’s right in town so I’m going to be able to go for a walk, check out some of the shops, and hopefully find some of that lucky Eagles paraphernalia. But, once again, I’m in Steelers territory so I’m not sure how lucky I’ll be. Before I head out on my walk, we get a load offer. There goes that idea. I tell Al that I’m going to run across to the gift shop across the street.
It looks pretty promising because it has a football helmet on the sign. I get to the front of the shop and find out I’m in “Steeler Country.” Black & Gold everywhere. I’m thinking that if I found an Eagles store like this I’d be in heaven. But it’s not heaven. It’s not Cowboys stuff though, so I know at least I’m not in hell! While walking around the shop I start seeing some merchandise from other teams. Browns, Bills, and other teams from the area. Al calls me and asks if I’m checking out yet. I lied and said “yes.” I finally run across their small Eagles section. Yay! I grab a few gifts and ring up. I ask the cashiers if I’m buying the wrong team. They tell me I am. I assure them that I’m not.
Our load offer is deadhead a whopping 142 miles to Clarion PA and take a load 576 miles to West Allis Wisconsin which is basically a suburb of Milwaukee.
We drive north on I-99 through the Appalachian Mountains. We arrive in Clarion PA at 6:30pm.
It takes 3 hours to load and we head out a 9:30pm. I drive ‘til 1:30am. We park for the night at a Service Station which is the northeast’s version of a rest area only they have gift shops and restaurants too.
Shart?
We go through Harrisburg PA, through the Blue Mountain tunnel, Kittinny tunnel, Tuscarora Mountain tunnel, down the historic Pennsylvania Turnpike, and by Tussey Mountain.
We drop our load at Bedford Pennsylvania which is a ways east of Pittsburgh. There’s no load for us so we’re going to have to sit at a truck stop in Breezewood PA and wait for a load offer.
The truck stop is very nice, and it’s right in town so I’m going to be able to go for a walk, check out some of the shops, and hopefully find some of that lucky Eagles paraphernalia. But, once again, I’m in Steelers territory so I’m not sure how lucky I’ll be. Before I head out on my walk, we get a load offer. There goes that idea. I tell Al that I’m going to run across to the gift shop across the street.
It looks pretty promising because it has a football helmet on the sign. I get to the front of the shop and find out I’m in “Steeler Country.” Black & Gold everywhere. I’m thinking that if I found an Eagles store like this I’d be in heaven. But it’s not heaven. It’s not Cowboys stuff though, so I know at least I’m not in hell! While walking around the shop I start seeing some merchandise from other teams. Browns, Bills, and other teams from the area. Al calls me and asks if I’m checking out yet. I lied and said “yes.” I finally run across their small Eagles section. Yay! I grab a few gifts and ring up. I ask the cashiers if I’m buying the wrong team. They tell me I am. I assure them that I’m not.
Our load offer is deadhead a whopping 142 miles to Clarion PA and take a load 576 miles to West Allis Wisconsin which is basically a suburb of Milwaukee.
We drive north on I-99 through the Appalachian Mountains. We arrive in Clarion PA at 6:30pm.
It takes 3 hours to load and we head out a 9:30pm. I drive ‘til 1:30am. We park for the night at a Service Station which is the northeast’s version of a rest area only they have gift shops and restaurants too.
Thursday July 23rd 2009
OK, I didn’t take notes for the next several days, and since the day I’m writing this is the 28th, I’m sure it’ll be a little fuzzy. I’m reconstructing the days by looking at the pictures.
Let’s start this off by saying, one thing I’ll never get used to is brushing my teeth at a truck stop with a trucker taking a crap in the stall right behind me. At least I hope I never get used to that.
We drove through Ohio. There’s a lot of triple trailer trucks here. I’m told that the back trailers flop around so much on triples that the trick is to not look in your mirror or it‘ll scare you to death!
We go back through Indiana.
Then, Al was in a good mood, so he drove right through the heart of Chicago so I could see it and take some pictures. (I didn’t even ask him to do it) I love Chicago. I’ve been here a few times before.
A good friend of mine lives here, so, when I’m in town, he knows all the good places to go. Too bad we can’t take the truck right up Lake Shore Drive or into Chinatown.
Someday I need to take a ride on the El.
We drive through Milwaukee and drop off our load in West Allis.
Look familiar?
Then we get another load offer. Pick up in nearby Jefferson WI and drop in California somewhere north of Los Angeles. This would be my longest run to date.
I drive 7 hours to a rest area just outside Des Moines where we stop for the night.
Let’s start this off by saying, one thing I’ll never get used to is brushing my teeth at a truck stop with a trucker taking a crap in the stall right behind me. At least I hope I never get used to that.
We drove through Ohio. There’s a lot of triple trailer trucks here. I’m told that the back trailers flop around so much on triples that the trick is to not look in your mirror or it‘ll scare you to death!
We go back through Indiana.
Then, Al was in a good mood, so he drove right through the heart of Chicago so I could see it and take some pictures. (I didn’t even ask him to do it) I love Chicago. I’ve been here a few times before.
A good friend of mine lives here, so, when I’m in town, he knows all the good places to go. Too bad we can’t take the truck right up Lake Shore Drive or into Chinatown.
Someday I need to take a ride on the El.
We drive through Milwaukee and drop off our load in West Allis.
Look familiar?
Then we get another load offer. Pick up in nearby Jefferson WI and drop in California somewhere north of Los Angeles. This would be my longest run to date.
I drive 7 hours to a rest area just outside Des Moines where we stop for the night.
Friday July 24th 2009
On my many trips to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to visit my family, We'd see hundreds of windmills in the northern part of Iowa. Now, it hasn't been very long since I've been that way, but, in that short time, many more windmills have sprung up between Omaha and Des Moines.
Al drove in the morning to the Crete terminal in Lincoln NE. We were just going to stop there for a bit and drop off some paperwork then keep rolling. Little did we know that they had different plans. Since we were there, they decided that it would be best if I hopped on a another truck to get my reefer training. So much for Cali. So much for Al. It’s still pretty early in the day, and I learn that my new trainer won’t be here until 11pm. Al gets word that he’s getting a new student in a couple hours too.
I go out to the truck and pack all my gear. I haul it up to the drivers lounge. Several trips up and down the stairs. I try to catch up on my blog, but I’m just not in the right mood for that so I just piddle around on the web all day. When Al’s new student arrives, Al introduces us. Al tells me that I forgot my Mountain Dew in the fridge and I left a sock on the truck too, so I run down to grab them. When I get there, his new student is on there getting his gear situated. He asks me what Al is like. Wow. Where do I start? I warned him about Al’s farting, constant phone use, and figured he can figure the rest out on his own.
I go to the office just to double check on my new trainers arrival time. They tell me he’ll be here at 11pm. They give me his name and number so we can arrange the pick up. His name is Chris Beltz. I call Chris and he confirms the 11pm arrival. Later that night, Chris calls back and says it’ll be more like 11:30 or 12 before he arrives. I’m just hoping he wasn’t going to want me to drive when he got there because I was getting very sleepy.
He finally shows up. And we load my gear into the truck. Yes, that‘s right, I said “we.” He actually helped me carry my stuff. I’m thinking this will be way better than Al. But, anyway, I’ll tell you more about Chris later.
Since it’s so late already, Chris says we’re just going to stay at the terminal for the night. By the way, now we're driving a 2010 International Pro Star.
Saturday July 25th 2009
Chris works on the Walmart account out of the North Platte Nebraska Walmart Distribution Center terminal. Crete does all the reefer loads for that particular distribution center, so they have a terminal right at the Walmart DC. Now, they do things a little differently on this Walmart account. All of our runs begin and end at the distribution center in North Platte, meaning, we’ll take a load somewhere and drop it, then drive all the way back to the DC empty to get our next load. Chris explains that we’ll be driving entirely in Nebraska, Kansas, North & South Dakota, Iowa, Wyoming and a bit Of Colorado and Minnesota.
He drives us from Lincoln to North Platte where we get our first load. The load goes to Rapid City South Dakota. But, it's not a reefer load, it's just dry freight.
Now, coincidently, my brother and family are vacationing through South Dakota and I was kinda bummed that I couldn’t go too. Stupid job! But now it looks like I get to go anyway!
Chris has me do the driving. Since I don’t really know him yet, I decide it’s probably best if I don’t try taking pictures while I’m driving. Too bad too, because the view is awesome. Badlands? Yeah right, whatever! More like BadAsslands!!! I drive right through all them kitschy type tourist traps that I so love to photograph. Wall Drug, Reptile Gardens, the human skeleton walking a dinosaur skeleton, etc. I guess I’ll just have to steal some pictures from the internet. We drop our load at the Walmart in Rapid City then go to a truck stop for the night.
He drives us from Lincoln to North Platte where we get our first load. The load goes to Rapid City South Dakota. But, it's not a reefer load, it's just dry freight.
Now, coincidently, my brother and family are vacationing through South Dakota and I was kinda bummed that I couldn’t go too. Stupid job! But now it looks like I get to go anyway!
Chris has me do the driving. Since I don’t really know him yet, I decide it’s probably best if I don’t try taking pictures while I’m driving. Too bad too, because the view is awesome. Badlands? Yeah right, whatever! More like BadAsslands!!! I drive right through all them kitschy type tourist traps that I so love to photograph. Wall Drug, Reptile Gardens, the human skeleton walking a dinosaur skeleton, etc. I guess I’ll just have to steal some pictures from the internet. We drop our load at the Walmart in Rapid City then go to a truck stop for the night.
Sunday July 26th 2009
Since I didn’t take notes, I’m a little confused as to the order of events, but basically what we did those first couple days was drive up hwy 83 to Rapid City and back to North Platte, then drive up hwy 83 again all the way to Minot ND and then back to North Platte again. 
We saw a bunch of mule deer.
Our second load was supposed to be a reefer load, but Chris noticed that they had accidently set the temperatures wrong on the trailer so we couldn’t take it. They had one of the chambers set to 32 degrees when it was supposed to be set at -20. That can’t be good. Anyway they gave us the load to Minot ND instead. It was another dry van. So much for my reefer training. Well, I guess I did learn one important lesson, check your temperatures before you leave.
We made it as far as Murdo SD where we slept for the night.
Monday July 27th 2009
I drove the rest of the way to Minot ND. We dropped our load and turned around and headed back. Chris took the wheel in Sterling SD at 9pm. This gives you an idea of how many mosquitos we encountered on the road in the Dakotas.
I stayed up and kept him company for a while, but I eventually got too tired so I hopped up in the bunk and went to bed.
I stayed up and kept him company for a while, but I eventually got too tired so I hopped up in the bunk and went to bed.
Tuesday July 28th 2009
I woke up to find that I was at the Walmart DC in North Platte NE. Chris had written a note on the windshield that said he had gone home, we’ll be leaving tonight, and that I’ll be driving first. So, I got up, took a shower, and spent most of the day catching up on photos and the blog. Chris stopped back in for a minute to inform me that we won’t be leaving until tomorrow morning.
Wednesday July 29th 2009
Around noon Chris called to inform me that he'd be there soon and we'll be heading out. It has already been 5 days of so called "reefer training" with almost no actual reefer training. But now, we have an actual reefer load. And, this load is going to take me home for my home time! First, we stop at Walmart in Fremont Nebraska to drop off several pallets. Then we go to Walmart on 183rd & Center in Omaha NE to drop the rest. Then we had a back load out of IBP/Tyson in Council Bluffs Iowa. That was a quick drop & hook, then we headed several blocks up the road to the Crete terminal in Council Bluffs. Yay! I'm going home for several days. It's after midnight.
Thursday July 30th to Monday August 3rd 2009
Home time! It's 3:30pm on August 3rd, and I still haven't heard from Chris as to when he'll be picking me up to go back to work. That's all right though. I'll take all the home time I can get. By the way, I'm still getting paid while I'm home!
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