Thawing Out in Big D

Thawing out in Big D. Last time I wrote, I was FREEZING in the nation's capital. And that was the last time I had my laptop cracked open until today. I was just too cold or too tired (or both) to get it out the past week.

Anyway, I'm in Dallas until in the morning, and it's been close to 60 degrees today, so it seemed like a good time to get online and check e-mail, pay my bills, and write in the blog.

After I finished being unloaded in D.C. last Friday (not yesterday, the Friday before, in case you didn't notice the date on the last entry), it took a while to get my next load. Well, I couldn't just sit there at the Air Force Base, and there is nowhere that I know of in D.C. to just sit in a parked truck. I didn't know which direction I'd be going, but I knew there was a rest area not too far into Virginia, so I took I-95 south to there, and just took a nap while I waited on my next load.

The next load came eventually: I was picking up a loaded trailer in Chesapeake, Virginia, and taking it to a Wal-mart distribution center up in Woodland, Pennsylvania. I'd been to both places before. The load wasn't going to be ready until early the next morning (Saturday), so I drove just a few miles down to shut down at the Flying J truck stop in Ruther Glen, Virginia.

I picked up the load the next morning (I didn't leave too early, because there was the possibility of some winter weather, and I wanted to do most of my driving in the daytime). I do recall that I got a great night's sleep – which has been one nice thing about driving solo, even while I miss Terry and teaming in many ways.

It's not that far to Woodland from Chesapeake, but I had plenty of time on the load, and I was in no rush. I could have driven farther on Saturday, but by the time I got back to Ruther Glen on my way back up, I was ready to stop. So I shut down at the Flying J again, and made the rest of the run on Sunday.

I will say that on the way up to Woodland, I somehow took the wrong exit off of I-99 (which is still under construction, and isn't that long anyway), and ended up going over a fairly big mountain in Pennsylvania on a two-lane road that a truck shouldn't have been on – it was narrow, and had some steep places with plenty of switchbacks. I was glad there wasn't too much traffic on that road on a Sunday morning.

Even with that, I got back on the right road after a while (and went back over the same mountain on the better road), and got to Woodfield with no more problems. By the time I got there, I had my next load: picking up a very heavy load of paper rolls (45,000 pounds), in a small town in Maryland whose name I have forgotten at the moment, and delivering up to Livonia, Michigan, which is close to Detroit.

I picked up the load on Sunday afternoon, and shut down at a Pilot truck stop (where I had to scale the load I had to make sure the weight on each axle was legal) in Pennsylvania on I-68 (forget the name of that town also).

Monday morning, I woke up really early because I was due up in Livonia at noon – or so I thought.

Something I forgot to mention about this load: I picked up the load on Sunday afternoon about 2:00 pm, and when they sent me the load, they told me it was due for delivery up in Michigan Sunday afternoon at 4:00 pm. Of course, I told them that unless they were going to replace my truck with a teleporter (or install a warp drive engine in the truck), I couldn't be there in two hours. Ha! Almost 500 miles (if I remember correctly – all my load info is in the truck, and I'm in the cafeteria/driver's lounge of the OC here in Dallas).

Anyway, I told them I could be there at noon on Monday, so I roped myself into having to leave about 1:30 in the morning.

No problem.

The first part of my drive was on interstate (I-68 to I-79 north to I-70 west to Wheeling, West Virginia). But, once I got to Wheeling, my routing from Schneider had me taking US 250 all the way across Ohio up to US 20, and taking that west to Toledo, where I'd hop back on interstate.

I don't know what you think of when you think “West Virginia”, but one thing that should be near the top of the list is “mountains”. And, if you are on US 250 in a big truck, it means miles and miles of narrow road, sharp switchback curves on steep hills and mountains, average speed of 25 miles per hour because of the curves (lots of 90 degree turns in addition to the switchbacks) with deep ditches right off the pavement (meaning: at 3:00 in the morning, when you can't see diddly out your right side mirror as you go around another switchback, you hope you are far enough out in the turn to not have the trailer go off the road into the ditch and not so far that if someone comes from the other side you hit them head on).

That is one time that driving is not the pleasure that it is most other times for me. And it's a time that driving solo feels really ALONE and LONELY.

Thank goodness for XM radio.

I made it with no problems, even though taking US 250 is not something I'll do again even if it means going some miles out of the way to stay on the interstate (Schneider routed me that way because they don't pay the toll to go across Ohio on the toll road there – which is I-80 and I-90 – they run together most of the way across Ohio) and even if I have to pay tolls out of my own pocket. With the mountains the first few hours, and the small towns I had to go through every few miles the rest of the way, my average speed was around 40 miles per hour.

About 10:30 am, as I'm still rushing north in Michigan on I-75 to get to the place I'm delivering to, I get a message that my delivery appointment is at 8:00 pm that night, not at noon. No problem, except that 8:00 will be when I have to legally be shut down for my 10 hour break. No way I can deliver at 8:00 pm.

So they tell me to drop the load at the OC in Woodhaven (it's a Schneider facility on I-75 just south of Detroit). Someone else will take it to the place that night.

So I drop the load, and go to bed right away, because it's cold (the theme of my life the past couple of weeks, it seems).

Wake up and have a message that I'm delivering the load I just dropped earlier at 6:00 am Tuesday morning because they couldn't find someone to relay the load Monday night. So, I hook back up to the load. Start on the 30 mile run over to Livonia.

Just after I start out, it starts snowing as badly as I've ever seen (except for several storms I saw when I lived in Chicago). It was snowing at a rate of several inches an hour. Still dark. Roads are really messy, and the morning rush is starting. I'm driving really slowly, can't see the road very well (the lines for the lanes are all covered up, so it's easy to lose your bearings), and am glad I have a heavy load (a heavy load helps with traction in some conditions).

Get to the place (which is a place that prints advertising circulars for newspapers) and they get me unloaded pretty quickly.

My next load is a live load not too far away in Walled Lake, Michigan. It's going to Chicago, to the railyard there. The trailer will end up going to a K-Mart distribution center in Sparks, Nevada, but it will travel most of the way on a freight train from Chicago. It will go to a railyard somewhere out west, and another Schneider driver will go there and take it to its final place. It's fascinating how the stuff you buy everyday at Wal-mart or K-Mart get there, how many steps are sometimes involved.

I get loaded (it's a load of plastic toys) and stop in Gary, Indiana, at the Schneider OC there. It's by far the largest and busiest of all of Schneider's OC's. Most of the large OC's dispense about 5 million gallons of diesel fuel per month – Gary dispenses over 9 million gallons. That should give you an idea of how much larger it is.

My favorite OC (as far as driver amenities) is Indy. The best food, in my opinion, is the OC in Fontana (LA), California.

The worst OC, as far as parking and lack of amenities, is probably either Atlanta, Columbus, Ohio, or some other place I can't think of right now.

I know you will sleep better tonight knowing my opinion of the various Schneider facilities.

So, Wednesday morning, I head into Chicago, where I used to live when I lived and worked at JPUSA. That's where I met my ex-wife also. When I lived there, I rarely drove a car. Most of the time I took the train or the bus anywhere (Chicago has an excellent transit system and the coolest library downtown I've ever seen!).

Of course, driving in Chi-town in a truck is a lot different than driving anything else. But I made it to the railyard (near 26 ^th street on the south side) with no problems. Dropped the load of toys, and went on my way.

My next assignment was to go about 10 miles west of Chicago to get an empty trailer at a grocery warehouse, and then go up to Woodstock, Illinois, for a live load. That load was going to Fort Worth, Texas (which is how I ended up here in Dallas today and tonight).

I got loaded, and then ran into some really bad winter weather. I stopped not too far down the road in Rochelle, Illinois, at a Petro right off I-39 there. The temp that night got down to -19 degrees. Talk about cold – with the wind chill (wind speeds were about 20-25 mph), it was supposed to be like -40 to -45.

I was looking forward to getting down to The Great State of Texas (as I am any time), and warmer temperatures. Then I checked the weather for DFW for Friday (when I was delivering this load), and saw they were getting sleet, snow, freezing rain, ice, and all sorts of nice things, just in time for my arrival. {sigh}

I made it as far as Strafford, Missouri, Thursday night, and then drove the rest of the way to Fort Worth yesterday (Friday). The weather wasn't too bad by the time I got the DFW area. I just had to take it slow and easy. Made a wrong turn and got lost (the directions told me to turn at a stop light that wasn't there any more, so it wasn't totally my fault).

I decided since I was here in the area anyway, and my car is still here in Dallas, I'd go ahead and just take a 34 hour restart. I didn't exactly need it, but I figured after all the winter weather I've been in and the stressful driving I've had to do the past couple of weeks, I would just take some time to relax and get some things done. I was able to do laundry, get some stuff out of my car to put in the truck, make a run to Wal-mart, and that sort of thing.

Oh – and get out my laptop.

Terry. Terry and I talk most every day, and he's doing okay. He is currently in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has a live unload Monday morning up in Yonkers, New York – might as well say New York City. And, the job that Mayor Giuliani did there notwithstanding, that is a loathsome place to have to go in a truck. He's not too happy about that.

I'll keep you posted on how he is. He's still part of this whole thing, even if we are not teaming right now.

I'm lovin' I Love Lucy. Since it's been so cold, and I've been so tired when I shut down much of the last couple of weeks, I've been watching lots of video. Mostly, right now, I'm watching the first season of I Love Lucy , and am enjoying them very much. I also watched the movie Open Range, and enjoyed that immensely. Kevin Costner produced and directed it, and stars in it with Robert Duvall (his character, Boss, in this movie, as well as his character Gus in the Lonesome Dove mini-series are two of my favorite western characters ever. What a great actor he is.).

If you haven't seen Open Range , and you like westerns, I'd recommend it.

At the Petro the other night, I walked into the movie theater (most Petros have those – a very nice thing) in the middle of 3:10 to Yuma , which Terry and I saw in Bethalton, Illinois, last year, and I enjoyed seeing it again. That's a great movie also.

As I write this, I still don't have my next load yet, but I told them I'd be available in the morning, so I should have something soon.

In any case, that's about all I have the energy to write for now (and I'm sure I'm past your energy for reading this blather long past).

Until next time . . . keep the wheels rollin' . . . hopefully in warmer temps . . .

Allan

Freezing in D.C.

Freezing in Washington, D.C. I am this moment sitting in my truck, freezing, waiting to be able to be unloaded at the commissary of the Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. I had an 8:00 am delivery appointment (according to the information I was given by Schneider), so I got here to the base about 7:15 am. My first time in Washington, D.C., in a truck.

Of course, checking through security at the front gate took a while itself. You come to the first entrance gate, show your identification (driver's license in my case), and then trucks are directed to a special covered area where they take my identification again, and check the truck and trailer. Once they are satisfied I'm not delivering for Osama or someone, I pull forward and park on the side of the main road and walk what seems like 2 miles (it's not nearly that far) up to the Visitor's Center to get a pass.

Of course, I didn't know that they would want to see the registration and insurance card for my truck until I had walked up there. So I walk back to the truck, get my permit book (with all that info in it) and trudge back up the sidewalk, which is covered in snow and ice (and I'm thinking the last thing this place needs is the sight of a big fat guy falling down on the ice – it would probably show up on some radar somewhere as a threatening maneuver), and get my visitor's pass.

Even with all that, I made it to the commissary (not a place I'd normally expect to deliver computers to, but that's what they are getting). Find the entrance at the back after parking my truck. Lady inside tells me that the guy who will handle unloading the truck won't be here until 9:00 or 9:30. And even then, I have to wait until all their normal (food) deliveries are done before they will let me back into a door.

She's a very nice lady, but she's telling me stuff I don't want to hear. I don't mind the waiting. I still don't have my next load assignment yet. But it's cold, and I don't want to idle the truck, even though I might have to (or use my bunk heater) if it gets much colder (or, more precisely, if I get much colder).

I went in at 9:00, and the guy isn't here yet (“He actually doesn't start until 10:00. Come back at 10:00.”) so I figured I'd write in the blog after checking my e-mail.

Now you know as much about what is going on here as I do.

Now, to backtrack to the last entry. I had stopped in Atlanta for the night on my way to Charlotte. When I got to Charlotte Wednesday, I was able to meet the people on my new board. They are nice enough, but I can already tell it won't the same as working with Julian and the folks in West Memphis. I think that experience spoiled me. But, I think I'll get along with them easily enough.

I enjoyed being in Charlotte again. And to conserve my hours, I set my availability out to Thursday morning. And my load was to pick up a relay trailer there in Charlotte and bring it up here to D.C. where I am now waiting to have it be unloaded.

Kristi. Kristi is one of my cousins in Georgia, who is like another sister as far as how close we've always been. Well, she has been reading this blog (I told her she might like the pictures I took a few weeks ago when Terry and I were in Montana), and she has discovered the comments button.

Her comment on one of my previous entries, where I mentioned “looking for an empty” trailer was to ask why I'm looking for an empty when there is one under my cap.

It's nice to be loved.

Hello, Kristi. I'm glad you are reading the blog, and using it as a medium to show me how funny you are. Looking forward to seeing you, Bobby and the kids soon, I hope. Love you!

The Outisder. I won't comment much on this since my computer's batteries are getting low, and my invertor (which I use to plug it up in the truck) is chirping at me in a very irritating manner, so I'll have to shut this thing off soon.

Anyway, for most of the past year, I've been reading this Colin Wilson classic, and have finally finished it. It has been a book that has challenged my thinking on many different levels, and as much as anything else, it has been a tour-de-force through much of the literature of the 17 ^th through the early 20 ^th centuries, especially from the perspective of the theme of the book, which is how the existentialist concept of the human predicament is treated in literature. I especially enjoyed his enlightening treatment of some of the works of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky – fascinating! It would have been worth reading just for the literary education alone, but it has been a seminal source of insight for me on several personal levels, and sort of puts the end-cap on at least one dimension of some fundamental changes I've journeyed through (well, agonized through, actually) the last several years (beginning, really, with my illness in late 2001, and continuing through much of last year, with some periods of welcome calm in between).

Now, I'll move on to some lighter reading for a while. I always have several books and magazines going at any given time – as I've said before in this blog, I've always been a voracious reader (and sometimes, my writing approaches the same volume, but not as consistently).

I might comment more specifically on The Outsider at some point, but I'm out of battery power. Guess I'll just relax in the bunk until I go back to check on this load situation.

Until next time . . . keep the wheels rollin' . . . and look out for empty-headed drivers . . .

Allan

Seeing People I Care About on the Road

Seeing people I care about on the road. The last time I wrote I was on my way to Florida to deliver a load to a Wal-mart distribution center in Alachua. I mentioned hoping to see an old friend while I was there.

My next load was to pick up Monday morning in Blakely, Georgia, and delivery the same day to a Kimberly-Clark facility in Mobile, Alabama.

So, Sunday afternoon, I was able to visit with my old buddy Van. We had lunch at a small place in Live Oak, and we were able to get caught up with each other. Very nice.

I drove up to Blakely, Monday morning (I had spent the night at a truck stop in Tallahassee Sunday night) and was loaded with crushed cardboard that was going to be recycled by Kimberly-Clark. It was neat that the place I picked up was a work site for people with various sorts of physical and mental challenges. I was greeted enthusiastically when I arrived by about 30 folks standing around outside the place, and when I left, I was sent off with gusto as well, with several folks waving and wishing me a safe trip or good day. It was very endearing.

I got over to Mobile yesterday afternoon, and told Schneider I'd be available Tuesday morning because I was out of hours to run on my 70 (which means that you can only work/drive 70 hours in 8 days). I actually went over my limit by about 45 minutes.

My Daddy happens to be working in Mobile at the moment (this is the last week they are there; next week they are supposed to go down to south Florida), so I was able to call him and we met for supper last night and then visited for quite a while. I had stopped at the Pilot in Satsuma, just north of Mobile, to take my break.

The last time I saw my Daddy was when Terry and I were passing through Denver a few months ago.

This morning (well, it's technically yesterday morning now since it's after midnight as I write this), I picked up a load at another Kimberly-Clark facility down in Theodore (just west of Mobile) and I'm taking it up to the Schneider OC in Charlotte, North Carolina (which is where I went to Schneider's truck driving school three years ago). I made it as far as Atlanta before shutting down (I normally would have driven further, but ran into my hours limitations again).

Of course, I'm only 80 miles away from where most of my family lives, but since my car is in Dallas still, going up there was not a practical option. I thought about calling one of my best friends, Tim, who lives up in Marietta, to see if he wanted to do something, but it was such short notice, and I was sleepy when I got to Atlanta, so I decided to skip that.

I was going to just take a nap, but slept from about 5:00 pm until just about an hour ago.

So, this narrative of the past few days of my life on the road prompts a couple of overall thoughts: (1) one of the things that makes driving all over the country so enjoyable to me are those special times I get to go through areas where I have friends or family. The past few days provides two good illustrations of that. It is neat to be able to see folks all over the place that I normally wouldn't get to see as often, if ever.

Of course, there is a trade-off on that front as well: in driving all over the country, especially staying out for months at a time like I have chosen to do, I don't see many of the people in my family or friends that I care about as often as I might otherwise (such as when I was living in Rome for 15 months so I could help take care of my grandmother). But, except for that short time, I haven't lived near my family in Georgia for the last 25 years, so that was an anomaly (though a good one).

Nevertheless, trade-offs and anomalies notwithstanding, I love driving over the road, and one of the things that lends some variety and joy to that experience is getting to see folks I care about in different places.

And to continue the original thought from three paragraphs above: (2) When I was visiting with my Daddy last night, I was reminded how fortunate I am to have a close relationship and friendship with both of my parents. I stay in touch with both of them through phone calls, and rely on both of them for their support and friendship. I am lucky to be very close to my sister also, and count her as one of my best friends. I'd be honored to count her as a friend even if we weren't related.

My parents were literal lifesavers to me in ways they may not even fathom, especially several years ago when I was struggling with illness and then the disintegration of my marriage (all of which was punctuated by deep internal struggle and change). I have friends – good ones – and I'm thankful for every one of them, but I am doubly blessed to be able to count my Mama and Daddy in that number.

Elections. As I write this, Mitt Romney has just won the Republican primary up in Michigan. I was hoping McCain would win and solidify his standing, but, on the other hand, it's exciting to see the contest still going on for the ultimate nomination. I'll spare you any more commentary on that front.

That's about it for this time.

Until next time . . . keep the wheels rollin' . . . as long as you have hours to run . . .

Allan

Keepin' the Wheels Rollin' -- Terry -- Politics -- The Ex-Files

Keeping the wheels rollin'. Last time I wrote, a few days ago, I was shut down in Bracey, Virginia, on my way up to Perryman, Maryland. It was a very tight load, with barely enough time to get it there when it was due. My load information said it would be a drop load, but when I got there, and saw the long lines of trucks lined up outside the front gate waiting on doors to become available, it didn't take much time to realize it would be a live unload.

All in all, though, it wasn't too bad. I was tired after driving almost 300 miles up I-95 at the time I'm normally sleeping. And, I only got about 3 hours of solid sleep (again, because it was out of sync with my normal sleep patterns), so that just compounded the effects of my fatigue. The nice thing was that starting at 1:00 am let me drive through all the major traffic areas (Richmond, which isn't bad any time usually, DC, which is bad all the time during the day, and Baltimore, which is normally congested during the daytime also) without much traffic of any consequence. Made for a nice ride.

One nice thing about driving at night is that I get to hear some things on XM radio that I don't normally hear during the day: Coast to Coast AM, other talk radio folks, the Midnight Trucking Show, stuff like that.

One nice thing about a live unload (or load) is that most of the time, you can relax and take a nap, which is what I did.

The next load I was supposed to pick up in Lititz, Pennsylvania, going to Poca, West Virginia. The trailer was supposed to be already loaded, but it was a live unload in Poca at 7:00 am Friday morning, which meant that I would be stuck driving all night again. Ugh! I hate getting off my schedule like that. Usually, there is enough time on the loads they give you as a solo driver (at least in my past experience) that you would have the flexibility to sort out your schedule to get back to whatever is comfortable for you. But on this load, there wasn't.

I was dreading it.

So I drive up to Pennsylvania, a very lovely drive, but a slow one with all the small towns and traffic on the two lane roads I was on. Get to the place, go inside the shipping office, tell them I'm there to pick up the load.

What load?

This load going up to Poca, West Viriginia. Gave the lady as much info as Schneider had sent me.

Shuffles through paperwork. Looks perplexed. Finally looks up at me and says: “It's not here. There is nothing we have loaded for Poca at all. It's possible it's already been picked up, but I can't be sure. You'll have to call your dispatcher.”

Go back out to the truck and call my DBR (what Schneider calls our dispatcher). Stay on hold for a while so Julian can check things out. Comes back on the line and tells me that the load was put on hold for some reason. There really is no load.

So inside, I cheer! Oh boy! I don't have to drive all night. I tell Julian to just show me going 60 miles away to the Schneider OC in Carlisle, Pennsylvania (near Harrisburg), to shut down for the night (I'm getting close to the limit of 14 hours I can work in one shift), and I'll be available for a load the next morning. No problem.

I get to Carlisle, go in and take a shower (note: truck drivers, more than most anyone in the world, can appreciate how nice a shower is; living on the road makes a nice shower a true luxury, one not to be taken for granted. Of course, walking into most truck stops, one also realizes how few truckers take advantage of the luxury very often.), get something to eat, and go back to the truck. Make a couple of phone calls. It's only about 5:00 pm.

But I fall to sleep right away, and sleep very deeply until the next morning. I must have gotten about 11 hours of uninterrupted sleep, and even after I woke up the first time, since it was cold, and rainy, and I hadn't gotten a load, I dozed for another two hours or so. But I woke up feeling great.

And the next load was a nice one: picking up at a Walmart distribution center up in Woodfield, Pennsylvania, and delivering to another Walmart place down in Alachua, Florida. I have been to both places a few times, and I have plenty of time on the load. It's the load I'm currently under.

I picked up the load yesterday afternoon and shut down last night in Hagerstown, Maryland. I could have driven a while longer, but I wanted to stay on my early schedule, so I shut down about 5:00 pm.

The trailer I picked up at Walmart had one tire that was going flat. The load was light, so I decided it could travel okay until I went through Schneider's OC in Charlotte, North Carolina, today.

Today was a beautiful day for driving all the way down through Virginia and North Carolina and into South Carolina: warm temperatures, sunny skies, not too much traffic (although that is relative: there is always lots of traffic on I-81, which is the road I was on much of the day). And coming over the mountain from Virginia to North Carolina on I-77 (just north of Mount Airy) is always a beautiful drive.

I'll be delivering not too far from where one of my good friends, Van, lives. He, Terry and I went to the same college in Dallas, and Van and I have been friends since we went to the same church in Rome, Georgia, over 25 years ago. My, how time flies.

As a matter of fact, it was almost a year ago that the three of us took a weekend trip to Jacksonville, Florida, last February, and that's where Terry and I solidified our plans to start teaming soon afterward.

Much of it depends on what kind of load I get after I deliver to the Walmart in Alachua. But, hopefully it will work out.

Terry's travels. The last time I wrote, I think Terry was in Ohio. He picked up a load in Ohio and delivered it to Dallas late last night. When I talked to him today, he was still waiting on a load. They had told him that freight was soft, so he might be waiting there a while. Hopefully not too long.

But he's doing fine. I'm sure he would send greetings to any of you who ever read this (if anyone does).

New dispatcher. Wednesday night, when I was shut down in Bracey, Virginia, I had finally done something that Terry and I had talked about doing several weeks ago when we first started talking about splitting up: I sent an e-mail to our dispatcher (and his supervisor) thanking him for the excellent job he did working with Terry and me. I went over it with Terry on the phone to make sure it said what we both wanted it to say, and sent it. Still haven't heard anything back from that.

But, yesterday, I received a notice on my satellite unit that I had been assigned to a new team in Charlotte, North Carolina. My new DBR's name is Angie, and I called yesterday afternoon to introduce myself, and we had a nice chat. She's fairly new, so she asked me to be patient as she learns the ropes. No problem. She seems very nice. And I'm generally easy to get along with (Terry might dispute that, but he isn't here to gainsay me. Ha ha), so I told her that she'd find me easy to work with.

What was that? “As long as you get your way.” Who said that? Did Terry sneak in the back door? Turn up the lights! Oh, it's everyone who's ever known me, out en masse. Well, you folks can just go on back home if that's the attitude you're coming here with.

Sorry for that interruption, folks. Now, where were we? Oh yes, I'm easy to get along with and all that. Chicken in every pot, jobs for everyone, handouts for all the kiddos, etc., etc. I'm the candidate with the experience and I'll bring change that we all need as well . . . oh. I'm a truck driver. Got lost in my own delusions there for a moment. Sorry.

But, since you all brought it up . . .

Politics. If you are not a political junkie, or if you don't have a big shovel to get through all this with, you can just skip it, as you wish.

BUT, if you love politics, can't get enough of it, stick around.

I have always loved politics – well, since high school anyway. And, more than any election since 1980, this year's election promises to be a landmark one on every level, for every reason.

Last week's New Hampshire primary was as exciting as any football game in its intensity and surprise finish. It is fascinating to watch the candidates deal directly with the voters, and the contest on both sides of the major parties is incredible. The stakes could not be higher, and people are coming out in record numbers (so far) to let their voices be heard.

On the Democratic side, a nice battle is shaping up between Hillary and Obama. Obama is certainly a charismatic and able speaker; his speech after he won the Iowa caucuses was the best speech given by anyone I can remember hearing in a long time. His positions on issues are almost polar opposite to mine, but he is going to be an important player on the national stage for a long time. I think he will probably end up being the President at some point.

But I still think, in the end, Hillary will end up with the Democratic nomination. In the states coming up where the Democratic rank and file are entrenched, she will do well. Will it be enough? I don't know. How much will Obama appeal enough to younger and newer voters to get them to come to the polls? And how much will he bleed off traditional support that would go to Hillary (especially among black voters)? It will be fascinating to watch.

John Edwards will wrap up his campaign after South Carolina, I think. At this point, he is just a bothersome gnat flying around Hillary and Obama. As he has been all along. He's a good speaker, and I think he's probably deeply sincere in his beliefs (that corporations are bad, and are the source of much of the problems in this country).

On the Republican side: first let's get this out of the way: Ron Paul is not really a Republican. He is a Libertarian (or libertarian if you prefer). And, I confess, I am more libertarian than anything else. However, Ron Paul's (and the Libertarian party as a whole) perspective and approach to foreign policy (very isolationist) would be disastrous for our country. But, on the domestic issues, I'm right down the line a classic libertarian. Along the lines of Ayn Rand's Objectivism branch. I become moreso as I grow older, and grow further away from the social conservative stances I held for much of my younger life.

And Ron Paul doesn't have a chance to win the nomination or the Presidency.

And, in spite of his lively showing in the last Republican debate, Fred Thompson, even if he wins South Carolina, will quickly fade back to Tennessee, in my opinion. So I'm not counting him in any of my reasoning to follow.

The Republican battle is between two distinct legs of the party: the social conservatives (the Religious Right), and the fiscal conservatives (or general conservatives). There is some overlap; many people in the Republican party are both, but there are significant numbers of folks who are in one but not the other. Those are the people who will make the decision. Whoever comes out in the biggest numbers, basically, will have their candidate win.

For the social conservatives, the fight is between Mike Huckaby and Mitt Romney. Huckaby has the momentum, and if Romney loses in Michigan, I think he will be hard pressed to win with the social conservatives. Lots of fiscal conservatives like Romney, but it's the social conservatives that Romney needs to win over. In my opinion, Huckaby wins this leg.

Fiscal conservatives are generally going to choose between John McCain and Rudy Giuliani. And, right now, McCain has the momentum. Rudy has been betting on coming into the primary contest later, focusing on the big player states like Florida, New York, and California. But, I think his strategy will prove flawed. If McCain wins Michigan and then shows well in South Carolina (though I think Huckaby will win overall here because it's the South, and the social conservatives are the majority of Republican voters in the South), then I think his momentum will push him forward past Rudy.

So, I think the final showdown for the Republican nomination will be between Huckaby and McCain. And, even with the support of the so-called Religious Right, McCain wins.

So, at this point, (you may need a bigger shovel now) I think it will come down to Hillary vs. McCain.

I hope McCain wins.

But, if McCain is the nominee, many social conservatives will probably not bother voting in the general election (just like they stayed home in the congressional elections of 2006), unless their dislike of Hillary propels them just to vote against her.

So, I still think that if Hillary wins the nomination, she has a good chance of being elected, as I said in my earlier political diatribe a few weeks ago.

The Ex-Files. It's weird, but my ex-wife, Charlotte, whom I still love with all my heart (then why . . .? long story. I'll tell you sometime.) has been calling me more lately than she has in the past year or more. I always enjoy talking to her, and there is no hint of us trying to resume some sort of regular relationship, but it brings to the front of my heart all those emotions of remembering the good times, and all the precious good things that we enjoyed in our relationship, and how much I miss them some days.

One reason she called me last week was to tell me that my ex-mother-in-law has a spot on her breast (she had breast cancer about five years ago), and that they are going to do some more testing. But it's a hard time for them.

I called my mother-in-law (whom I love and who loves me as much as we ever did; the same is true of my family's feelings for Charlotte) and we talked for about an hour the other night. She caught me up on everyone in the family (Charlotte, like her dad, whom I still miss, gives me the short version when we talk) in her wonderfully colorful and detailed way. And we talked about her own fears and anxieties about these latest test results, and what it might mean for her. As always, she is trusting her faith to see her through. I guess it's seen her through these 75 years, so it should see her through this as well

I'll keep you posted on how she's doing.

And, so, I suppose this entry will end here.

Until next time . . . keep the wheels rollin' . . .

Allan

On the Road . . . Alone

Going it alone. As I said in the last entry, Terry took off for Ohio on Sunday afternoon. He is currently (unless something changed since we talked) headed back for Dallas with a relay load. Monday morning, I went to pick up an empty trailer in Garland to take down to Athens, Texas, for a live load going up to a Wal-mart distribution center in Hope Mills, North Carolina, just a little bit south of Fayetteville.

When I got to the place I was supposed to get an empty, there were plenty of Schneider trailers, but they were all still loaded. After some waiting, I was told to go right up the road to Sunnyvale to get an empty trailer from another place. This time, it worked. Off to Athens, arriving just in time for my appointment.

Got loaded pretty quickly, and within an hour, I was rolling northeast up to catch I-20 headed east. I stopped for the night in Jackson, Mississippi, and got a great night's sleep.

Up early the next morning and I made it to Aiken, South Carolina, before shutting down. I had plenty of time on the load, but I woke up really early (about 2:30 am), and just decided to start rolling since my 10 hour break was just up. Made it to Hope Mills with no problem and picked up an empty trailer (this is one of the only Wal-mart distribution centers I've ever seen in which all the Schneider trailers are not filled with pallets, which drives us drivers crazy if we are trying to get an empty).

Next load (the one I'm on now) is going to be very tight on delivery. I went up to Brown Summit, North Carolina (just north of Greensboro), to pick up a very heavy paper load at Procter and Gamble. It is delivering in the morning at 6:45 (I hope) up in Perryville, Maryland (I'll have to correct the town name later . . . I can't remember it exactly, and my load info isn't handy). It's a drop load, which usually means there is a window that is flexible for delivery, but this is an appointment time that's specific.

Of course, sometimes, when I get to a delivery like that, it will turn out to be a live unload.

Today, I made it as far as Bracey, Virginia, before shutting down. Bracey is 4 miles across the Virginia state line from North Carolina on I-85. I have about 270 miles to go in the morning. And it will be mostly on I-95 (my least favorite interstate to drive on) through Richmond, DC, and Baltimore. My one advantage is that I'll be able to leave at 1:00 am from here, and hopefully that will at least get me through DC before the morning rush kicks in. Baltimore wouldn't be nearly as bad as DC.

If I don't run into any traffic or construction delays, I will be able to make the delivery on time. I will do my best in any case. The main thing in those situations is to communicate with Schneider and let them know what's going on. If I do that, I've never run into any problems (or at least not many – ha ha).

It has been a long time since I have had to drive any length on I-95 north of Richmond, or spend much time in the northeast. Running solo, I will make up for much of that lapse, based on my past experience. But it sure would be nice to get a load going west, or south, out of Maryland.

Since I began writing this entry (I'm sitting in the restaurant at the Simmons Travel Center here in Bracey; had a very nice meal, and I'm pleasantly surprised to know that they have free wireless internet. It wasn't advertised, and Bracey isn't a place I'd expect much more than two cans and a string for communication. I think I would have had a connection with my Verizon card, but wasn't expecting much speed. I'm also enjoying this sweet tea.), Terry called me. He is still in Ohio, and has had a long and rough day of it. He had to go, and told me to call him back in a few minutes. So I don't have all the juicy details yet.

Sleep calls. My intention when I sat down here was to write more . . . about the recent political races, talking to my ex-wife and mother-in-law over the past few days, and other things. But, since I'm going to have to start rolling at midnight (1:00 am local time), I need to get out to the truck and get some sleep.

More of everything later . . .

Until then, keep the wheels rollin' . . .

Allan and my half of the Lonesome Dove Xpress

"Two Roads Diverged . . ."

An Ending. A Beginning. Well, it's official. Terry and I are not teaming any longer. I was working my way (as quickly as Schneider would let me) to Dallas to meet back up with Terry last week. Terry got to Dallas on Friday, the 3 ^rd , and our DBL (dispatcher for those not with Schneider) had left him a message on his phone that there was a truck available for him in Dallas.

And so there was.

I got here to Dallas (which is where I still am until tomorrow) yesterday afternoon. We had to have the maintenance shop take out the invertor that was installed for Terry's CPAP machine (some of you misread “CPAP”, didn't you? Ha ha) so it could be put in his new truck. We got that done.

We took the rest of our stuff out of the storage unit we had rented here in Dallas when we first started teaming. All my stuff is in my car until they decide when I'm going to be able to take it to Atlanta, when I'll be able to go by my storage unit in Rome and put anything in there that's not going to be in the truck with me. I will (I suppose, since they haven't told me anything differently) keep driving our truck until they tell me otherwise.

Terry spent a good part of last night and today getting things situated in the truck. We had some good time to talk and just visit, which was nice. Last night we went to Outback for a nice meal.

We both waited around all day for loads which never came. Finally, Terry got a load that's taking him up to Ohio. He's gone, and I miss him already. I mean, he's been out of the truck since Christmas, but now that we are officially not teaming, it's just more real in my emotions and mind.

I got a message from operations on my satellite unit in the truck that they were still showing the truck in the shop being worked on (they finished it last night, actually), and that's why I hadn't been sent a load yet. Since it was getting later in the day, I told them to just show me available in the morning early and that way I wouldn't get a load (probably) that would totally wreck my schedule. And it will let me get in a 34-hour restart (not driving for 34 hours lets you reset your clock for the number of hours one can drive – now, c'mon, admit it: don't you wish there was such a thing as a “restart” for some of the dumb things you've probably done in your life?) also, which never hurts.

So, now, I find myself sitting in the very crowded (mostly with students who are in training here at the Dallas OC) cafeteria area of the OC catching up on some e-mail, blog-reading, and some writing, while listening to some cool Avril Lavigne tunes.

I will be continuing this blog, but of course, it will be different in some ways. To those of you who have followed our teaming adventures, thanks for your interest. I hope you'll keep reading.

Until next time . . . keep the wheels rollin' . . .

Allan

Happy New Year! -- Atlanta -- Changes to changes?

Happy New Year! I hope your new year has already gotten off to a good start. I spent the first day of the year driving from Knoxville, Tennessee (where I shut down last night) to Jeffersonville, Ohio, about 40 miles south of Columbus (which is where I have a live unload in the morning). Part of the day I drove through snow, and there is a chance for several inches to accumulate tonight. I'm glad I have only 40 miles to go in the morning.

Atlanta. Last time I wrote, I was in Atlanta, anticipating taking a loaded trailer to Tucker for a live unload at some electrical supply company.

I woke up early, did a good pre-trip on the truck, and drove in the foggy darkness up to Tucker, only about 20 miles from the OC (which is on the south side of Atlanta). The turn-by-turn directions I got on the satellite from Schneider and the route my GPS was taking me were the same, so I didn't anticipate any problems.

About 2 miles from the place I was going, I was supposed to turn on Old Norcross Tucker Road. As I peered through the fog waiting on the traffic light to turn green, I saw what every truck driver dreads: a sign that clearly indicated NO TRUCKS. I can't legally go down the road I am supposed to go down to get to the place I have to get to.

No problem. Ask my GPS to figure an alternate route. Okay. Go on up to Jimmy Carter Boulevard. I know that is a good road.

But I come back to the same street, only from the other direction. To get to the place I'm going, I must go down this street that says NO TRUCKS. What to do?

Well, when I used to drive for the local company in Georgia, I made deliveries to every kind of small place (including people's homes) you can imagine, and sometimes it involved going on roads marked with those signs. I also figured that if we have delivered to this company before or other companies have, trucks have to get there somehow.

So off I go. It was less than a quarter mile, it was dark, not much traffic, and foggy as all git-out (I'm from Georgia, remember; that's what we say there), and I felt like I had a reasonable explanation should I get stopped.

Got to the place with no problem. But the place was not what I thought it would be.

I verified the address several times. There was no other place it could be: I was in front of an elementary school, thankfully closed for the holidays.

Then I realized: the electrical company was doing some work at the school – it had to be it. No wonder the route was a little weird. But still, it was time for the load to deliver, according to the information I had, and no one was around.

I had a phone number for the customer, so I called it. It was an electrical company but they were closed, so I left a message.

Guy finally calls me back after a little while. This company ordered the product, but the guy doing the work at the school is actually a different company, and he gave me the man's number. Called the guy.

“ You're there already?”

“ Yes. I was told this was a live unload at this address – the school – at 7:00 am. I've been here about 30 minutes.”

“ Well, it's not a live unload. You're supposed to leave the trailer. We're going to be working out of it for several weeks.”

“ Oh. Okay. That's not a problem to drop the load.”

“ I'll come over as soon as my guys get in and I get them out to show you where to put the trailer.”

He got there about 8:00 am and I backed the trailer into the spot at the back of the school where he needed it.

Once everything got straight on what was going on, it was an easy delivery. I kept sending messages to Schneider letting them know what was going on, and everything ended up being okay.

I bobtailed back to the Atlanta OC since I didn't have my next load yet. On the way there, the satellite unit started beeping, letting me know my next load was coming in.

I was to go down to McDonough and pick up a load going up here to Columbus with a live unload appointment for 8:00 on the 2 ^nd , which is tomorrow morning as I write this entry.

I picked up the load with no problem, even though it was later than I would have liked it to be leaving Atlanta. Still, no major problems.

Since I had time on the load, I decided to shut down in Knoxville last night and do most of the driving today.

Driving both days was good, and I mostly occupied myself listening to satellite radio, mostly coverage of the primary pandemonium surrounding the Iowa caucuses coming up on the 3 ^rd . I'm enjoying all that. Like I've said before, I'm a political junkie.

Changes to the changes? Stay tuned for possible changes to what Terry and I are doing. Don't know much . . . can only say that we are going to have a long talk when we both get to Dallas. Terry called me a little while ago, and he is stuck in Chicago at the airport because of the same winter weather I'm looking at outside this window here at the Flying J where I stopped for the night.

I'll keep you posted.

More or less.

Until next time . . . keep the wheels rollin' . . .

Allan