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

Going solo -- 200,000 miles -- XM radio

Running solo. I had another relaxing day in Dallas on the 26 ^th .

I started running early the next day, going to pick up a JC Penney load over in Haslet, Texas, just north of Fort Worth on I-35. The load was going to Plainfield, Indiana, about 20 miles west of Indianapolis.

I delivered that load on Friday, the 28 ^th after stopping for the night in Stafford, Missouri.

That load was taking me right past the headquarters for Prime, Inc., in Springfield, Missouri, a company I've been strongly considering giving a try with their lease program if Schneider still doesn't have a truck for me soon, when Terry and I officially stop teaming. I called ahead to make sure it was okay, and then stopped in, talked to a recruiter, and got a tour of their driver facility known as the “Millenium Building.” I must say, it was the most impressive facility for truck drivers I've ever seen, and if they treat their drivers out on the road the way they have provided for them in the facility in Springfield, they are a good company.

I picked up a load in Plainfield right after I dropped the JC Penney load that was going to a Walmart distribution center down in Midway, Tennessee, not too far from Knoxville. It was a short run with plenty of time on it (it didn't have to be delivered until today), so I shut down at the Indianapolis OC Schneider has.

Now here's an example when driving a truck solo is nice as far as some freedom and flexibility to adjust your schedule: I had started my day very early the first two days on the load to Plainfield (between 2:30 and 3:00 am both days), but since I had plenty of time on the load to Midway, I had the luxury of sleeping as long as I wanted on Friday night. I still started at about 5:30 am, but it was nice to get all the sleep I wanted. I must have been tired, because I didn't even get out my laptop, and I slept very solidly for about 10 hours (almost unheard of for me). But it was nice to have that option.

I got to Midway early afternoon yesterday, dropped the load, and I still didn't have my next load. Walmart didn't have any empty Schneider trailers (well, there were plenty of SNI trailers, but they were all loaded with pallets. Walmart has a habit of using empty SNI trailers for their own storage. SNI knows about this, but apparently there is little they will do about it. But it's frustrating as a driver if they tell you to pick up an empty trailer at one of these places – which they do – and then you can't find one that Walmart isn't using for their own storage.), so I just bobtailed (drove my truck with no trailer attached) over to this place I could park a few miles away next to a convenience store and waited.

I didn't have to wait too long. They sent me back to Walmart to get a different kind of trailer – the kind of trailer specifically designed to travel by train. It can also be hooked to a truck, but it's just a different kind of trailer. Walmart did have some of those. I was just taking the empty trailer from Midway down to Atlanta.

That usually happens when a driver is in an area with not too much freight, and they move the driver to an area that has more freight. I shut down in Knoxville, Tennesee, at a Pilot there.

It was only 200 miles from there to Atlanta to the OC here, so I was able to take my time (which I had to do anyway since it was raining and there was quite a bit of traffic on I-75 today). I called my Mama last night and told her I might get to stop at this truck stop off the interstate in Cartersville (usually it's the TA off exit 296) if she wanted to come over and visit for a little while.

We did that this afternoon, and we had a nice visit. She was able to bring my mail also, which will give me something else to do when I get off the laptop. Ha ha

I got my next load assignment, which really isn't much of anything as far as driving is concerned. I'm picking up a loaded trailer that was dropped here earlier by another driver (I think it was originally picked up in Laredo) and taking it less than 20 miles away to Tucker, Georgia (a suburb of Atlanta), for a live unload in the morning at 7:00 am.

SNI pays more for short mileage, and for time I'll be there getting unloaded, but it's not nearly as much as if I were using that same time driving. But those types of loads happen occasionally, especially to a solo driver. It's just a fact of life, and if it doesn't happen a lot, it really doesn't impact things a whole lot.

So, right now, I'm just sitting here in the Atlanta OC catching up on stuff online, periodically watching the Cowboys-Redskins game on TV. Incidentally, Terry is at that game with his son. Right now Dallas is losing, so I hope things improve since they went to all the effort to go watch it live.

Terry is getting back to Dallas on January 3 ^rd . I'll call tomorrow to make sure they have me being routed through there about that time.

I miss Terry, but I'm enjoying driving solo, just like I always did before. There are advantages to driving as a team and driving solo. I like them both. The main things for me right now are that I'm sleeping better since I'm sleeping when the truck isn't moving, and I'm able to listen to some things on XM (mostly news or talk radio) that I don't normally listen to because the volume would wake Terry up.

200,000 miles! I forgot to write about it when it happened, but a couple of weeks ago, we officially passed the 200,000 mile mark for how much we've driven since March. 200,000 in 9 months! That may not seem like a lot to you, but it amazes me that we have driven so far. Very cool.

Cool programs on XM radio. Over the weekend, I've listened to a lot of political coverage on XM radio. I have stumbled across a couple of programs on C-SPAN radio (just like the cable TV channel) that were fascinating if you like history at all. Yesterday, they were playing some newly released phone conversations of LBJ from 1967. I had never heard LBJ aside from some bits of speeches and things. I was amazed how blunt and coarse he was on the phone. Definitely sounded like a man not afraid to tell things the way he saw them. Reminded me of my father-in-law, a great man, whom I loved dearly and still miss three years after he's been gone.

Today, I heard some taped interviews of Harry Truman that were recorded in 1961. Very enjoyable listening. You can listen to all that stuff online. Just go to C-SPAN.

I suppose that's it for now.

Until next time, keep the wheels rollin' . . . even if it's only to go 20 miles away . . .

Allan

Christmas in Dallas -- Pictures of Montana

Christmas Day (and then some) in Dallas. It is the day after Christmas as I write this, sitting in the dining area of the Schneider OC in Dallas. We got here yesterday morning about 5:00 with our load, and then went right to the OC.

Terry loaded all his things he'd need into my car, and he drove on up toward Little Rock. He is supposed to come back to Dallas on January 3.

I decided to take the rest of the day off yesterday because I was exhausted (I didn't sleep well Monday night, and then drove from midnight until we got here to Dallas). I slept a few hours in the truck before the phone woke me up. It was time to wake up anyway and call all the people in my world who love me and whom I love, mostly my family and a few friends. Everyone with whom I spoke said they had a great Christmas. Some are glad that it's going to be over.

I sent Schneider a message using the satellite link in our truck (we call it the “Qualcomm”) around noon to make sure that they were showing that Terry was taking time off and that I was running solo until after the first of the year. I was only a little surprised when they told me that they showed both Terry and me being off until January 2 ^nd . They told me in order to change that, I'd need to call our dispatcher this morning.

I got a great night's sleep last night with the truck not moving. When I woke up I called our dispatcher and asked him to show me running solo until January 3 ^rd when I'll come back to Dallas to pick Terry up. Of course, we are both still on waiting lists for trucks. And I don't know quite what's going to happen while Terry's gone on his end that could alter his own plans somewhat. So our ultimate plans are still quite up in the air.

When I talked to our dispatcher I told him to just go ahead and push my availability out to tomorrow (Thursday) morning about 8:00 and that will let me get a full 34-hour restart and I can begin with a full slate of available hours to run the next week or so.

So I spent Christmas day here at the OC and am spending another one also. Yesterday I put our truck in the shop for some routine maintenance. They couldn't repair anything that we were hoping to get fixed before we turn in the truck because there is a wait of several days to even get a truck into the shop for anything that can't be done in just a few minutes in what they call the Express Bay.

I cleaned the truck out – it was really dirty from all the snow, ice, mud and rain we've been in the past couple of weeks.

I spent a good amount of time in the afternoon in the laundry room washing clothes and talking to some other drivers who were here on Christmas day also. I always like talking to other drivers because I always learn something new. And I'm usually entertained on some level. The people in there yesterday all had interesting stories to tell and were very nice people.

Schneider provided Christmas meals for everyone here, and it was actually quite good. Enjoyable.

I spent a good part of the rest of the day and evening on the computer catching up on blogs I read and doing some reading and posting in a couple of driver forums on the web. Also doing some research, asking some questions about Prime and their lease program in case Schneider doesn't have a truck for me in a couple of weeks.

Pictures from Montana. Last week I took some pictures while we were going through Montana. We had stopped at a rest area on I-90 eastbound just before Lookout Pass and the Idaho state line. I took some pictures there (a couple of black and whites look really cool I think) and I thought I'd try to post them to the blog. This is experimental since I haven't done this before on Blogger, so I may have to work with it a little bit. Enjoy!

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

Allan