Amusing factual stories - real life experiences in trucking

[ZeSweetTart]

Originally Posted by yoopr

Wish I could help but I can help with one thing.
ALL Military records can be replaced by going, or calling, The Veterans Administration Hospital that is closest to you-Each VA Hospital has Service officers-VFW, Vietnam Veterans of America, DAV, AmVets-American Legion-etc.
It DOESN'T matter if your Dad belonged to any of those organizations or Not-they WILL help-They'll replace any Military Papers you want replacing INCLUDING any Medals that he had that might have been lost.
Any Problems let me know

Thanks All. As soon as I get straightened out here I will contact them about daddy's papers and his medals. That makes me feel better.

Have a few things that may work out with a vehicle and if they fall hrough the company I work for has a "deal" I will have to take advantage of for awhile. They will let me use a car but I will have to work nights from 7pm until 7am and 12 hours Saturday and Sunday as as dispatcher. Not sure if I am up to all that and am thinking of just getting everything out of the house, cleaned up, put into storage and taking my CDL test then contacting Schneider for the rest of it and going on the road right away.

The "deal" with the courier company is really only a deal for them and not a lot for me but that is the way they have always operated. The last time them offered me a deal a few years ago it took me 8 months to get out from under the hole they left me in so I am very leary.

Still trying to get stuff out of the house. It is a slow, hard, sweaty job and every once in awhile I find something that just causes the tears to flow. Went back on Saturday only to find some creep broke into the house and stole tools, coins, loose change, and most of the good jewerly that belonged to my mother and grandmother from a closet I hadn't been able to get open. I do not understand folks like that. I know they are out there but I do not understand that type of behavior. Think that is about as low as you can get, stealing from someone who has lost just about everything they own.

Red Cross helped a bit with a credit card good for 30 for containers, which I used, 50 for food which I will use to replace salt pepper, flour and such, and 110 for clothing. Have 71.15 of that left and I will use that to get a new winter coat and some shoes, maybe a dress for church if I have enough left over and can find some good sales.

It'll work out I know. Just a bit nervewracking to have to start practically from scratch at my age. Sounds goofy I know but what I am missing the most are the little lux items my daughter and son in law have gotten me for Christmas and birthdays the past several years. Could really use that massage thing now as it is killing my back bending over constantly in muddy water and mold....my foot spa my mother gave me in the 70's....stuff you don't really need but give comfort. Oh well! Am healthy, fairly strong, and have a good attitude so it will all be fine in the end.

Anyone wanna come help me move soaked furniture out to the street? LOL

Hugs to all!
Ann
SweetTart

[magnum]

SweetTart, I have just read of your situation. I am so sorry for your loses and my prayers go out to you and your family.

Just remember if you wake to see another day, have the love of family and friends, and are in good health, then it is indeed a good day and you are greatly blessed. My best to you and your family.

Magnum

[magnum]

[color=blue][b]Heres a good one.

A friend of mine and myself had the same loads we dropped in Mercury, Nevada. After doing so, we deadheaded down to Nogales, AZ and picked up a couple loads heading back east to Atlanta. On the tailend of the trip, we were passing through Birmingham, via east on I-20. It was late at night, very little traffic. We were running in the 75 MPH range. Coffee Cup, my friend, was running the front door. He passed by a get on ramp and an Alabama State Trooper jumped on in between us. I grabbed my mic and told Coffe Cup he had better back out of it a little bit a trooper was riding his donkey. I heard another distant driver ask for the twenty on the trooper. I seen a mile marker in the distance and was about to give him a location on the trooper, when someone else beat me to it. It didn' t sound like Coffe Cup so I asked who gave the twenty on the trooper. The reply was, " The Trooper."

Everything was quiet momentarily when the trooper broke the silence. "Where you headed to?"

When I told him we were headed to Atlanta, he said he felt like taking a drive and informed us he would run the front door for us. He said he would latch his cruiser back at 75 - 80 MPH. Here we are running east on I-20 at 75 MPH with a police escort. We were talking to him and having a good time on Channel 19 and I guess other drivers heard and they latched on for the ride. Before it was over we had at least a dozen trucks in a full blown convoy with a police escort. As we got to the Georgia line it was nearing breakfast and we all pulled off at a mom and pop truckstop and had breakfast and coffeee together. When we finished eating he headed back to Birmingham and we continued to Atlanta. What a night.

Magnum

[bootleg]

wow a cool cop, right on!

[Doctor Who]

You want it where????

The other day I was having a chat with a young lady who, drives for Rhett Butler Trucking. We were comparing tanker stories when, she mentioned a **** hole of a place in Georgia that used Latex for part of their manufacturing process.......

Back during the Central Transport days I was dispatched on a load of Latex to this same miserable place. Hauling Latex in it self is not too bad but unloading can be a "bitch".

Upon arrival a sudden pang of dread overcame me as I wheeled the Volvo into the small yard. I walked into the building, talked to the foreperson and was told to line up with the pipe sticking out of the wall and there was an air hose along side the building.
"Great!!!" I thought "Gonna have to blow this one off!!!"
I would much rather use the tractor pump but I didn't dare argue.

I climbed up on the tank, hooked up the "Christmas tree" and soon discovered the air hose was cracked and leaked. I asked the "gentleman" if there was another hose and was told that was all there was.
"I'm going to destroy the dispatchers car when I get back!!!" I mumbled under my breath as I went to perform surgery on the hose to get it to work at least half way decent...

With everything hooked up I went to double check all the connections and the storage tank. I was assured that the tank would hold the 6000 gallons on the trailer. I still had an uneasy feeling as I poured the air to the tank. I stood by the back of the trailer to ensure there wasn't any leaks, none was found so, I climbed back into the cab to finish up the paper work.

About 45 minutes had expired which, should have been enough time for unloading however, all was not well... The load was taking way too long to fill the tank I surmised that the storage tank was "air-bound" and the load was trickling in. After a quick pressure relief valve maneuver on the storage tank the load flowed in at a much faster rate. This load was really getting on my nerves at that point and I was ready to get back home. All those thoughts came to an end when I heard a loud BOOOM! and saw half the work force running out of the building.
I didn't have to go inside to see, I knew that the load blew out the top of the tank so, I shut everything down as the foreperson came running up to the truck. I looked down at him and all he could say was "I guess we had more than we thought"
"No ****!!!" I said back climbing down the ladder.

The foreperson and I walked back into the building and found a puddle of latex about 2 feet deep. I was told I had to clean it up and I graciously reminded the foreperson that it was his problem since the tank was inside the building and he was responsible for the tank, not to mention, he had signed the bills before I started unloading.

I went out to my trailer, made sure all the air had bled off, opened the dome lid expecting to find a river of latex. I was amazed to find that the tank was empty, I didn't argue with fate, I closed the dome, unhooked all the equipment, made a call to dispatch, explained the entire scenario and left, in a big hurry!

Back to the present. The young lady from Rhett Butler had the same problem... Gee, I guess somethings never change!!!

[ZeSweetTart]

Originally Posted by magnum

SweetTart, I have just read of your situation. I am so sorry for your loses and my prayers go out to you
Magnum

Thank you.

Posted the flood pix to a website I found. Here is the addy if anyone is interested in seeing this mess

http://zesweettart.zoto.com/

Enjoyed the Ala Trooper story!

Friend who's car I have been using went to NM the week after the flood and I went with them. Gave me a bit of distance from my ill luck with rain and lots of dry weather. Have some great sunrise and sunset pix and enjoyed the dry desert very much all things considered Am back to the clean up. Actually have two rooms completely cleaned out and hope to finish the rest by the end of this week.

You all have been great and I know this has been totally off topic. I appreciate you all for putting up with it.

Hugs SweetTart

[Inkytruck]

I'm on page 27 right now and I've gotta say these stories are great. Doctor Who, despite being a Democrat, you seem like a great guy. Keep the stories flowing- I have a lot more reading to do.

[Doctor Who]

despite being a Democrat

A DEMOCRAT????? :shock: Oh the pain of it all....

More tales from the Asphalt Playground will be coming shortly or, longly after I get over the stigma of being called a DEMOCRAT :shock:

Stay tuned folks the GREAT MONARCH BUTTERFLY INVASION is coming as soon as I can clean the bloody wind screen so I can half see the road block up ahead...


DEMOCRAT indeed.... :P

Anyway INKY thanks for the compliment just the same glad you enjoyed the tales so far...

[Inkytruck]

Originally Posted by Doctor Who

A DEMOCRAT????? :shock: Oh the pain of it all....

More tales from the Asphalt Playground will be coming shortly or, longly after I get over the stigma of being called a DEMOCRAT :shock:

Stay tuned folks the GREAT MONARCH BUTTERFLY INVASION is coming as soon as I can clean the bloody wind screen so I can half see the road block up ahead...


DEMOCRAT indeed.... :P

Anyway INKY thanks for the compliment just the same glad you enjoyed the tales so far...

I apologize- that's the impression I got... :?

[Doctor Who]

I apologize- that's the impression I got...

No need to apologize I have a bizarre sense of humour...

Orange and black butterflies everywhere, a huge cloud of them swarming across I-40 in the western part of Arizona. An invasion perhaps, an evil plot to make the Arizona desert a happier place or, just a nightmare induced by lack of sleep...

All the answers to this mystery and the true meaning of Kudzu Jelly are forth coming....

Imagine if there was video to this it would make a great trailer for an odd film...

More to come

[Inkytruck]

W00t W00t!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! arty:

Bring on the stories- I'm all caught up!

[Doctor Who]

The Monarch Butterfly Invasion

Yes, another Chemical Brothers tale.

In the last century around spring of '94 or '95 the brothers were dispatched on a load to Tracy, California. The ride out was mostly a non event until we crossed into Arizona. That is where we began hearing a lot of discontent on the radio about bug residue on all the "pretty trucks" rolling east. One driver had said something about butterflies but the rest was lost to laughter and hetrodynes caused by more voices than any radio should be allowed to handle.

After switching drivers in Flagstaff I drove down the big hill aiming the nose of the Freightliner FLD 120 towards Barstow all the time wondering when or, where I was going to run into the mass of bugs the east bound drivers were complaining about. About an hour or so later I found the "invasion" I woke the brother up to have him witness the dark cloud crossing I-40. Yes indeed, dozens upon dozens of Monarch Butterflies were crossing 40 and it looked as if they were heading for Mexico.

All I could say was "Damn, that's a lot of butterflies!"
My brother had a few choice words which I dare not repeat.

The invasion didn't last long but the amount of dead bugs on the windshield, radiator and front of the tank were enough to proclaim that we had met the invasion and were a bit worse for the wear...

The ride back from Tracy was just as much fun as the ride there. The tank was washed out in Barstow, since we had to load in Houston plus, the truck was washed, I guess the brother felt a bit safer in a clean, butterfly clear truck, still not too sure though.

As fate or, Mr. Murphy, would have it the butterflies were still on their mad dash to the border as he drove into Arizona. I could hear select words while I was trying to sleep.

When we arrived at the Houston terminal to pick up the next load my brother climbed up on the tank and let out a loud "OH ****!!!"
I asked him what the problem was and he told me he had left the dome lid open so the tank could dry out quicker and he did forget to tell me. He didn't have to explain any further, the bottom of the tank was lined with very dead Monarchs and it was too late to get the tank rewashed due to the late hour.
I just looked at him and told him since he thought he was the captain of, this now, rapidly sinking ship he was on his own.

Until now no one in dispatch, the chemical plant or the receiver knew anything about the GREAT MONARCH BUTTERFLY INVASION

It has been quite some time since I've been out that far on I 40 and not sure if the migration still happens or was that a once in a life time thing...

[Twilight Flyer]

It's an annual migration, Doc. Every year, Monarchs head south to Mexico to breed, go to tea parties, and generally consort frivolously with one another. Then they come back up here and lay their eggs on milkweed plants, if they can escape getting run into by trucks.

Yellow and black butterflies everywhere, a huge cloud of them swarming across I-40 in the western part of Arizona. An invasion perhaps, an evil plot to make the Arizona desert a happier place or, just a nightmare induced by lack of sleep...

BTW, Monarchs are orange and black. The big yellow and black ones are tiger swallowtails and are loners, ie. they don't group together to migrate.

This message brought to you by Twilight Flyer, your friendly neighborhood entomologist. Missed my calling in life, I tell ya.

[Doctor Who]

BTW, Monarchs are orange and black. The big yellow and black ones are tiger swallowtails and are loners, ie. they don't group together to migrate.

Did I forget to mention that I do battle with colour blindness?

Maybe they were ORANGE but still made a HUGE mess when splattered on glass, metal and fiberglass...

[Doctor Who]

Hauling gas is not for the faint of heart...

Imagine pulling 8800 gallons of potential KA--BOOM and having a trailer tyre blow out..

With that image in mind now picture sitting along side the interstate with lots of cars and trucks whizzing by and not one local, county or highway patrol LEO. So much for Homeland Security.

Called the mechanic people and was assured help was on the way. Yeah help did arrive the tyre person lifted the wheel off the ground wrestled the blown tyre off the rim wrestled the new tyre on and could not get the tyre to set on the rim after 45 minutes of cussing, kicking and other odd movements, this person decided to use ether to fix the problem. I asked if that was such a wise idea and was told he did it all the time.
"Not with my truck you don't!!" I told him and quickly called the company mechanic back.

After about 4 hours the decision was made to use grease as an agent for setting the tyre on the rim. It worked but when the tyre dude set the compressor on the tyre grease flew everywhere.

After all that still no LEO.

It made for such a fun evening...

More to come

[beaner]

DOCTOR WHO did you hear about the truck that was hualing 35,500 lbs of explosives and put a 80' crater in the road there seen it on the news but cant find anymore on it

[yoopr]

I'll have to go look at the Trucking "Bible" but I don't think you're ALLOWED to haul 35,000 #s of Explosives.

[beaner]

was on the news to nite
page 42

[Doctor Who]

It's right here.

Another unnerving type driving job

Actually would have been better posted in the Current Events section.

[yoopr]

ok-you're right but I didn't think you could haul that much explosives at once but then again I'm not a DOT regulator.
Saw it on my Dish Network last nite on KTLA in Los Angeles-Man-that was one MASSIVE hole in the ground.