Amusing factual stories - real life experiences in trucking

[Doctor Who]

Adventures in light duty work, or How to Stay Sane in a Depressing Environment


A modern tale which, more than likely, will be retold for years to come.
As part of my ?punishment? for getting hurt on company time I was ?VOLUNTEERED? (read as: I could not refuse) to answer the phone at a local Assisted Living home. This, by far, has been the oddest trucking job I have ever had. No one has any clue as to how many hours I am supposed to ?VOLUNTEER? for, so I try to gather as many hours as I can before someone says STOP.
This ?volunteer? work is something new the company I am entangled with has started since, theoretically, there is no such thing as ?LIGHT DUTY?. A group of office dwellers came up with this ingenious plan to get injured drivers off of Workmen?s Compensation and back on the company payroll, which also means the health benefits are reinstated, I will add for the record that this company is the only one attempting this.

As I stated this ?VOLUNTEER? position is the oddest trucking job I have ever encountered, the desk doesn?t move, neither does the walls. I was told I have to have a smiling voice when I answer the phone, that?s not easy!!!!
The first day I started the residents were extremely wary of this Ozzy looking person sitting at the desk watching them. It has taken about two weeks for them to get used to me and now all is well in the Assisted Living Universe.
The CNA?s are really fun to work with plus, the office staff, for the most part, has gotten used to this worn out scruffy trucker as a receptionist but I still refuse to wear a skirt. There are a few that know all the details regarding my presence behind the desk and a few have said they would like to take my place, which I would gladly give up.

It has been a month and two weeks since I was planted at this place and now there seems to be some unrest among the office staff of the AL home, the director is having a huge problem with me putting in 40 hours a week even though I am NOT on their payroll and after many talks with her she will only agree to 30 hours, can?t support a anyone on 30 hours, so I am looking for another place to fill in my time, or who can give me 40+ hours.

Just when I thought I would be done with this a new wrinkle emerged. Yesterday Nov. 21 I received information from the doctor, who performed an Independent Medical Evaluation on my knee, has determined I am at Maximum Medical Improvement, which means I have not progressed to 100% and that my career as a professional driver is all but over?

This was written on November 22nd. Since that time I have moved on to Volunteer at the Red Cross as a SSP for the Disaster Relief Coordinator... A much more rewarding position and I can get as many hours as I can stand and then some and I usually do at least 55+?

As with everything All Good Things Must Come To an End!!! The coordinator has been informed that January 7 will probably be the last day I?ll be volunteering for anything. This is the day of Mediation between me and the company? Never a dull moment!!


Another tale to get this thread back on track

[Doctor Who]

And yet another:

Hauling Beer and other Liquid Refreshments

There were a few occasions over the years when I had the sheer enjoyment of hauling beer out of some of the major breweries in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, etc.
The very first load of beer I pulled was out of Schmidts in Philadelphia. I brought new, empty bottles in and pulled full bottle and cans out. I was driving towards I-95 when a Cadillac flew around the truck and stopped sideways, or close to it, in front of me. I locked the brakes up trying to avoid hitting the car. The truck was just about stopped when a guy jumped on the fuel tank and pointed a gun to my head telling me to get out. I wasn?t about to argue with a .45. As I got out of the truck I noticed the Caddy was moved and another guy climbed into the truck. The gun holder told me to start walking and not to turn around; again I was not going to pick a fight with anyone with a cannon in their hand. As I walked away I heard the familiar grind of a very well used 13 speed transmission and the familiar sound of a well abused 350 Cummins.
Another observation I had made was the fact that the street was deserted when only minutes before the place looked like a block party.
I called the police, keep in mind, this was before 911 was the number to call. The police arrived 30 minutes later I gave them a description of the truck, the two guys and the Cadillac. I wasn?t sure if they believed me because of the lack of witnesses and besides who in Hell would want to steal Schmidts beer. One of the officers said my truck was the third in as many days to be hijacked. I asked the officers how I was going to get home, they graciously gave me a ride to the station where I called the boss explained all the sordid details and told him I needed a ride home. He called my Dad and the both of them rode to Philly to rescue me. On the ride home the boss apologized and said he wouldn?t put me on another beer run. I told him not to do any such thing the excitement made a blah day all the more interesting. Dad just shook his head and said ?Are you sure you are my kid???

The police found the truck in tact the next day at an abandoned warehouse by the Delaware River. When the boss and I arrived to rescue it a detective told us they believed a shipping supervisor at the brewery was behind the hijackings and the FBI was handling the case. I did have an interview with a FBI agent the following day?

I never did find out if there were any arrests?

[Doctor Who]

Last one:

Flat bedding trials and tribulations

Pulling a flat bed in the North East usually meant hauling a lot of steel, whether it was coil, sheet, or rod there was a lot to be hauled. Of all the types I liked coil the best, just use four chains and the occasional tarp. I usually ended up with sheet steel loads more than coils.

I picked up a load of sheet from Bethlehem Steel for delivery to a metal distributor, General Aerospace, in Dayton NJ.
When the unloading was completed the manager asked me if I could take a load of cut steel to a fabricator in Northern NJ because his driver had just quit. A quick call to the boss the truck was loaded, chained and out of the building I went. I didn?t get halfway up the driveway when I noticed the steel was shifting. I stopped, looked over the situation when one of the guys from the warehouse came and said the steel was slicker than owl ****. The information was useless, I had already surmised that much, well I wasn?t going to let it beat me, I placed 2x4s on the edges of each stack and rechained the load making extra sure each binder did its job. The load didn?t move on the ride up.

I backed into the fabricators yard and started to loosen the first binder, a feeling of dread swept over me, so I changed my stance which was a very wise move the binder popped open sending the cheater pipe flying into a window in the building next door. The pipe could have killed me if I hadn?t moved. Yes, discretion was the better part of valour. Oh, no one noticed the window was broken either?

[Doctor Who]

I lied, this is the last one:

I had a few trainees over the years, one I left in Tucumcari, NM, one never got out of NJ and the last one was arrested for assault, yes assault.

We pulled up to a shipper?s gate to pick up a ?blind? shipment; this shipment was so ?blind? even the dispatcher was clueless.
The guard asked the trainee who we were picking up for; of course he didn?t know and told the guard exactly that. The next thing I heard was the trainee telling some guy to go f*** himself. I looked at him rather puzzled he asked me if I heard what the guy by the gate had said. I told him no I was looking at the chick standing by the Mustang. I had no sooner finished my sentence when the trainee jumped out of the truck and started beating on the guy by the gate. The guard came running out of his shack yelling at me to call off my driver, I was content just watching them go a couple of rounds. That all changed when I heard the wail of sirens. I stepped out, walked over to the fracas, ducked a few punches, and pulled the trainee off of the punching bag, who was in pretty rough shape.
I asked the trainee what was wrong with him, he told me that the son of a bitch insulted him and no one does that. I couldn?t argue with him but I did tell him it wasn?t worth going to jail over some ******* with a slack jaw as the cops put him in the car. Another officer asked me if I witnessed the incident, I told him no but from what I heard the guy on the ground was the instigator.
After all was said and done my trainee was charged with assault, all over a comment made by a disgruntled, unemployed Teamster.

[Doctor Who]

Now if you'll excuse me I have to finish typing up a revised Weapons of Mass Destruction disaster plan... Hmmmm, Weapons of Mass Destruction?!?!?!!? The things GWB swears to God are in the desert but can't seem to find!!!!!!

Enough of the political POV... It's fun to be an Anarchist

[BigEasy]

need more stores cant go on. please doc thank of something to write.

:rock: :alien: :borg: :mrgreen: :asta: :rock:
LIKE MY BAND 8)

[Doctor Who]

Ask and ye shall receive:

Fun with corrugated board

There were quite a few times when there was a serious need for questioning some of the boss?s business ventures. There were contracts and then there were contracts that would make a sane person run screaming.

One such contract was to pull cardboard from a plant in NJ to their customers in the Tri-State are which included the home office in Deer Park, NY. I had heard some horror stories about the NJ plant regarding the plant manager from Hell, actually Philadelphia, but you get the idea. This guy tried to terminate the entire transportation department. I guess that?s why the boss offered our services.

After another one of my whirlwind tours of the Upper Midwest I wandered into the dispatch office and heard another company driver cursing and yelling I couldn?t resist walking into the bosses? office for a better view. I found Billy standing near the desk telling the boss about Metro?s plant manger and how much he hated the guy. I asked Billy how bad could it be, he let me know in no uncertain terms that ?Tom? was an A**hole and a f**king psycho. The boss looked at me and I told him I would get the load. He knew I loved a challenge?

I drove to the plant picked up the trailer and paperwork the shipping foreman asked me if I had a problem with Philadelphia I told him I just got back from Chicago and Saint Paul, so Philly wasn?t going to be a big deal.
I started out of the yard when a Lunatic came running out of the building yelling and waving his arms. I stopped the truck; he stood by the drivers? door asking who I was and where I was going, I just told him I was fine and on my way to Philly. This guy was a real gem he kept yelling he was going to call the boss and terminate the contract. Temptation got the better of me I asked the raving maniac who he was as I pulled away his reaction was beyond description the only words I understood was plant manager.

I got to the box manufacturer I noticed a slight problem, inside dock, very narrow street, and a long W-900 not a good combination, the receiver made it clear the truck had to be in the dock, another challenge, what more could I ask for. I?ll state for the record it was easier than I had imagined, except for the one pull up. I bounced the front wheels on the sidewalk opposite the dock. A woman carrying a broomstick came out of her house and started beating on the left fender. I asked her if she was crazy, but she kept whacking the fender until I got into the dock. I asked the receiver about it and if she owned the sidewalk, he told me yes the people in Philadelphia do own the sidewalks.

On my way back I stopped at a nursery and bought a cactus and promptly handed it to the plant manager. He looked at me and asked why; I told him maybe he could manage the cactus better than the corrugated plant. What a fireworks display as I left the office?

[Doctor Who]

And yet more:

The autumn season and gas hauling can get interesting especially on the weekends with high school and college rivalries, not to mention the campus parties.

October 31 Hallowe?en unloading at a convenience store in Raleigh, I already knew I was in for a night from my second load; some genius thought it would be funny to hide behind a tomb stone and to jump out when I stepped out of the truck. He did scare the **** out of me.
I figured being in Raleigh the Trick-or-Treaters wouldn?t be so bad, I was wrong as I discovered that the NC State students were over celebrating Hallowe?en. For the most part the costumes were rather interesting and quite creative. I was just about finished when a commotion caught my attention I turned to see a young lady jogging across the store lot dressed in nothing more than a thong she came up to me saying her car had ran out of gas and could she get some off the trailer. I wasn?t about to lose my job over an almost naked female and told her so. Curiosity got the better of me, so I asked her who was she dressed up, or almost dressed as. She let me know in no uncertain terms that she was supposed to be a Penthouse Pet of the month. I told her I wasn?t sure which month she was supposed to be, but she still needed a lot of work.
Yes it did piss her off, plus when I told the wife about the incident she wouldn?t speak to me for a day or two.

[Doctor Who]

More:

A Hallowe?en prank is always fun to pull on someone.

One of the mechanics had constructed a dummy put a hang mans noose around its neck and hung it in a doorway. The scare factor was about zero to -1. One of the drivers thought chaining the bloody thing to the deck of a flatbed would be entertaining, it wasn?t, no one noticed a thing as he drove around town. He put it in the passenger seat, still, no reaction.
The driver was getting frustrated until a 2 watt bulb went on; he parked the truck put the dummy in the drivers? seat then walked across the street to observe. Passers by, for the most part, ignored the truck and its occupant.
With the frustration level at critical the driver went back to the yard, where the boss told him to take an empty van to load. The driver attached the dummy to the back doors to look as if a person got hauled away.

I was heading to my last drop off when I came up behind the truck. I did a double take as I got closer to it, I also noticed the reactions of the motorists as they went past, I will state that this took place long before Cell Phones were a common item.
I called the driver on the CB asking him what was going on. He told me it was Hallowe?en, something I already knew, and he was having a little fun. It was an interesting piece of humour; I wished him luck as I turned off towards my last stop.
When I arrived back at the yard the boss was having a tantrum, before I could ask any questions he said that Andy missed the pick up, which was nothing new, and that the state police were questioning him about the body on the doors of the trailer.
That was one time I was glad I wasn?t involved.

[Doctor Who]

McDonalds trials and tribulations:

McDonalds and why I won?t eat there

All the driving I have done there were occasions to come along for me to deliver to McDonalds. The distribution warehouse got my number from Dad, so I was subject to phone calls at all hours of the day?

Occasion #1
Early on a Sunday morning I was asked if I could take a truck with three stops in to Manhattan, I agreed since there was nothing better to do that day.

I checked in with dispatch got the paperwork and went to look for the truck.
A brief explanation is in order. The company, Metroplex Distributors, had an odd assortment of trucks Brockways, Fords, 2 GMC Astros, 2 GMC long hood 9500s and two Macks.
I checked the numbers on the run sheet and found I had a Ford not bad until I got into the truck and saw it had a Fuller six speed, 3 on the low side, 3 on the high side. It was intriguing to say the least. I soon discovered the transmission was a piece of **** the truck couldn?t get out of its own way down hill!!!!!

My first stop was on the upper west side of Manhattan, not a bad place to deliver early in the AM. I pulled up to the second stop in Midtown and found much to my dismay that it didn?t open until 9:00. I looked around the neighbourhood and figured the inhabitants would not appreciate a truck sitting below their windows with the refrigerator running for a few hours. I walked down to a phone and called dispatch only to hear him start yelling. I interrupted his tirade by telling him I could work around that stops order and go to stop # 3. I got back to the truck I found a parking ticket stuck in the hood latch.
I finished delivering stop # 3 and found 6 more parking tickets on the tractor three on the windshield, two in the door handle, and one in the hood latch. Back to stop # 2, where the manager was having a fit because I was late, I just told him to get over it. Stop # 2 finished I found 7 more tickets, I figured what the Hell and walked into the store to grab an Egg McMuffin and coffee. I walked back out side only to be confronted with a parking cop trying to hand me a ticket, I told her that it had to be placed on the vehicle. It was fun to watch her try to put the ticket on the windshield?

I got back to the warehouse handed the clerk the bills and the 15 tickets; she told me the record for one truck was 20.
What a racket!!!!

[Doctor Who]

Maybe Burger King would be better:

Occasion #2: Driving for McDonalds
I had a week day run to the Island (Long) and I was in a bad mood due to running behind. My objective was to get all stops off by noon time but this trip I arrived at 12:05, the manger, a most arrogant fellow, came out to tell me I had to wait until 14:00, plus I could not park in his parking lot. I asked where was I going to park until then, he just said it was my problem. With that said I looked across the street and noticed the Burger King had a HUGE lot, so I drove over to BK, parked and had lunch while I waited for the magic hour. Needless to say the McDonalds manager called the warehouse on me.
When I got back I was told not to park in a competitors store again, I laughed and walked out. What were they going to do take my birthday away???

page 11

[Doctor Who]

Last one:

Occasion #3
Another week day run this time to Shamokin Dam, Pa. This run included a layover and a pick up on the way back; also the stops were spread far apart so a lot of driving was involved.
I was blessed with a Brockway which had a 13 speed tied to a SCREAMING 318 Detroit, really not a bad truck until it came to a hill, well, anyone who knows about the 318 gets the picture.

The first two stops were a breeze to unload, however the Dam was another story. I arrived late in the afternoon got everything set up so the crew could unload. After waiting for 10 minutes a very petite young lady came out saying she was to unload the truck I thought she was kidding, she wasn?t. I sent a few items down the rollers she struggled to catch them and place them on the hand cart. We tried having her send the freight down and me catch, that didn?t work either. I went to the manager telling him the girl couldn?t do the job. All he said was he had no one else which I knew was bull**** just by looking at the back line crew, he also said that the young lady should be able to do it if she wanted to compete in a mans world. That pissed me off. I walked back to the truck and sent a 63lb case of fish down the rollers and it knocked the young lady over. I went back in the store to call the warehouse, as luck would have it; some of the big wheels from McDonald?s home office were on a tour. I talked to one of the main people telling her what was going on including the managers sexist statement. I handed the manager the phone, as I walked away I thought I saw a blue flame shooting from the receiver. 5 minutes later four big guys came out to finish unloading the truck.

A month later I had the honour of going to Shamokin Dam again. When I arrived four guys were at the door ready to unload, however the best part was the petite young lady had become the manager. She told me a few of the ?wheels? paid a visit to the store and handed the old manager his walking papers. Couldn?t have happened to a nicer person?
Good to see justice was served!!!

[BigEasy]

Thanks for the fix doc.
That should hold me for a week or two.
The last story is almost a tear jerker.
I like it when when some big wheels do right for a change!
Well I am done for now. 8)

[Doctor Who]

Life as a Red Cross volunteer:

As I have mentioned on page 10 I have to volunteer for my supper or I will be deemed uncooperative. Also was mentioned that I have volunteered my services to the American Red Cross as a Special Support Person and it has been a very humbling, quite educational and without a doubt the oddest trucking job I have ever had PERIOD!!!!!!

My first week as a volunteer had me assisting a family of five whose house had burned on December 17. The house was destroyed as well as all of the family?s possessions, which did include all the Christmas gifts. It is extremely difficult not to get emotionally involved while helping the victims of such a devastating situation. We did manage to salvage a Christmas for the children at least, some good Samaritans donated and bought the three young boys toys and clothes. I did get my 15 seconds of fame when the Disaster Coordinator shoved me in front of a news reporters? camera while I had my arms full of toys. I should mention the husband is a volunteer firefighter and he heard the call on his scanner while he was at work. A very unnerving feeling!
We finally got the family settled into a new dwelling and hopefully they can get the lives back on track. I will also state I worked Christmas Eve, Christmas, Friday after Christmas and right through the weekend. The coordinator promised I could have New Years Eve off? WRONG!!!!!

December 31 my Red Cross C-phone played its obnoxious tune and I knew it meant trouble and I was right, a single parent with two children lost their apartment due to a kitchen fire. I forgot to mention that part of my ?job? is to do a DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, which means I have to go into the burned out structure and survey the damage and fill out a report to determine the amount of assistance the victims will receive. This family lost just about everything, again it was difficult not to get emotionally involved but this time I found how ungrateful people can become. This fire was determined suspicious and now has become a case of fraud?
Yeah I did work New Years Eve and New Years Day. As I have heard quoted often: ?No good deed goes unpunished!? I really wonder if there is any truth in those words?
Saturday, January 3 found us, the coordinator, an intern, and me responding to yet another apartment fire. This was the first fire for the intern and she was overwhelmed, yet she had to learn the paper work involved. She is graduating from the local college with a degree in Social Work and the internship counts towards her graduation. No rest for us that weekend.
January, 9 and yet another fire in a small crossroads town way out in another county had us hauling ass on icy back country roads at night. When we arrived we discovered the house had burned earlier in the day and the victims were safe at another location. A trek back to that county on Monday was in order to render assistance to the family?

The Red Cross C-phones obnoxious tune woke me at 0130 to hear an excited voice on the other end telling me there was a multiple family dwelling on fire and I was to meet him there. When I arrived, which took all of 10 minutes I saw it was Flea Bag type motel, which was used as a boarding house for transients. The fire had started in a room that housed a family of four and quickly spread to two adjoining rooms. There were 15 people in all affected by this fire. We moved most of the victims to a rescue squad building, which was turned into a temporary shelter. When the sun came up the task of finding new places for these folks began in earnest, obviously the family was the first priority. After many phone calls and hours of driving we (the Red Cross) found them a place to live, a two bedroom house. The Executive Director pulled a lot of strings to get that done. Two churches offered to pay the rent deposit on the home and one donated some furniture. Needless to say it is a Hell of a lot better than what they were living in. Meanwhile all the victims were set up at the 301 Travel Lodge for a few nights until they could get their lives in order. By 1800 that we were extremely wore out and ready to get home only to have one of the victims get belligerent with us. I had to grab the coordinator and hold him down before he beat the crap out of the *******. It was no easy task since the coordinator weighs in at 325lbs!!!!! I told the guy he?d better be grateful he and his dog weren?t sleeping on the street or back in the dump he was staying in. The manager of the Travel Lodge said she would toss his ass out if he caused one bit of trouble and she did!! I finally finished up at 1930 and had to be back at the office at 0730 Thursday to start the process all over again. Now the fun really began, all the folks who were grateful the day before were now becoming arrogant and extremely demanding plus, the Director found out that the male half of the family of four was a Crack Dealer. I told her I wasn?t too surprised and I also informed her that the female was turning tricks while her kids were there so they could pay the rent on the room they were living in. The Director Lady was shocked, I wasn?t! Thursday ended the same way Wednesday did at 1930! I doubt very much the DOT would approve my log book according to Hours of Service!!
Friday was the best (?) day yet. The dude and chick with the kids decided they were going to create a problem because the ARC will not pay the deposit on utilities. They were told, in no uncertain terms, that they were extended enough courtesy and that they were now on their own. For the record, that conversation was still going on when I left Friday afternoon.
Meanwhile, we had a group of three, two brothers and a skinny blonde thing, who needed a new place to stay, again many hours of riding and begging and dealing this group finally had an apartment to call their own. We gave them some furniture and other items to set up their pad. As the coordinator had said: they were beginning to grow on him and I guess they did on me too! These three were so grateful for all the assistance we gave them they were going to start volunteering at the ARC. Can?t beat that. Oh, for all who read this, the emotional part has worn away!!!

As of now, as I type this, the RC phone has not made a sound and I?m hoping it don?t I can use a few days off, the entire weekend and Robert E. Lee?s Birthday.
I was wrong; there was a house fire in the other county which has displaced four people so much for a quiet weekend? I should also mention the last of the ?boarding house? fire victims is still giving us trouble plus, I will have to work on Robert E. Lee?s birthday just to get caught up on all the paperwork, no one ever said it was going to be boring!!!
If anyone kept count, there have been 6 fires in a month, Dec 17 to Jan 17 and the sad part is the chapter used up its allotted money for disaster relief? The tune on the phone tells me it?s time to ride once again? I told the coordinator that having the phone is a great form of BIRTH CONTROL? ?til the next time?.

Not so much an amusing story however, this is a testament to what has been going on for the past month!!!!

[Twilight Flyer]

Wow...and just think, you had to give up trucking for this. Hope all is well with you, Doc.

[Doctor Who]

Yeah isn't though.. I'll call you when I get the chance it has been so BLOODY busy and would you believe there have 2 more fires since I wrote that!!!

[Doctor Who]

Sleet, snow and freezing rain what a fun Sunday it has been. Roads here are sh*t to put it mildly. 3 of us had spent the night at the Red Cross building and 6 more manned a shelter at the local high school. To add to the Ice Capades we had to respond to yet another house fire which displaced a young mother and her two daughters. Nothing like driving on empassable and impossible streets to help this family. We did end up putting them up in a motel for the night.

It is now 0745 and a promise of more freezing rain to come by noon, looks as though it's going to be another 24 hours in this office before we can go home.

Did I mention just how much fun it is to be a "VOLUNTEER"??????

[Doctor Who]

The Iceman cometh and totally f**ks up an entire state?

I have mentioned being kept hostage in the Red Cross building for 48 hours, well I was wrong it turned into 72 hours and a lot of those were at a rescue shelter for the stranded motorists who were stuck on I- 95 due in part to a herd of 18 wheelers that were tangled together creating a huge 25 mile traffic jam, not to mention all the minor wrecks caused by YANKEES, who thought they could drive on ice better than anyone else!!!!
The call to open the shelter came Monday afternoon after the snow/sleet storm turned into a fun ice event. The Governor had issued a State of Emergency order, which for the unaware, means all citizens stay off the roads so road crews and emergency services could get their respective jobs done but no, the ever faithful ?I?m not letting anyone tell me what to do!!? crowd just kept right on clogging the highways.
The first shelter was set up at a rescue squad building at 1500 Monday afternoon however, by 1800 the Emergency Management people asked us to move the shelter to a high school closer to 95. Fortunately we had the foresight to spot a trailer there on Saturday. The down side to this move was the roads leading to the shelter were covered with ice and impassable at best. I kept telling the EM honcho that the shelter should have remained at the rescue squad building. After the second day at the high school he agreed with me!!!
Back to the fun!
We started out with 5 volunteers and I drove the van towards the high school, I should mention one of the other volunteers was an ordained minister, I had made the turn on to the road leading to the school when the van slid sideways it did scare the **** out of me I managed to get it back under control only to be confronted with a hill and a curve which canted to the left. The van went sideways again and I actually managed to spin it all the way around, the pastor started praying, I heard the name Jesus more in one sentence than in the past 5 years!!! I guess the prayers worked I managed to get the van straightened out and into the school parking lot. Maryanne, our intern, rubbed my shoulders as I sank back into the drivers? seat and asked me if I was scared, my silence answered her question!
With the shelter set up the first of the stranded were brought in by EMTs and firefighters followed by what was left of the National Guard. I forgot to mention that all the hotels, motels and the pay by the hour places were all booked up. Everyone involved in the transportation of storm victims had one Hell of a time getting to the shelter. Calls went out for the D.O.T crews to sand, salt or scrape the road however, the general consensus was it just wasn?t important enough; needless to say a lot of asses are going to be on the line over the ?mismanagement? of transportation and the safety of the travelers.
One of the travelers suffered an injury before arriving at the shelter, EMS was called and it took 2 hours before anyone arrived.
The last of the travelers, a young sailor and her 6 month old son, arrived at 0345 Tuesday morning. The shelter was not at capacity, which was quite surprising considering the length of the traffic jam on 95. Calls kept coming in telling us there were supposed to be more on the way plus, several EMS wagons slid off the road. Still not enough incentive for the DOT to render any assistance!!!
The volunteer firefighters were wore out, so we set up cots for them to catch a few minutes of much needed rest and gave them coffee to keep themselves warm.
0800 Tuesday: The freezing rain still fell from the sky and the promise that the temperature would not get out of the 20?s making a bad situation worse; well actually, discovering that there was no way any hot food was going to get to the shelter made it worse. Quite a few phone calls were made and we finally managed to persuade one of the schools kitchen staff to come in and cook for the shelter. We sent the National Guard people get her. Her agreeing saved us a lot of trouble and quelled a potential hostile situation it was bad enough one of the travelers kept calling us a ?Bunch of backwoods Rednecks!? He kept it up until I wandered over to him and matter of factly explained that I was from Brooklyn and that the big Santa Claus looking guy and I would be just tickled to rearrange his attitude and then show him the finer points of a North Carolina ice storm. Nothing like a motivational speech before breakfast to calm the moronic beast.
10:00 and the lady pastor and her fianc?, the disaster relief vice chairperson, wanted to go home. I argued against it but I lost, so off we rode in the van back down the ice covered road. This time the hill wasn?t so bad, the intersection was, a YAHOO in a Chevy pickup made the turn way to fast for conditions and started to slide towards our van, the pastor lady screamed and prayed some more while the chairperson grabbed my arm; I was getting a tad concerned myself. I will admit I thought we bought it and I did something I swore I would never do; I yanked the wheel to the right, popped the transmission into neutral, applied the brakes and wrestled the van towards the ditch. Fortunately nothing serious came of it, I did tell the driver of the pickup he was #1 and questioned his parentage!!! We did manage to get back to the ARC office without further incident.
On the way back I wasn?t so lucky, I decided to try another route in, and it wasn?t so bad for about the first mile or so. I did get a bit complacent and ended up jack knifing the van hitting the sign in front of the high school, there wasn?t any damage and I did manage to get going again. I will also state that the principal of the school had slid in the same spot after I did. When I walked back into the shelter I found a few of the travelers decided to leave and attempt to get back on the interstate. A few made it, others didn?t. The real good news was the cook had arrived and said she would save us from another full day of eating Lance crackers?
I had also found that the 6 month old was the main source of entertainment and someone had found a basketball, not so conducive for getting much needed sleep it did however, keep the anger level down..
I must mention that according to Red Cross guidelines there has to be at least 5 people manning a shelter, well there was only three and no one else would come in to help. Not exactly by the book now was it. Oh, the other rule is at least 2 have to be awake at all times, I did manage to get to sleep Tuesday night.
Wednesday morning: The sun finally decided to make an appearance with a promise of warmer temperatures. All the travelers left by 10:00, we had everything packed up and in the trailer and van by 11:00!!!
Did I get to go home??? NO! The Relief Coordinator and I had to attend a FEMA meeting! I finally managed to see my own bed at 1900 Wednesday!!!
Thursday: I totaled up my hours for the week and the powers that be had a fit when I told them I had 90 hours as of Wednesday. I wonder if I can legally log that.
Damn, I really miss trucking!!!!

As I wrote this another call to another house fire.... That makes #11

[Doctor Who]

Suppose there was a disaster and no one came!!!!

Details to follow in yet another installment of "Adventures in light duty work!!!"

One thing I forgot to mention in the last installments was the public speaking I have to do. We have to speak at an Emergency Management meeting tonight and I'm presenting a brief talk on haz-mat. This will be the fourth such meeting I've had to speak at plus, I represented the Disaster Relief Coordinator at a FEMA meeting on Thursday Feb. 5 in a failed attempt to obtain more operating funds.
Never in my wildest dreams had I ever thought I would be standing in front of a room full of influential people giving a lecture and actually having them listen to what I had to say!!!! :shock: :shock:

[Twilight Flyer]

Well, if you're wearing your pink hat and feather boa, I'm sure their attention isn't the only thing you have.