Amusing factual stories - real life experiences in trucking

(As a public service and due to many requests, I have stickied this post. The original poster was Harpo, a login ID from the old board. I had to change the user name to Guest to make it a sticky, though. -- TF)

:D :aktion057:

Do you have a humorous, strange or witty true experience
related to trucking, or the trucking industry?? Share it with
us....we can always use a smile or good laugh.....

I'll throw in the first one.....A few years back ....won't say
exactly how many, I was sitting in Oak Grove, Mo...
contemplating the best way around the infamous "Odessa"
scales, since I was slightly over gross....about 2800 lbs (more
or less)....I got to talking to an older hand....and was asking
him the best way around "Odessa"...."Well," he said, "If you'll
pay for this coffee" and follow me right to the scale, I will
guarantee you safe passage across the scale.." I asked him
what he'd been 'smoking'.....because I didn't see how he
could possibly guarantee I'd get across "Odessa" without any
problems, being 2800 lbs over gross....

Well, being the 'game' ole nut that I am - I said, "you got a
deal".....(note: this was back in the days when you could
take a driver at his word).....I paid for his coffee - followed
him out to the parking lot....he told me to watch for him...he
would be driving a 'belly-dump' - white Corn-binder..... In
about five minutes, he pulled in front and motioned 'lets go' -
I fell in behind him and followed him right to the scales, and
wondering all the time - am I really stupid, or what? Anyway,
he pulled on the "Odessa" scales and proceeded to 'kill' the
engine....I found out later he had a 'kill' switch on the dash
and as long as it was flipped, the engine wouldn't start. Well,
after about 5 minutes, the scale master came out, talked with
him, went back inside....another 5 minutes, scale-master came
back out and started motioning the rest of us to 'go around'
the 'belly-dump' stalled on the scale......So there I went -
right through "Odessa", 2800 lbs over gross...and they never
knew it....


Went down to Concordia, waited for my new-found driver
friend, and about 15 minutes later he pulled in...we went in
and I treated him to lunch....during the course of which I
was told about the 'kill switch', and how they can't do any-
thing except 'chew' him out for stalling on a scale....He told
me it came in handy over the years....for friends of his running
together.....A cup of coffee and lunch well spent......
:alien: :D :p :p :p



Edited By Harpo on July 27 2002 at 3:08

[Groucho]

It couldn't have been that long ago :p

Now it's my turn. Yes this is an excerpt from the book!

I once had a co-driver named Ed and we were forced together by the boss to take a load to California. We used a cabover Freightliner. We hadn't gotten through Pennsylvania when Ed decided to try my patience. He was driving for about 2 hours, when he decided to park at some rest area and nose the truck near a drop off. He jacked the cab up and yelled "We're going over!!!!" I woke with a start and rolled out of the sleeper into the windshield! Needless to say I was not happy.

I didn't say anything to him about it, but was he in for a big surprise. Somewhere west of Oklahoma City it was raining a ton so I pulled off on to the shoulder, got out and tossed a smoke bomb into the cab and yelled "Oh sh1t the cab is on fire!" Ed jumped out of the sleeper and dove out the passenger door and right into a huge mud puddle.
A highway patrolman had stopped and asked what had happened and I said my co-driver had Swine flu and one of the symptoms is a craving for mud puddles!

After that we got along fine!!

:aktion064.gif:



Edited By Groucho on July 27 2002 at 4:35

[Groucho]

Not too sure about skunk p*ss, but I know something that comes close.

Sit back and let me tell you about the most awful smelling load a tanker yanker can pull.

Dateline 1995, picked up a load of Ethyl Acyrlate from GATX in Carteret NJ. This sh*t smells awful, you can be driving down the highway at warp 2 and with a strong headwind and still smell it inside the cab with the windows rolled up! This chemical is used for tear gas and certain types of glue.

Fast forward: Somewhere in Virginia I was getting sleepy so I pulled into a rest area, only to find it full with trucks and motorhomes well I finally wiggled into a spot between two motorhomes and drifted off to sleep.
About three or four hours later there was a banging on the door. I came out of the sleeper and saw a highway patrol person with a gas mask on. I rolled down the window and asked what was wrong. All he said was "Get this f**kin truck out of here!!"
While he was venting, I looked around the rest area I noticed it was empty. I turned back to the officer and said "Wow, I cleared the whole place out, cool!!!!!"
He was not amused! I left forth with!

A skunk smells better than this crap.
Everytime I had a load and I stopped at a truck stop I had to park way out in the back 40. If I didn't like the service at the stop, before I left I'd make sure to stop at the restaurant entrance and rock the wagon a little.

I kept a small jar of this chemical and if someone pissed me off, I'd take a small dose and drop it on the car seat.
It worked great on a hot day!

Next episode: Xylene and the fun things it can be used for!!

[Big Momma CAD]

Saw on the news last night,

A truck was hauling pizza dough and the heat caused the dough to start rising. It was coming out of the back of the truck while he was driving down the road. I would have hated to have been following him too close :p

[bluebeetle]

Had a driver have an accident which messed up the cab pretty good, luckily he wasn't hurt and unbeknown to anybody put a hole in the top of the trailer. They pulled the trailer which still had the load on it to the yard and let it sit until the next day when the shag driver showed up ot pick up the trailer. When he arrived the trailer was on the ground and had collapsed around the wheels.

It seems that it had started to rain the afternoon before and continue to rain through the night and into the next morning. Total rain fall was around 5 inches. This was a several years ago. The rain had gotten into the load and the weight had caused the trailer to collapse.

Oh by the way, the load that was on the trailer.......

I am gonna get shot for this....front deflector shields on full power.....

Seems the driver had a load of tampons on board....

:aktion069.gif:

[Groucho]

Extra absorbent??

Not bad....Let's see
Back in the last century, my brother and I ran as a team for a chemical tank line. We were on a secret mission going to Tampico, Mexico to pick up a load of DiMethylTerphthalate, or DMT for short.
On a sunny Thursday I pulled into the Port of Entry in Louisiana and was in my usual evil mood so I bounced the wagon across the scale and proceeded back on to the highway!
15 minutes or so later I kept hearing someone calling me on the CB "*******(name withheld) what you got in the tank?"
A brief description is in order, the DMT wagons are specially built to haul the chemical has two vent pipes running up the back of the wagon, has one dome towards the rear and is triple insulated.
Well, I kept telling the mystery voice it was none of his d*mn business. This went on for quite a few miles. Finally I got really agitated with the guy and I told him it was a load of beer. It seemed to quiet the guy down until I hit a real large bump in the interstate. The voice comes back on the radio and says what kind of beer. I said calmly, light beer.
That was the final straw. A whole lot of expletives exploded from the speaker and in the final sentance "Pull over when it's safe and have your logbook and paperwork ready!!!!!!!"
I then looked in the mirror and saw one of the scale cops behind me. I turned to my brother and said "I guess I upset his day!"
The officer gave me a semi-severe talking to and he did climb up on the wagon to see what was really in it!

I didn't get a ticket and as the officer was leaving he went to say something else to me and I asked if he was disappointed that there was no beer in the wagon! He stared at me for the longest time, then he smiled and said "get the h3ll out of here!"

Here's a short ditty. If anyone is running team pulling tank wagons and the partner won't wake up at their designated time to drive, pull into a safe area and make sure you tap the brakes enough to get the load moving when the load hits the front of the tank the partner will be out of the sleeper and ready to........

[countrysidecowboy2002]

omg!!i was getting teary eyed from laughing my ass off readin all this here!!somebody hasta to get a book together for such stories like what ive read here!!

[Groucho]

A book is already in the works...

This dates way back into the last century!!!

On a stormy summer night I was waiting on a load at the Chemical Leaman terminal in Matawan NJ(Aka Nappi Trucking)

I was just drifting off to sleep when I heard what sounded like a war chant. I came out of the sleeper and saw one of the guys from the tank wash dancing on top of a tank wagon. I rolled down the window and heard him chant "I hope lightening comes down and hit *******(name long forgotten) in the ass. No sooner than he finished the sentance a bolt of lightening hit the back of the wagon blowing out all the tyres. The guy jumped off the tank and I would swear he hit the ground at least 30 feet away.

The other tank wash employees and I got into the company pickup and we chased after him. We finally caught up to him in the town, which was about 5 miles from the terminal!
His only comment was "I'll never do another war dance again!!"

[68-1010632524]

I think it's about time this thread was resurrected..

Now that my other brother Zeppo has some miles under his ass, I just bet he has a tale or two to tell!!!

This also applies to all the members and visitors to this forum, come on there has to be more than two drivers amongst the membership who has a funny or factual or science fiction tale to tell....It should deal with life on the highway or close to it



Edited By Doctor Who on Oct. 14 2002 at 6:59

[68-1010632524]

Well, I guess I'll be the one to start this.

This is not so funny, but it is true.

This dates back to 1977, my boss had purchased a 77 Kenworth W-900 and it was given to me, it was my first large car. The tractor was painted exactly like the KW in the first "Smokey and the Bandit" film. Needless to say it was the talk of the highway, especially around Georgia!

About 5 months later I was running he11 bent for election west bound on I 20. The speedometer was showing the truck was doing about 75 or so, when the right steer tyre let go. I fought to keep the truck under control, but started to panic when I saw I was heading for a bridge abutment. I thought for sure I had bought it, I kept imagining the headlines in the newspaper with a photgraph of this KW smashed like an aluminum can against the bridge.

I did get the truck stopped about 5 feet from the overpass. I sat in the seat shaking. Then a voice made me jump, a Georgia highway patrol officer was standing by the drivers side. He asked me if I was OK. I told him I was. He then told me he was planning on pulling me over and giving me a ticket for speeding, but when the tyre blew, he didn't have the heart to. He stayed with me until the wrecker got there. Before the patrol officer left, he turned to me and asked "You going to slow down now?" I told him YES!!

That is one experience I don't want to ever go through again!

[68-1010632524]

Another tanker story from the "Chemical Brothers" archives.
No this isn't[b:post_uid4]PUBLIC DOMAIN[/b:post_uid4]

A nice warm July morning in Baltimore, and the promise to go home. Well, not quite, all such hopes were dashed when the travel agent came running out of his cave acting like a wildman and yelling at my dear brother and I to hook up to a tank and come back and see him. With all the hooking and pretripping completed, I wandered back into the dispatch office, where the travel agent threw a packet with blank paperwork at me and told me to take my brother and the truck and head out to interstate 95 north. I tried to ask him what was the big deal, but got a response that I can't repeat here! I love secret missions!

Well, we got out on 95 and headed north. We drove for about 15 minutes when traffic came to a stop, nothing new for Baltimore. We sat for about 5 minutes, when a voice came over the CB "*******, are you empty??" I answered him and I looked in the mirror and saw a Maryland Highway patrolperson behind us. "Good, I'm giving you an escort!"
I looked at my brother and all he asked was "What did you do now??" I shrugged my shoulders "I swear I didn't do a thing, I was just conveniently located at the scene of the crime!!"

The officer gave us an escort around the backup and led us to the cause of all the trouble, another ******* tank wagon had split open and was leaking. I didn't pay much attention to the broken tank, I was more interested in the placard. The skull and cross bones definetly stood out! My brother and I looked at each other and at the same time said "Phosphoric Acid!"

We had to unload that tank into ours, everything was going fine. That was until I got a cold refreshing Coke out of the cooler and stood by the tractor drinking it. A Haz-Mat cop saw me and absolutley went crazy. This young lady started yelling and screaming at me. Everyone within twenty feet of the site heard her! I asked what her problem was. She just kept yelling at me "Don't you know that is dangerous!!!!"
I told her it wasn't, but she just went right on yelling. Finally her supervisor came over to bring some peace to this somewhat one sided confrontation. He asked me why I was drinking the Coke and I told him I was thirsty. He then asked me wasn't I aware of the chemical and I told him I was.
This went on for five minutes, when I showed the supervisor the Coke bottle and asked him to read the ingredients and would he please read them out loud. He did, until he got down
towards the bottom of the label "Phosphoric Acid!" I took the bottle back and said "Yes, people drink the sh*t!!" "Now, would kindly get your subordinate out of my way so we can finish?!?!?!?"

My brother and I ended up making the delivery and didn't get home for another three weeks!
Such the life of a professional driver

[68-1010632524]

Yet another tale from the [b:post_uid0]Chemical Brothers[/b:post_uid0] archives!

My brother paid a visit yesterday and he told me that he was writing his memoirs. His son has something to do with this. So in honour of the memoir, I post this..Yes, it's in the book!

After 2 years of running team, the company decided to split my brother and I up. The logic to this was why have two good drivers in the same truck, when they each can have a truck, can't argue with warped logic.
I had to give up the Freightliner and was given a new Volvo, what a let down!
The first dispatch out as seperate drivers we loaded at the same chemical plant with the exact same load going to Newark, NJ. I went to Sherwin Williams and he went to Benjamin Moore, which were next to each other. We really didn't think much of it at the time. When the trucks were empty we headed to the terminal in Carteret,NJ laid over that night and received our dispatches in the AM. Again, we loaded at the same Chemical plant, had the same type of chemical going to the same place in Illinois! I asked my brother if he noticed something odd, all he could say was "Don't try to figure them out!" Good logic!
After we had loaded we hauled ass across I-80 conversing on our ham radios. When we got to the plant in Illinois, the guard at the gate was not amuzed when we signed in. This gentleman thought we were messing with his head. After a long conversation with the NJ dispatcher he let us in the gate.
Unloading completed, we drove to Joliet and checked in with dispatch. We couldn't get a load out that evening, so we headed to the motel.
Next morning the dispatcher called the motel, talked to my brother and after a long breakfast we went back to the terminal. Barbara, the very lovely dispatcher, gave us our loads, you guessed, it same customer same load going to the same place Baton Rouge,La. My brother and I looked at each other and I asked Barbara what was going on and she said that since we came in together we might as well leave together. I looked at my brother and said "We're a TEAM in seperate trucks!" Remember what I said about logic!

We chased each other to Baton Rouge and that is where we split up. I went to Gulf,La and loaded some nasty looking blue chemical and took off for NC. I didn't find out where my brother was going.
After unloading I drove back to the Wilmington,NC terminal, which was my domicile. I was talking to a couple of friends on my ham radio, when I heard a voice say "You just never know who's listenin'!" My brother got a load back to Wilmington, so we had come full circle.

It didn't take long before the entire company knew about the [b:post_uid0]CHEMICAL BROTHERS[/b:post_uid0] the team in seperate trucks!

This is for you brother

[Silver Bullet]

Dr. Who, I gotta tell ya, I really enjoy reading your stories. I can't wait til the book comes out.

[68-1010632524]

Thank you Silver Bullet, Now I know at least one person is reading them...If I keep posting the stories I may not have a book to publish :0

Thanx again

[68-1010632524]

These two date back before the [b:post_uid0]CHEMICAL BROTHERS[/b:post_uid0]

The first: Going to Brooklyn just to get a hotdog!
My dear brother called me on a Sunday afternoon in a state of panic. He had to go to Brooklyn to make a delivery, he had never been to the "big" city in a truck! He told me that dad couldn't go. I agreed to go with him since I really didn't have much planned for Monday.
Monday morning and I'm standing on Woodbridge Ave with a cup of coffee in my hand waiting for the brother to arrive. I had waited about a hour when I saw his truck, a long nose Peterbilt and 48 ft trailer. I thought about it for minute or so and just shook my head. The name on the truck also got my curiousity up. "Glass Container Transport?" " Are you hauling glass?"
He said no and that he had auto parts in the trailer and the load was going to A warehouse off of Metropolitan Ave in Brooklyn. I didn't say a word!
The ride in was rather uneventful, that was until we got to the warehouse. One way street the wrong way, got to blind side it. Brother had never done it, I told him to go up the street turn around and come back down the wrong way.
Three hours later he was unloaded and we were on our way. He asked me to drive out. As we were rolling down the Avenue he made a comment about how much he wanted to try a New York hotdog. Well, I locked the brakes up and steered the truck towards the curb stopping in front of a hotdog vendor. The vendor just shook his head and my brother just stared at me. I told him I wanted mine with mustard and kraut and a Coke!

The second story: First trip to California!
Another phone call, but not on Sunday. My brother was going to Tracy California with a load of Indulin, a brown nasty looking goo! He asked if he should go across I-80. I told him he was crazy if he was coming from Wilmington NC. I told him to go straight across I-40 and when he got to Barstow turn right and head up California highway 58 and that will take him to California 99 and then to I-205 then go into Tracy.
About 5 days later I get a call from him and he was quite upset. I asked him what the matter was. All he said was "YOU FORGOT TO MENTION TEHACHAPI!!!"
I looked at my wife and said "oops!" To say he was a bit upset would be an understatement. I told him that I did mention that little detail.
He swears to this day I never told him!

Well, a couple of years later The Chemical Brothers ended up going to Tracy via the same route, guess who ended up driving Tehachapi??



Edited By Doctor Who on Nov. 21 2002 at 10:09

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid12]I got a call from the "older" half of the Chemical Brothers and I hate to say this, but his health has deteriorated. He has had a bad heart for sometime, but was not discovered until 2 years ago. He was having trouble staying awake while his driving I had noticed it when we were running team and on one occasion he almost ran us off a bridge. There were other signs, but I couldn't figure the problem out. This is one of the other reasons we split as a team. I left the company and he stayed on until he was dragged to a heart specialist and the heart condition was discovered. From what I understand the heart has three major vessels running over the top of it, his only has a half of one and the other two are almost non-existent! What a shock, I feel bad because I can't do a bloody thing to help him!

He's to the point now he can only sit at the computer for 30 minutes before he gets worn out, he pushes himself to drive to NC to see his children and stop by here and the trip takes its toll on him!
He is going to Charleston in January to see if he is a candidate for a heart transplant and then get put on the list.

Sorry this isn't an amusing story, but I figured it would be a good place to pay a tribute to the older brother[/color:post_uid12]

[Big Momma CAD]

[color=#810541:post_uid0]Sorry to hear that about your brother. Our thoughts and prayers go out to him. Maybe he will be put on the list and won't have to wait very long.
Are you going to be with over the holidays? Sounds like you are close!!! We should all value every second we have with our love ones. We take so much for granted.
Does he ever visit us here?[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]Thank you for the kind words

Yes we have become real close in the past 30 years or so.

It's a long story, but I didn't know I had an older brother until I was about 6 or so....

As far as the Christmas holiday, the family and I are heading to NJ. The XYL is doing all the driving since I'm not supposed according to the medical professional(?)

I'm not sure if he checks this site, I've told him he should.
Who knows he may have to, just to defend himself against the Chemical Brothers stories!!! :madnoel:[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]Time for another story......

The wife and I were watching some awful talk show this afternoon dealing with Cheating and all the other "Jerry Springer" type garbage. I made a rude comment about how drinking 10 shots of Jack Daniels and 4 shots of Tequila and any woman would look good!
The wife looked at me a said "Is that what you thought about me?!?!"
I told her no, I had fallen in love with her the first day I saw her.....Story now begins

This dates back to 1980, I had a regular run back and forth to a paper plant in Spotswood NJ. Every day at 1500 I would be at a certain intersection and I would see this real cute woman with curly hair driving a red Camaro. This went on for a week or so and I told my friend about it. He suggested I step out of the truck and talk to her. I told him that she would probably run me over or shoot me. It was beginning to look like Richard Dreyfuss and Suzanne Summers in American Graffiti!

This little comedy scene went on for about three weeks, with no end in site until, one day I had to pick my mom up from work. I wheeled my blue Camaro into the parking lot and who should pull in along side of me, but the cute woman in the red Camaro. I was shocked I couldn't say anything to her, my mom broke the silence by saying hi to the young lady and introducing her to me. On the ride home I told mom about the little scene and she said I should ask her out, but she knew I was too shy to do it!!! The parking lot meetings went on for a week or so and just before Valentines day the Camaro lady asked me when I was going to ask her out! Well, I did and 21 years later I'm still looking for another 1979 red Camaro. Would make a great anniversary gift.

She keeps saying she never noticed the bright red White 9000 with the driver hanging out the window!!

I know better though :;):

I knew I left something out. The run lasted about a month and a half until one of the senior drivers got upset that I was yanking down the "big" bucks! I thought I would never see the Camaro girl again. Well, being taken off the run was a blessing in disguise, in a way, it freed me up to help dad when he couldn't pick mom up from work!
Yes I did thank the "senior" driver for his help with my quest! He didn't have a clue, which was fine! There was a little justice after all, the run he took from me came to an end two weeks after he got it!!!!

Now you know the rest of the story!!!

Now for a news update. I read on another site that a driver from NC won 2500 for a manuscript about driving and the deplorable state trucking is in. I would like to know when this contest was?!?!?! I can't wait for the next one cause if this driver thinks the industry is deplorable, maybe I can spread a little BS to make it a little brighter..

Till the next time America[/color:post_uid0]



Edited By Doctor Who on 1041927987

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid4]Kamikaze birds and other assorted flying objects........


Way back in the dark ages of my trucking career I was driving a "R" Model Mack, yes it had 2 sticks in it, anyway I was pulling a flatbed up US 206 in northern NJ just about daybreak one fall morning when I saw a dark object heading towards me, for the life of me I couldn't figure out what it was until it hit the passengers side windshield and completely shattering it. Amongst the shower of glass and other odd objects and the shock of being hit I managed to pull the truck over. After the "storm" subsided I noticed an Owl sitting in the passenger seat. It was the biggest Owl I had ever seen. "Not so smart were you???" I asked my quite dead friend.

I called for help on the CB, when CB was a good thing to have.
The nice lady who answered my call thought I was kidding her and it took about 10 minutes to convince her I was serious. She did call the police plus, she had to come out and see for herself.
When the officers arrived they weren't sure what to think, but there it was, a big old Barn Owl sitting in the seat just as if I had placed it there. The lady came up to the truck and was really surprised, she also brought me coffee, which was nice of her. One of the investigating officers asked what I was going to do with the Owl. I told him I'm keeping it as evidence so the boss don't try to charge me with an accident!

About 2 hours later the windshield repair person wasa finished and after numerous phone calls to the boss and the receiver I was on my way. I took the Owl and strapped its feet to the CB and propped it up so it could look out the windshield.
I made it to the recievers yard and pulled up to the guardshack, the female guard came out and started laughing. I asked her what was so funny and she pointed to my buddy. I told her it was a new type of radar detector, when it spotted a police officer with radar the tail feathers would go up and it would drop a present on the radio. Don't know if she believed me or not.
The Owl rode with me the entire day and when I got back to the yard I showed the evidence to the boss. He asked if I was going to keep it and I told him no, but I did know a police officer in town who collected stuffed Owls, so I called him and he came and got it.
Yes he still has that mean old bird today!

Two side notes: The incident did make the paper in the little town where the incident happened and the lady turned out to be the mother of a Amateur radio operator in Raliegh who had heard me telling someone about this a few years back!!!

Got to run, next on the agenda "Lightning and the Volvo"[/color:post_uid4]

[ZODIAC54]

[color=#810541:post_uid0]Hey Doc: That's a Good one, where in the world do you get these stories, I would like to look up the site and read a few myself.[/color:post_uid0]

[Twilight Flyer]

[color=#000080:post_uid0]Doc, these stories are great. Keep'em coming! :bowdown:

And if I'm not mistaken, these stories are directly from Doc's own storied history.[/color:post_uid0]



Edited By Twilight Flyer on 1042105612

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:15pt;line-height:100%'></span><span style='font-family:times'>Thanks Flyer as I mentioned before, if I keep this up there will be nothing left to publish!!

Zodiac, with the exception of the very first post, all the stories are from my personal journal and I've been attempting to put them into book form. Not to add anymore confusion, Groucho was another screen name I was using back in the summer!!
It makes me happy that folks are enjoying a little levity in printed form, although I do have some not so amusing stories as well.</span>[/color:post_uid0]

[ZODIAC54]

[color=#810541:post_uid0]Thanks Doc, for the Amusement of one not real sure on how to act towards these stories. But if these are your Personals I can't wait to Read the Book if you decide to print one. :aktion074:[/color:post_uid0]



Edited By ZODIAC54 on 1042137525

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:13pt;line-height:100%'></span><span style='font-family:courier'>I was negotiating a book deal with a publisher in North Carolina, but do to some items I wouldn't agree with I'm afraid the deal has stalled. Oh well, there will be other publishers...

Now as far as how to react, well the stories are written for the enjoyment of others and it shows there is a humourous side to this profession. When you get on your own bring a notebook or laptap or voice recorder and keep your own journal, document the good and the bad you'll be amazed at how much really goes on that the general public is not aware of.
I used to carry my 35mm camara with me and tried to include photos with the stories. I had 10 books full of photos, but they were all destroyed in a house fire...My brother also had reminded me just recently there is a video tape or 2 starring the infamous Chemical Brothers, hmmm the rusty wheels are turning!!!
Enjoy the tales of a slightly demented aging trucker and I figure within a year you'll have some amusing tales of your own to tell</span>[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-family:courier'>Now that's as cold as a Witches.....sorry the XYL saw what I was writing...

As promised.....Lightning and the Volvo!

As I mentioned earlier, the Chemical Brothers were placed in seperate trucks, I first started out with an "Ancient" Volvo for about a month, then I was blessed with a new 1995 Volvo, #2036, nothing to rave about it still was a Volvo. It had it's shakedown run going to Chicago and then to Houston. It wasn't too bad and it was radio friendly! Fast Forward..

Around the late summer or so the Chemical Brothers were dispatched to Nashville, TN to help out with dedicated runs for Dupont out of their Old Hickory plant. One run went to Circleville, OH, one to Mt. Vernon, IN, one to Deepwater, NJ and the last went to Houston, TX.
I was on the return leg of a Circleville load, when a severe thunderstorm popped up. The lightning was really intense and quite frequent. I was, as usual, reporting everything I saw to a Sky Warn operator. I had just finished my report when there was a bright flash and then the truck DIED, I rolled to the side of the Interstate and parked under a bridge. I sat in the seat looking around for any smoke, nothing. I tried to restart the engine, again nothing!
Well, panic didn't set in, but I was getting quite concerned. I sat on the side of the road for about 30 minutes watching the rain fall dreading the inevitable walk down the highway to the next exit. Didn't really care for the walk, so I tried to crank the truck just once more and lo and behold the thing started and everything started working again. I took it to the shop when I got back and the mechanics couldn't find a thing. The conclusion was the lightning caused an overload and shut it down!! DUH!!!!!

Three weeks later I got the "privilege" of running to Houston. I was strolling along I-10 at the Louisana/Texas border and wound up in another thunderstorm and as most folks know, thunderstorms in Louisana are nothing short of spectacular. I really didn't think much about the storm until, bright flash and the sudden sensation of no power steering and no engine noise crept over me..."Not again!!!" I yelled as I rolled silently to the side of the Interstate. A Louisana Highway Patrolperson stopped and called for a wrecker. I told the officer what had transpired and he told me he knew someone that could locate the problem. "Yeah" I said "the guy up above who keeps hitting me with lighning!!!"
Help did arrive and the truck was towed to an old shop, the mechanic had to be about 100 years old pulled the hood and went right to work. 10 minutes later he tells me he found the problem and that the computer box had to be replaced. It seemed that the folks at Volvo decided that grounding was not neccesary, but it was!!!!
The mechanic went and got a new box, programmed it and I was on my way in less than 3 hours.
When I got back to Nashville, the company shop people checked the guys work and gave it their seal of approval. What they didn't check was the programming and I wasn't about to tell them. I ended up with one of the fastest "Company" Volvos. It stayed that way after I had left the company until it was wrecked in 1998 due to a roll over!

That's all for now</span><span style='font-size:13pt;line-height:100%'></span>[/color:post_uid0]



Edited By Doctor Who on 1042913215

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-family:courier'>As promised....The Dreaded "BIRDDOG" Thread.....

As most drivers know anyone who drives a commercial vehicle is not, by a bogus law, permitted to have Radar Detectors. Most are also aware that a few states, Virginia, Ohio and one or two others have had a ban for quite sometime..
With that in mind sit back and imagine if you will a dark, cold evening in 1994 a slow assed Freightliner struggling to climb the hill on I-77 near the Big Walker Tunnel in Virginia. The brother was driving and I was trying to sleep. Now, as anyone who has run as a team after a while the driver in the sleeper gets to know the different sounds of the truck in their sleep, I am no exception.
I could tell the truck was having a problem climbing the hill and that my brother was getting frustrated, then I heard the two words no co-driver wants to hear "Oh Sh*t"
Then a few well placed explatives, I thought maybe the driveline let go and he'd be waking me up in a moment, so I tried to make the best of what little sleep I could get. As I drifted off I heard voices, I figured there was another driver who had stopped and was talking to my brother.
This is where it gets good..
I heard the passenger door open and then a lot of rustling, really didn't think much of it, then I heard the sleeper curtain open and felt something touching me and then a bright light was shining in my face...I jumped and I saw a figure reaching for something on their hip...I asked "What are you going to do, shoot me????" When my eyesight focused I saw a Sheriffs Deputy pointing his 9mm at me. "Just what in #### are you doing in my truck???"
The Deputy said he was looking for a radar detector. I asked him if he had found one and he said no. I told him he was violating my privacy and he needed to get out. Then he tried to defend his actions by claiming his radar detector detector alerted him to the fact that the slowassed Freightliner had a radar detector. That agitated me more, I came out of the sleeper and told him if that was true than he needed to get his equipment checked or trash it. He got really defensive, but I didn't back off. I pointed to the dash board and told him the equipment stacked up was Amateur radio equipment and the frequencies were nowhere near the X or K bands that radar is on, which meant that his equipment was faulty and if he kept insisting I would take the time to come up to his county file a complaint and drag his ass into court.
Then there was a pregnant pause. After a minute I told the Deputy to get out of my truck, he didn't argue he got out and walked over to the drivers side and told my brother to "Get the piece of sh*t out of here!!!"

My brother got back in the truck and looked at me and swore that he didn't think the cop would actually get in the truck. I wouldn't look at him, I just told him the next time, if there is one, he don't let anyone in the truck, or you inform who ever it is your co-driver is sleeping, that'll end any argument before it starts!!!!!
I also told him I was telling Mom on him!!!!

Next, the Kentucky Scale Cop and the Scanner</span>[/color:post_uid0]



Edited By Doctor Who on 1043405173

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-family:courier'>The Kentucky Scale Cop and The Scanner

Before 1995, a few states had a ban on police scanners in POVs, Kentucky and New Jersey were among these states.
After unloading and reloading at GE in Mt. Vernon, IN June 30 1995, the Chemical Brothers headed back towards Kentucky and the Pennyrile Parkway. Just before we crossd the state line I pulled over. My brother asked what I was doing, I told him I was waiting for Midnight. He asked why and I told him to sit back and watch.
When my watch showed all zeros I proceeded across the line into Kentucky knowing the Port of Entry was open. I pulled onto the scale and waited for the stuff to quit rocking, the scale cop told me to park it and bring my paperwork, logbook and the scanner into the scalehouse, we weren't over weight, but I took the papers and the logbook in. The cop asked me where the scanner was and I told him I didn't have one and he called me a liar and said he saw it on the dash of the truck, I told him he was wrong and that what he saw was my Amateur equipment. He got real beligerant and I told him to call his supervisor. Well, the supervisor came out of his office and listened to the scale cop and then listened to what i had to say, I showed him my Extra class Amateur license and told him all the equipment in the truck is legal. The supervisor said that some pieces of "Ham" gear can be used as a scanner and that was illegal in Kentucky, I looked up at the clock and mentioned it was 0015 July 1, the supervisor asked why was that relevent and I said that the scanner law is now repealed as of 0001 July 1.
Well, the supervisor made a phone call and after 10 minutes he hung up, told the scale cop to let me go and that he should go home. As I left the office the supervisor followed me out asking if he could look at the equipment, I told him I was running team and that if my co-driver was sleeping I couldn't allow him in the truck. When we got to the truck my brother was standing outside so I let the supervisor look at the radios and actually had him make a few contacts. Some were rather close, but what impressed him was the Australian trucker he talked to. "Is he really in Australia?" I told him the driver was indeed Down Under and that I talked to them just about every night when I was behind the wheel.
The supervisor was amazed and said he was going to get his license. I don't know if he ever did!!!!

Next up: The Kentucky Super Scale and the inspector with a hammer!!!! Just a hint, it was the same trip</span>[/color:post_uid0]



Edited By Doctor Who on 1043492086

[Silver Bullet]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Another Great story Doc..Thanks for making me laugh.[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-family:courier'>Your welcome Bullet!!!!!

See below for the continuing saga.....</span>[/color:post_uid0]

[Big Momma CAD]

[color=#810541:post_uid0]Yes Doc the stories are great and I'm sure others have some to tell as well. They just haven't been as brave as you. I do have a problem with the wife story...."YOU SHY" No way!!!!!

The owl thing....it happened around here with a wild turkey. NO NOT THE LIQUID KIND.

I wish I new a publsiher. I can't wait for this book.[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[quote:post_uid0="Big Momma CAD"][color=#000000:post_uid0] I do have a problem with the wife story...."YOU SHY" No way!!!!!

The owl thing....it happened around here with a wild turkey. NO NOT THE LIQUID KIND.[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]Yes I am shy, hard to believe, but true!!!!

The Wild turkey did it involve a Central Transport Lease Operator??

I'm trying to finish the Kentucky saga, but am now suffering from severe writers block...I know there is a "Super" scale on I-24 in KY, but don't remember where or where we went with the load...Hopefully it is a temporary thing...

The negotiations with the publisher in Chapel Hill fell through, which is a blessing of sorts. I may enter some of these in the Truckers writing contest if I can find out when it is!!!![/color:post_uid0]

[Big Momma CAD]

[color=#810541:post_uid0]I can't remember what carrier it was. I know I was with Landstar at the time. It must have been about 5 or 6 years ago.

There is a big scale on I-24 right around the Land Between the Lakes area. Between the Western KY Parkway and the River. Could that be the one?[/color:post_uid0]

[Big Momma CAD]

[color=#810541:post_uid0]Oh yeah, as far as the contest. I think Randall Publishing does something like that. They are the Publishers of Overdrive Magazine and Truckers News. The number for them is 800-633-5953. They do several other publications as well. Who knows, they may even be interested in your book!!!
CAD and I are friends with the Publisher of Truckers Connection. I will check with her on the Publishing thing as well. She may know someone.
Never hurts to ask.[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-family:courier'>Yeah that's the one....
Yes that was a Central Transport Lease Operator..He did have a tale to tell after that experience, the best part was when the Turkey was not dead and #### near beat the driver to death!!!!!

The scale incident starts below</span>[/color:post_uid0]

[Big Momma CAD]

[color=#810541:post_uid0]Yep that's it!!!! It was all the talk at the local truck stop and the Landstar Office. Poor Guy. :D[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-family:courier'>After the scanner episode, we proceeded on down the highway, made the turn onto I-24 and all was right with the universe. Well almost!!
We came upon a sign that had the dreaded phrase "SCALE OPEN"
We pulled onto the scale and again waited for the liquid to quit rocking, it seemed like it took forever for the green light to come on, I started getting a tad impatient, when a voice in my left ear made me jump.."I noticed your tank does not have a CVSA sticker!!"
I looked at the inspector and told him the tank was new and it was on it's maiden voyage. He insisted. My brother and I both told him to check the placard, again he insisted. We both gave up, but before I moved the truck I went into the scale house and objected to the supervisor, he wouldn't listen. My brother kept trying to explain to the gentleman that we were carrying Jet fuel Additive and it was highly KABOOOMABLE, he stole my term for it! They still insisted. After ten minutes of the Spanish Inquisition I found a blank sheet of paper and wrote the following...." WE the drivers of this ******* Transport truck will not be held responsible for any outcome resulting from the inspectors negligance!!" We made the supervisor and the inspector sign it
I pulled the truck under the shed and the inspector went to work, my brother hauled ass back to the scale house "Chicken Sh*t!!!!" I yelled to him as he cut a trail across the lot.
Everything was going all right, but I left the drivers side door open. The inspector told me to step on the brakes. I did and then he started whacking on something underneath the trailer with a STEEL hammer. Upon the second whack I set the brakes and jumped out of the truck and yelled to him "YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN, DUDE!!!"
I guess a strong wave of concern swooped over him cause he was two steps behind me.
We reached the scale house, he told me he stuck the sticker on the tank and we could go and leave in a hurry!!! He didn't have to tell us twice!!
Before we left the inspector did ask what the additive would have done. I told him probably would level this scale and more than likely level the little town the scale was near!!!
He shook his head and told me and the brother that we were both insane for pulling dangerous loads!!! My brother told him that's why Mom chased us away from home!!!
I put the truck in gear and stalled it just to watch the reaction of the inspector, he was not amuzed!!!!</span>[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-family:courier'>Hey look another LIGHTNING tale!!!!!

I met up with an old friend who drives for a gas hauling company, the same one I drove for before I went with the company I am entangled with now. I commented to him about using my old tractor and tankwagon. He made a few rude remarks about the truck and I told him that the truck was famous. He didn't understand until I told him about....

Lightning and the Gas Wagon

Dateline October 1998. Location Durham NC...
I pulled into a gas station and got set up to unload, I noticed there was quite a light show going on as I hooked everything up. I didn't pay that much attention to the weather, I wanted the trailer to unload fast so I could get back and get another load. Half way through the unloading process I heard a lot of shouts and noise coming from behind me, I turned around and saw about 8 people standing in front of the store pointing to the trailer. I figured they never saw a gas wagon before. One of the spectators came up to me and told me to look at the top of the trailer, so I stepped back to where the crowd was standing and was amazed, there was a blue corona around the top of the trailer, all I could say was "COOOL!!!"
I walked back to the trailer and waited for everything to calm down, the store clerk came out and asked me if the truck was going to explode. I told him no and asked him why. He had called the fire department. I explained to the clerk that if I didn't try to move the hoses nothing will happen. The fire fighters did show up and I had explained to the captain what was going on and it wasn't really necessary for them to stay. He said they would wait until I left. I waited fifteen minutes after the blue glow had died away, I kicked the 4" gas hose, I didn't hear KABOOM, so all was well. I packed everything up, walked into the store got the papers signed. As I was going back to the truck one the guys outside told me I was Muy Loco, I just laughed and said Si Gracias and left!!!

The other Lightning and the Gas Wagon tale

Dateline: August 1999. Location: Somewhere east of Selma NC

Had just finished loading at the BP terminal and pulled out the gate when A wicked summertime thunderstorm rumbled into town. The Skywarn folks were real concerned about this storm and the potential tornadoes. The Skywarn control operator asked me where I was going and I told her Beaufort (pronounced Bofort) she told me the storm was going to intensify the further east it went. Just what I wanted to hear. Beaufort is near the coast. I asked the NWS radar operator how fast the storm was travelling, it was estimated at 30 miles an hour. I figured I could out run it. I made it to Beaufort and had the wagon unloaded and on my way back when I saw the flashes of lighting on the horizon.
What I hadn't realized, the storm had sped up and I was going to run headlong into it before I got to Havelock NC!
Sure enough I hit a torrential rain as I approached the intersection of NC 101 and US 70. The rain came down so hard the road just about disappeared, I knew there was a car behind me so I put on my fourway flashers to let the guy know I was slowing down. Just as we got to the intersection there was a real bright flash and the sound of a cannon going off. The flash had knocked all the street lights out. Well, the truck didn't shut off and I checked to see if I still had a trailer. Then I heard a weak voice come over my CB..."Eagle?"
"Yeah"
"You OK?" I told him I was and asked him why he was asking. This guy thought my tank had blown up when in fact the bolt had shot across the back of the wagon and hit a tree next to the road! It shook that guy real bad. Not to mention it rattled me too!!!!
After I got through Havelock the ride back was uneventful!</span>[/color:post_uid0]



Edited By Doctor Who on 1043869197

[Twilight Flyer]

[color=#000080:post_uid0]Once again, Doc, the stories are great. I really can't wait until the book comes out. It'll definitely make for some great reading. You might even think about doing the whole book on tape thing. Be a great ride for those on the road. Again, well done. :D[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-family:courier'>I meandered into Amazon.com and was shocked to find a gentleman named Don McTavish has written a book based on the humourous side of trucking, I'm guessing it's from his own experiences. Now, I'm upset and a sudden pang of doubt has befallen me...Is there room for another book written by a slightly demented, aging trucker telling stories from the Not So Golden Age of Trucking??????

I think I'll go watch Dr. Phil!!!!!</span>[/color:post_uid0]

[bluebeetle]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Gee....that question is in the same category as "Are there enough Soap operas on tv?" and "Will reality tv ever get any viewers?" or "Will the internet ever become popular?"

Very enjoyable! Reminds me of listening to my dad tell some of his tales! Thanks![/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[quote:post_uid0="bluebeetle"][color=#000000:post_uid0]Gee....that question is in the same category as "Are there enough Soap operas on tv?" and "Will reality tv ever get any viewers?" or "Will the internet ever become popular?"

Very enjoyable! Reminds me of listening to my dad tell some of his tales! Thanks![/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]I guess it will be all the above!!!!

Stories your Dad tells?? I'm not that old, at least I don't think I am?!?!?! :aktion088:[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-family:courier'>Last evening the XYL and I were watching TV and the 12 year old came home from a friends house with the friend and her mother. They were complaining about the cold rain. In a fit of boredom I switched the channel to check the Weather Channel, just for grins and giggles. I pointed out that it was snowing in West Virginia. The XYL started to laugh, our daughter asked us what was so funny, so we told her about Moms first ride in a "Large" car to Morgantown, West Virginia and the Snowstorm.

January, 1982 and we were just married a month. It was a Friday evening and the phone rang, of course it could only be the "Travel Agent" and he asked me if I could take a load of Phenol to Morgantown, WV (Notice: Could meant I didn't have a choice) I told the agent I would, the wife asked if she could go with me. I hesitated before I would answer her. I told her that Phenol was poisonous and if any got on the skin it would kill a person. She insisted and I finally gave in.
I called my boss and told him that I was taking the load and he told me not to use my tractor due to the weight restrictions and that he would arrange for the company we leased the truck to, to let me use a company truck. It didn't sound promising.

The wife and I drove to the tank lines terminal, she sat in the car while I went to check in with dispatch. Out of the kindness of his evil little heart the dispatcher had a local driver load the tank for me and everything was hooked up and ready to go. I was shocked, to say the least! I drove over to where the truck was parked and found it was a Mack R model, which meant no sleeper! I figured it would be useless to complain!

I pulled out of the yard and headed for the NJ turnpike and after the second traffic light the wife said to drop her off and she would walk home, she wasn't prepared for the "SLOSH" factor associated with Tanker Yanking. The other factor that made this trip bad was the fact I had to follow the companys route, which meant going south on 95 into Maryland then west to Frederick MD and across the Haz-Mat Route, which I believe is now called I-68.
Fast Forward:
We pulled into the truckstop in Frederick to get fuel and take a break, as I pulled up to the fuel pumps, one of the many Lot Lizards jumped up on the fuel tank and asked if I wanted a good time. I asked this "Nightmare from Maryland" what was I going to do with her pointing to the wife. The wife just stared at her. The Lizard thought better of it and jumped off the tank, I felt the trailer jerk, for a moment, I thought I had run her over!! The wife asked me what that "HORRIBLE" thing was and I told her. She was shocked and commented that she had nothing to worry about! I wasn't sure what she was talking about...

After breaktime we got back on the road only to run into a snowstorm, not a small storm, but a BIG storm. I could see the look of panic on the wifes face. Now, anyone who has run the Haz-Mat Route will atest to the fact that there are some interesting hills. The wife asked me what I would do if a car pulled out in front of us as we were coming down the hill. I told her they'd get hit. I noticed it was a small comfort.

We did make it to Morgantown, I stopped at a small motel and dropped the wife off and then proceeded to go to the chemical plant. I made the turn onto the street and I had my own panic attack. The hill was steep and some Genius thoughtfully put a stop sign in the middle of it. I tried to stop at the intersection, but the trailer had other ideas, I looked in the mirror and saw the back end was coming around, so I let off the brake and slid through the intersection SIDEWAYS!!! I tapped the brakes hoping to get the truck straightened out, well it did straighten out alright BACKWARDS. I didn't believe it myself, but I did get it slowed down and backed into the driveway. The guard, who had witnessed this, came out and said that it was the first time he'd seen anyone do what I did. I told him that I couldn't take credit for it. I was scared to death I thought for sure my wife would be a widow after just a month of marriage!
I got the wagon unloaded and hauled ass back up the hill and pulled into the motel parking lot. I didn't tell the wife what had happened.
I took my 8 hours off and we headed back to NJ as fast as the Mack would go.
I told the wife about the slide down the hill four months later.
She has never asked to ride with me again!!! Can't understand why??</span>[/color:post_uid0]



Edited By Doctor Who on 1044640052

[bluebeetle]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Well maybe you aren't that old, just good at describing the stories in a way that makes it very visual!

And you don't know I might be really young![/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-family:courier'>We posted at about the same time...

I'm not so sure about the "REALLY" young part....

I was taught way back in the day, if I was creating a story I had to write it in such a way as to make the reader believe they were actually there to witness the event, whether it be factual or fictional</span>[/color:post_uid0]



Edited By Doctor Who on 1044613096

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-family:courier'>This story is not so amusing, however it is a testament to how dangerous pulling a tanker can be!!!

A long time ago in the last century I had a load of wax to deliver to a small manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania. It was a cold day in late November, typical Pennsylvania type day to say the least.

The plant was rather small and quite hard to find plus, the directions I had left alot to be desired! I finally found the place at about 3 in the afternoon. I didn't know what to expect when I drove up the narrow twisting drive until I pulled into the small parking area. "This is going to be real good!" I thought to myself.
I went to the office and told the lady I was there to deliver the wax, she called the foreman and he pointed to the spot where I was to unload the wagon.
I started to get everything set up, hoses fittings, steam line. Wax is loaded at 195 degrees, in the winter steam is used to keep the temperature up to keep the wax from solidifying. I hooked the hoses to the truck and went to hook the hose to the wall pipe when I noticed a lot of wax on the wall. The foreman came out and I asked him "What in he11 happened here?"
He told me that a Matlack Tank lines truck that unloaded before me had a hose break. I thought about it a minute, I didn't remember seeing a Matlack truck when I was driving up to the plant. I did ask the foreman if someone had cleaned the line out. I was assured it was. First mistake in Tanker Yanking, never trust anyone, always check. I was complaisant!
The foreman opened the valves, while I started the tractor pump, which I let run for a few minutes to get everything warm. Then I opened the trailer valves and let the wax fly! I kept noticing the pump was straining and the hose was bouncing more than usual. I figured it was just my imagination. Second mistake!
About 20 minutes went by when the foreman reappeared and said the wax was not flowing like it should and went back inside. No sooner than he closed the door the hose exploded and I got covered in 195 degree wax from head to foot. The wax would've been in my eyes if it weren't for my glasses! The BOOM was so loud all the people in the plant came running out. The foreman asked what he could do and I told him to shut the valves. Wax went everywhere, up the side of the building, down the driveway and covered the owners Mercedes. He was pissed!!
I shut the pump down and then I was brought inside for medical attention. I had first and second degree burns on my head, face, hands and arms, even though I had a thick jacket on!
After the rescue squad left I called dispatch and informed them of the incident making sure they took the report. I also called my boss and explained the incident to him. He asked me if I needed for him to come get me. I told him no I'll drive back.
Before I left, the foreman came to me and said that there had been a plug of wax in the line and he "Guessed" that's what caused the hose to explode. A real comforting thought!

I drove until I got to Harrisburg and stopped in the T/A to get something to eat. I walked by the fuel counter and the manager saw me and asked what had happened and I told her. She handed me a bunch of towels and told me to get into the shower and stay there as long as I needed no charge!
I stayed in the shower for a hour and still couldn't get the wax out of my hair. I thanked the manager for the free shower and she also gave me a free meal, who was I to argue?
after I ate I went to walk out of the restaurant and walked into a real big dude, I looked up at him and he asked "What happened to you, son?!?"
I told him and he said come on back inside and have a Coca Cola with him and his friends. I wasn't about to argue with this guy, besides I would have been crazy not to accept an offer from Charlie Daniels.
I didn't see the tour busses pull in. I spent about 2 hours talking with Mr. Daniels and the band. It did make me forget about the pain I was in!</span>[/color:post_uid0]



Edited By Doctor Who on 1044897446

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:9pt;line-height:100%'>After reading a post by Kenworth75 asking about his dog and I mentioned a ferret....Memories started trickling back
THE FERRET AND THE FREIGHTLINER

Yes at one time I did have occasion to drive a Freightliner Cabover, not really my idea, but the boss insisted.
A friend asked if I could please take her Ferret, due to the fact her boyfriend had major problems with it! Yeah he did have major problems, the Ferret didn't like him one bit and whenever the boyfriend tried to get "frisky" with the lady the Ferret would bite him. Jealous I guess!

Well, I had to go on a long road trip and I didn't have time to get a cage for "Bandit", so I took him with me. The Ferret adapted to the Freightliner quickly, he made his bed underneath the clutch pedal and defended that spot fiercely!
I stopped at a hardware store and bought a few pieces of plastic pipe and fittings and made a little maze for him to play in just to keep him out of my hair!!!

We rode to Amarillo, Texas made the delivery and ended up laying over. I checked into a motel and made sure I hid Bandit from the manager.

Later that evening, I decide to go down to the lounge and mingle with the locals. I was concerend about leaving Bandit in the room alone. Ferrets have an over zealous curiosity factor. I didn't want to leave him in the truck, so I stuck him down my button down shirt and carried him into the lounge.
I sat down at a table and told the barmaid I wanted a beer and a clean ashtray. I have to explain here, I don't smoke, but Bandit had a passion for beer. Draw your own conclusion!

The barmaid brought the beer and the ashtray, no sooner did she put the items down Bandit popped out of my shirt and the young lady screamed, dropped her tray and ran across the lounge. The bouncer came over and asked me what was going on. I had stuffed Bandit back down my shirt. I told the bouncer I had no idea what got into the chick!
I moved over to the bar and sat down next to a fine looking Texas lady and we talked about all kinds of things. Bandit , of course, decided he wanted to check out the lady. He climbed out of my shirt and ran up on my shoulder. He made quite a conversation piece. He didn't bother the lady and she took to him right away!
Bandit decided to go exploring and walked across my shoulder and down my left arm to investigate the Cowboy sitting next to me. I heard the guy say something and Bandit ran back up my arm to my shoulder. The Cowboy told me my creature tried to drink his beer. I apologized and bought this guy another beer. I did ask the Cowboy if he hit Bandit and he said that he swung at the little ####. I told him that was the wrong thing to do.
It couldn't have been more than 5 minutes when I heard the guy yell in pain, I turned and saw Bandit hanging on to the guys ear. All I said was "Shouldn't have hit him!"
Well, the bouncer and the bartender did escort us out of the lounge!!!

Next morning, I picked up a load in Amarillo and headed up to New Haven, Connecticut.
Bandit was a big hit in every truck stop I went into.
I made the delivery in Connecticut and deadheaded back to NJ.

We, Bandit and I, were cruising down I-95, when a wreck occured. The unfortunate part was I witnessed this so I had to stop. The Connecticut State Police investigated the wreck and were taking statements.
I had the drivers side door open and really didn't pay any attention to Bandit. The officer came up to me and asked me all the questions associated to the wreck, when Bandit awoke from his many naps. He yawned and stretched and the cop jumped back and asked what it was. I asked him what was he refering to and he pointed to the clutch pedal. I told him that it was a clutch pedal.
He said no the fuzzy thing. I told him that was Bandit and he was a Dachshund. The officer didn't believe me. He said that Bandit was an exotic animal and they are FORBIDDEN in Connecticut. Well, there isn't a sign at the state line stating that piece of information. The officer said it was still a state law and he would have to take Bandit and have him destroyed.
I picked Bandit up and told the officer he wasn't going to do any such thing!!!
This was the one time I was glad to see the Media. the reporter heard the arguing and came over to see what the fuss was about. I told the reporter that the officer was going to take my critter, who was my riding companion and have him destroyed. The reporter asked the officer if it was true, all the officer could say was "Take your creature and get out of the state!!"
I thanked him, climbed back into the Freightliner, set Bandit on the doghouse and drove off.
That was the last trip Bandit went on.. Two weeks later someone took him from my house!!!</span>[/color:post_uid0]

[Night Rider]

[color=#FF0000:post_uid0]Doc, sounds like you have all the fun!

I'm not sure if any of my tales will equal yours, but I'll try!

It was many moons ago and I did haul freight other than heavy equipment.
I drove for Carretta Trucking and ran coast to coast in a Peterbilt Cabover. Not bad for the day!! In those days Carretta was a good company to drive for, the management took care of their people.
Of course to do the coast to coast it had to be run as a team. Take out loads of Revlon and bring back mostly produce and deliver to the Hunts Point Market in the Bronx, NY!

On one trip to California we, my partner and I, had to layover, so we went cruising up and down Hollywood Blvd. My partner was a newbie, who had never been away from home before, so he was just amazed at all the goings on in Hollywood. I spotted a fine looking female and stopped the truck. I told this lady my partner was in need of some fun. She chatted with him for a few minutes and talked him in to getting out of the truck and going with her. I sat in the truck and waited. It had to have been all of 5 minutes when I heard my partner yelling and when he climbed back in the truck he was white as a sheet. All he kept saying was that the woman was a guy!
I told him welcome to Hollywood, where nothing is real!! He called the dispatcher and complained. He never went back out on another trip![/color:post_uid0]

[kenworth75]

[color=#000080:post_uid0]I am glad i was able to send you back into a time warp Dr. My dog is a 61lbs boxer and he has outlasted my marriage. I thank you for letting me know the joys of tank yankin. Sounds like fun and is a challenge. Thank you.[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:9pt;line-height:100%'>Thanks Kenworth. The tales are just a small taste of the joys of Tanker Yanking with the exception of the wax!! However, there is a more serious side to Tanker Yanking that a driver needs to be aware of.
There is nothing like pulling the first load of liquid in a single hole tank to grab a new drivers attention and make them sit up and take notice!!!

If you have any questions about pulling tankers you can ask in the forum, or send me a private message and when I get the chance I'll try to answer them!!

For what it is worth, I have also pulled flatbeds back in the day!!

I got to go the satellites have found me again!

Till the next time America</span>[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:9pt;line-height:100%'>This little blip will not be in the book, but I thought it would fit in well here!!
I'm not sure if it really is amusing, but it is interesting!!!

I left out of Delanco, NJ 0dark30 Monday and drove towards the Eastern Shore of Virginia. I had two stops one to Perdue Chicken and the other to a roadside pottery shop located near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. Then it was on to Concord NC with one stop on Tuesday..

I delivered Perdue at 0600 and the pottery at 0915. I made the left hand turn on Route 13 and drove towards the bridge.
I pulled up to the toll booth and paid the $30.00 for the privelege to proceed onto the bridge, when the toll collecter told me she couldn't let me go. I asked her why and she said the truck was too high. I looked in the mirror and told her the truck is only 13' 4" the tunnel is 14'. She said I couldn't go through due to the ice on the trailer! I asked her what ice and all she told me to do was park on the side and an officer would come out and inspect the truck. I didn't argue, I pulled under a rack and an officer came out and looked at the trailer and went up the stairs to the top of the rack and said there was ice on the roof and that I would have to climb up on the roof to knock it off!
Yeah, right!! I asked if I could use their rack and they said NO!
Well, I called the dispatcher and told her and she gave me the authorization to run out of route!!!
Lot's of fun, the officer even made the comment that I should have checked the roof...I did tell him that it was hard to do when it was dark and that my X-RAY vision was not working very well!!!

Got to love trucking the only profession where folks are paid to be entertained!!!

Hey Look PAGE 3!!!!!!!!!!!</span>[/color:post_uid0]



Edited By Doctor Who on 1047489600

[bluebeetle]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Yeah, but did you get your $30 back?[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:9pt;line-height:100%'>Oh yeah, I made sure I had the $30 in my hand before I made the uturn and went back north on 13!!

And for what it's worth, the ICE did fall off the trailer, I'm guessing the folks behind me were none too happy!!

I was also going to mention the spirited discussion I got into with a straight truck driver on Tuesday at my third stop.
This guy jumped in front of me and backed in the dock, yeah it pissed me off and I told him what I thought about his parentage. Real trucker he was! However, all good things comes to those who wait and suffer through the inconsiderate and ignorant. The dock boss walked up to that driver and told him he had to wait until I was unloaded, which was going to be about two hours,since he really needed the freight I had, but didn't have the room to unload it!!! To say the "professional" was upset would be an understatement. He was so mad he cussed me and, like a spoiled child, yelled he wasn't moving his truck!! I just gave him my best Doctor Who look and told him that it didn't matter I'd just back in the tight space along side of him and what really got his attention was I told the dock boss I hadn't been on an 18 in quite a long time and that I really needed the practice!!!
After I backed in I asked this guy if he was paid by the hour. He wouldn't answer me....HOW RUDE!!!

Trucking, ya just got to love it!!!!</span> :) :;):[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:9pt;line-height:100%'>Hey Alan, this is for you!!!!

Another snippet from the CHEMICAL BROTHERS archives!!

A long time ago in the last century the brother and I were dispatched on a load of Indulin to deliver in Fernly Nevada. I made mention to the Travel Agent that it was maybe not such a wise choice to send us, but he insisted!
It was a rather uneventful ride out, to say it was boring would be an understatement. Did get some great video shots though!!!
Fernly is somewhat, but not quite, a suburb of Reno. After we unloaded at the plant we headed for Reno to get our next dispatch or whatever the dispatch Gods had in store!
I forgot to mention that we had passed the Mustang Ranch on our way there and the brother had made a comment about wanting to see the place, so I took a photograph of it, while I was driving(I do not recommend this to new drivers)

After a short, but lively discussion with the Agent, we were told to deadhead to Chicago. Understandable since there really was nothing in Nevada to pick up and stick in a tankwagon!
We complained and fussed about it for a few minutes, but knew we couldn't argue. That was until I discovered the tractor was a month overdue for PM.. I know it is supposed to be part of the Pre-Trip routine, but we were running hard and just forgot. Well, a window of oppurtunity opened, so the brother called the shop at our domicile facility and convinced the manager that truck needed to be serviced. The blessing was handed down and so off to the motel we went. The shop at the truckstop was backed up so it would be a day before we could get anything done!!

As we were finishing up the log book and all other assorted paperwork, I could see the little 3 1/2 watt bulb go on as the brother looked at me and said "We are out of hours!!"
He also mentioned what day it was. May 6 and I said "AND???"
He got upset, I knew the 7th was his birthday and I had a real bad feeling about what was going to happen next!
Before I could say anything he was on the phone with the Travel Agent in charge telling him we were out of hours. I could hear the Agent from across the room "How in #### can a team run out of hours?!?!?!?!"
I wanted to hear this explaination myself! All the brother told him was that we were and we'd call him back when we were ready...

May 7: I subjected the birthday guy to all sorts of evil little things. I had the waitress at the restaurant sing to him and put 80 candles in his pancakes.. The people in the shop sang to him while they were servicing the truck. I went and found a few trainers and trainees from Schneider and CRST and had the trainees ask him what it was like to drive in the "GOOD OLD DAYS" (I have a lot more driving experience than he does, but he is a lot older!) That last bit got him!!!
Later that evening the tractor was finished and I wanted to take it on a test run. I dragged the brother along and headed out to the Interstate. He asked me where were we going and I said that I was tired of him saying he wanted to see the Mustang Ranch, so for his birthday I would take him there. He was a tad apprehensive when we pulled into the lot and when we got to the front door. I had to push him and in and told him that I would wait outside!!! Hey what are little brothers for??

Till this day I'm not sure if he had a good time or not, he isn't saying. I'm guessing it has something to do with a harmonious home life!!

Now, talk about an injustice. When my birthday came we spent it in Circleville, Ohio. Pleasure capital of Southern Ohio, NOT!!!

In defense of the above, the tractor we had did indeed have a problem it wasn't discovered until a downbound ride into South Carolina. The tractor was running really poor and we barely made it back to the domicile. The "Master" mechanic took it into the shop and came running out screaming that we had overfilled the engine with oil. Not likely and after having a very intense discussion with the TM we had the truck taken to a Detroit Dealer, where it was discovered the engine had a blown injector and was creating it's own oil! New Freightliner new Detroit. So it goes!

The mechanical failure did preempt any inquisition into the "Out of hours" episode.

Also in our defense we had written the tractor up on numerous occasions complaining about the sudden loss of power and over abundance of oil!!

Til the next time fellow CAD members</span>[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:9pt;line-height:100%'>Pulled into a gas station earlier today just to get a cold drink, when I heard the manager telling people not to buy regular gas. I asked why and she said that the tanker driver dumped diesel in the 87 octane tank. My daughter, who was riding with me, asked how could it happen. I told her that the driver could have been distracted or in a big hurry and didn't double check the connections, it happens. Seguay into....

One cold November night back in the late 90's during my gas hauling days I pulled into the terminal and didn't have a chance to get out of the truck when the dispatcher ran out and asked me if I would switch my next load and go load 4300 gallons of 87 octane gas and carry some extra hoses. I asked what had happened and all the dispatcher could tell me was that Jody had dumped 2800 gallons of diesel in the 87 octane tank and I was to go and pump out the diesel and replace it with gas. Before I left to load I said to the dispatcher that "It was not like Jody to make such a mistake!"
The dispatcher agreed.
I went to the tank farm and loaded, then headed off to Raleigh. The whole time I drove the situation kept bothering me. Why would Jody make such a mistake? It wasn't like him, he was a really good gas hauler!
I arrived at the station, which is located near downtown Raleigh, at about 2300. This place was not in one of the better sections of the city. Of course the station was closed, so I didn't have a problem pulling in and getting set up.

It took about 45 minutes to pump the underground tank out. With that done I repositioned the truck and started hooking up the hoses to drop the gas, when I heard a commotion behind me. I pulled the lever to start the gas flow when some guy, who looked like he hadn't bathed in about a year, came running at me yelling and screaming. I really couldn't understand a word the guy was saying and I had actually considered pulling the hose off the truck valve and dousing his ass in gas. Environmental people would have had a fit.
I told this lunatic to back off and he did, I was shocked and figured he would just go away, WRONG!
He walked about half way across the lot and turned and charged at me again. First thought "This isn't good!!!"
The second thought "F**k this!!!"
I picked up a hose and hit the SOB in the head and down he went. I made sure he was not going to move, then I went to the pay phone and called 911. The RPD showed up and the officer said that it was the second time he had come to the station for the same problem. I asked him what he meant and he told me that another Eagle driver had problems with the guy. It all made sense, why Jody dumped the diesel in the wrong tank!!
The officer said that the other driver didn't hit the guy and I told the officer that guy tripped as he was running towards me. The officer grinned and said that it sounded good to him and that he'll call the EMS and remove the guy!
After I finished unloading I headed back to the yard, parked the truck and told the dispatcher what had happened, then told her I was going home and if the TM needed any information to have him call the house..

I really do miss the late night gas runs!!!

Til the next time</span>[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:9pt;line-height:100%'>It's the next time....

Way back in the past I did some casual work for Nu-Car Carriers out of Port Newark NJ hauling Fords and certain Foreign objects such as, Toyota and Datsun(as it was known then)

On a muggy May day I got the privelege to run with "Gods gift to car haulers", you know the type, knows all and tells all who can't get out of ear shot!!!

We were both loading Lincolns on our trailers. On a 9 car trailer 7 large Lincolns can be loaded. Now of course the "Super" trucker was instructing me on how to tie down with only two chains per car. I wouldn't listen I used all four per car, a matter of two minutes more added to the load time.

Trailers loaded we left the rail yard and drove over towards Queens and Long Island NY.
On the way "Super" trucker kept bragging on the CB as to how he told off the Terminal Manager and more car dealers than anyone can count. Nothing like being a captive audience!

We pulled up to the first drop and of course he had to unload first. I help set up his ramps as he unchained the first car. Remember 2 chains. The first Town Car came off with out incident, the second one, which was on the top rack wasn't so easy. In a hurry "Super" trucker neglected to lower the top rack all the way down. I yelled to him, but I was ignored and was told he knew what he was doing "He did it all the time!!"
Well, the person who ordered the Town Car came out of the dealership to witness his car bounce off the trailer and on to its side in the street. I was impressed, not so sure about the sales person or the very distraught buyer!!!
I wandered over to the car and asked "Tony" if he was hurt, fortunately he was not. He was upset about all the paperwork he had to do.
I took the three cars I had off without incident, which is amazing in it self. I do have a problem with depth perception. In other words I did bang up a few cars that I was hauling.

Two and a half hours later we were on our way to Long Island. Again the CB speaker was full of "Tonys" voice. I had asked him if that accident humbled him, wrong thing to ask he just blew it off and said it was Nu-cars problem.

The dealer in Long Island was one I had been to on a few occasions, so I knew the exact route to get to it. No low bridges or tree limbs. Couldn't tell the lead driver, he knew all and said I was crazy for taking that route. I told him he could go his way and I'll meet him at the dealer.

I pulled into the dealers lot and started unchaining the rest of my cars, when I noticed one of the chains had broke and the Town Car had bounced to one side denting the fender. I showed it to the sales person and noted the exception on the BOL.
I had driven the last car off the trailer, when "Tony" pulled in. I heard the Owner of the dealership yelling and cursing a blue streak. I parked the car and walked over to the dealer and asked what was wrong. He just pointed up, my eyes followed his finger and there on the headrack was a black Town Car with a huge tree branch sitting where the windshield would be.

I left rather quickly and headed back to NJ to get reloaded.

The Terminal Manager was waiting for me as I pulled in the yard and he asked me what had happened. I told him I didn't see a thing. I'm not sure if he believed me.

To this day, when I go look at a new car I get on the ground and look at the tie down holes, then use a magnet on strategic areas of the fenders and doors. It upsets the sales people, but I explain to them that I hauled cars and know what happens to them while they are being loaded and transported, either by train or truck.
I do know first hand, I bent an Escort by chaining it and lowering the deck.</span>[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:9pt;line-height:100%'>Brushes with Greatness, or Hey! I saw you on TV


Way back in the turbulent 80's, when freight was slow I had, on occasion, worked for a temporary agency for drivers. Never knew from one day to the next who a driver was going to drive for.
On the real slow weeks I would call the agency and would, more often than not, drive for Royal Foods. This company catered to small grocery stores in the Tri-State area sprinkled with runs to Delaware, Maryland and the occasional run to Western Pennsylvania.

I was called early one Wednesday morning and asked if I could take a run to Manhattan, NY. I agreed.
I strolled into dispatch and the morning dispatcher had a real evil grin on his face. I greeted him with my usual "Give me the load and don't say a word!"
He just handed me the manifest and just had to make a comment "Here smart ass, let's see if you're as good as the other dispatchers say you are!"
I thanked him and wandered off to find my truck and trailer all the while I was counting the stops. The run had 11 stops on a 45 foot trailer and all, but 2 did not have loading docks. Plus, all were in the Mid-town area of Manhattan.
I will state for the record, I do love a challange!!!

The first six stops were a breeze to get off, got the rollers set up and the store clerks hustled to get the freight put away.
The seventh stop I pulled up and notified the manager I was there. I walked back out to the truck and started to get everything set up, when I heard a lot of commotion. I looked up and saw a crowd of people hanging around a guy walking down the sidewalk who, in turn, was shaking hands with the other pedestrians. I didn't notice the news crews tagging along. I also noticed the store manager had come running out of the store and planted himself next to me. I asked him if he was ready to unload. He said no, he just ran out to meet the "Bald" guy. I just looked at him and said "OK, sure!"
The "Bald" guy walked up to us and shook our hands and asked "How am I doing??"
I didn't hear what the store manager had said, but I asked the handshaker "Who are you?"
The handshaker person responded "Didn't you vote for me?"
I said no. The next thing I hear is "Kill him!!!"
The whole crowd bursted into laughter, the store manager looked as if he was in shock, I asked him what was wrong.
"Don't you know who he is?"
I smiled and said that I knew "His Mayorship" Ed Koch. I also said I would never wash my right hand again.
The mayor did come back and ask me if I was kidding him and I told him that I knew who he was, but I still didn't vote for him.

My Mom had called the house and told the XYL that she had seen me on the Six O'clock News, all the XYL said was "What did he do now?!?!?!"

Oh for the purists I did get all 11 stops off and was back in the yard at 1830..

Driving in New York City is interesting, as is driving in Los Angeles. There is usually some movie or TV show being taped somewhere on location.

Same company, same area of Manhattan, different day, I managed to get the truck in a scene of the now extinct TV show "The Equalizer"

P.S.: For those who don't know Ed Koch was a "High Profile" Mayor of NYC, he also did a stint on "The Peoples Court." Plus, he's a cool guy!!

Next: Baseball player and a Football coach</span>[/color:post_uid0]



Edited By Doctor Who on 1051552308

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]Still on the journey through the 1980's, where "Big Hair" and Electronic music was rampant!!!

On the Occasional Saturday, when I had nothing better to do, I would do small package delivery for Purolator Courier. Yes they did exist at one time before Emery got their hands on them and turned the company to crap!(Personal Observation)
Depending on the Saturday, I would either drive the vans or tractor trailers.
This particular Saturday I drove a van and had 28 stops in Northern New Jersey and of course the plane was late arriving into Newark Airport, which in turn, caused the trucks to be late arriving at the distribution center. I got out of the yard at 10:00 AM. Fortunately, the 12:00 guarantee didn't apply on Saturdays.
I was hauling ass up the New Jersey Turnpike, when the dispatcher called me on the radio and asked me if I had a certain package on board. I pulled into a service plaza and checked and found a package addressed to Mr. Don Mattingley in Mahwah NJ. I told the dispatcher the "great" news and was told that It was a hot shipment and could I get there ASAP. I told him I would.
I didn't really think about the name as I proceeded back on the Turnpke, but I did know Mr. Mattingley would have to wait a tick, cause I had payroll checks that needed to be delivered.
At about 1400 or so I pulled up to a very non-descript house in a small sub division in Mahwah. I rang the door bell and waited about 5 minutes, no one came to the door so I started to leave. Of course, as I stepped away the door opened and a young lady stuck her head out. I asked her if I was at the Mattingley residence. I was.
I walked inside and Mr. Mattingley was in the kitchen, I handed him the package and asked him to sign the run sheet. He told me I had to wait, he needed to sign some papers in the package and send it back.
While he was signing the papers I looked around the kitchen and noticed a lot of New York Yankees stuff. Cookie jars, cups, mugs, etc. I've known some fanatics in my time.
After the signing ceremony and sealing of the package was done, I went to leave, but before I did I asked "You must be some Yankee fan??"
Mr. Mattingley looked at me rather odd and said "I play for the Yankees!!"
I asked him what postion he played, which I already knew and of course he told me 1st base.
I did make a mention of being like another 1st baseman for the crosstown team the Mets.
When I got to the door I told Don that I knew who he was and thanked him for his time. He did ask if I wanted his autograph and I said "You signed my run sheet and besides I don't collect autographs!"
When I got back to the terminal the dispatcher grabbed my run sheet and made a bunch of copies. I couldn't understand why!

Oh, the Yankees where in the AL playoffs and had a game that evening and they did win.

The next item: The Football Coach!!!

Another Saturday another run into North Jersey. I had several packages to deliver to Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands Complex.
I arrived at the stadium at about 1500 and told the guard I had deliveries for several people in the Giants organization. The guard let me in and I wandered down to the locker rooms. I did have an uneasy feeling that no-one was there to accept the packages and that it was a wasted trip.
All doubts where dashed, when I heard a bunch of yelling, cursing and other assorted things.
I walked into the locker room and yelled out the first name on the list of packages "Who is Lawrence Taylor??"
LT stood up and I gave him his packages, total of 5. Made my job real easy. I went to call out the next name, when a voice from behind scared the #### out of me "Who, in #### are you?!?!"
I told the person that I was fine and thanked him for asking, then I asked who he was.
He told me he was the head coach.
Ah, yes Bill Parcells, the third guy on my list, so I handed the "Lord and Master" all the packages, when he insisted I wasn't supposed to be in the locker room. I also told him that the guard didn't seem to have a problem with it, but I wasn't going to fight with the guy and I left forth with.

Two more brushes with semi greatness and Parsells wasn't that great.

Till the next time CADdies[/color:post_uid0]



Edited By Doctor Who on 1051581688

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:9pt;line-height:100%'>Question came up earlier today about how old was I when I learned how to drive a truck and who taught me.

The answer to the first part is 17, yes just a babe when I got my first lesson on tractor trailer driving and it was my Dad who taught me, answer to the second question.
Of course now that would be a sin in the FHWA's eyes!

Yes, way back in the summer of 1971 Dad dragged me out of bed saying if I thought trucking was so great, he was going to teach me to drive. Wrong thing to say to a 17 year old with a passion for challenges.
We went to the company yard(Same company I ended up driving for until 1994). Dad walked into dispatch, picked up the paper work and then drove over to the truck. I was in shock we pulled up next to a faded blue B-61 Mack hooked to a flatbed.
Dad told me to get into the cab and get it started, I didn't waste any time I got behind the wheel and took a look around, it had two sticks, no air ride seats and of course no AC.
After the truck started, Dad showed me how to do a pre-trip and check the chains on the load to make sure all was well.

Pre-trip complete I was told to get in the drivers seat and make a few loops around the yard to get the feel of the truck. I stalled it twice before I got it to go in a straight line. I did shift one stick a couple of times, but turning the truck was something else, I did forget to mention it had no power steering! Plus, it had a 20 speed transmission 5x4

After the short seminar I had figured Dad was going to take over, wrong he got in the passenger side and told me to head on out. I had never shifted a two stick transmission before then, but Dad talked me through it and hit my arm if I missed a gear. What a lot to remember double clutching and having both hands off the steering wheel while shifting.

Once we got to the Turnpike I asked him where we were going, he said Manhattan..
Great I'm going to die, at least I did get to go to Woodstock!
Dad also said we were going through the Holland Tunnel to get into Downtown Manhattan. Yes, a truck can go through the Holland Tunnel as long as it is under 12'6".

Going through the tunnel I almost hit the wall twice and just about stalled it coming out. I missed a shift on the incline going into Manahattan.
Once on the city streets I never realized how narrow they were while in a truck and what a pain in the ass it was to make a turn.

Dad made me do it all, backing in off the street, both blind side and driver side, parallel parking and the ever dreaded jack knife parking. I will admit that 30 years later I still cannot parallel park a tractor trailer!!!

I am proud to say I didn't damage anything car or pedestrian. I couldn't say the same about the signs and parking meters though.

To say I didn't hurt after the driving lesson would be a lie. My arms hurt from trying to steer that B model, not to mention my right arm hurting from the passenger hitting me. My left leg hurt bad from pushing on the clutch all day. Trust me I learned the "no clutch" way of shifting real quick!!

Do I regret learning how to drive? Sometimes I do, but it was an education and a ticket to explore the North American continent.

A post script: In the 70's NJ didn't require a special license to drive a truck. The special license came about in the 80's with something called an Auto/Articulated License(Real original) Oh for the record NY did require a Chauffers License to drive a truck. Plus, the driving age was 18..</span>[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:9pt;line-height:100%'>May 7......It's the "[i:post_uid0]OLDER"[/i:post_uid0] half of the Chemical Brothers birthday. I just finished filling his email box with birthday hate mail, so I figured I'd post a small birthday wish here......

[b:post_uid0]HEEEEE-HEEEE-HEEEEE

YOU'RE STILL OLDER THAN ME!!!!![/b:post_uid0]

Happy Birthday Brother

:homjump:</span>[/color:post_uid0]



Edited By Doctor Who on 1052323485

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:9pt;line-height:100%'>As many drivers have noticed riding high up off the pavement has some real advantages. I won't state the obvious, but will concentrate on the not so obvious.

On any given workday the chatter on the CB is full of complaints about the [i:post_uid0]TRAFFIC[/i:post_uid0] and how bad it is in the AM and again in the PM. I used to be one of the many complainers until I realised that "Rush Hour" traffic can be entertaining.
The height advantage a truck has makes observing the goings on in other smaller vehicles a great pass-time.

I'll try not to be grossly graffic, but most will get the idea.
I will state for the record that I have been in almost all of the major cities in the US and Canada, there may be a few I have missed. So I have been in "Rush Hour" traffic in some of the best places in the country.

As a driver it is a given that traffic jams are an inconvenience or a down right a pain in the ass. This fact is true, but if it is taken as entertainment the blood pressure lowers and the day looks a lot brighter..

Case in point: I-285 in Atlanta, aka The Watermelon 500! Early one Tuesday morning stuck in slow rolling traffic a gentleman driving a Buick was eating a bowl of Frosted Flakes as he manuvered lane to lane.
Same day, different section of the 500, woman putting on bra and blouse while driving her VW Jetta. I did get a photo of this!

Cross Bronx Expressway NYC Friday morning(1979) Not sure what was driving, but person was reading a book while steering with their knees. This person wound up hitting a bus!
L.I.E eastbound same friday, Two women engaged in a kissing contest.. I'm not going to say anymore.
Cross Bronx Expressway at the George Washington Bridge that Friday afternoon. I can't find the right words to describe what was going on in the Chevy van next to me, but I can say that I was too shocked to get a photo!

California I-405. It is absolutely amazing what some folks could do with certain vegetables. Again the shock factor alone precludes me from finishing this scene!

The same can be said for Chicago, Denver and OKC.

Houston I-610 Thursday AM. Everything I heard about Texas was true, although I don't think the lady passenger was too thrilled to see me looking inside the pick-up. She told me I was number one and I laughed for the next 2 hours!

NJ Turnpike around East Brunswick NJ Thursday evening (1982) A call from another driver peaked my interest as a Ford Torino passed me. I looked down and all I could see was the back side of a rather chubby lady. I called the driver in front of me and asked him to confirm what I thought I saw!
The driver said he would do so, but he never got the chance. The driver of the Torino swerved and bounced off the trucks tyres, then hauled ass down the highway. We figured the guy driving the car realised that the truckers could see down into his car. We also came to the conclusion that he would have to clean his seat off at the next service plaza... We were right!

This is, but a sample of what goes on.
I look at it this way, it is great entertainment and I'm getting paid to watch it.
I will also admit that there were times when I would go hunt down a traffic jam just to sit and watch the "Greatest Show On The Planet"

One other thing! My XYL rode with me on a few occasions and on one in particular I had passed a car and she turned and looked at me and said that the guy flashed her. I took it all in stride and told her "Well, flash him back!"

Ah the joys of driving!!</span>[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:9pt;line-height:100%'>Driving for a LTL company, such as Roadway, Yellow or Overnite or driving for a small package company like Fed Ex, Purolator or UPS can be very enlightening and someitmes really entertaining.

Most LTL companies, with the exception of Jevic, do house deliveries, which are a pain on good days and down right miserable on bad days.

On a rather warm July day in the late 70's I was a casual driver for Roadway. I stopped for lunch when another Roadway driver came in and looked like he was in shock. I had asked him what was wrong and he said nothing was wrong, but he had an odd experience.
Of course, I asked him to enlighten me and he did. This driver made a house delivery, he got to the door and was met by an older woman dressed in nothing but her panties. He told her that there was a delivery on the truck for her. She asked him if he could bring the freight in the house. Of course he was rather hesitant, but he gave in and brought the box to the door.
I asked him if that was it, he said no and continued. He opened the door and brought the box into the living room. The lady signed the freight bill and he turned to leave when a younger lady came down the stairs. The driver stopped in his tracks. He said that the young lady asked him if he had never seen a naked woman before. He said all he could do was run out the door and get into the truck and get away as fast as he could.. I hated that I missed it!!

As I had written else where I did drive for Purolator on Saturdays in the middle 80's. I did an afternoon run picking up receipts and payroll from Joyce Leslie a womens clothing chain in New Jersey and New York.
One Saturday, I was not in the mood to do the run, but I knew the job had to get done. I begrudgedly headed out to Woodbridge NJ and then worked my way to Upstate NY and then down to Greenwich Village, lower Manhatten. I got to this stop a tad early and had to wait for the manager to get the package together. While I waited in the store I heard a womans voice behind me, I turned and stood face to face with a lady who stepped out of a dressing room wearing jeans and a bra. She asked me if I thought the bra fit her and did I think it looked good on her. I looked around for the ladys husband or boyfriend or maybe a camera.
I told the lady the bra looked fine and I hauled ass out of the store. I waited for the manager by the van. I told her what had happened. She apologized and went on to explain that the customer was a bit odd and it wasn't the first time she had done something like that. The manager also said that the lady would walk out of the store without completely redressing. Only in New York!!
Before I left I looked up at the moon and saw it was full. A definite bad omen..
When I got back to the terminal I told a few of the other drivers about the incident.
The next Saturday 5 guys wanted to do that run!!</span>[/color:post_uid0]



Edited By Doctor Who on 1053996019

[Flash Gordon1]

[color=#000F22:post_uid0]Now here's something I can relate to.
doctor who did we work for the same company at one time??
The Purolator story sounds so familiar.[/color:post_uid0]

[Twilight Flyer]

[color=#000080:post_uid0]Doc, one of my best friends from high school drives truck and he's had some pretty good stories, too. From what I've gathered, a car passing a big truck is an exhibitionists dream.
:;):[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:9pt;line-height:100%'>You betcha, as I said the entertainment value alone is worth the inconvenience.
I put down just a tidbit of what goes on. I could have written more, but out of respect for Jeff and Lucinda I just picked some of the lighter moments. I couldn't tell you how many times I've just about run off the road after seeing something I didn't really believe!!
I'd have to tell you off line about some of the risque scenes!</span>[/color:post_uid0]

[Silver Bullet]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Doc, I have been off-line for a few months, but I am pleased to see that you are still entertaining us with your stories. I had alot of reading to do to catch up on all I've missed, but I have to say, it was all worthwhile reading.[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:9pt;line-height:100%'>Good to see you made it back. Yes there is nothing like getting caught up on your reading!!

Another interesting point this thread has broken the 1000 mark.

Another cause for celebration: Wooo-Hooo confetti is flying and someone stole the balloons.....
Stick around there is more to come!!

Brian, you don't realize what you have started. :p</span>[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:9pt;line-height:100%'>Do logs have eyes??

Another visit from the [b:post_uid0]OLDER[/b:post_uid0] half of the Chemical Brothers and another Tale or two from the Dark Side:

After unloading at a chemical plant in downtown Louisiana I asked my brother to pull over so I could "cool a hot tyre"
He found a safe spot to get the truck off the road and stop.
I jumped out and wandered over to the drive wheels. Before I did anything I looked around and noticed there was a small canal or river next to the road. A very eerie feeling swarmed over me. I looked back at the water and noticed two little bubbles on what I thought was a log.
I yelled to the brother "Do logs have eyes??"
I didn't wait for the answer I jumped back in the truck and told him to get the #### out of there!!!

Another animal tale, or is it tail?

On a cold winter night back in the 80s I just crossed over into Pennsylvania from New Jersey on I-80 and started to climb the big hill rising from the Delaware Water Gap. I was just about to the top when I heard a loud [b:post_uid0]BOOM![/b:post_uid0] Yes, a tyre had let go I pulled over at the top of the hill to inspect the damage. Fortunately it was an inside right rear tyre and I had a light load, which meant I could continue on to the next Truck Stop and get it fixed. While I stood looking at the trailer I felt something stick me in the back, my first thought was I was being hijacked. I slowly turned my head towards the rear of the truck and didn't see any other vehicle and I turned towards the front and didn't see anything. I then turned around and just about jumped out of my boots. The "stranger" jumped also and then hauled ass back towards the woods.
I climbed back into the cab and started laughing. I wondered how many times the [b:post_uid0]FAWN[/b:post_uid0] tried to hijack a truck?</span>[/color:post_uid0]



Edited By Doctor Who on 1055167343

[Silver Bullet]

[color=#008080:post_uid0]Doc, you never fail to make me laugh. I especially liked the "hijacking fawn" story, seein' as I used to live in Pennsylvania.[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:9pt;line-height:100%'>Thanks, Bullet. The little critter had me sweating a bit, but after it was over and I went on to the Truck Stop I told the trye guy about it. He asked me if he could have a hit of what ever it was I was smoking! Oh well!!
I like Pennsylvania, I may end up moving there..

There was a bad side to that tale. On the down bound trip the next morning a serious fog had settled in over the gap creating an extremely hazardous situation.
I was rolling along in the right lane at about the speed limit, when 5 Monfort trucks shot down the left lane at the speed of sound. They looked like a rocket sled, or more accurately one big assed truck. I saw the hood of the first and the tail of the last disappear into the fog.
It couldn't have been more than 5 minutes when all #### broke loose on the radio. The first words were [b:post_uid0]"OH SH*T"[/b:post_uid0] followed by "There's a whole herd of deer down here"
The slower trucks, including me, slowed down even more and put our 4 ways on.
Then we all came to a stop. I-80 looked like a battlefield. Number 1 Monfort was hit in the rear by number 3. Number 2 was laying on its side in the grass on the right side of the highway. Number 4 was in the median and number 5 was across the Eastbound lanes.
All the drivers were OK, couldn't say the same for the deer, they were scattered all over the Interstate.
What a way to spend a morning!!!</span>[/color:post_uid0]



Edited By Doctor Who on 1055260540

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:9pt;line-height:100%'>I did forget to mention this!!!
The [b:post_uid0]OLDER[/b:post_uid0] half of the Chemical brothers claims he is going to make an appearence on the board.
He says it is to defend his honour!!

[b:post_uid0]YEAH, RIGHT[/b:post_uid0] :p</span> :;):[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:15pt;line-height:100%'>[b:post_uid0]YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET THAT IN THERE!![/b:post_uid0]</span>

<span style='font-size:9pt;line-height:100%'>Way back in the last century I had a delivery to make in Brooklyn, NY. Keep in mind I was driving a W-900 KW and a 45' trailer. The 45' was the biggest trailer at the time.
I made my way over to the Bedford Stuyvesant section of the Borough. I had to turn on a one way street and go about three blocks and the company was on the right, at least that was what the directions stated.
I found the place and it was on the right side of a narrow one way street.

I walked in and handed the bills to the receiver, who had a big grin on his face. I asked him what was so funny and he said that I would never get my truck in the dock.
I told him I loved a challange and I'll back it in.

I wandered outside and measured up my possibilities, couldn't go down the street and turn around and come up the wrong way. Although that would have been the smarter thing to do.
Well, being the headstrong person I was I proceeded to back in on the "blindside"! The W-900 did not have power steering, which made the situation all the more interesting.
It took about a hour to get the bloody truck in the dock, but I did it even though I had ####ed off cops, taxi drivers and one old Greek lady with a mean umbrella.
I stepped out of the truck and I heard someone cursing up a storm. I walked into the warehouse and asked what was going on. The receiver told me he had placed a bet with the owner and the owner lost. Made me feel good.
The owner of the company had to buy lunch and I'll state for the record the Calzone was good...
I did have a harder time getting out!!</span>[/color:post_uid0]

[magician_73]

[color=#000000:post_uid2]Doc Who - I am curious as to 'how' and 'who' started this thread? It's one of the best in any other the message boards![/color:post_uid2]

[Doctor Who]

[color=#8D38C9:post_uid0]<span style='font-size:9pt;line-height:100%'>Thank you for the compliment!!!

Now to answer your question.

The thread was started by a friend last July. He was a moderator and decided to liven up the board by starting a thread based on Trucker Stories. Due to some bad events that occured he left and the thread died. That was until I decided to bring it back to life by taking events out of my personal journal, which are supposed to be published as a book sometime in the next 40 years or so!!! With all the years I've been driving, 30 to be exact, I have amassed at least 750 handwritten pages in a ton of journals...

To lessen the confusion. The posts by Groucho are mine. Awhile back the board hiccupped and some posts were lost along with the original Doctor Who(me) so there are a few stories that a guest had submitted, but they were from me also!!
Enjoy the stories, there just may be more to come</span>[/color:post_uid0]

[Doctor Who]

It would seem on the surface that the last tale was thrown into Cyber Oblivian, but underneath the surface there are BUGS

I'll try this one again...

A few days back my oldest daughter and I were having lunch at a Bojangles and we were watching a driver from a non-descript car hauler trying to load used cars.
The driver got into the first car in line and drove it up the ramps only to have it stall at the top. He tried three times without success.
Finally, in which I guess was a fit of anger, the driver stood on the gas and the car shot up the ramps across the top of the trailer and rolled off the top of the tractor.
My daughter said "Cool!!!"
I told her we better go check to see if the driver was OK. He was, but he was also rather belligerent, so the daughter and I went about our business.

When we got back to the car she asked me if I had ever done something like that.
I told her I did and it went something like this..

Back during the Casual Car Hauling Days on a rainy, icy February day I had a load of cars to deliver in Pennsylvania and end up in Buffalo.
I wandered through the yard looking for the vehicles to load and lined them up according to delivery.
The first car was a Ford LTD Wagon, yes with the woodgrain sides, I started up the ramp only to slide back down. The second attempt was a little better, at least I got the car on the trailer.
I wasn't about to let a little rain and ice stop me, so I backed the wagon up, stood on the gas and the car went up the ramp and on to the trailer. All was well until I realized I couldn't stop when I got to the head rack.
What a sight, the LTD wagon, with me inside, going right off the top of the tractor..
The Terminal Manager came running out of the office yelling and cursing. He didn't ask me if I was OK, all he kept saying was "I was fired.."
All I could do was laugh and tell him it was just like the Dukes of Hazzard.

I didn't get fired, but I figured it was time to quit car hauling, so I thanked the T/M for the opportunity and told him to tear up my phone number.

My boss was happy I was no longer casual and I was happy that he didn't follow through on his threat to buy a couple of car trailers..

[Doctor Who]

Oh Magician, if you keep hanging out with Flashflood your reputation will be ruined.........................................

Well the flood waters have subsided for the time being and the Tornado Warnings have been lifted....

Earlier today this half of North Carolina was under watches, warnings and a lot of rain, thanks to Bill..

A woman , who lives across the street from me, called and asked if I was going storm chasing. My first reaction was "How did she know I was a storm chaser?"
Answer? My 13 year old told her and her daughter. It seems they both are fascinated by severe storms especially the daughter.

I didn't go storm chasing, but did wander outside and had a chat with the people.
The little girl asked if I had chased any tornadoes and I told her I did both in a car and a truck.

The truck perked her interest..

DON'T TRY THIS WITH AN EIGHTEEN WHEELER!!!!

If you do, don't let the boss know..

There have been a few times over the years I have chased, or been chased by "The Tail Of The Devil!" Fortunately I'm still around to reminisce.

Dateline: Late June 1998...

Another stormy evening in the Tarheel and I had just finished unloading 9100 gallons of gas at a station in Richlands, NC, which is not far from Jacksonville..

On the ride back to Selma, NC the mild thunder shower became extremely violent. The rain came down so hard I couldn't see the hood of the Kenworth T-800 I was driving and as drivers, who drive these, will atest to there isn't much of a hood to begin with.
I switched frequencies on my Amateur radio and tuned to 146.820 and the Skywarn Net in Wilmington.
I checked in and told the Net Control Operator I was in the county under the warning.
I turned onto a narrow two lane state highway, when the operator called me back and asked me what I was seeing out the windshield.
First I told him it was raining. No more than a few seconds past when hail the size of ice cubes started pelting the truck.
I told the operator and he confirmed it by saying he could hear the hail hitting the truck over the radio.
I told him he should be in the truck with me, the hail hitting the trailer sounded like a Caribbean steel drum. It woke people up in the houses I had passed. Not to mention the headache I was getting.
I also told him that I was a few miles from Beulaville.

The hail storm lasted for about ten minutes, I hated to see how much damage was done to the tank, since there isn't much metal to them.

My thoughts were interrupted by the operator asking me where I was at. I told him I had just turned onto the main street in Beulaville. He then said the NWS people would like to know what I was seeing.
I did have a real smartassed answer for him since it was dark, but thought better of it when all got unnervingly quiet.
I asked him why and he said that the operators saw a hook echo on the radar and it was over the place I was at. The feeling of "I need to get the Hell out there!!" crept over me.
I told the operator that I was stopped and I couldn't see anything.
It was then that I felt a tugging on the trailer. I looked in the mirrors and didn't see anything. First thought was. "Someone hit me!"
I felt the tug again only a lot harder, it was then I noticed the back end of the trailer lifting off the ground and being pulled to the right.
I jammed the stick into fourth gear and stomped on the throttle. I told the guys in Wilmington there was in fact a Tornado on the ground and I wasn't sticking around.

I drove through the town and made a turn onto another two lane highway, when I heard a guy, who had drove through the town earlier, yelling on the radio that the twister had touched down at a small crossroads a few miles from where I was.

I made it back to Selma, pulled back in the yard and checked the truck for damage. There were dents in the trailer and both fenders on the KW were cracked.
I had the dispatcher document the damage and went home. I didn't tell him about the Tornado.

The next morning the phone rang and when I answered I had to hold the receiver away from my ear. The T/M was a tad upset, to say the least.
He wanted to know why I chased a Tornado.
I told him I didn't chase it, it chased me. I also asked him how he knew.
I had forgotten that the radio operator in Wilmington knew who I worked for. To make it better, one of Eagles drivers in Wilmington was listening on his scanner. So, the phone at the terminal was ringing as soon as the sun came up.

Until the next board hiccup........................

The neighbours kid asked me if I would take her the next time I chased a tornado with a truck... I told her the truck days were over.
One other thing. This kid watches the Weather Channel almost day and night. I told the Mother that the kid could be watching shows a lot worse..

[Doctor Who]

OK, what's up with with this board?
I signed in to post this story and when I was done, I was no longer signed in!!!!

The above story was posted by me.......

[TennesseeAngel]

Hey Doc,
You all have had some rough weather up that way this afternoon. Did you do any chasing this afternoon because of it? We have had wind gusts around 40 mph here in Myrtle beach but nothing worse than that except alot of rain and thunderstorms. It was enough for me to wear a path out between windows and doors here but nothing in the way of tornado warnings. All that was across the border and your way apparently.

[Doctor Who]

It was enough for me to wear a path out between windows and doors here but nothing in the way of tornado warnings. All that was across the border and your way apparently.


It has been a day to put it mildly..

I did get to chase two Tornadoes this afternoon, I got a PM from Beetle and the Weather Radio went off at the same time. Well me, my 13 year old, the little girl across the street and her mother went storm chasing.

Well, we spotted two Tornadoes, nothing too spectacular, but it was enough for the little kid and her mother to talk about for the next year or so.. One actually touched down and tore up a couple trees, a fence and a chicken coop.. No-one was hurt, not even a chicken...

More fun than one person can legally have on a Wednesday.....

Well the Weather Radio went off again, time to roll again.....

[TennesseeAngel]

To go storm chasing has got to keep the adrenalin going I would imagine. Well, glad to know no one was hurt with the one tornado on the ground. I would imagine that the little girl will tell that story about chasing a tornado for years to come. No doubt it made her day, even if it was scary. You all have more nerve than me. I want to go the opposite way of a bad storm.

[Doctor Who]

You all have more nerve than me.

Nerve??? Nerve has nothing to do with it.... Lack of sense would be more apt. Plus, a very abnormal upbringing does help!!!

[Doctor Who]

Here's another tale that is not too amusing, but factual just the same..

Way back in the day my Dad drove a truck on the weekends.
On one particular Friday night he had a run that left Linden NJ went through Philadelphia, PA, Wilmington DE and back to Linden..

He left Linden at about 2100 and headed out to US 1 and went south
He was not fond of running the Turnpike towards Philadelphia..

Down around North Brunswick he noticed a bright blue car coming along side of him and like all truckers he looked down to see what was inside.
He couldn't see much until the car got ahead of him. that's when he noticed a woman driving and someone laying down behind the front seats.
He sped up to catch the woman and blew the horn to get her attention. The woman just sped up. He figured the woman thought he was trying to flirt with her.. I should mention that he was driving an International Loadstar 1800, which had a gas engine. A real powerhouse...

Now this section of US 1 is stoplight to stoplight for 20 miles and as luck would have it all the lights stayed green. Dad did all he could to catch up to the car, but the woman just kept the pedal to the floor.
She stayed a good distance from his truck and Dad figured it was a lost cause as the truck hit a big hill, until he saw the brake lights come on and the car swerve to the right. Dad knew the woman turned into a diner parking lot..

The truck finally made it to the top of the hill and he turned into the Sand Hills Diner parking lot and found the woman talking to a couple of police officers. Dad stopped the truck jumped out and ran over to the car opened the rear door and pulled a big guy out from behind the seat.
His first instinct was to beat the guy senseless, but since the law was there he let them have the privilege.
The woman was in shock and told Dad she had no idea the guy was there.
Dad told her he tried to get her attention. The officers were very happy to take the guy to jail...

Dad did make the local newspaper. I asked him if he felt like a Hero. He said no, he just did what he had to do and that he would expect me to do the same..

In memory of my Dad!!!

[Silver Bullet]

Great Story Dr.

Sounds like your father was a good man who lived by his principals. No tellin what the guy in the back seat would've done to her.

[TennesseeAngel]

Yes that is a wonderful story Doc and your dad sounds like a wonderful man. I know you are proud. :)

[Doctor Who]

Sounds like your father was a good man who lived by his principals. No tellin what the guy in the back seat would've done to her.


Consider this, the year was 1969 and for the most part car jackings were not really news worthy... The details after the arrest were sketchy at best, but from what I do remember the guy said he was trying get a ride from New Brunswick to somewhere near Trenton.. I doubt the police believed him...

As for Dad, he was 5'7" tall and 97% full blood Sicilian with a temper to match. I had no problem believing he would have pounded that dude into a coma. He did say the guy was over 6' tall. Of course me being the smartassed teen told him anyone over 5'8" would be tall... We did have our differences over the years, but I do miss him..... Alot!!!

[Silver Bullet]

I'm sure you do miss him alot. I live in Alabama, and my father is in Pennsylvania. I get to see him for about 1 week of the year, and I miss him immensely. Like you said, we have had our differences too, but I would sure like to see him alot more than I do.

[bluebeetle]

I lost my dad in 1983 and miss him incredibly.

I know that he is watching and laughing his tail off everytime my son does something.

Hey Doc, my dad was 5'8, 215 lbs and 18'' biceps. Watched him press my mom standing in his hands lying flat on his back straight up in the air. At the time she weighed close to 175 pounds. I didn't smartoff, just discussed things very carefully!

8)

[TennesseeAngel]

I lost my dad in 2001 and I still can't believe he is gone. He was a trucker himself and I think back on some of the stories he told me when he was out there, it does help put a smile on my face. I try to remember him as he was instead of what he looked like when he passed away and it does help. He survived the Vietnam war, worked hard at being a aircraft mechanic most his life, and also became a truck driver so he was pretty tough. For the most part, we had our differnces but when he spoke, we listened..CAREFULLY..We sure didn't know the meaning of argument when we was growing up...

[Doctor Who]

Time to shift gears, oh wait, for the shift lever challenged, it would be when the automatic decides to shift...

Just about everyone who works for a living has had a time when they wished they had never gotten up in the morning, or for the entire week..

Drivers seem to have more than their share of days, weeks, months like that.

During the early days of the Chemical Brothers we were late for every load. No matter how hard we ran we were late. The team dispatcher voiced an angry opinion about our skills as a team. It wasn't so much getting used to each other as a team, we were brothers no problem there. It just seemed that the entire Chemical hauling world was out to get us. Flat tyres, wrong trailers and so on.
Finally, at the end of the second week we decided to take a break and we told the dispatcher we were going home for a few days to regroup and we would call him when we were ready..
At the end of our 4 day leave we met up in Wilmington, received our dispatch and from that day forward everything clicked in to place, almost. We ended up being early which was a good thing...

I'll go home until you figure out what happened:

Way back in the last century I was dispatched on a load of Ethyl Acrylate to deliver in Baltimore.
I arrived at the yard dark and early, dispatch handed me the papers and I headed out to the yard to find the trailer.
Now as I had explained in another story EA had a nasty smell to it and it would be rather difficult not to miss the loaded trailer. I drove up and down the three rows of loaded trailers, found the trailer and started to back under it. Something kept nagging at me to get out and check the trailer. I stepped out and noticed I didn't smell the EA. I climbed up on the trailer and checked the seal, seal number was correct, still I had a bad feeling. I opened a small cap and waited for the overwhelming smell to knock me off the trailer. The smell was not what I expected. Judging by the residue on the cap the trailer had Napthalene, which smells like mothballs. Down the ladder I went and drove back to dispatch. The dispatcher kept yelling that I was crazy and he went out and checked. 10 minutes later he comes back and agreed something was wrong.
His problem was he had 10 trailers preloaded and he now had to find the mistake...
He had me check 6 more trailers and all 6 had Napthalene, but not what was on the bills. The plot thickend, but by that time I was getting angry and told the dispatcher I was going home and to call me when he figured it out...
The mystery was solved that afternoon, the driver, who preloaded the trailers, was quitting and had a deep dislike for the dispatcher, so sabotage was a way to settle a score... Should have never gotten up that morning...

Here's the trailer number to pick up:

Read the message on the Qual-comm. I sent the reply and headed over to the warehouse to get it. It was a cold, miserable, rainy day in the Heartland and I was really anxious to get home.
I pulled into the warehouse driveway and started hunting for the trailer. I drove around the building twice, couldn't find the trailer number I was given. I walked inside the building and talked to the shipping boss and he told me there was no such trailer there.
Back to the Qual-comm to send the message. The reply?? Stand by.
10 minutes or so went by when a new message popped up with a new trailer number. No that wasn't there either.
This went on for one whole hour. At the end of the hour the dispatcher was accusing me of lying to him and that I was sitting at a truckstop. I told him to check the GPS and that would tell him exactly where I was at.
Plus, he was getting a phone call.
I went back inside the building and asked the shipping boss to call the company.
After a much heated debate the shipper handed me the phone and to my surprise a very much humbled dispatcher was telling me that he was in error. I asked him if I should be surprised. He went on to explain he had me confused with another driver, who was in Illinois. I told him I've heard that before also and added that there was only one driver with a last name like mine.
Then I reminded him that I was in Iowa, not Illinois. I knew that he was trying to cover his ass, but wasn't succeeding..
I told him I was going to a motel and not to bother me until he got his mess straight... Another day I should have never gotten up....

[Doctor Who]

More often, than not, in the course of a typical day of a Professional Driver, there will be one complaint heard above all others. "MY DISPATCHER LIED TO ME!!!"
These are mighty strong words and most times it was the driver that misunderstood the instructions. Yes there are some dispatchers that have no Damn clue as to what their job is supposed to be. It is the Human Element and will not change until the computer can be perfected...

This dispatcher don't lie, he beats the crap out of the truth!!!

Another Chemical Brothers adventure...

The tank line we worked for had a dispatcher at our domicle terminal that could con the birds out the trees. I think in an earlier life he was a Snake Oil salesman...

Glyn Cook was an older gentleman and had a Southern charm about him, that Colonel Harlan Sanders couldn't beat.. His phone manner was something to behold.

On a Monday morning I wandered into the office and Mr. Cook was sitting at his desk talking on the phone. He looked up at me and had a slight smile(read as evil grin) on his face.
After hanging up he handed me the dispatch and said "Well I declare here's the better half of the Chemical Brothers and I knew you two could do such a fine job on this load I held it just for ya'll."
I was still rather new with the company, but I was forwarned about Mr. Cook. I looked at the dispatch and shrugged my shoulders, thanked him and walked out.
When I got to the truck, my brother asked what had happened. All I could tell him was "I think we got shafted?!?!"
Sure enough we got the shaft, but good.. The load was one of the 7 Deadly Loads From Hell. The type that was a tractor pump at the shipper, tractor pump at the receiver and a real pain in the ass to get cleaned.
After we unloaded we called Mr. Cook and thanked him. He just said "He knew we could handle the job."
Sure!!! he couldn't get anyone else to take it...
As a team we did not interact with Mr. Cook on a regular basis, just on the initial run out of Wilmington and when we came back in at the end of our tour of duty...

After the company split the Chemical Brothers up, I had walked into the dispatch office and the first thing I heard was "Here comes the better half of the Chemical Brothers!"
I looked at Mr. Cook and just said I was the younger and better looking one at least.
Mr Cook laughed and said "Have I got a load for you!"
Without hesitation I said "I bet you do and just how much K-Y Jelly do I need to get the task accomplished?"
He looked at me with a stunned expression "Why Pete I never!!!"
"Really??? Maybe you should try it sometime!!" I replied without missing a beat
There was a burst of laughter, which came from the adjoining office.The TM came out still laughing and said that I was nothing like my brother.
I agreed and told him that it was a shame the company split us up.
The TM asked why and I responded that I needed at least another six months to completely convert him.
The room went silent, I could see Mr. Cook and George the Terminal Manager thinking about what I had said. No response was necessary the looks on their faces said it all.. "Oh my God, not two of them!"
I bid them a fine after morning and went about my task being a Tanker Yanker with the number three edition of the 7 Deadly Loads from Hell..

I must say this. I did on occasion see Mr. Cook get angry and I was the recipient of that anger once. The incident was beyond my control. I had no hours to do a run and four other drivers had refused it. After I took my required break I talked to him about it, he did apologize for getting angry and he knew I wasn't trying to shaft him.

Mr. Cook has retired and the tank line is no longer a privately owned company as it has been consumed by Superior Carriers. However, the brother and I keep in contact with Mr. Cook via email. Can't say that about very many dispatchers!!!

[Doctor Who]

As most people know I hold an Amateur Radio license. I was introduced to the service back in the early days of my trucking career.

This story was first published in an Amateur Radio magazine as part of a challenge..
The title of the story:

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I was rudely awakened by the obnoxious ringing of an electronic telephone, or what ever that noise is they make.
On the other end of the receiver was a very distraught dispatcher asking, no more like, begging me to come in and take a "HOT" load to California. Every load in the trucking industry is "HOT".
I half heartedly agreed to do it, got my stuff packed and drove to the yard.

I walked into the dispatch office asked for the manifest and what ever other information there was to get. I did mention that I couldn't get to California in two days as required. The dispatcher told me I was running team, something I didn't like to hear, especially after the incident with Ed.
I was told it wasn't Ed and the guy I was teamed with was really a good guy. First thought "Yeah right!!!"

The dispatcher pointed to a gentleman who had walked in the door and said he's my partner. I walked over and introduced myself. My partner was an older gentleman, who's name was Ray.
Ray took my gear and said he would bring the truck around while I got all the paperwork in order.

I heard the familiar sound of a two chime airhorn and walked outside to find a cabover Peterbilt bristling with more antennas than a Russian fishing trawler. A sudden feeling of panic set in and I wondered if I could refuse to go on the trip.
I got in on the drivers side and the first thing I noticed was a stack of radios on the dogbox. It looked more like a sidewalk sale at Radio Shack than a truck.
I asked Ray about the electronic wonderland and he said he was a "Ham".
I wasn't going to argue with that.
He noticed the confused look on my face and he explained he had an Amateur Radio license. It was getting clearer, but I still wanted out.
He also asked me if I would mind driving first, as he found he could make a lot of contacts at night on 40 and 80. I thought he meant Interstates.
I was corrected when he said meter bands. I told him not to explain anymore, but if he wanted to drive at night I wasn't about to argue with him.

The trip out was not very note worthy, with the exception of hearing mighty strange noises as Ray drove along in the dark. Odd sounding voices, letters, numbers, QTH and CQ were quite prevelant
On my shift I got a lot of questions and smart assed remarks from other drivers regarding the rollling antenna farm.

On the second day I was awakend by the non motion of the truck. I opened the curtain to find Ray talking to a woman on one of his radios.
He looked at me and said we were on Cajon Summit. That much I figured just by the lights in the distance. I knew Ray was married, but I didn't picture him as a swinger. He put my mind at ease by telling me he was talking to his wife in New York. Now I was impressed, we were 3000 miles away and his wife sounded as if she was in the truck with us.
I stepped out to water the grass while Ray chatted with his wife.
I climbed back in the truck and asked Ray if he wanted me to drive. He said he wanted to stay on the summit for a little while longer. His words trailed off as a voice came out of another speaker.
Rays reaction ws priceless "Wow, I haven't heard Hawaii on 6 in a long time!!!"
I just said "Whatever, enjoy and wake me when you're done!!"

The load was delivered on time and the ride back was educational.

It has been quite a few years since that trip. I received my first license in 1988 and upgraded to Extra class in 1993.
The sad part is I can't remember Rays last name, or the rest of his call sign. All I do remember is the call started with W2.

I haven't seen Ray since that trip and would like to thank him. Just another bright spot on the road to retirement....

[Doctor Who]

While there is quiet moment in the story thread. Been comtemplating moving the stories to their own little website and have started construction of same.. Haven't made any commitment, as of yet, to the host company, still not sure if such a site would be popular enough to make it worth paying X amount of dollars a year for.

The plan is to make it a free site for all asking only for donations to help the site run, or maybe find someone who would be willing to advertise, Trucking Only(NO PORNO SH*T, or stupid things like that!)

The site may never come about as doubts creep into every conversation.

As always all comments and suggestions are welcome

[trckndadsangel]

Have you checked with your IP most give free web space. I will check the web to see what I can find for free web space for you. It may take a couple of days for me to get back to you as trckndad only has a couple days home before he goes on the road. I will get back to you with what I find though. Your stories are great and we think its a great idea to put them on a web site. Have a great day.

[Doctor Who]

Have you checked with your IP most give free web space.

Yeah I just found it!!! The site was under construction until "explorer committed a sin" and shut down.... Explorer SUCKS!!!
Anyway, the site is in the works... I still like the donation part though :wink:

Your stories are great and we think its a great idea to put them on a web site

Thank you on both counts

[Doctor Who]

After a few trials, tribulations and the occasional explorer **** up.. The website is finished WOOO-HOOOO

All the good folks on CAD are welcome to check it out

I finally made the big time!!! (http://home.earthlink.net/~pmemolo)

Tell your friends and neighbours... Well maybe not the neighbours!!!

[Twilight Flyer]

All right! Lookin' good! So, is the whole book going to go out there? Or are you going to try and have others post their stories?

[Silver Bullet]

Hey Doc,

The site looks great! :D I'm sure you'll draw many CAD members to read your stories.

[Doctor Who]

All right! Lookin' good! So, is the whole book going to go out there? Or are you going to try and have others post their stories?

Possibly and yes.. I would like to add other folks stories as well.. Hopefully my brother will add some of his also, but time will tell.

Silver Bullet says:
The site looks great! I'm sure you'll draw many CAD members to read your stories.

Thanks Bullet, I'm still working out some of the kinks, I'm hoping more than the great members of CAD check it out, I want to be known WORLD WIDE :D :D :D

[Silver Bullet]

COME ONE, COME ALL!!!


A once in a lifetime opportunity to take a rare glimpse into the life, trials, and tribulations of a long time truck dweller.

The Amazing Doctor Who.

He will keep you mesmerized with stories of his life on the road. He may also throw in a few stories featuring the now World Famous Chemical Brothers.

Folks, this is sure to be a crowd pleaser. 20 minute question and answer session after the show.


Disclaimer:
For your safety and the safety of others, no glass containers allowed. Show dates subject to change. Rain dates to be announced at a later date. Autographed photos available for a fee.

[trckndadsangel]

The site looks great. Looking foward to reading some more great stories.

[Doctor Who]

Silver Bullet is looking for trouble:
A once in a lifetime opportunity to take a rare glimpse into the life, trials, and tribulations of a long time truck dweller.

Careful where you step with that Truck.Net stuff!!! :P


Trckndadsangel says and I quote:

The site looks great. Looking foward to reading some more great stories.

Thanks lady and I owe some of it to you for the suggestion.... Thanks again!!!!!

[Silver Bullet]

:shock: Trouble?? :shock: I'm not looking for any trouble Doctor...Didn't mean to step on your toes there... :D :D :D

[Big Momma CAD]

Just don't forget us here.

Thanks for the link to Class A Drivers!!!!!

I like the purple!!!!!

[trckndadsangel]

Your welcome Doc. I added your link to my main web site right next to classadrivers link.

[Doctor Who]

Just don't forget us here.

Thanks for the link to Class A Drivers!!!!!

I like the purple!!!!!

Now why would I forget..... Uh.... Who was it again????? :P

Purple is my favourite colour and it does grab someones attention!!!!

Trouble?????:
Trouble?? I'm not looking for any trouble Doctor...Didn't mean to step on your toes there...

No toes were stepped on, well my feet are big enough... Anyway I read some of the Hate and Discontent on that other board regarding which drivers are SUPREME and to be honest I found it disturbing that grown men can act that way!!!!

And then there's this:

I added your link to my main web site right next to classadrivers link.

Hey how 'bout that... I'm getting to share the top billing with the #1 Trucker Website... WOOOO-HOOOOO Thank you again, man I'm blushing......

Don't look now, but it's PAGE 8

[Silver Bullet]

Anyway I read some of the Hate and Discontent on that other board regarding which drivers are SUPREME and to be honest I found it disturbing that grown men can act that way!!!!

I agree Doc. That's the reason I read that board and do not post. I saw the way one of our beloved recruiters here at CAD was flamed repeatedly by the three "bullies" over there.

[Doctor Who]

Don't try this now, the results may be HARMFUL to a drivers health!!!

Back in the day when Mack?s ruled the highways in the North East, it was common place for drivers of these trucks to personalize their rides, mostly with pin stripes, or a name on the hood, or bumper. Even the Bulldog was personalized and mine was no exception.

After the incident with the suicidal Owl I figured it was about time to dress up the dog. I found a piece of brown vinyl and asked Mom to sew it to look like a World War 1 pilots? helmet. I took wire and formed the goggles to fit the helmet and the dog. A scrap piece of silk was used for the scarf. I also contemplated putting pants on the dog, but never got around to it. Now my black 2 stick, 1 stack Mack was looking good, especially riding along the Turnpike with the scarf fluttering in the breeze.
It was fine, but I wanted more. I asked the boss for guide poles for the ends of the bumper, he said NO!!! He also wasn?t too keen about me adding 2 more air horns, or locomotive horns either. I kept insisting that Scerbos trucks had them and the added amenities would be great advertising for the company. He didn?t buy the argument.

Disappointed, but not quite defeated I wandered around the shop area looking for something, but not sure what, when I found a plastic container with a rubber hose attached. It looked like a windshield washer reservoir. A flash of inspiration came over me. A small hand or foot operated pump or bellows would work real well.
I put the new found ?treasure? in the truck, jumped in to my car and drove to the local auto parts emporium and bought 6 feet of rubber hose. The only piece missing was the pump.
A short ride down the highway and several traffic lights later I stopped at Two Guys. The housewares department provided the equipment necessary to complete the task. After purchasing a small implement for basting, I figured with a little determination I could come up with something that would work.

After a weekend of trial, error and tribulations I got the device to work. I promised the boss I wouldn?t drill any holes in the truck, so I ran the hose along the center of the hood, remember hose is black, tractor is black then I attached the hose end to the dogs? rear leg with wire.

Monday morning I had a delivery to a construction site in Midtown Manhattan. I stopped for a traffic light at 42nd Street and 6th Ave, what an opportunity to test my new toy. I squeezed the bulb, nothing!!! Of course I forgot to pump the pressure up. On the third try a stream of water shot out and fell upon a few pedestrians, the reactions were priceless, yet not one thought about looking at the truck.
Obviously, it didn?t work very well while the truck was in motion, while stopped I had more fun than any driver should be allowed to have.

As with all fun things it had to come to an end.
I was backed into a dock at a now long forgotten warehouse in Hillside, NJ right at break time, when the overwhelming urge to cause mischief attacked. A herd of people walked by the truck, I squeezed the bulb, the water shot out and showered a secretary, who turned around and smacked the guy behind her. I never expected that to happen, however upon closer inspection I noticed the guy was the receiving manager, a very arrogant fellow.
I stepped out of the truck to help defend the ?innocent? party, but the secretary was trash talking the guy, so had figured it would be better to ?leave well enough alone?, so I went to the catering truck, bought a Coke, then found a ringside seat.
That evening I dismantled the toy and tossed it in the dumpster.

Looking back and comparing to the scene now, a shiver runs down my spine. If I was to try a stunt like that today, someone would probably shoot first and forget to ask questions later!!!

[Twilight Flyer]

What, me flamed? Nah... Seriously, it was like being back in grade school.

:)

That was a good story, Doc. I would have had too much fun with it...probably still WOULD be having fun with it. :)

[Silver Bullet]

Twilight,

Grade school kids have more sense than some of them... :D

[Twilight Flyer]

No truer statement could be said. :)

[Doctor Who]

This should fit in well with the topic at hand!!

You?re No Truck Driver


I?ve heard that line over the years and it was usually from some driver who thought they were all that and then some!!
I?ll be the first to admit that I am not the greatest driver in the universe, Lord knows, far from it. I have had my share of ****-ups over the years; however I?m not the worst either!

In the early years, the boss hired two drivers I?ll call the Dover Boys, Ben and Flip, it?s easier than trying to remember names.
The Dover Boys were friends and had 100 years experience, according to them, between them. I guessed they started when trucks had wooden wheels and hard rubber tyres, not much different from today!
Being the proverbial ?New Kid? I sort of accepted their seniority plus, I was in college and was not much interested in how much bull**** these two could throw!
I did put up with allot from Flip telling me ?how it was supposed to be done? and that young drivers were nothing more than a nuisance.

It all came to a head on a shuttle run between Cranbury NJ to a warehouse on Joyce Kilmer Avenue in New Brunswick NJ.
The first trip I backed up to the outside dock ramp; the warehouse had an outside loading dock with two ramps accessible only from the street. It was a rookie mistake, but Flip decided I committed a felony. He backed in along side of my truck and the wall. I will add that we were both driving White 9000?s without power steering.
Flip jumped out of his truck and started screaming at me ?You?re no truck driver!!!?
At that point I was going to beat him senseless, but the forklift operator grabbed me and said ?Don?t let it get to me.?
The second trip to New Brunswick was much better. I backed in along side the wall and waited for Flip to show me ?how it?s done!?
The forklift operator came to me and said that no matter what dock I backed into that clown was going to have a problem.
I hadn?t noticed it the first trip, but the operator was right. Flip couldn?t back in off a street!!!!
I told the operator to stop unloading, pulled my truck away from the dock and parked it in the street, all the while not saying anything to Flip. He eventually did back in to the space I had vacated.
I got back in my truck and just for fun I backed up on the blind side into the outside dock. Discretion should have been the better part of valor, however in this case I made an exception. I walked up to Flip and told him he was correct, I wasn?t a TRUCK DRIVER, I was a COLLEGE STUDENT!

That evening, when we got back to the yard Flip ran into the office and complained about me and my attitude. The boss called me in the office and asked for my side of the events, so I told him. He also had a statement from the forklift operator, who had called the office after the first altercation.
I told the boss it wasn?t such a big deal and that it was a typical day in trucking. The boss didn?t agree he had a very low tolerance for arrogant drivers. I asked him what he planned on doing and he told me to head on home.
The first thing I thought of was I was fired, but that thought lasted for about 5 minutes when the dispatcher said to pack my clothes and be ready to ride up to International Falls, Minnesota in the morning.

When I got back from my whirlwind tour of the Upper Midwest I asked the dispatch person what had happened after I left out and she said that Flip went off on another driver and the boss let him go. She also said that Flips friend Ben bitched out the boss and quit.

I wonder what ever happened to them.

[Doctor Who]

The M&M's Plain and Nuts, or...................

Another Chemical Brothers Adventure


Before this story continues, I have to mention this. The Chemical Brothers
were also known as the ?M&M?s" Plain and Nuts it was left to the individuals we encountered to figure out who was who.

As was written earlier the Chemical Brothers (M&M?s) were running team pulling DMT
From Tampico, Mexico to Tennessee Eastman in Kingsport, TN. We were about two weeks into the run, when in a fit of ?Pretzel? logic the Team Dispatcher pulled us off and
sent us back to Wilmington, NC. The decision made absolutely no sense and questioning the decision was fruitless.

Upon arrival in Wilmington the dispatcher told us we were to split up and run POND WATER from Weyerhaeuser in Jacksonville, NC to Weyerhaeuser in Washington, NC.
My mild mannered brother went ballistic: ?You mean to tell me that we were yanked off a good paying run for this?!?!?!??
The dispatcher was in disbelief, not to mention how shocked I was at the outburst. All the dispatcher could say was the directive was handed down from High Point. Still fuming, my brother picked up the phone and started dialing the number to High Point. I asked him who he was calling.
?I?m calling Scott and tell him what I think of him and his decision!!? Was the response
?Are you sure that?s such a good idea??? I asked.
The look on the brothers? face was pure evil: ?It?s either this or we ride to High Point and kick his ass!!!?
I told the dispatcher this was going to be a real enjoyable. He responded by saying he was glad I felt that way, because I was getting one of the ancient Volvos? to drive. As I said it was going to be a fun run. The bright side to all this. I was able to spend some time at home.
The Volvo selection was rather thin at best. Three had 0092 Detroit?s, one had a 350 Cummins and the last one had a 350 Caterpillar. The story behind the Cats was the owner was talked into buying a few trucks with the Cat engines in them. He was not pleased because the mechanics couldn?t tame them. I took the Cat powered Volvo!

The POND WATER run was interesting. Weyerhaeuser wanted 16 loads picked up and delivered a day. The first day or two it was extremely difficult to come anywhere near that number, due to the time required in loading and unloading. Someone finally came up with the bright idea to have two trailers dropped in Jacksonville. Sure made the pick up part easy.
Oh for the record the guards at both plants were not happy with the M&M?s. The usual response: ?Hey!!! Didn?t you just leave????
We kept telling them we were extremely good!!
The unloading part was something to behold. Once the trucks came through the gate we had to drive out into what could be best described as a swamp. We had to navigate along a thin strip of land; there was not much room for error, nor room for two trucks to pass each other!
The unloading spot was just big enough to swing around and get lined up with the hoses that were used for the unloading process, very high tech!!!
I did forget to mention the route we had to take was mostly two lanes. What a joy it was for all involved.

We were stuck on the ?water? run for a week, when someone in High Point realized the Chemical Brothers were not on the DMT runs. Needless to say the Team Dispatcher received a severe Bitching out and word was passed down to send us back to Brownsville, TX immediately if not sooner.
The Chemical Brothers arrived in Brownsville on Friday and met up with the other teams on the DMT run.

[Doctor Who]

2395 views and 8 pages. This is a record for the CAD message forum!!! WOOOO-HOOOO

[Doctor Who]

Over the 30 years I?ve been on the road I?ve met some interesting and not so interesting people. All the names have long been forgotten however, they have left an undeniable impression on my life as a driver?

It goes without saying there are few occupations where a person can go out and actually interact with America, Canada and Mexico.
Driving, for me, gave me that opportunity. Now as my career grinds to a halt a feeling of melancholy and panic has set in after writing and rereading the stories I?ve written. I realized that I?ve become that guy in the truck stop, who no longer drives, but has lot of stories about the good old days. What a horrible thought, it was the one thing I swore I?d never do. I can hear the Bruce Springsteen classic ?Glory Days? playing over and over.

INTERLUDE

With the interlude over and yes it was a long interlude at that.

There isn?t a retirement home for old worn out drivers. Wow, what a vision that is, a bunch of crusty ex-truckers swapping U.S. Marshal stories. God, what a nightmare!

It has become painfully clear that my chosen occupation is, or has come to an abrupt end, unless, by some miracle, a doctor can fix whatever is wrong with my knee. The latest doctor has dutifully diagnosed that I was suffering from a bout of depression.
I told him in no uncertain terms ?No **** I?m depressed!! How would he feel after being told that he can no longer do the occupation he has done for the past 30 years and no one seems to want to fix the problem?!?!?

Sorry, went off on a tangent.
With all the above written I had put the Amusing Stories on hold, not from the lack of stories, but from the ?depression? the doctor seems to believe I have.
There will be more to come in the future!

[Twilight Flyer]

Well, I for one, am looking forward to seeing more of the same. Hope you're holding out, Doc, and keep me in the loop.

[Doctor Who]

Oh yeah you'll be in the loop, have I got something to tell you...

It only gets better and better :?

[magician_73]

:rock: :rock: Well Dr. Who (original or otherwise) I see this thread has went far beyond anyone's expectations. Congratulations on this and your own site. Very nice indeed. Keep it up and keep the patio elk under control. Take care my friend.

[Doctor Who]

Magician my friend, thanks for the kind words and a new story is in the processing stage...

Don't forget the coffee is still brewing.... :D

[Doctor Who]

Another Chemical Run from the Dark Ages?

The dispatcher told me I was scheduled for a load to Cartersville, Georgia. I explained to her that I was getting married on Saturday, December 5th. She insisted I was the only driver she had for the run. I complained to the boss and all he would say was that he would make it worth my time. I did find out later that the dispatcher was upset that I wasn?t interested in her, she was quite vindictive.
I drove to Jersey City to get the tank, I checked with the dispatcher there and was told I had to deadhead to Dayton, Ohio to pick up at B.F. Goodrich and deliver the load to a small plant in Cartersville. I called the boss and asked if I could quit and promised never to tell anyone about the incident. He told me I was getting paid for all the miles loaded and empty, plus I was going to get a percentage of the load as a ?wedding? gift? Still didn?t make me feel any better, not to mention the growing concern regarding getting home for the nuptials?

Still fuming over the raw deal I pointed the W-900 west and ran hard towards Dayton.
I pulled up to the guard shack and the guard asked me why anyone would send an empty truck from New Jersey I shrugged my shoulders as I drove through the gate. The loading took 30 minutes and I was on my way towards Georgia?

I-77 in West Virginia I had to stop for a roadside examination. Two of WV?s finest put portable scales under the wheels, I asked them if that was wise. It wasn?t, the load rocked forward and broke one of the scales, they let me go. I pulled back onto the interstate and rode on into Virginia. The scale people there were not as forgiving, the truck was over on the drives. I questioned the scale person and was told, in no uncertain terms, to pull the vehicle to the side and bring the paperwork in. I had to pay on the spot for the overweight and was let go. Real nice of them!!
The ride through NC, SC and the small part of Georgia was uneventful.

I arrived at the plant Friday morning 10:00 AM December, 4. The unloading process took 4 hours due to the customers? tank being air bound.
With the unloading completed and the aggravation level down to a tolerable level I was finally on my way home, a line from an old song kept popping up ??got a long way to go and a short time to get there??
I drove as hard as I could all the while hoping the future Mrs. was still going to marry me.
I did make it home 1 hour before the wedding. What a way to start a new life!!

[magician_73]

:rock: Dr. Who....well ole friend, I am # 2700 in viewing this thread...how's that for popularity?? Did you ever dream it would take off like this? I see your own 'site' is getting a lot of 'views' also...It looks good and I'll send you some more stories this week...take care my friend, talk at ya later..

[BigEasy]

Hello doc just spent about 2 hours reading your work. NICE JOB!
I hope you and yours are all right. cant wait to read more from you. :lol: :lol: :lol: :D :D

[Doctor Who]

The rumours of my death have been greatly exagerated and then some.

Greetings from the Disaster Relief section of the Red Cross a new venture in the land of light duty volunteerism..... I'll explain later!!!!

This note will be short as I have to head off and deliver toys and food to the not so affluent in the county so...

To all the folks on CAD and the under cover readers if I do not return before Christmas have a MERRY and a HAPPY

[Scoe]

Back at ya Doc and good to hear from you!

[trckndadsangel]

Glad to see you are back. Happy Holidays Doc.

[Doctor Who]

Thanks to you both....

Flyer abandonded me but all is OK... Just think I'll have more tales to tell in regards to this "LIGHT DUTY" gig with the Red Cross...

Magician, my friend hold on to the stories for a while until I can get back up to full speed again with my own ISP....

[bluebeetle]

Doc I didn't bail on you, shoot I have a container dedicated fleet lined up for you if you will just send in that application asap!

[Doctor Who]

I just received the BLOODY package yesterday 12/18 @ 1830 I'm looking it over and filling the pertinent information as I go along.....

Thanks for sending it....

[Twilight Flyer]

What do you mean I abandoned you, Bingo Boy?!?

[Doctor Who]

What are you talking about?????? The old ladies are now once again secure and safe and free to persue Bingo with the Long Haired Worn out Trucker safely locked away in a American Red Cross van!!!!!


If you only knew!!!!

[Big Momma CAD]

OH the visions.....and they aren't of sugar plums!!!!!!!!!! :oops:

[bluebeetle]

Did anybody ever tell you "I LOVE THE WAY YOU THINK!"???

[Doctor Who]

BMC you don't know the half of it :)

After 2100 the ladies at the home got really wild and at times it did make me BLUSH :oops:

[Big Momma CAD]

Only you Beetle!!!!!!!!!! :lol:

I didn't think it was possible to make any of you guys blush :oops:

[bluebeetle]

Hey as long as when you think of me you smile! then i have done my job here!

[Doctor Who]

Hey as long as when you think of me you smile!

Smile isn't what she had in mind....

Maybe it's time to post another tale or two from the DARK SIDE cause it looks as if this thread is going terribly awry!!!!!!!!!

Hey check this out page 10

[BigEasy]

Hi doc. I was just wondering about your brother, how is he? :)

[magician_73]

:rock: Doc, really glad to see your 'name' once more! Now if I only knew what has transpired, etc - re: absence,etc. How about an email my friend filling me in? Stories on hold til you get your 'site' ...Happy Holidays my friend.

[Alexx]

OK, here's a true story, one that happened about maybe 1991:

Me and another driver for JB Hunt were dispatched to a dog food warehouse in Buffalo. This other driver was from Texas, and about 2 months out of driving school. It was also his first time anyplace east of Ohio.

We both load our 48' trailer with about 46,000 lbs of dog food. Knowing firsthand how difficult Buffalo driving can be, I keep my tandems way forward, and decide to worry about fighting with them only when I get onto the thruway. Mr. Texas, however, decides to slide his tandems all the way back before leaving the yard. I know the way out, so Mr. Texas follows me.

Well, the left turn onto Genesee st. was quite a sight to see in my mirrors. I manage to make the 120-degree turn without too much drama, choosing the right line and hooking a bit in the intersection, but Mr. Texas decided to play the old "I'm bigger, so deal with it" routine, forcing 3 or 4 cars to back up in order to let him through. I think he actually blocked the intersection for a full cycle, too.

So, now that we're both heading east on Genesee st, we come to the first RR overpass, marked 12'7". I know that it's about 13'7" (as long as you avoid the corner gussets, that is), and tell him to follow me slowly under the overpass. I do it the proper way-4-ways on, slow approach, looking up to see if it clears, as i slowly creep under. I clear, and Mr. Texas does the same.

About 1/2 mile ahead, we come to the second 12'7" overpass, and I do the same. The only difference between the 2 overpasses is the uphill just past the overpass. I creep though slowly, watching my trailer the whole way, without incident. Now comes Mr. Texas. He sees that I have cleared, so he decides to go through at nearly full speed. He's fine, until the last few feet-when he first hits the uphill. Since his tandems are kissing the ICC bumper, he doesn't clear the overpass, and actually slices the last 8 feet of the roof open, where one of the rivets on the overpass had burrowed into the aluminum of the trailer.

Last I saw of Mr. Texas, he was attempting to climb onto the roof of his trailer with a bid tube of silicone sealant in his shirt pocket....

[Doctor Who]

Hi doc. I was just wondering about your brother, how is he? :)

The brother is doing OK He misses the road however, he knows that is all over for him as far as driving he had to give up his CDL... Other than that he is just as ornery as ever....

Doc, really glad to see your 'name' once more! Now if I only knew what has transpired, etc - re: absence,etc. How about an email my friend filling me in? Stories on hold til you get your 'site' ...Happy Holidays my friend.

Magician you can email me at doctorwho36@hotmail.com or kn4oo@yahoo.com and I will fill you in on all the fun and merriment that has transpired over the past 3 months or so... I was supposed to post a new tale but I forgot the disc, oh well maybe next week...

Alexx I liked the story...

[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 :D :D :D

[BigEasy]

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

:D
Thanks for the fix doc.
That should hold me for a week or two.
The last story is almost a tear jerker. :cry:
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. :D

[Doctor Who]

Hey Flyer the pink wig is not a hat plus, I was instructed not to wear the boa, not to mention I had to change the shirt I was wearing. It had a picture of a Beetle looking guy flipping everyone off, I guess it would have offended the more religious in the group!!! :D

[bluebeetle]

Now I wouldn't flip off the group.....it just doesn't have the same meaning!

[magician_73]

:?: Would someone please inform me as to what happen to good ole Dr. Who......I haven't heard from him in a world of days....months....too damn long if you ask me...I know, no one asked me. If anyone sees or hears from him, tell him to write.....thanks for the memories.....

[Twilight Flyer]

He's around, gimpy knee and all, hopefully finalizing things with his past employer and moving on with whatever career he decides to jump in to. Been doing the Red Cross gig lately...have had a few interesting talks with him about that. :)

[Doctor Who]

I'm still doing the Red Cross thing and it's icing a big one!!!

Magician you can zip me an email at doctorwho36@hotmail.com and I'll tell you all about it!!!!

Hey Magician, here's an amusing factual story for you......

http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/users/23f76929/bc/My+Photos/__sr_/2882.jpg?phwpLRABQEgniwnw

Yes this is the Semi-Real Doctor Who!!!

But wait, another Winter Weather tale will soon follow do to yet another snow,sleet,rain,freezing rain event which is attacking the eastern side of NC as I type this, which means, I'm going to be busy for the next 36 hours straight!!! OOOOOOOO-RAHHHHHH!!! :shock: :shock:

[ksgreenmch]

well this dates back into the early 1980's around 1983 or 84. Well you know how ya get when you have to go to the rest room real bad and your new to the truckstop and don't know where things are at? Well that happened to me but thank god for a manager that had sort of a human natuer when it came to mother natuer and the problems that can be caused.
Well I had to go to the rest room really bad while I was on the fuel line and went in to use the rest room and of course it was both ways. well I did know where the mens room was and I wasn't really paying attention to what rest room I was going into till a lady came in and done her natuer call then I got to thinking to myself " What the hell is going on here" This is supposed to be the mens room. well I finished taking care of my business and when I did the manager came in and I walked out of the stall that I was in and man I was glad to see that man. I didnt know how I was going to get out of that mess if another lady walked in while I was there. thats the closest that I came to getting into real bad problems. What the manager said is that if I had not have been buying fule there I would have been arrested for causeing mischief and the such. Well I better let you all go. :oops: :oops: :oops:

[Doctor Who]

It looks as though this thread has stalled once more but the bright side is the view count has surpassed 4,000!!!! Not too bad!!!

The two year anniversary is approaching, any speculation as to where the view count will be on July 26 2004 and how many pages there will be.

Oh by the way it's PAGE
12

[ksgreenmch]

I dont know where this thread will end. Who knows how far this thread will run.charlie
NEXT STORY PLEASE.......

[magician_73]

:lol: Well Dr. Who - still patiently waiting for an email - sent one to the addy you indicated - no response. What's happening to the thread - page 12 - goodness gracious me - did we ever start something? Write - you have the email addy youngin! Take care -

[magician_73]

:lol: My guess Dr. Who - pages should be around 16 or 17 by July 26, 2004 (hard to believe it's been two years! Write

[Doctor Who]

Well Dr. Who - still patiently waiting for an email - sent one to the addy you indicated - no response. What's happening to the thread - page 12 - goodness gracious me - did we ever start something?

Yeah we did and then some, now as far as receiving any mail I have not seen "HIDE, NOR HAIR" of any e-mail from you...Hmmm I wonder if the powers that be absconded with above mentioned pieces of correspondence.

I must delve further into this travisty... Ah yes Watson the "Game" is afoot as it where!!!!

[Doctor Who]

Wow it's time for a new tale from the dark side!!!


Are you sure you checked the trailer???



Back during the beer hauling days the boss had purchased a few roller bed trailers to pull the pallets of empty cans and bottles to the breweries in the Tri-State area. Really not a bad concept, the rollers where hydraulic plus, there was a metal bar connected to two cables these bars where used to push the pallets out. Made unloading a real breeze when everything went right but as all who have been running the highways for a few years will attest to everything does not always go right, or well for that matter!

Pabst Brewery, East Orange, NJ early 1980?s;
Unloading was usually done at one end of the plant and loading at the other, notice I did say usually. Three of the boss?s trucks where lined up to unload. The first truck was backed in at 0900 after waiting for 3 hours. Unloading normally took about 20 minutes, which I will say was pretty damn fast for a brewery. With the first truck unloaded it was my turn to back in only to wait while the crew went on break. The driver of the third truck was getting rather impatient and complained to me and the other driver that ?He had better things to do than wait to get unloaded!?
We couldn?t explain to him that he was getting paid for all the detention time. I told him I didn?t care if I waited there all day, the scenery, of the female persuasion, was great. Nothing we said mattered.

With break time over I hooked the cables to the reels on the dock and let the man with the controls do his thing. All was well until the loading foreman came running up to me and asked if we could take two loads of ?Blue Ribbon? to Delaware. I asked him if people in Delaware actually drank that Bear piss. He was not very amused, nor was he going to dignify the question with any kind of profanity. I told him I?d call the boss however, I already knew what the answer would be. I went to find the first driver and as luck would have it he had departed for greener pastures. I knew the third driver was not going to be happy but so it goes in the day in the life of a professional steering wheel holder. As I surmised he was not happy.

The loading took no time at all I pulled back onto the street and helped guide driver # 3 into the dock. He stormed out of the cab hooked the required pieces up and started unloading. He bitched and complained the whole time. All I kept telling him was it was going to be a $200 day. It didn?t make him any more pleasant to be with. I finally gave up talking to him and wandered over to the coffee wagon, bought a Coke, and waited by my truck.

The third truck was finally finished being loaded, I walked over to the driver to remind him to check his trailer before he pulled out. I was told in no uncertain terms ?He had it under control!!?
I walked back towards my truck when I heard a loud BOOM, a lot of breaking glass and a long stream of words that would make a Marine blush. I turned back to see a river of beer flowing from the warehouse door. ?What the f*** happened???? I asked the foreman as he stormed by me in a state of hysteria.
?Your boy just bought a load of beer!!!? was his response everything else was mixed into a blur of profanity.
The driver came running out of the door waving his arms and yelling something about me helping him with his ?slight? problem.
He had a problem alright, he forgot to unhook the cables from the reels and when he tried to pull away from the dock the cables yanked the load bar and pulled 22 pallets of beer onto the ground, not to mention the rollers were still in the up position.
The boss was not very happy having to buy a load of ?NASTY? beer especially when he couldn?t drink any of it, which may not have been a bad thing.
Well the folks in Delaware just had to make do with one load of Pabst, I?m quite sure there wasn?t many in the pubs that weekend were going to complain too much about it!!!

I miss beer hauling!!!

[Rocco]

I've only goten thru page one and I can't sop laughin. With so many problems accosiated with this industry, this site is great for getting your mind off your problems. Hopefully I'll be able to add to these one day, but in the mean time hope you more experienced drivers keep it up

Thanks :wink:

[trckndadsangel]

I sure enjoy reading your stories Doc this was to funny.

[Doctor Who]

Aww Gee thanks Angel lady :oops: :oops: I'm blushing here!!!!

[erslincoln]

Are you sure you checked the trailer???


I've been pointing my brother and my buddies to this site, mainly to read your stories, and they've all reported back to me that they enjoy them immensely, as I do.

This one's my favorite, though.

It's great that you try to explain it, to some extent, for the layman, too, since some of us don't know what you're talking about until you do. In this instance, I can picture cables tugging pallets of beer out of the back of the van really easily, and while I can't visualize what you're talking about with the rollers, exactly, I get a vague enough idea that I can follow it.

At any rate, I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoy reading these things. It's just like a book I'd read on the "john." One that's full of stories that are short enough to not get sores on the backside or elbow dents in the knees.

Have a great one!

[trckndadsangel]

Last month I went out in the truck with my husband for a few weeks. We had stopped at a truck stop for the night in Idaho. The following morning while my husband was checking the truck before we headed out I went into the truck stop to get some coffee. Now the place we were at was safe and it was also going on 7 in the morning. As I walked in there were two other drivers that were ahead of me that had just fueled their trucks. They held the door open for me and both said good morning and one driver added that it looked like it was going to be a nice day. I said good morning back to both drivers and for them to have safe trips. As I turned to go down the isle this woman rudely says to me, "Mam do you know how much danger you are putting yourself in by talking to these kinds of people?" I politely with a smile on my face replied " Oh goodness I must be in lots of danger then because I happen to be the daughter to another one of those people and also the wife to one too." I also told her politely "Have a nice day and drive safe"

The two drivers that had held the door open for me also replied to her by saying "I guess she told you" The lady stood there in the isle with the dumbest look on her face.

[Doctor Who]

this woman rudely says to me, "Mam do you know how much danger you are putting yourself in by talking to these kinds of people?" I politely with a smile on my face replied " Oh goodness I must be in lots of danger then because I happen to be the daughter to another one of those people and also the wife to one too." I also told her politely "Have a nice day and drive safe"

The two drivers that had held the door open for me also replied to her by saying "I guess she told you" The lady stood there in the isle with the dumbest look on her face.

Yeah, you did and then some Angel Lady you get a gold star and a cyber "HUG" from the good Doctor! That was a great response to an other wise ignorant human being!!!

[Doctor Who]

Stay tuned Cadites.... Doctor Whos' Canadian adventure is coming soon.......

Ah Canada the worst kept secret in the universe...

"You're going to write all this **** for the American truckers to read Eh????"

[Doctor Who]

Doctor Who?s Canadien adventure:


As I had mentioned else where I have had occasion to travel into the great land north of New York. I never noticed the arrogance until the last three trips. Back in the ?90s I took a ride to Quebec to unload chemicals, as mentioned in another tale, and had a little run in with a French Canadien driver bragging about how smart he was because he could speak my language. That was all fine and good I told him in French and continued on in German, which totally confused him, and I told him that made me smarter than him ?cause he can?t speak my language. Ah it was so much fun listening to him cuss me in French as I laughed all the way out of the truck stop!!!

Recently I rode with a friend testing my abilities to drive a truck again, again another tale for another time. The Century class Freightliner was set at 62 mph, not an asphalt burner by any stretch of the imagination and we did two, yes two, trips to Toronto. The ride on the US side was not so bad but, all bets were off when we crossed the border at Buffalo. After talking junk to the chick at the border I pulled back onto the QEW (401) and pretty much stayed to the right lane to avoid being run over by the Canadien ?rocket? trucks. All was well when I got to Oakville and then up into Toronto. The same could not be said for the trip back, my friend was driving and he rode the middle lane to get around a slow vehicle and a ?professional? Canadien driver blew past us cursing all the way. I went to say something but, my friend told me not to it happened all the time.
The Canadien had to stop at the border as did we I hobbled out of the truck and asked the guy if his parents were in the same room when he was conceived because I couldn?t believe anyone could be that ignorant!! He mumbled something in French and I responded to him in kind my friend pulled me back to the truck and made me drive across the border just to keep me out of trouble!!!

The next trip up, same week, I got the privilege of driving to Burkes Falls from Oakville on Highway 11, really not a bad highway to drive on, not quite the Trans-Canada but, not bad all the same. I was cruising at 62 when a Canadien trucker came by and flipped me off. I got on the radio and asked what his problem was and he told me that he hated slow assed American drivers and that we should all die? Well can?t fault him for his opinion but, I asked him what made him so sure I was an American and explained to him that since Canada is part of North America he was an ?American? also. That really torqued him out of the frame and he locked his brakes up to slow down trying to agitate me, I told him that it didn?t matter what he did I could overlook his ignorance since it had to be something to do with in breeding.. He went ballistic and cursed me big time all the time I kept laughing. After about 10 minutes of verbal abuse he stopped long enough to let me get the final parting shot, I told him that I hadn?t whipped a Candien?s ass in a long time and that I would let him get the first swing and after I stopped laughing I?d pound his ass into the Canadien soil. He shut up while the other drivers laughed at his expense. The rest of the trip was quiet?

For all concerned the Doctor is not a violent person it is just more fun seeing how far I can push someone with Marxian humour!!! (Groucho that is)

[magician_73]

:lol: Well Good Dr. Who - just seen your message posted the 16th about looking for a 'new hero'....yea, right? - Hey man, if I had the correct email addy for you, I'd write - have previously and they keep coming back 'undeliverable'.....I'll send you a PM informing you of the email addy and the one I have for you. Keep the thread alive - the 'Marx Bros' would be proud of you! :P

[Doctor Who]

Wow this thread actually made 13 pages, not bad!!!!

Anyway I sent you a PM adjusting the email address and as far as the Brothers Marx, well the only thing I can say is I do miss the OLDdays, or would that be DAZE!!!

Anyway been busy and all fun has been put on hold until I can figure out which direction I'm going... It's a real bitch when someone is DIRECTIONALLY challenged!!!

Later!!!!

[magician_73]

[quote="Doctor Who"]Wow this thread actually made 13 pages, not bad!!!!

:shock: Yup, can't believe it's made it this far :!: Little did we know when it all started - what - two years ago :?:

Hang in there Doc! :lol:

[magician_73]

You mentioned Canadian adventures...well, way back when, around 1959 or 60 made a trip up #2 Hwy (from Calgary to Edmonton, Alberta. Cold winter night and I was looking forward to stopping in Red Deer at a little cafe, fuelstop for some chow and hot coffee. As I pulled into the lot, the lights went out in the cafe. My heart sank - just my luck, I didn't make it in time. About the time I was ready to head on up the road, a lady walked out from the cafe and I got out to meet her. She asked if I had planned on eating there, to which I replied, 'yes indeed'. She answered, 'well, we're officially closed and the grill is turned off'. However, since you're hungry, if you'll settle for a sandwich, we'll gladly feed you.' I followed her into the cafe where they (she and her husband) proceeded to make me a couple of roast beef sandwiches and a fresh pot of coffee. After the sandwiches, they treated me to a piece of homemade cherry pie. When it came time to settle the bill, they would only let me pay for the sandwiches - coffee and pie were on the house. After returning to the truck, I started to reflect and wondered if I could ever encounter that friendly hospitality here in the states. I doubted it then and to this day I have never found a place here in the states, willing to open up once they closed - to feed a hungry trucker. Needless to say, every driver I encountered was told of the little cafe in Red Deer.

[Doctor Who]

God 59 or 60 I was just a little kid... :P

Too bad there isn't any more of those type establishments!!!!

[magician_73]

[quote="Doctor Who"]God 59 or 60 I was just a little kid... :P
[i]

Heck Doc, judging by that 'yoyo' (which incidently has been going non-stop for a couple of years)...you're still in your second childhood :!: [b] I wonder how long before that string breaks :?:

[magician_73]

Years ago, a good friend of mine got fed up with the hassles of being inspected everytime he went into California. On one particular trip he said he was stopped four times between the Oregon line and Los Angeles. I ran into him a couple of months later and he informed me that he had solved the problem of being hassled by CA (and other states for that matter) regarding inspections. I asked how? 'Well, he informed me....he obtained an air tank and mounted it directly in front of the drive axles of the tractor. He ran a line up to the cab and installed a discharge valve. He then went down to the local sporting goods store and purchased some synthetic 'skunk piss' which he dumped into the air tank and then charged it up. When he rolled into Ca at Shasta, they motioned for him to pull around and into the inspection shed....Well, he informed me....he reached down and pulled the discharge valve for the air tank and sprayed the whole undercarriage of the tractor with that synthetic skunk piss. He said as the one CHP inspector was motioning him into the shed, the otherone was motioning him right through the other end...needless to say, no more inspections for everytime he gets pulled around, he just dumps the tank and sprays the undercarriage....[b][i]Now that's a really cool brainstorm :!:

[magician_73]

Well Doc, reflecting upon further Canadian adventures....I learned never to complain about any mountain grade here in the states after encountering one in Canada....If you are coming East on #1 Highway from Vancouver, BC through Kelona, Kamloops and Revelstoke, BC you will encounter 'Rogers' Pass'....and the first time I dropped off of it (back in late 50's), it was winter time, snowstorm and down I went....a narrow two-lane highway (TransCanada #1)...no guardrails...twisting and turning, switchbacks....with anywhere from a 8 to 14% grade down for over 20+ miles....it will get your attention and never again will you complain about any mountain pass here in the States....And if you have driven in Western Canada in wintertime...you know they never plow the highways...use a snowblower and let the road have a snowpacked surface....The first trip down you learn how to put on your underwear....yellow in front, brown in back :oops:

[magician_73]

:roll: Years ago while delivering a shipper in norther Montana (Malta, to be exact)(close to the Canadian border....I decided to take a shortcut down through the boonies to Billings. As I was rolling down the narrow two lane highway, I rounded a curve and directly in front of me, a bridge with a height sign of 10'4"....Needless to say, I locked up the brakes and stop about 500 yards from the bridge. There wasn't any shoulder to pull off on, and I couldn't remember the last place I had seen where I could turn around. Sitting there pondering my predictament, envisoning having to back up for miles, when suddenly around the curve came a bullwagon who flew right by me. I grabbed the mike and tried to tell him about the low bridge ahead, which I thought he hadn't seen. He came back on the radio, laughing...just as he sailed under the bridge with plenty of clearance....telling me the bridge was actually 14'4" and that some kids had painted over the 4 and made it into a '0' a few months ago..........Needless to say, relief passed through this ole character that I wouldn't be backing up for miles....

[Doctor Who]

OK Magician and anyone else who had asked: The new and maybe not so improved Doctor Who Trucker tales website is in the final stages of completion...

The Road Show, who knows it may become a hit, then again they said the samething about the USFL (http://home.earthlink.net/~pmemolo)

See ya'll there real soon!!!

[magician_73]

:shock: Mercy me, finally we all have something to anticipate - get the lead out Doc :!:

[Doctor Who]

Mercy me, finally we all have something to anticipate - get the lead out Doc

Fine thing coming from someone who ain't gonna post no more!!! :P

Trust me my friend it'll be a slow work in progress, I doubt I'll get as good as Mr. Hefner but maybe I'll be as good as Helen Gurley Brown!!! :shock:

[Doctor Who]

Riding the Dog




A recent conversation with a recruiter brought up the subject of transportation to orientation. Driving the POV would be out of the question, flying was one option, renting a car and taking a bus was the last option. Well flying isn?t too bad but horrible nightmares started flowing back from bus rides past!!!!

A date just recently had me riding the Dog from Harrisburg, PA to Wilson, NC and all it took was 20 and half hours. First mistake, I should have taken Amtrak. The bus left Harrisburg 30 minutes late did a stop in York, PA and I was supposed to switch busses in Baltimore for a bus going to Richmond. Which was great it would put me in Wilson at 04:30 AM, wrong when we arrived in Baltimore the Richmond bus was full. The ?Coach Operator?, which Greyhound drivers prefer to be called, told me and two other riders to get back on the bus we just left and go to DC, things were looking rather bleak.
Upon arrival in DC at 10:30 I found the information minister of disinformation and was told there was a bus leaving at 12:40 for Wilson, great I thought I?ll still be home by 06:00. I wandered off to get something to eat, talked to the XYL on the phone and wandered around a bit. At 12:30 the disinformation minister found me and told me he was wrong about the bus schedule and that I would have to wait until 06:50 for the next bus, in the mean time another bus bound for Richmond was just backing out. ?That?s just terrific!? I told the minister ?I just missed my last chance tonight to get home!? He just shrugged his shoulders and walked away, I really wanted to beat his ass just for fun!!

Resigning myself to the fact that I?m spending the night in the Greyhound terminal in DC I found a bunch of seats in a sorry waiting room. I didn?t spend much time alone as a gaggle of folks gravitated towards me, a hippie, a young dude traveling from Montana, a college kid and a 40 year old chick from Long Island who had more problems than any human being I know and a couple of other colourful characters!!! Since I wasn?t going anywhere I was the dedicated guardian of the luggage as these folks wandered about. I spread out my sleeping bag so the ladies could get some rest; the guys had to fend for themselves including me..

To be continued........

Hmmm bussing at its finest!!!!

[Doctor Who]

From the Red Cross archives

On a rather warm North Carolina spring day I was chauffeuring the Disaster Chairperson around downtown Wilson and I pulled up next to an older Trans Am with two rather attractive young ladies occupying the front seats, oh before I forget, the T/A had a ?T? top.
I made the mistake of saying something about the young ladies in the car and the next thing I knew the Chairperson undid his seatbelt and climbed over me to get a better ?look?. Just a brief reminder, he is deaf and legally blind. The young lady in the passenger seat started laughing extremely hard and I noticed an odd yellow stain appear in her white jeans and also noticed a yellowish liquid occupying the seat with her and I started to laugh as the driver of the T/A slammed the gas and pulled the best left hand turn I had seen in quite a long time. Burt Reynolds had nothing on this chick.
The Chairperson asked me what had happened and I told him that the young lady in the passenger seat found your stunt humourous and pissed her pants.
It did make the rest of our day!!!!

[Doctor Who]

For the rest of the Greyhound "NIGHTMARE" see the somewhat unofficial Doctor Who site, the address is a post or two up the page

[magician_73]

:?: Does that 'yoyo' ever need lubricating, Doc?
And by the way, I figure 'what the hell' - won't be the '1st time' - right?
Anyway, remember there was a thread 'Trivia'....can't remember where it was located and don't feel like spending hours looking for it....so I'll just throw some 'trivia' questions in here...which incidently, is approaching 8,000 views...pretty cool :!:

Truckstop Trivia: If you remember these truckstops, you'll be telling your age for certain:

Name the city and state for each:

Key Truckstop

Cigar City Truckstop

Smoke City Truckstop

Charlie's Truckstop

Roadrunner Truckstop

Truck'n'Travel Truckstop

Peartree Truckstop

T & R Truckstop

I-10 Truckstop

Tiger Truckstop (Texas)

Cee Gee's Truckstop

Evergreen Truckstop

Original Burn's Bros Truckstop

Pantyhose Junction

Tomahawk Truckstop

MountainView Truckstop

Just a few for starters, don't want to tax the ole brain too much :!: :D

[Doctor Who]

Cigar City Truckstop

Uh, would that be Tampa FL.

Roadrunner Truckstop


Phoenix, AZ

Tiger Truckstop (Texas)

Amarillo, TX

Smoke City Truckstop

Birmingham, AL

The brain fade is really bad today.....

Oh by the way.... It'll be 8,000 before the anniversary date. Going to have to come up with more humour to keep this thread going!!!!

[Doctor Who]

The thread finally broke------8,000


:rock: :party:

[magician_73]

:!: :!: :D
Well, who would have ever thought this thread would reach 8000 and 14 pages??? Mercy me :?:
More stories to come - guaranteed :!: And by the way, what about the rest of the truckstops on the trivia list?

[magician_73]

Years ago, roughly 20 or so, I was headed westbound on I-80 in Wyoming. It was a typical winter day in Wyoming..blowing snow, snow/icy roads and limited visibility. As I exited the tunnel in Green River, I immediately spotted a Roadway upside down in the center median...and there to my total surprise, the driver was on top of the upside down tractor attempting to drape 'iron' over the drive axle. I got to a stop, jogged back and as I stood under the driver, yelled up and asked him if he was alright. 'I'm alright', he replied. I then responded, 'driver, I don't mean to laugh but what the hell are you doing draping 'iron' over the wheels after the fact'?
He smiled, 'well, got to get them on before the Highway Patrol arrives so as not to get that $1000 fine for not have them on'.....This has to be the strangest (and in a way, funniest) sight seen over the years..

[Doctor Who]

OH Magician you may as well give the answers to the other part of your quiz....

I can't remember them at all... Must be old age!!!! :shock: :P

[magician_73]

[quote="magician_73"][b][i] :?: Does that 'yoyo' ever need lubricating, Doc?
And by the way, I figure 'what the hell' - won't be the '1st time' - right?
Anyway, remember there was a thread 'Trivia'....can't remember where it was located and don't feel like spending hours looking for it....so I'll just throw some 'trivia' questions in here...which incidently, is approaching 8,000 views...pretty cool :!:

Truckstop Trivia: If you remember these truckstops, you'll be telling your age for certain:

Name the city and state for each:

Key Truckstop - Houston, Texas

Cigar City Truckstop - Tampa, Fl

Smoke City Truckstop - Birmingham, AL

Charlie's Truckstop - Newport News, VA

Roadrunner Truckstop - Phoenix, AZ

Truck'n'Travel Truckstop - Coburg, Or

Peartree Truckstop - Phoenix, Or

T & R Truckstop - Albany, Or

I-10 Truckstop - Fontana, CA

Tiger Truckstop (Texas)

Cee Gee's Truckstop - Toledo, WA

Evergreen Truckstop - Seattle, WA

Original Burn's Bros Truckstop - downtown Portland, OR

Pantyhose Junction - (aka Truckadero) - Dunnigan, CA

Tomahawk Truckstop - Brighton, CO

MountainView Truckstop - Snowshoe, PA

Okay Doc, you win....must be age...yea, right!!!! :!:

[Doctor Who]

MountainView Truckstop - Snowshoe, PA


It figures I must not have stopped at that establishment, it wasn't one the *approved* **** holes we had to fuel at!!!!!

Yeah it is age, not to mention the medication from Canada :P :P

The 2 year mark is rapidly approaching Magician, what miracle can you conjure up to push this thread past 9,000?????

I wonder if the Bosses are planning a party with balloons and a huge cake with vanilla frosting and gallons of ice cream :rock: sort of like this!!!!

No more like this................... :party:

[magician_73]

:twisted:

Yea, two wonderful, fun-loving years. :!: I can imagine the powers that be would consider sending the stampeding moose into your backyard or mine and devouring the rampaging elk.
:wink:
As to what we can conger up to push the thead over the 9000 mark, shouldn't be too difficult = in fact, would be willing to bet we hit 10,000 within a year - how's that for a prediction :?: Where there is a will, there is a way - as long as the powers remain asleep!!!! :!:

[magician_73]

Only 1638 til 10,000 :!:

[BigEasy]

Hey doc keep pushing, it can make the 10000 mark in less than a year.
all you have to do is keep us upto date with whats going on with you and your adventures. FYI and everyone elses as of 7/22/2004 i have a cdl class a learners perment:nervous: and will be driving on it next week, going to Texas watch out for a :nervous: SUN DELIVERY :nervous: TRUCK I MIGHT BE BEHIND THE WHEEL. well have to go now be safe all. :D

[Doctor Who]

FYI and everyone elses as of 7/22/2004 i have a cdl class a learners perment:nervous: and will be driving on it next week, going to Texas watch out for a SUN DELIVERY TRUCK I MIGHT BE BEHIND THE WHEEL.

Well take a lot of notes and fill up a journal and you too can have a hand in pushing this thread past the 10,000 goal... Be careful and best of luck!!

Magician has raised the stakes quite a bit I guess I'll have to dust off the ancient archives to be able to meet the challange. As I have always said I do love a challange!!!!

Magician this does not mean you're off the hook by any stretch of the imagination :P :P :P

[magician_73]

Only 1584 to go, Doc!





And it's off to the races again - where's that galloping moose anyway

[BigEasy]

take a lot of notes and fill up a journal
I am not real big on keeping notes of a days work I just take it from memories and try not to make a mountian out of a mole hill.
do what i can to help though and here's the moose or a heard of them.

:moose: :moose: :moose: :moose: :moose: :moose: :moose:

:moose: :moose: :moose: :moose: :moose: :moose: :moose:

:moose: :moose: :moose: :moose: :moose: :moose: :moose:

LOL :roll:

[magician_73]

Now what ever possessed him to post those galloping 'moose'...shades of:THE MARXATEERS

[BigEasy]

THE MARXATEERS

I am young what does this mean?I am only 26. :)

[BigEasy]

opps pushed it to PAGE 15 :!: :D

[Doctor Who]

OH MY GOD he pushed the thread to page 15

Now I really feel old this YOUNGIN' never heard of the Marx Brothers..

Easy, it's simple the Brothers Marx: Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo!!!

It's a long story send me a Private message and I'll explain..

Hey it is page 15 that means it's gaining on the War Between The States thread!!!

More to come as the count down continues!!

[magician_73]

:twisted: Now I'm really getting ticked off, even people who never heard of the Marx Bros can utilize that damn 'quote' dooie....what's the secret? :?:

[Doctor Who]

Read your PM I 'splained it all!!!

And the clock is ticking.

And for what it's worth... That would be Moose Abuse!!!

[Doctor Who]

Are you sure this is what you wanted????

A frequent question I asked myself over the years as one or more bizarre or aggravating events happened over the 30 plus years I?ve plied Americas? highways, oops, almost forgot Canada and Mexico too?

I had always said that the best form of birth control was late night calls from dispatch, didn?t matter which dispatch, but the statement still applies.
One such phone call had me taking a rail trailer full of drinking mugs to just about every bloody McDonalds in New York City, yeah, my idea of a good time on a Friday. The dispatcher knew I wasn?t going to refuse the load. It came close though!!!!

I used one of the distributors tractors, a joyous L-9000 Ford which was a pleasure to drive, not really, don?t want to upset any Ford truck fans. The rail trailer was another subject entirely; 45? long, swing doors, and the tandems were locked to the rear, not to mention 13? 6? high. Yes a real treat in Midtown but a real pain in the ass in other sections?

I arrived at the first stop on Wall Street at 06:30 and the crew unloaded the first 90 cases, not bad considering the trailer was stacked from floor to ceiling with the damn glasses. I walked back to the tractor to find a parking ticket under the wiper blade. ?Great!? I thought ?Just what I need to start the morning off!?
Getting into the Financial district wasn?t bad, getting out was tough but none the less I managed to get the next 8 stops of without much incident except for the one ?Bag Lady? I pissed off on the Lower West Side.

Now Midtown was whole different animal, it was getting close to lunch time and I only had ? of the trailer unloaded and parking was becoming a scarce item as I pulled up to stop number 15. The manager and two crew members came out to help unload, which was great, unfortunately the pedestrians were not pleased and let us know so, again it was New York and it made for great entertainment. After 125 boxes were thrown off the back of the truck I found yet another parking ticket, I added it to the growing pile on the passenger seat and the total so far? 10.

As I wandered up through Manhattan the ticket count grew and grew along with my deep dislike for the ?Brown Shirts? or Meter Cops!!! To make matters all the more interesting it was getting increasingly difficult to maneuver the annoying rail box around town.

I finally made it to the upper West Side about 15:00 I pulled up in front of the McDonalds walked inside to talk to the manager, which only took a grand total of 3 minutes. I walked back out of the store and found another ticket; I tossed it on the growing pile and waited for the crew to unload. About 10 minutes into the unloading process a ?Brown Shirt? came up and asked who was driving the truck, the crew said they didn?t know and I told the chick the driver wandered if in disbelief. She looked around and said she was going to hand me the parking ticket and I told her no, her job was to stick it on the windshield by law. She said she couldn?t reach the windshield, I responded by saying its New York law, if there was a problem talk to the Mayor.
She did manage to put the ticket on the windshield. I waited for 15 minutes before I jumped in the tractor and drove off.

Half the trailer to go and 17:00 was rapidly approaching as I arrived in Harlem for stop number 22. Being in Harlem didn?t bother me but it was getting painfully clear that this trip was going to be an all nighter! The unloading process at this place was slow but it finally got done at 18:00, not to mention a lot of overjoyed neighbours who received free mugs. The manager never knew and I kept harmony in the ranks?

The hour rapidly approaching 20:00 I called the distributors dispatch office and told them I wasn?t anywhere near being finished and the guy on the other end of the phone said in so many words ?Tough ****!?
Well that was the wrong thing to say, I told him what I thought of him and his parents and then called my boss and told him what had happened. My boss, in turn, called the distributor and told them where they could find the trailer and to find another driver to finish the run. I objected strongly to that tactic because I didn?t want someone coming back and saying I abandoned a piece of equipment.
I told the boss I would drag the trailer back to the yard and they could do whatever they wanted from there and besides I needed to drop off 35 parking tickets.
I arrived back in Edison, NJ at 22:00 walked into the dispatch office handed in the signed bills and the wad of parking tickets. The lead dispatcher jumped up from his desk and yelled I was going to pay for them. I told him calmly and quietly that he had nothing to fear the tractor was a rental and the trailer would be back in Oklahoma the day after next. He looked puzzled, which was nothing new; I continued to explain that if he paid real close attention to the tickets the name of the rental company was misspelled on every single one of them and that the license tags were totally incorrect?

Gee I miss New York!!!!

Oh one more thing the dispatcher told me they would never call me again. Was I heart broken??? No, they called me back a week later!!!

The anniversary is rapidly approaching.... will it make 9,000??? stay tuned!

[TheNewGuy]

Well Doc, 35 tickets beats my 22, most parking tickets I ever got in one shift. Most of them had the company name mispelled, all of them had the wrong tag number. Needless to say, NYC didn't get on penny from me.

[magician_73]

1499 to go Doc

[magician_73]

:D Gee whiz, I can't find NYC on my map? It must be somewhere between the Canadian border and the Mason/Dixon Line :?:

Yup, Doc, we should make 9000 easily by the anniversary! And 10,000 isn't that far away - that should make some eyes open, eh? :P

[Doctor Who]

Gee whiz, I can't find NYC on my map?

OK, OK don't pick on my home now!!!

I'm quite sure 35 tickets is not a record by any means but it sure was fun to watch the reaction of the dispatchers!!! :D

1487 and still counting.... Hopefully it'll make 10,000 if the board doesn't hiccup again!!!

[magician_73]

Okay, won't pick on your home! Hey, that's right, the board did hiccup, wonder where it would be now if that had not happened?

[Doctor Who]

Hey, that's right, the board did hiccup, wonder where it would be now if that had not happened?

Yeah, sure did more than once so the count probably would have been a lot further along but it's cyber space and the black holes are every where.. Nothing worse than being SUCKED into a cyber black hole and being spit out somewhere near Paducah!!!!
Oh the humanity, not to mention the explaining that would have to be done!!!
Speaking of which it's time to post another Farside adventure........

[magician_73]

Well, way back when (back in the 70's)- just for the 'youngins' information - the hammerlane was known as the 'Monfort' lane - why, because there were very few trucks in the country that could run with them. Most of them had V-12's. They hauled 'swinging beef' from Greely, Co to everywhere and anywhere. Anyway, I remember one dreary night rolling across Nebraska (I-80) somewhere between North Platte and Grand Island when I spotted headlights rapidly approaching in my mirrors. A voice loomed on the CB and asked if I had any 'coffee' - to which I replied, 'sure do' - in fact, I had two thermos of coffee which I had just filled at Sapp Bros in Sidney.
'Would you be willing to share some', came the question? 'No problem' I replied - 'where are you'....'coming up on your back door'....Before I could bat an eye, a large car (black Pete) was beside me in the hammerlane - a Monfort truck. The driver, whose handle was 357 Magnum, said, 'hold her steady driver - back her down to about 50'....'and roll down your window'....I complied and back out of it til the odometer read a 50 mph....I glanced over and the passenger door of the Monfort truck opened and out on the steps, stepped the co-driver. I took a thermos in hand and held it out my window as far as possible and the Monfort driver grabbed it and retreated within his truck. About five minutes later, his door opened again and the co-driver stepped out and handed back my thermos. 'Thanks partner', 357 remarked as he put the pedal to the metal and left me staring at his trailer lights pulling away in the night. Several months later, I happened to be parked in Denver when a driver walked up to my truck - 'hey, I remember you - you're the driver we got coffee from going across Nebraska'....'Yup, I'm the one'....and with that we went inside and chatted for a while. Seems they left the terminal with a load of swinging and both forgot to fill the thermos.
I asked him if they did that often, referring to standing on the steps while rolling down the blvd. 'Nope, he replied, 'that was the first and hopefully the last, but we really needed our coffee and didn't have time to stop'. That has to rate close to the top as the strangest things seen while cruising down the blvd.

[magician_73]

Oh, for the good old days. Remember the ole vacuum wipers - the ones whenever you stepped on the throttle, they would stop. It became especially touchy when you were climbing a mountain, in a snow storm, throttle to the floor - no wipers! So, we had a string attached to the sides of the wiper and pulled on the string while climbing the mountain so as to see. It also was helpful sticking ones' head out the window to make certain you were on the highway.

Oh, for the good old days, when we sat a bucket of ice on the dash and had the windshield fans blowing over it for 'air conditioning'....

Oh, for the good old days when Donner Pass was just a narrow windy two lane and you could look down over the side and see trashed wrecked trucks laying there. In those days, they made no effort to recover the truck or freight, just the driver.

Oh, for the good old days when most of the Husky's and Skelly Truckstops had bunkrooms for drivers. Cost - $0.50 a night.

Oh, for the good old days when almost every truckstop gave a driver a free meal on his birthday, and with a fillup - regardless of the amount.

Oh, for the good old days when we pulled 42, 45 ft trailers,and the gross was 72,380. We would work our butts off backing into a slot because without powersteering it became an effort.

Oh, for the good old days when we sat hour after hour in seats that didn't have air suspension, or tractors without air-ride.

Oh, for the good old days when we laid a 3/4" piece of plywood across the seats for our bunk.

Oh, for the good old days when we got our first sleeper - with a suicide hole to crawl through - either feet first, or head first. And had a whole 28" bunk to sleep on!

Oh, for the good old days, when we had to hold in the igniter to lite the glow plug before the engine would fire, or give it a shot of ether as an added incentive.

Oh, for the good old days when you could cruise down the highway and see the top of some stacks glowing in the dark from having the engines turned up to max.

Oh, for the good old days when we had twin sticks, a 5 and a 4, reached through the steering wheel to shift and prayed we didn't miss - cause if we did, we headed for the shoulder and started over. There was no forgiveness in the sticks.

Oh, for the good old days when we could leave our trucks unlocked, cigarettes lying on the dash and come back to find everything still there.

Oh, for the good old days when you headed for the shoulder because of a flat, or engine trouble and before you could set the brakes, there would be several other trucks stopped to help.

Oh, for the good old days when drivers would help each other change turbos, waterpumps, etc. in a parking lot, or on the shoulder if needbe!

Oh, for the good old days before the advent of the CB's when we signalled each other with hand signals, or light signals. We didn't know what was in store for us when the CB's came out.

Oh, for the good old days when there was regulation - when you didn't see bull wagons hauling onions or potatoes - you hauled what you were licensed to haul period.

Oh, for the good old days when we had to manage bingo cards, bingo plates and dozens of tax decals on the side of the truck.

Oh, for the good old days when 'truckers' were a symbol America looked up and represented a 'Guardian' on the highway to anyone in distress - albeit a flat or mechanical or whatever.

Oh, for the good old days when a driver would park on the back row, get out his 'grill' and dozens of other drivers would show up, chip in and everyone would have a feast of a meal that day.

Oh, for the good old days when drivers' had respect, courtesy and concern for each other - a bond like no other, but no more!

Oh, for the good old days - I sure do miss them!

[trckndadsangel]

Magician you sure brought back some memories talking about the good ol days.

When I was little my Mom worked at Bears truck stop in Shelby, Montana and one day a week she had no sitter for me so she would just take me to work with her until my older sister got out of school. I remember so many times my mom telling the cook to put a little extra on the plate for the driver or her filling a thermos and not charging the driver. I can remember the drivers telling anyone who cussed to watch there mouth that there was a child in the room. You sure don't hear that much anymore either.

[Ironturkey]

My grandad started driving in the forties and quit in the late seventies, my mother was an O/O in the seventies before she was killed in 79'. I started my driving career in 94' in a 54' White with a set of sticks and a milk crate to sit on.

In 1996 I was working for Boise cascade pullin double possum bellies. This trip I was going up to Republic, wa. for a load of sawdirt. I decided to take a different route this time and go up through grand coulee and cut off at nespelem and go across cash creek rd.
Well I could'nt remember if it was cash creek or peterdan creek rd. so I chose the later, peterdan creek rd. is an 8% grade goin up and coming back down the otherside. On the way up I seen a turnout bout halfway up, and I really had to squirt the dirt so I pulled in and sank up to the axles in sand both trailers still out in the road.
After 2hrs of tryin to dig it out with a coffee cup a sheriff and a tow truck show up. The tow truck pulls the tractor up onto the pavement and the pup is now sitting in the holes that I made with the truck.
After gitting the bill I proceeded up over the top and down the otherside at 50mph about halfway down I decide it's time to apply some brake, but there was none. At the bottom of the road it T's with hwy21 the otherside of the T is a lake. I was runnin about 1300rpms I tried and did hit the next hole down, I got down to 30mph by the time I hit the T and thank God that there was'nt nothin comin. I made the corner still dont know how but I did thought for sure I was going to roll it.

[Doctor Who]

a Monfort truck. The driver, whose handle was 357 Magnum,

Wow, now this really brought back a memory of meeting the same driver on I-80 in Pennsylvania for all of 10 seconds in a blur of lights!!!

Oh, for the good old days. Remember the ole vacuum wipers - the ones whenever you stepped on the throttle, they would stop. It became especially touchy when you were climbing a mountain, in a snow storm, throttle to the floor - no wipers! So, we had a string attached to the sides of the wiper and pulled on the string while climbing the mountain so as to see. It also was helpful sticking ones' head out the window to make certain you were on the highway.


Yes I drove a truck or three that had these gems of human engineering!!

Oh, for the good old days when most of the Husky's and Skelly Truckstops had bunkrooms for drivers. Cost - $0.50 a night.


Yeah this too sure made for a comfortable evening after running all day with a day cab!

Oh, for the good old days when we pulled 42, 45 ft trailers,and the gross was 72,380. We would work our butts off backing into a slot because without powersteering it became an effort.

Oh yeah, Kenworth W-900 with Armstrong Steering, didn't know what "power steering" was until 1989!!!!

Oh, for the good old days when we sat hour after hour in seats that didn't have air suspension, or tractors without air-ride.

There was air ride in the 70's??????

Oh, for the good old days when we laid a 3/4" piece of plywood across the seats for our bunk.

Yeah still have splinters to prove it!!!

Oh, for the good old days when we had twin sticks, a 5 and a 4, reached through the steering wheel to shift and prayed we didn't miss - cause if we did, we headed for the shoulder and started over. There was no forgiveness in the sticks.

Now this I can relate to real well, I really do miss the dual stick Macks I drove....

Oh, for the good old days when drivers' had respect, courtesy and concern for each other - a bond like no other, but no more!

This is true but we did bring the disrespect on ourselves, you did mention the CB and that in itself created a major part of the problem today!!!

Do I really miss the "Good Old Days" not really, there were a lot of problems we tended to ignore, cause we were too busy hustling freight down the highway to pay attention.

[Doctor Who]

Still not quite 9000 but the anniversary has arrived 2 years, 16 pages and 8600 + views still not too shabby...

The Long Island Expressway and propane always fun on a hot summer day!!

Yes I was the driver who closed down the Long Island Expressway.
It was a hot summer day and I was shanghaied into pulling a propane tank to Long Island no matter how much I objected I was on my way.
On the ride over I kept hearing something hissing I pulled over to check the airlines, they looked OK but the hissing persisted I looked at the air tanks, they were tight, plus the gauges weren?t fluctuating, so I just wrote it off and continued on.
I dropped on to the L.I.E heading east all the while noticing cars and trucks passing me blowing their horns, it was New York, so I ignored them. That was until I crossed in to Nassau County when I caught a glimpse in the mirror of a plume of smoke shooting out of the top of the tank. It didn?t take long for the Nassau County Police to pull me over and that?s when the fun began. The police immediately closed both sides of the expressway while we tried to come up with a solution to prevent the inevitable KABOOM. Several fire companies arrived and started spraying water and foam on the tank to keep it cool. I noticed the news helicopters circling overhead I wondered who was going to call home first. The interlude was interrupted by a firefighter telling me he could fix the leak. He commandeered a captains car and we rode to the nearest plumbing supply house. The firefighter told me he was a plumber, who was I to argue with him. I paid for all the parts necessary to fix the problem ruining the commuters day.
When we got back he climbed up onto the back of the tank and went to work. 20 minutes later the leak was sealed with $5.00 worth of parts.
The crisis averted I went on to finish the run.

When I got back, the people who owned the tank were extremely upset I told them I didn?t want to do the run in the first place. The inquisition wasn?t over by any means after I got home. Dad said my Uncle called and told him I had created a major mess. I told Dad I hated to do things half way. I also received a bunch of phone calls due to my 30 minutes of fame and a lot of them weren't extremely friendly!!!

It is good to see others posting stories, this thread just may hit 10,000 by year three!!!!

Magician was correct this thread did reach page 16...
pages should be around 16

[Doctor Who]

Hey Magician does this one sound familiar?????

One of the dumbest things ever done by this individual (don't like admitting it) but it's funny since years have passed....Way back when, I loaded cabinets in Grants Pass, Oregon and all the broker said was they were going to East St. Louis Park....that's all I heard from him...And, I didn't bother double checking the bill of lading, etc...So off I headed ....Easterly bound on I-84...then down US 30 to Kemmer, Wy...to I-80...over to Laramie and down US 287 to Denver and I-70...headed straight across to St. Louis...grabbed a St. Louis map and checked the address....no such street address...well, called the broker...no answer...finally, out of desperation, stopped a local cop and asked him if he had ever heard of this address....He proceeded to call it in, and the response came back...no such address.. ...Well, it finally dawned on me to double check the bills just in case the street address was wrong...and to my surprise....there beside East St.Louis Park....in barely readable letters were MN....I grabbed the Atlas and sure enough...southwest of Twin Cities...lay East St. Louis Park....did I feel stupid, or what? Put the ole gal in the wind and drove non-stop from St. Louis to East St. Louis Park and made the delivery the next morning...fortunately when I was in St. Louis, I was a day early and ended up making the drop in East St. Louis Park on time...
Never did mention it to the broker. But it has to rate as one of the dumbest things done by this individual...

This is an original by Magician 73.....

[Doctor Who]

This can a bit unnerving especially at 03:00 in the middle of Nowhere:

Rolling across I-40 in Oklahoma late one night I was pushing harder than I should have I was trying to get to Amarillo before day break. The coffee cup was empty for quite some time and the numbing effect of exhaustion was slowly creeping up on me, I kept telling myself I could hang in for another 200 miles or so. One other thing I noticed the highway was almost totally void of traffic, which was not a very good sign, and the CB was quiet except for the occasional distant voice.
As the last lights of civilization disappeared from the mirrors exhaustion enveloped me with a vengeance however, I continued to fight it off until I saw a covered wagon cross the interstate in front of me I locked up the brakes up and pulled off the road. The adrenalin rush was enough to wake me up but I knew I had to find a safe place to pull over and sleep. An Oklahoma Highway Patrol officer pulled up and asked me if all was well. I gave him a description of the wagon he just looked at me and said ?You need to get off the road?
No kidding. He gave me an escort to the next exit I went up the ramp crossed over the intersection and pulled off to the side of the entrance ramp, crawled into the sleeper and drifted off into much needed sleep. Amarillo would have to wait.

To this day I swear the ?mirage? was the ghost of a lost pioneer family!!

[Doctor Who]

Another from Magicians archives.... :D


Another incident involving inspection sheds....right after the 53' trailers made their appearance, and I latched onto one of them, I made the first trip into California with it. Sure enough as I crossed the scale at St. Onofre (On I-15) the scale master pulled me around. Well, I had the trailer slid all the way back and with my 285" wheelbase, was about 72 feet long. I started pulling into the shed and as I neared the other end, I checked the mirror and the scale master kept motioning me forward...Next thing I knew, most of the tractor was out of the shed. He finally motioned for me to stop. He walked up and looked at me, 'you're kinda long, aren't you?' - I looked down and smiled, remarking, 'no sir, your sheds just a wee bit short'....he laughed and proceeded with the inspection. Again, my philosophy of getting them laughing proved successful...To this date, that ole inspection guy remembers me and the last time I was crossing that scale, I walked in and volunteered for an inspection (which I received) and he merely checked my lights, air, turn signal, etc...Never bothered crawling under the truck to check the brakes, etc...And put a new sticker on the windshield, and trailer...

As an added note. in all my years of driving in California, I have yet to be really hassled by any DOT...there were several occasions which could have went in that direction, but because I had them laughing so quick, it turned out alright. That's my secret of handling the California DOT....

Reprinted with permission!!!!

Damn, I missed the anniversary time by 12 minutes......

[Doctor Who]

Still didn't make 9000 but the clock is still ticking!!!

Hey how did you get the lights to blink like that???

On a few of the chemical runs I was on I carried my HF Amateur radio so I could talk to folks all over the country and where ever else the signal reached out and touched.

On a run to Deep Water, NJ I had stopped at Toms Brook, VA for the obligatory 8 hour break. I was running a bit ahead of schedule so I ran a piece of modified coax to the trailer, so I could use it as an antenna. Yes, this does work with a tuner; I could use the trailer on a few different bands.
After a few hours nap I got up and tuned the radio for an evening schedule with some friends in Florida and Georgia and who ever else happened to wander in. As I was conversing I heard a few drivers talking on the 11 meter radio but not really paid much attention to it until a driver knocked on the driver side door. I rolled down the window and he asked me how I got the lights on my trailer to blink like they did. I wasn?t sure what he was talking about until I keyed up the radio again and talked watching the lights in the mirror; sure enough they blinked every time I said something and they were in perfect sync. I told the driver it took a lot of practice to get the lights to behave like that.
Did he believe me??? I don?t know but just for fun I switched to Morse code and really had fun, each dot and dash played out on the marker and clearance lights. The truck was the talk of the truck stop as I disconnected the coax and proceeded on to NJ.
No, the coax didn?t ride very well as I found out by trial and error... I also discovered that a full trailer actually worked better than an empty one. Ah yes one the many mysteries of radio!!!!

More to come.....

[magician_73]

1159 to go Doc!


Gee whiz, Doc - missed the anniversay by a day. Just couldn't find time/nor a working kiosk to check in.

Ain't no doubt in this ole fart's mind, we's gonna reach 10,000.....by the way, you didn't comment on the old suicide sleepers - crawling through that stupid hole head first or feet first !

And, speaking of mirage's - had a few of those in the good old days....
Once particular occasion, strolling across the bottom of Arizona, New Mexico on I-10, wee hours of the morning....look ahead and seen brake lights directly in front of me. Locked the ole gal up bigtime, damn near jack-knifed....finally stopped, and look ahead once more. No lights of any kind. Pulled off on the shoulder, got out and walked around looking in every possible direction for those brake lights...none to be found. I got back in headed for an off ramp and found a nice pulloff to take a well deserve nap. There were also occasions when I remember distinctly of being passed by elk, rabbits and trees....those occasions also prompted a quick nap. Or of looking at a mile sign, a town just 12 miles ahead, and next thing remembering I'm well past that town and haven't the slightest inkling of ever going through it....

One other item, meant to ask you - in your adventures way back when, did you have occasion to run across a driver from N.C. with the handle of 'Carolina Shaker'...an ole boy that had been around for years, years...?

[Doctor Who]

by the way, you didn't comment on the old suicide sleepers - crawling through that stupid hole head first or feet first !


I overlooked it. The W-900 had a squeeze through sleeper but it was a bit bigger than the 28" version. I still remember the steel hauler from Indiana who drove a Mack U-700 with a crawl through sleeper, now that took a lot of balls!!!!

One other item, meant to ask you - in your adventures way back when, did you have occasion to run across a driver from N.C. with the handle of 'Carolina Shaker'...an ole boy that had been around for years, years...?

I do remember Shaker, never did have the privilege of having coffee with him... There was one other character called the Peashooter, who used to drive for the Double Diamond (McLean, for the youngins) I know this guy real well......

[Doctor Who]

I had a load just recently that delivered in Orlando, Florida, not too bad I got to check out the tourists while I was riding to the delivery point.
I never really paid attention to the unloading point until the forklift driver dropped a crate and a big lizard arm fell out. ?What in hell is that?? I asked the driver. He said it was a dinosaur arm and it was going to be used in the new theme park. Of course my curiosity was peaked and after he finished unloading we went for a little walk through the back lot for Jurassic Park. Ah yes Universal Studios, Orlando and a tour of the back lot of Jurassic Park was in order, it was really cool and the best part it was FREE!!!!
I managed to spend a few hours before someone in dispatch realized the truck hadn?t moved. I got back in the truck and found I had 10 messages on the Qual-comm mostly asking what was I doing at the stop for an extended period of time?

I answered all 10 and headed off towards Saint Petersburg to make a pick up and ride on to Atlanta.

This is the Prequel to......

[Doctor Who]

It's been two years I guess it's safe to post this now!!!

The original was lost due to a board hiccup!!!

Beware the Lunatic Fringe

I finally made it to the Atlanta facility after making the pick up in Saint Pete and making a bunch around Atlanta. I walked into the dispatch den and overheard a heated argument between a dispatcher and a driver. I signed the board and asked what the problem was, the dispatcher said he had a load going to New York and the angry driver refused it. I said the driver lives in NJ but the driver still refused to go, I told the dispatcher I?d take it in the assumption I would get a load back towards the house.
I took my 8 and wandered into outbound dispatch and looked over the load, it had two stops in Queens, one stop in Brooklyn not bad $30 a stop plus the miles, sort of like going home?

I arrived at the 1st stop, a floor tile place on 55th Street about 07:30 Thursday morning. The establishment had an inside dock so always the one for a challenge I tried, in vain, to back the trailer into the dock and discovered the landing gear was one foot to long and got hung up. Instead of risking damage to the trailer, not to mention, losing the safety bonus I pulled back into the street, parked along the curb and waited for the forklift driver to come out. As I waited on the sidewalk I was watching the traffic in the street and was amused by a concrete mixer that was painted Carolina Blue with pink polka dots. The next thing I knew I was laying on the ground looking up at a Honda mini-van and the forklift driver looking over me saying ?Dude, you OK???? I asked what had just happened and he said you got hit by the van. The driver of the concrete truck came over and said ?That was some back flip you did!!!? ?I did??? was the only thing I could ask.
They helped me up in time to greet a NYPD officer, who, happened to be standing on the corner by a diner. I apologized to him for interrupting his donut break; he was not amused and proceeded to talk to the driver of the van. I will state for the record I understand a few foreign languages but the guy in the van I couldn?t understand it sounded for all the world like a poorly edited rap record. The cop turned to me and said ?I can?t understand a word he is saying!!? I looked at the cop and told him I couldn?t understand a thing he was saying. That should have been a clue something was wrong!
It seemed like forever before I could sort events out but from what little I did understand the van was stolen, had no insurance and the guy didn?t have a drivers? license and I think he was in the U.S. illegally?

For the record EMS was never called. I called dispatch and was told he had no one to come get me and I had to finish the run, the cop grabbed the phone and explained to the dispatcher what had transpired but alas to no avail. The guy who owned the tile company knew the guy at my next stop so, he called them and when I arrived 10 guys were there to unload their part of the load. As luck would have it the guy at stop #2 was the brother of the receiving manager at Kraft food in Brooklyn so, he called there and told me I was going to be backed around the trucks waiting. By the time I got to Kraft the adrenalin had pretty much worn off and the manager told me I looked like **** and he?d get me unloaded real quick and have me back on my way. He was good to his word.

I finally made my way back to the Cross Bronx Expressway, when I heard a NYPD dispatcher on my scanner tell cops in Manhattan that a building collapsed at 65th and Park Avenue. I was just about to the George Washington Bridge and I knew what was going to happen next. The bridge was shut down. I begged the cop to let me get across and explained what had happened. I also told him to check with the Queens precinct if he needed verification. He called and the next thing I knew I was getting an escort across the bridge.
Just as I got the truck parked at the Newark facility I was pulled from the cab and taken to the hospital, where the doctor had a fit because it took me so long to get any medical attention. He took a bunch of MRIs and he found my spine was twisted and my right knee was just about jelly?.

Obviously this isn?t very amusing but it is a memory that?ll last me well past retirement!!

Also this is what I get for never refusing a load, or "No good deed goes unpunished!!"

[magician_73]

1093 to go Doc. Yup, Clock is ticking!


Yup, won't be that long before the magical 10,000 arrives! I wonder what kind of celebration will be in order? HA :lol:

[Doctor Who]

1092

When are you getting to the east side again especially NC east of 95??

Not sure what kind of party will be thrown as you saw there wasn't much of a woopti doo during the two year anniversary... Oh well can't have the cake unless someone bakes it... Oh no it's beginning to sound like MacArthur Park!!!

I saw a blip on another site about cyclists getting fined for pissing in public. Hmm I have to dig up another story from the Dark Side about the "FLY" inspector, all 250 lbs of her!!!! :shock: :shock:

[magician_73]

Clock is ticking, I know!

Relating to 'Carolina Shaker', it's a shame you never had the opportunity to meet him. He was one 'character' to say the least. A renegade/outlaw in every sense of the word. I think at one point in time, every state between the Carolinas and LA had warrants out for running scales, speeding, etc... I know way back when I followed him through Los Cruces, NM to the Texas line and when we neared the NM port, he killed all his lights and floored it, and by the time they came out, he was long gone. I know ' Carolina Shaker' had one of the few trucks out there that could pass a Monfort. If memory serves me correctly, one particular truck he had, had a KT600(Cummins) in it with a 6 and a 4 two stick.

[magician_73]

Finally got off that 'blue' kick!

Anyway, remembering way back when, heading from Shiprock,NM over to Montcello and up to Moab, etc...and on the stretch between Shiprock and Montecello, a narrow windy two lane, it was misty rain, light fog and visibility not the best in the world. At one point, I noticed headlights coming up on my backdoor, and when the opportunity presented itself, eased over as far as possible and two 'chicken' trucks passed me like I was standing still with only perhaps three/four feet between them. I thought to myself, boy are they living dangerously. About ten miles down the road, I came up on a curve and looking staight ahead, there sat both 'chicken' trucks out in the field. The lead truck missed the curve in the fog and the one behind followed him right out into the field. I got on the radio and asked if they were alright (they were) and one quipped, 'the boss ain't gonna believe this when we call him'. I can well imagine the boss' reaction to having two of his trucks sitting in the corn field.

[magician_73]

Pete, I wish I could remember which items I wrote back when, before the hiccup, etc...I know there are several I 'think' I posted, but not certain, and don't know if I should redo them or what? You seem to have most of them in the 'archives'...ha :D ...suggestions?

[Doctor Who]

Wow it made page 17 Trumpets blaring, crowd cheering.... Yeah right!!!

Lest you forget oh wise and OLD Magician I have a few locked away on a floppy somewhere in the caves of Zebulon (NC, that is) and if you had noticed on page 16 there were two posted...

The past is still close at hand but it's still better than being whisked away into a Cyber Black Hole and.... Well you get the picture!!!!

[magician_73]

1048 to go, Doc!


Here I go again with the blue!

Way back when, during my years in the moving industry...I remember several events which stand out. One of which follows:
During the loading of a shipper, her calico cat kept coming into the trailer. It would jump up on a tier, lay down on the pads, in short it was a pain in the butt. It didn't do any good chasing the cat out, for it would only return a few minutes later. Anyway, as the loading progressed, it suddenly dawned on me that the cat had disappeared. I was overjoyed at the fact, I never mentioned it to anyone, shipper, helpers. Finally after finishing, I closed the doors, had the inventories signed, made arrangements with the shipper on a delivery date and as an after thought, I asked her if she had seen her cat lately. She replied 'no', she's probably over at one of the neighbors'.
Three days later, I pulled up in front of the shipper's new house at destination, waited for her to arrive. I went around to the back of the trailer and unlocked the doors, cracked them open and out like a bolt of lightening flew that damn calico cat - last seen headed for parts unknown.
I told the shipper, she laughed and said she had checked with the neighbors before leaving and hadn't found the cat. I said, 'I'll bet that's the last time that cat runs in and out of a trailer'. Apparently the cat, having all her possessions put on the truck, followed her instinct and crawled up on top of a tier (when my back was turned) and made herself comfortable. What a shock when she came flying out the back door. I called the shipper several days later and she informed me the cat finally came back to the house.

[magician_73]

Another little item from the years in the moving industry. I loaded a shipper in Riverside, and it was a COD which meant 99% of the cartons were PBO (packed by owner)...and we were not liable for any/all damages to them. When I got to destination, I started breaking down the tiers and upon grabbing a 3 cube carton, I could hear a strange noise inside - like gravel/glass. I had one of the helpers carry it carefully in to the shipper and had them open it. I got called in, and upon inspection, discovered one of their kids had pack (literally) their 10 gal aquarium with about an 1" of water/gravel in the bottom and naturally, the pet lizard and his tree stubs. I just shook my head and walked back to the trailer. The lizard suffered no ill effects apparently and the kids were happy, which all that matters.

[magician_73]

Only 1,014 to go Doc! :!:

[Doctor Who]

You're wrong, it'll be :rock: as the band plays

999 to go as I type this.

The FOG is coming!!!!!

[magician_73]

The FOG is coming!!!!!

What fog? And okay, we're at 976 - Hip, Hip, Hurrah :lol: :!: :!: :!: :!: :P

And no, don't have the laptop yet, but figured out a way with this 'toolbar'....elementary, my dear Watson! :!:

[Doctor Who]

The Fog!!! Not the movie either:

There are a few things that will unnerve me quicker than anything else; steer tyre blowouts, fire and FOG!!!!

I keep having a reoccurring dream about driving into a thick fog and not coming out; it?ll wake me up in a cold sweat each time?
I?m not sure when I developed a phobia to the big mist but I?m guessing it was back in the last century on Route 22 in Pennsylvania.

I was running a load of empty bottles out to the Strohs Brewery in Allentown, I was driving the ever trusty ?R? Model with the 2 sticks. I noticed the weather was taking a turn for the no good after I crossed the Delaware. At first there was slight mist in the air just enough to run the wipers every once in a while. The further west I drove the heavier the mist became, still nothing to be concerned about at least that is what I thought.

I was about 10 miles from Allentown when the fog got real thick; it looked as if someone dropped a huge blanket and covered the entire roadway. I slowed down, didn?t want to over drive the headlights. It seemed like every mile I drove the fog kept getting thicker.
I?m guessing I was about 5 miles from Allentown when a real cold chill swarmed over my body and the deep feeling something serious was wrong, I slowed down to about 35 miles an hour and put the emergency flashers on praying the whole time that no one ran into the back of me. It was at that time I was looking for a safe place to pull over when a flashing blue light popped up in the mirror. It scared me at first until the patrol car went past me. I slowed down even more not knowing what to expect. Finally the fog lifted just enough for me to see the highway patrol officer had pulled a Chevy van over that had no lights on it what so ever. I eased past them and found my to Stroh?s, I had just backed in the dock when the highway patrol officer pulled up and said I was lucky he saw the van go by. I admitted to the officer that I never saw the patrol car. He was parked on the side of the road and the white car blended real well into the fog. The officer also said I probably would have hit that van because the driver was driving at 10 miles an hour!!
Made me feel real insecure after that, my imagination went into overdrive working out different outcomes to the scenario!!! I waited until morning when the fog lifted to head back home!!!

it was misty rain, light fog and visibility not the best in the world.

This answer your question about the fog Magician????


The clock is still running......

Time for an Ice Cream run!!!

[Doctor Who]

Ice Cream, we all scream for Ice Cream!!!

Time for an ice cream run!

Back in the last century the boss?s wife was not to be believed, she was the most obnoxious human I had ever met. She was, what the boss considered, a $.25 Millionaire. Give ?em a quarter and they think they?re rich. His definition, not mine.
This chick had her hands in everything, well almost everything!

I had a run to Minnesota with a refrigerated trailer; this wagon had a Carrier not a Thermo king. Anyway, I had a load of frozen pizza dough to deliver in Saint Paul, odd, I thought, Saint Paul at certain times of the year gets as cold as a deep freezer, so why would I be delivering frozen dough. It was another one of those Mysteries of Trucking, in other words don?t try to figure out the logic.
I backed the wagon to the dock and walked inside only to be met by the dock boss, he told me to call dispatch ASAP. I called and was told in no uncertain terms I had to go to Moline, Illinois for a pick up. I didn?t question the command, wouldn?t have made any sense to.

The trailer was unloaded in two hours and I was on my way to Illinois. As I was rolling on to Moline I started thinking about the load and realized all I had was a phone number for the shipper, no address. I stopped, called the shipper; Whitey?s Ice Cream Company got directions and headed towards the plant. I pulled up in front of a store with that name and walked inside and asked the manager where the plant was. I soon discovered that there wasn?t a plant, they made the ice cream there and I was to pick up 2, yes 2, cases of ice cream for a Mrs. Mahan in North Brunswick, NJ. The manager looked out of the window and saw the W-900 and trailer and asked if that wasn?t a bit of ?overkill!? I just told him I never question anything dispatch gives me it would have been fruitless!!!
I loaded the two cases on the trailer, slid them all the way to the front and made sure they were secure. The store manager asked me if the trailer would be cold enough, I assured him it would but he had said they packed the boxes with dry ice just in case. I know it was a waste of fuel to run the reefer but I wanted to be sure the ?load? would be in good condition when I arrived back home.

Thinking there had to more than that I called dispatch and was told to get the ice cream back as soon as I could. Again, I didn?t dare argue I was getting paid for all of the mileage the truck went no matter how much was on the trailer!!!

For the record; I didn?t get any of the woman?s ice cream??

[magician_73]

Alright, fog question answered! I also share the same re: blowing out a steer, driving in fog and/or a white out because of blowing snow such as one can experience in Wyoming. Yucks! :D

Alright, time for a tomato run - I think this one should be in your archives cause I am almost positive I posted it way back when.....

Having unloaded in Florida, my broker sent me over to a little produce shed where I was met by a little Jewish broker. They proceeded to load the wagon with box after box of tomatoes. He threw a seal on the door and away I went - headed for good ole southern California. When I arrived at the destination broker, I bumped the dock and they proceeded to unload the wagon. The broker told me to stay put as they were going to reload me for the same broker that loaded this load. I walked in the cooler and watched as they dumped each box of tomatoes they had taken off my trailer and put the same tomatoes in a box labeled 'California tomatoes'. They then loaded the wagon and I headed right back to the very same broker I had left days earlier.

When I arrived back in Florida, I bumped the dock and there stood the little Jewish broker. As soon as I had the door open, he and a friend of his grabbed a box of tomatoes, opened it and took a nice plump tomato out and proceeded to cut it open with a penknife. Having done so, he nudged his friend and stated, 'see, I told you their tomatoes were better than ours'.....little did he know he cut open one of his own tomatoes shipped days previous. :shock: