In trucking, the one thing you can always be sure of is the fact that you can never really be sure of anything. After delivering the remainder of my load at the Air Force base in Goldsboro, NC I was supposed to go to the AIrport in Jacksonville, NC and pick up a fire truck heading for Tampa, FL. I was looking forward to going by the house while I was there.
I arrived at the airport no problem and loaded up the fire truck. Just about that time my dispatcher calls me to say that the truck was reconsigned and now it's going to St. Louis. Huh? Well, all of the permits, bill of lading, and assorted other legal paperwork that had been faxed to me at the airport was now null and void. A new bill of lading would have to be cut and new permits ordered. Oh, great.
I hung around the small airport for about 2 1/2 hours waiting for the new paperwork to be faxed over to me. I did use some of the time to grab a bite to eat in the terminal. The fire chief told me to make sure and tell them I was working there so as to get a discount. He was right and it was a substantial discount.
There were several young Marines from Camp Lejune, which is only a few miles away, hanging around smoking, eating, drinking beer, and playing foosball while waiting for their flights. It was interesting to watch and brought back a few memories of my young military days.
Finally the oversize permits for NC and IL came across the fax. No bill of lading and no other state permits. Oh well, I'd deal with that later I needed to get moving if I wanted to make the truckstop before dark. Can't run after dark with an oversize load. A few miles up the road dispatch calls to tell me the other permits were in and so was the new bill of lading. I told him I would stop some place and call him with a fax number.
I found a tire shop with a lot large enough for me to pull in to and luckily they had a fax and were happy to be of help. A few minutes and a dollar later I had my paperwork.
I made it here to the truckstop with maybe an hour to spare before dark. So now I'm off to St Louis instead of Tampa. I guess home can wait another week,