It's been a busy couple of weeks during which I've had very little down time, let alone internet time until today.

I've been zig zagging back and forth around the country, which of course is a good thing as I don't get paid to sit still, but the poor economy still has freight rates depressed and despite the constant work the money is very poor. I'm just trying to hang in there until things improve.

I am currently sitting in South Carolina after delivering two stops in WV and two in SC. The final stop was a military vehicle destined for Afghanistan.

The second WV stop was, well, something else. It was some specialized water drainage pipe going to a water treatment plant way back in the sticks. I had to drive through a railroad yard to get to it and had a devil of a time getting my rig into and back out of the place. That stop took me several hours due to the less than ideal unloading conditions as well as having to wait for several trains to clear the tracks before I could leave.

By the time I had made it back to the interstate from there I'd had enough for one day and called it quits at the truck stop in Hurricane.

I finally got empty yesterday afternoon and made my way to this truck stop to see what might come of a load out of here. By late afternoon it was obvious I wasn't going to load so I went up to Florence, SC to the Petro there. The power was out when I got there, due to a downed power line.

There is a bar and grill across the street from the truck stop and they were obviously on a different circuit because their power on on. I went over there for a very good burger and a few adult beverages. As the place is smoker friendly I was able to enjoy a few pipes of tobacco as I enjoyed the company of my fellow patrons (and a cute bartender).

Speaking of pipes, I managed to steal a very nice pipe in Florence, SC. I had stopped at a tobacconist shop there to pick up some good English tobacco as well as a bit of their house blend which I enjoy from time to time. One of our drivers, who was also heading down here to SC, gave me a bit of money and asked me to pick up some of their house blend for his father.

While the salesman was weighing out and bagging my half pound of English Tradition, an ounce of their house blend for me, and three ounces of the house blend for my co-worker's father, I was examining the various pipes they had displayed for sale.

I was chatting with the salesman the entire time and picking up various pipes. Somehow I absent-mindedly dropped one of the pipes into my coat pocket. Most pipe smokers will tell you that putting your pipe into your coat pocket is such a habit that we will often do it without even thinking about it.

I discovered the pilfered pipe when I put on my coat the following day. I was mortified to think that I had actually shoplifted a pipe from one of my favorite tobacconist shops! I debated calling them and letting them know what had happened, but decided that it would be better to wait until I went back through and apologize for it in person. A person on one of the pipe forums changed my mind as he suggested the possibility that someone else might be falsely accused of the theft. I wouldn't want that.

I called the shop and happened to get the same salesman, who remembered me. I explained to him what had happened and apologized for it as well as assuring him that if I didn't make it back there by the end of the week I would place a money order in the mail to cover the cost of the pipe.

He was very understanding about the whole thing and even laughed a bit about it. As I have purchased both tobacco and pipes from them several times over the past few years he considered me a good customer if not a regular one, and wasn't at all concerned about my not paying for the pipe.

I had been considering purchasing a Peterson pipe from them when I had the extra money to spend, but now I'll be paying for this Nording instead. It is a very nice pipe which is why I was looking at it in the first place, and I don't feel at all bad about adding it to my collection. In fact, it has already become my favorite pipe to date.

Hopefully I'll get a load out of here today that will take me back through so I can pay them in person for it. When it comes to owning up for mistakes and making apologies I have always felt that it should be done in person and not over the telephone or via the mail.