I was originally planned to haul an over-sized load out to Washington but the great state of Minnesota threw a wrench in the works and wouldn't issue a permit until Tuesday. So instead dispatch put me on a load going to Vermont. Cool enough as that allowed me time to get a room and even visit the pipe shop in Milwaukee on Saturday to pick up some of my favorite pipe tobacco before heading out. As I was sitting in the Applebee's next to the hotel "R" called me and asked me what I was doing. I ...

I delivered the fire truck to the port in Seattle despite being ill. I made my way to the truck stop and emailed the proof of delivery the customer requires (scanner/copier/printer in the truck) and then collapsed for a while. I was pretty well wiped out. After napping for about four hours I had a bite to eat and made my way down to the local tavern. As I am ill I eschewed alcoholic beverages and just drank ginger ale. Alcohol only serves to dampen the immune system and as I am fighting of...

For the past few days I've been feeling a bit under the weather, like maybe I was coming down with the flu or something. This morning I woke and at first thought I had one whopper of a hangover but then remember that I only had a few beers the night before, hardly anything to warrant a major hangover. I realized that whatever bug I had been feeling coming on had finally hit me full force. Well, nothing to do about that, so I began getting ready to hit the road again. As I was washing up in th...

In Miles City. MT tonight. On my way to Seattle. The wind was terrible today and made for a very tiring drive. I called it a day here after fighting those high winds all day. Last night I stopped in North Dakota and spent a little time at a pub I hadn't visited before. It was a good/bad experience. The good was a fellow came in smoking some cherry blend in a cob and we talked pipes, the bad was that when I went to the restroom someone stole five dollars from the money I had left in th...

I picked up a fuel tanker yesterday at Ft. Lewis in Washington that is heading to Oshkosh to be rebuilt. The pick up took longer than I expected as they were quite busy so by the time I made it to Spokane I was pretty much done for the day. I pulled into the Flying J and was lucky enough to find a parking spot. I went inside and did what pretty much any trucker does when he/she arrives at a truck stop and then asked one of the employees about any local bars in the area. I used to freq...

I delivered at the port in Tacoma yesterday morning and have been sitting here in North Bend, WA ever since. There are worse places to be stuck I suppose, but rolling equals money and sitting equals, well, sitting. They thought they had found me a very good load today, a catering truck going to NC that was paying $5,000 but when they ran the broker's credit it was very bad so we passed on it. No point in hauling a load for someone who is likely to stiff us on the freight bill. So I continu...

Last Saturday I secured a load, a military truck, that had to be at the port in Jacksonville, FL on Monday morning to catch a ship that was sailing on Tuesday. No big deal, right? Before I got out of Wisconsin the blower for my air conditioner stopped working. Not a good sign. Less than half way through Indiana one of my drive tires blew out taking out the tire next to it as well as the mud flap and mud flap hanger. When I tried to call the boss to let him know I needed to get a couple of tir...

I am currently sitting in Nashville, IL. I had run an oversized load, an air crash rescue truck, out to the port in Baltimore to go onto a ship and wind up in Pakistan and after sitting for a day I dead-headed over to a landfill in Gallia County Ohio and picked up another over-sized load, a dump truck, and hauled it to a landfill in IL. When I left the landfill in OH it was a very tight turn on a small country road, but I swung it as wide as I could and managed to make it out while watching f...

It's been cold and raining in Wisconsin for a couple of days now. I've been working out in the crap and not enjoying it one damn bit. Thursday morning I delivered some machinery to an automation plant in Milwaukee. I had picked it up from the Harley Davidson plant in York, PA. I had heard rumors that they might be shutting down that plant. I talked to a manager there and he said that they are shutting down part of it and consolidating operations in the newer part of the plant. They are also d...

Count on the Onion for very funny stuff. http://www.theonion.com/video/suspicious-package-industry-falls-on-hard-times,14225/ http://www.theonion.com/video/congress-announces-plan-to-hide-nations-porn-from,17243/ http://www.theonion.com/video/dea-official-announces-successful-drug-bust-on-son,17224/ http://www.theonion.com/video/man-attempts-to-assassinate-obama-but-not-because,17220/ http://www.theonion.com/video/stouffers-to-include-suicide-prevention-tips-on-...

I had back surgery several years ago. I had lived with back pain for a long time without seeking medical help and only finally went to a doctor when my right leg stopped working. It was only pain, and you can live with that. The doctor was honest with me and told me that I had let the problem go so long that while he could make my leg work again the pain would be the same or even worse due to permanent nerve damage. He was right about the pain part, it was worse after the surgery, but my leg ...

Friday I delivered a large snow blower truck to the Air National Guard base in S. Burlington, VT. The scenery in Vermont is beautiful to say the least. I was a little surprised to see that they still had some snow on the ground in places, but otherwise all of the signs of Spring were to be seen. The trees were all starting to sprout their new leaves and the grasses were greening once again. After delivery I went to the nearest truck stop which is in Wells Lake, VT some 75 miles away. There re...

As I am laid over while my truck is in for repairs (again) I went over to Applebee's for dinner. When I got there I saw that one of my favorite servers was upset and when she came over to say hello I asked her what was wrong. She informed me that a long time bartender whom I liked had committed suicide this morning. Needless to say I was floored by this news. I just didn't know what to say. I couldn't help but think about her little two year old daughter. I still don't know what to say. ...

The engine in my truck was just rebuilt about a month ago because it was running through coolant. On my way back up from NC to WI it started running through about 2 gallons every 350 miles. Again. I am in a hotel tonight and have to put my truck into the garage, yet again, tomorrow morning. I am seriously getting sick of this shit. This engine has been trouble since day one. Once again I am losing income due to this damn truck. I would love it if the garage burned to the ground with my tru...

This morning the toilet in my motel room stopped up and wouldn't flush properly. Naturally, I called down to the front desk and reported it to them. The lady said she would send someone with a plunger. The housekeeper arrived at my door, complimented the smell of my pipe tobacco, and started to hand me the plunger. Excuse me? Do I like like I work here? I patiently explained to the young woman that I am a paying guest here and certainly can't be expected to perform maintenance on the plumbing...