Enjoying North America while earning a living...: Ocober 27, 1989, 2009

About this blog's layout...BLOG UPDATED ONCE PER DAY...

I follow my journal daily by writing under the daily title, "FIRST 5 YEARS:" The first five years will strictly follow my 5 year journal. If I find the day I am writing about to be boring, I will either write about thoughts I remember(placed under the title of "SECOND 5 YEARS"), write a trucker tale(placed under "A Trucker's Tale"), give a helpful trucker hint, ask a "student driver" question or do something.....When a location appears after the day of the week after "FIRST 5 YEARS:", it is where I am at the start of that day((IE: FIRST 5 YEARS: (Sunday-Kansas City, Missouri))..... I would encourage those that find themselves enjoying North America to follow me day by day.....REMEMBER: THIS IS A BLOG ABOUT WHAT LIFE IS LIKE FOR A TRUCKER THAT DOES NOT HAVE A DAILY ROUTINE ROUTE(called a "dedicated" route). THERE WILL BE MANY TIMES WHEN THE ROUTING, SCENERY AND DAY'S ACTIVITIES WILL BE SIMILAR(boring???) TO PREVIOUS DAYS; THAT'S TRUCKING! THERE WILL BE DAYS WHEN THE ROUTING, SCENERY AND DAY'S ACTIVITIES WILL BE TOTALLY NEW; THAT'S TRUCKING. Frustrations? I mention the frustrations I had as a driver. I loved my job while earning a living and realized that all jobs have frustrations; truck driving is, and was, no different..... Many pictures on this blog can be left-clicked and made larger.....Questions?...Please E-mail PT at fabalt2000@centurylink.net

October 27, 2009

Ocober 27, 1989, 2009

FIRST 5 YEARS: (Friday-traveling)
I and "Big Joe"(handle-nickname-of driver I am running with) are getting close to Cincinnati, Ohio as the day begins at midnight. We are chit-chatting on CB radio channel 27. We have been traveling on interstate highway 71 and I-75 has just joined us while we head north. Going north, truckers have a little problem, a steep hill going down to the Ohio River. The law was developed that prohibited heavy trucks(in the Class A drivers range) from going down it. Heavy trucks have to use I-275 around the east side of the metro areas. It is a very nice highway to drive on but it adds just about 20 miles to my driving time. I told Big Joe that I have a short way around the added driving time that is legal and he says OK. Several drivers will go down the steep hill and several drivers will be ticketed before getting to the Ohio river. I and Big Joe took I-275 east to I-471 north into downtown Cincinnati. We then took I-71 south a short distance to I-75 north, We were on our way to Detroit, Michigan. We stopped at a rest area just north of crossing I-275 and took a 15 break. I logged the break but don't know if Big Joe did. (NOTE: Drivers running together don't claim to be as then a law enforcement officer could compare log books). Continued past several cities in Ohio(Dayton, Sidney, Lima,Findlay and Toledo) before crossing the border into Michigan. The chicken coupe(State truck weigh station) was closed so we just kept heading north to our Detroit(Michigan) terminal. Got to the terminal around 5 AM and dropped my trailer to be passed onto another driver. Turned in my paperwork and went to bed. It was warm enough not to have to run my tractor so I didn't. I slept until about 3PM when I got up and got my logbook updated. Don't know what happened to Big Joe and he wasn't at the terminal when I woke up. Tractor wouldn't start so I had another tractor give me a battery jump. I called the shop in Joplin they said to just let the tractor idle until I got through Joplin(Missouri). I was given a load to pick up in the morning that goes to Laredo. This load irritated our yards in Joplin and Laredo(Texas).

A trucker's tale: Truckers, while I was trucking, always joked about the tales they told. The question we would ask was,"What is the difference between a fairy tale and a trucker's tale? Well, fairy tales always start with, "Once upon a time..." and a trucker's tale always starts with, "You're not going to believe this #@$%^!". Trucker's tales most often(not always) relate what happened to them or another driver and the claims are often unbelievable. Often the tales related their interaction with law enforcement officers(DOT, city kitties, highway patrol, etc.) but could deal with almost any topic, including the supernatural. ENJOY!!!