4/16/10

One of the odd things about the nature of my job is that memories of different days will often blur together.  I'll think that I remember a sequence of events happening one way and then, when I use this blog's Google search to find the page to link, I'll find that it didn't happen quite as I recalled.  So I'm thinking that one day, when it's all said and done, I might take the time to read through from beginning to end and formulate a better understanding of what I've seen and done on the road.  For example, thus far I really don't know what has been the coolest thing that I've seen from behind the wheel.  Tonight's drive brought a strong new contender to the game though.  I'm sure of that much.

Upon completion of last night's eight hour break, it was time to set out and try my hand at creative routing.  I usually just look for whatever seems simplest, since I'm prone to miss a turn here and there.  I really didn't feel like taking the freeway route though, so I changed it up a bit this time.  I must say - I did a pretty decent job.  US-412 to US-45 to US-72 to AL-20 to AL-67 to US-231 to US-278 to US-431 to CR-278 to GA-109.  Aside from missing the turn for the truck route and going straight through Jackson, Tennessee, I pulled it off without a hitch.  Not a bad route either.  I managed to take every major city out of play and only caught a little bit of traffic during the morning portion of the drive.

I was getting pretty close to the point where I would need to park for my two hour break when I spotted some trucks at a little gas station near Cherokee, Alabama.  I swung in and found that there were no parking spaces.  I was going to be gone before the place opened though, so I just set up shop at the fuel island and hopped in the bunk for a much-needed power nap.  After my alarm went off, I felt good and shitty.  I was a good little soldier though and went on my way.

I was feeling a lot better when the sun came up and then I got a little more excited when I saw that I was approaching Anniston.  Alas, it was just a city with a bunch of red lights, not that other Aniston.  I wouldn't mind approaching her, if you catch my drift.  Once I got past there, I was back onto uncongested roads and the rest of the drive was nice and easy.

After my quick drop/hook in La Grange, I rolled down to the Pilot at Exit 13 on I-85.  That place has one of the most bizarre parking configurations that I've ever seen.  There were a few open spaces along the back row and I was able to spin around and take one without too much trouble.  With one hour left on my split 14, I was #1 on the board and highlighted for a trip home.  Beauty.

After a half hour I received an assignment that said it was picking up in Eufaula, Alabama at 8am.  Since the assignment came through at noon, obviously the 8am part wasn't important.  Just to make sure I wouldn't run into any issues, I sent a note asking if I would be able to pick it up after a break.  I received a quick response in the affirmative, sent in my confirmation, and then kicked back to relax.  The load is heading to Canada, meaning that it's taking me home to Michigan along the way.  Pretty efficient.

Once I had been at the truck stop for ten hours, I headed southward and made my drop/hook.  My scheduled arrival in Taylor, Michigan is set for 5am on Sunday.  That's two driving shifts and one ten-hour break from the time that I made the pickup.  Obviously I have no desire to get up and drive before 5am on Sunday, so I'm going to roll into town late tomorrow night.  As such, I needed to knock out enough miles tonight to get me within striking distance.  I figured that 300 miles tonight should do the trick, leaving around 600 miles for tomorrow.  And back to the north we go...

I was flipping through the stations on my XM radio when I found a pretty good sequence of songs on Channel 9 (90's music).  As I made my way through Columbus, Georgia, Sir Mix-a-Lot's Baby Got Back came on.  It's written in the bylaws here at Fenian Godfather Inc. that I'm required to crank up the volume and sing along whenever I hear that song late at night.  (Full disclosure: I'm not really into the big booty gals.  It's just an awesome song.)  So I did the right thing and followed the rules.  I was jamming along when I stopped at a red light.  A pickup truck stopped next to me.  Right in the middle of the song, as an emphatic "back!" was about to roll off my tongue, I looked over at the guy in the passenger's seat of the pickup.  One of two things happened next.  Either that guy had some reason to throw his hands in the air and enthusiastically exclaim "Back!" or he was listening to the same XM channel as I was and singing along. 

He had looked over in my direction at the same time as I had looked in his.  Before either of us realized what was going on, another few words had come streaming out of our respective sing-alongs.  Yep.  Same song at the same time.  I started laughing.  He grinned and shook his head in that 'look at this crazy white boy' sorta way.  Then the light turned green and that was that.  This, my friends, may have been the single coolest thing that I've seen from behind the wheel of this truck.  Or maybe I was just tired.  I don't know.

Armed with a much more reasonable 20,000 pound payload this time around, I rolled past Atlanta and into Tennessee before grabbing a spot at the Love's off Exit 33 to call it a night.  The federales will allow me to start driving again at 4pm, so I guess I won't be home in time to catch last call at Kelly's Pub.  Bummer.  Still, getting home the night after I sent my request is just fine with me.  Normally it sucks when I get there too quickly, as I end up sitting around for a few extra days before I really intended to be home.  This time though, I'll take it.  Gladly.

I have to touch on one last topic before I hit the sack for a while.  Much is made of the editorial slants of various news organizations.  For instance, you tend to have the New York Times on one end of the spectrum and Fox News on the other end.  Conventional wisdom holds that the Times is a liberal outfit whereas Fox is a conservative one.  After what I've seen in the last few days, I'm not sure that this is the proper distinction.  Think of the least political topic you can find.  Women's grooming, right?  I know.  That's what I thought of too.  New York Times - Dear Lord no.  Fox News - Oh hell yes.  It's entirely possible that one organization is simply evil.  Just a little food for thought on a weekend.