9/26/09

"Work is the curse of the working class."

I saw that saying on the t-shirts at a bar in Michigan last week. I found it amusing more than anything, but tonight I think we'll have to say that it fits. I was lounging around in Pennsylvania lamenting the fact that I had been on the board for almost 24 hours with no work. At least I had a fast wi-fi signal and I could keep watching football, I thought to myself. Then I got some work. At 4:30pm. Story of life. Good thing my Irish are on the Catholic Channel on XM this year, I guess.

My deadhead took me down through Pennsylvania and Maryland and into Virginia. I've rarely seen such bullshit traffic outside of Texas. If there are a lot of cars on the road, that's one thing. When there are not a lot of cars on the road and some cocksucker wants to tie up the center lane at 40mph, that's quite another. When it's raining... oh yeah, plenty of those bastards on the road tonight. Are trucks allowed to use the wide open left lane then? Well, of course not. That would just be crazy.

So the trip was a brutal fight from the time I hit I-495 to the time I left I-95. All's well that ends well though, as I made it to the shipper in West Point without committing vehicular manslaughter. I checked in and the fella told me that I would have to sweep out my trailer (in the dark, of course). Fair enough. Then he told me that I would have to pay ten bucks for a hard hat and safety glasses. Fair enough. My instructions for the load had mentioned this part so I made sure to have some cash on hand when I arrived. Then slide the axles back and go to the dock. Easy enough. Head inside and sign the log sheet. Okay, got that done.

What was that saying about the working class again? The forklift guy came over and told me that the trailer had a leak and that he couldn't load it. Well ain't that a bitch. The trailer looked good when I picked it up, but I guess after six hours in the rain you learn a little more, don't you? I hadn't noticed it while I was sweeping in the dark, but there was a little pinhole up near the top of the side wall. The load was rolls of paper, so obviously any water coming in would be a no-no. I called the dispatcher people to apprise them of the situation and they told me that they would have to unassign the load. Apparently there wasn't anywhere nearby that would have an empty trailer ready for me late at night on a Saturday. Go figure. (There is actually a Con-way terminal in Richmond that probably has empties, but it's not my place to argue. You know, working class and so forth.)

The next call was to the road service folks to see what they wanted me to do with the trailer. The T/A in Ashland was our closest option, so I write to you this evening from the T/A in Ashland. I did manage to get back in my truck in time to hear my Irish cap off a pretty dramatic win against those degenerates in West Lafayette. Say what you will about the stretch limo and the rest of it, but Jimmy Clausen is proving that he's every bit the stud that we were told he would be. With anything even resembling a mediocre defense, the lads would be formidable this year. As it stands I think we'll just have to keep hoping for the best.

The pay week is over now, regardless of whatever happens from here. With 2,675 miles and another $52 in northeast pay I suppose I've done fairly well overall. It's unfortunate that they paid me to drive all the way down here and pick up a load that I couldn't pick up, but it's just one of those things I guess. If it had been raining when I got this empty trailer, I may have noticed the pinhole sooner. You win some, you lose some.

Once homeboy here gets my trailer all fixed up, I guess I'll get back on the board and see what's what. My 14 hour clock didn't start until late in the afternoon, so I still have some time left. Good enough.