April Fool's

So, did any of you hear about the National Independent Trucker Strike that supposedly took place this past week.....






I can't believe that I have not mentioned this before, but in all honesty, I forgot about it.....How could I forget it?? Because over the course of the past few months the Official Dates of said Strike have been changed more often than some Trucker's underwear. And even on Day One of the event, some folks were still claiming it was not suppose to start for 3 more days.



Well, it just was not a large scale effort. Yeah, sure, some Truckers got together and slowed the Jersey Turnpike down to 20 MPH, and a few more blocked the highways in Ohio....The Port in Florida was packed with idling Big Trucks (way to save fuel, dumbass) and the Vince Lombardi was packed beyond capacity with disgruntled drivers.





But, it is that way everyday!!





The independent Truckers were demanding fuel prices be dropped or freight charges be increased... blah blah blah.





Honestly, it is just like Wally World moving into small town America and forcing the local thrift shops out of business. The Owner/Ops can not afford these high fuel prices and many are losing out. The larger companies are able to handle the increased fuel prices, and are able to carry on. I do feel bad for these guys who are unable to continue on in their independent ways, but I made the same choice, years ago..... I am a company driver! I do not have those pressures to deal with!





I never saw any "strike" activity, but one of my Bronx Customers warned me of the slow down on the Jersey Pike.... I was headed to my final pick-up with only 30 minutes to spare and still had to cross the GWB during afternoon rush hour.... Now, that is stressful....





But the most surprising thing I have found during this whole ordeal is.......while doing a little research to provide you with as much information as possible, I stumbled upon this Google Photo. Needless to say, my entire post has now become a useless digression into parking spots and trick photography.





I want to know when this picture was taken?? This is the Vince Lombardi Service Plaza on the New Jersey Turnpike.... And I have never in six years seen it this empty... EVER. In fact, when I pull in around 3-4pm I have to park here,





because it is already at capacity, and by nightfall there is no room left on the ramps and the curbside is 2-3 deep with Big trucks double-parked...



See, I have proof.. Here I am in the early afternoon already forced to park on the outskirts enjoying the breeze with some Jersey Pigeons whilst looking out over the Meadowland.





So much for sticking it to the Man.... The Strike has had little effect on anything. Of course you realize that 99 % of everything you own has been on a Big Truck at least once in its life span.... So, naturally diesel is being taxed higher than any other fuel , because "Without Trucks, America Stops"