Fishin' Season

Last week, I received a surprise phone call from none other than the Fisherman. I have to be honest and say that a few years ago, when he left the company, I was a little more than relieved. I have never known a pathological liar, but I am feeling pretty secure with my assessment that the Fisherman is just that.

So, after a few missed calls, I finally decided to see what he could possibly want. It seems that he keeps in touch with quite a few of our drivers and while his phone call was apparently harmless in nature, there was a particular reason he had phoned me, although he never stated it. I will get to that portion of this story soon enough.

The amazing thing about the Fisherman, is that he has not changed one iota. After catching up on all the going's on, he casually mentioned that he was going in for retesting. Retesting? He then elaborated by telling me that he had been diagnosed with cancer and had been going through a series of chemo and/or radiation therapy. He was going in for more testing to make sure he was still in remission.

??

I, of course, offered my support and sympathy. I wished him well. Oh yeah, he also mentioned that he had been running about 4000 miles and it was wearing him out. Okay, so I had officially took the bait, but felt that perhaps there were some inaccuracies in his tale. He was also quick to inquire how my week was going. At first, I thought nothing of it.

BUT, this week did hold a few surprises for me, which had me reeling with a mild anger.

My trip was to be routed through Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and Kentucky before returning home. Whew! Big Trip, lots of miles and with the first stop being only 3 hours from the plant, I was in no hurry to leave out on Sunday.

That morning, while I was still tucked snugly in my bed, my phone begins to ring at an indecent hour. It was the Mayor, calling to say hello ?! I did not answer the phone, and his message was just that. "How are you? I have not spoke with you in awhile and just wanted to check on you."

When I returned his call a little later, it was once again just superfluous jargon with no hint of urgency. I finally arrived at the plant around 8pm and that is when I found out that my first stop had been omitted and my trip was now a 10 hour run straight into Louisiana. YIKES! I was not prepared for an all nighter. After dissecting my trip numerous times, and trying to reroute myself for efficiency, I finally decided to stick to the original plan. After all, the second customer had no clue that they had become the first, so there was really no harm in not arriving at 7am. They were not expecting me until lunch anyways. I drove my three hours and went to bed. If you know me at all, you would be aware that I had a very hard time not forcing myself to pull the all nighter. I am the epitome of efficiency when it comes to making my deliveries. I could not fathom not being at the customer upon awaking. It was just not acceptable (to me). But I gave in after completely stressing myself out.

I had no problems making all my deliveries. I even completed the task before expected, because I do reroute myself for efficiency. I felt very good about everything. Until.....

I received a phone call from AA. He was concerned about my trip and asked if I was okay. A little clueless, I inquired as to what he was referring to. It was then that he alerted me to the fact that the Mayor had looked at my bills and knew that my trip had been altered. I had originally panicked (mildly) when I saw the changes. Now, I am furious. You see, the Mayor knew. The Mayor called me that morning (which would have been ample time to for me to make the Louisiana destination at 7am) But the Mayor never said a word.

It is not often that I receive phone calls from other drivers, especially those who no longer work with us. I should have known something fishy was going on. I received multiple phone calls that week. Everyone curious has to how my week was going. I guess everyone else already knew that the Mayor had been privy to information that would have been helpful to me. And I suppose everyone knew that the Mayor kept this information to himself.

Now I know why the Fisherman called me. And for the record, I was also told that NO, the Fisherman does not have cancer, nor has he been through chemo. Yeah, I thought 4000 miles a week would be a little difficult to manage during treatment. I cannot believe the depths this man will go in weaving his delusions.

I know this post is running rampant, but as an added bonus, I thought I would share with you the first thing I encountered after learning my trip had been altered. I had been blocked in. The truck on the right was hooked to a trailer and ready to leave, however the driver was at home relaxing by the pool. He did not do this intentionally, but he also did not notice that my truck was now barricaded into position. I called him to see if he would move his rig, so I could begin my altered trip. Good thing he only lives 5 minutes away. All the other drivers live no closer than 45 minutes away. And our trucks are not keyed the same.

It was a good week all in all. I completed my route on Wednesday, and got to run with Gabby and James back into West Memphis... Good Times!!