In Remembrance... Lance Cpl. Christopher S. Fowlkes

I am at a loss for words as how to go about writing this post. I am very patriotic and emotional when it comes to our Country, our Freedoms, and the men and women who willingly give their lives to protect us. Not since Vietnam has there been a draft. This means every soldier has willingly volunteered to give their life.

On Wednesday, a young Marine was brought home after being killed in Afghanistan. The entire South Carolina Upstate turned out to pay respects to this young man. The overpasses and service roads were lined with men and women bearing flags and flowers. It was a very emotional experience for me. Fire trucks, police cars, ambulances, and ordinary citizens. I was touched!

He was to be flown into Greenville, South Carolina, and then transported back to his hometown of Gaffney. I just happened to be driving south towards Greenville, when I noticed the procession heading towards me. It was amazing. There had to be over a hundred law enforcement vehicles alone, much less, all the others involved. I wanted to pull over to the shoulder and say a prayer and offer my gratitude to this man. I am forever indebted.

I noticed the cars on either side of me wanting to stop as well. So that is when we made a unanimous unspoken decision to do what is right. The five cars surrounding me, as well as myself slow to a stop with headlights on, and waited for the procession to pass. Me, with tears in my eyes!! This man gave his life for ME.. My freedoms, and did not even know me. He gave his life for everyone of us, regardless of our beliefs concerning this war! He is my hero!!

I felt so proud to be a part of this, to be able to say a silent Thank You! I know there are many others who have given their lives and I wish to Thank each and every family who supported the decision of a loved one, to fight for this Country.

However, I am also angry. I am very angry and outraged even at the attitudes of some of those around me. Truck drivers, in particular!! Over the airwaves, the CB radio came alive with complaints of traffic delays. Arguing and cursing. It was just unreal. What is wrong with these people. When we stopped traffic, the drivers around me were screaming obscenities and blowing the horn. The lady in the Schneider truck beside me was actually shooting me the bird and yelling at me to move!! I have never wanted to slap someone so hard in my life.

So yes, I am very proud to have shut down the interstate. You idiots will give me my moment to say Thanks... I know, every thing is about you, but this man gave his life for you, TOO. The least you could have done was give him less than a minute of your time without complaining..I don't understand what is wrong with people today.

Kill The Wabbit

There is nothing like the feeling of knowing my trailer is empty and I am heading home.

That is, of course, unless, there are torrential downpours, flash flooding, and magnificent ground strike lightning only feet from your truck. That is what happened this week.

I was heading south through Qwinnett County when the lightning started to hit. The skies were a foreboding shade of grey and the strikes were smacking the ground as close as a hundred yards from me. You have never heard a little girl shriek so loudly. I was amazed to learn that the air turns a nice shade of lavender when the energy is that close. Just before making the 285 split, one more bolt shot through the sky and nailed the Quik Trip Fuel Stop sign. A huge ball of sparks and a nasty cloud of brown smoke erupted. YIKES!!!!! It was soooo close. Hurry up people, get me out of here!!

That was not going to happen any time soon, however, as much of 285 was under water. Several ramps were closed due to extreme amounts of water and Dekalb County was doing their best to slow traffic as to eliminate any hydroplaning. It took an additional hour to arrive safe and secure back at the yard. Thankfully, the ground was dry and I had no issues unloading my belongings. A few weeks ago, I had to sit for over an hour to wait for the storms to subside, and even as I felt the rains has slacked off enough to head home, I still got soaked in mere minutes trying to load the car.

Ahhhh, there is nothing like qualifying for the Watermelon 500 in the middle of a beligerent thunderstorm. Amazingly enough, there were NO ACCIDENTS !!

In case you were wondering, the above title is in reference to the Opera performed by Elmer Fudd when he commanded the weather !! Norf winds bwoah!!! Souff winds bwoah, stwike up the wightning!! Sorry, I am still a kid at heart.... Oh no! What have I done...I killed the wabbit!!

Ahhhh, You Shouldn't Have....

Oh Sister, Where Art Thou?

Just thought I would stop by my own blog and let every one know that ALL IS WELL.

I have swapped trucks a few more times. Had good loads. Had bad loads. More repairs.

BLAH BLAH BLAH......

The crazy stalker finally has left me alone. After the last post, he sent me 3-4 more emails asking why I was publicly attacking him. Funny thing is, I never mentioned his name. Hmmmm? How did he know I was writing about him..... Guilty conscience, maybe?! But, he seems to have faded to black....

In truth, I have been enjoying life and a little bit of romance lately. My mysterious Shadow likes to surprise me with little gifts. So, I have been spending some time with him, making plans for adventures....and well, just loving life.

I appreciate all the emails and concerns that everyone has sent me, but I assure you, that all is truly well.

Third Time IS The Charm

TGIF..... Yeah, I know it is Saturday, but Friday is the day that I get my customary phone call relaying the condition of Frankentruck. Whether he is ready to roll, or to be confined to the infirmary.

"So, do you want the good news, or the bad news?"

Hmmmm, well, might as well get this over with. I asked for the good news. The exhaust leak that is roasting my floor has been identified and repaired.

The bad news, I have developed a new coolant leak....AND

drum roll please......

The shop has no clue why my Air Conditioning will not blow cold air. Multiple components have been replaced. It is fully charged and the lines have been checked. Therefore, they are going to send it to our Atlanta Shop....

That means.....I will head into work here in a few hours to swap out of my truck. I will be placed into a Tennessee truck that just had some injectors replaced. After I make my deliveries, I will be heading to our Tennessee plant to return the borrowed truck. At this point, I will jump into a Georgia truck (the one borrowed from us, so the injectors could be replaced in the TN truck) I will bring the Georgia truck home and then HOPEFULLY get my little Frankie back, complete with a/c. I hope.

Yep, I sure hope the third time is the charm...or at least the 34th time....That is how many times I have jumped from truck to truck during the past 2 years... 32, 33, and 34 to happen this week.

Gentlemen, Place Your Bets

Whew, I made it through the week without yelling at too many people. It was nice and warm, but I did get a few cooler nights, so I tried to do alot of driving after dusk. With my route, that is nearly impossible.

The floor drain was repaired, so my socks are nice and dry, but there seems to be an exhaust problem developing. I wouldn't be scared to say the flex pipe under my sleeper has a split in it somewhere, because after a short time driving, my entire sleeper floor is as hot as Georgia Asphalt. I have noticed that the floor does get a little warmer in hot weather, but I am referring to such intense heat that you cannot stand on it without shoes on, and even with shoes, you risk melting the soles! Seriously, the little strip of metal that separates carpet from rubber is too hot to touch. I burned my little foot!!

Oh well. I think I maintained a good attitude throughout the week, unless you consider the stress I deal with each and every time I fly through South Carolina. Out of all the states I travel through, SC gives me the biggest headache and my temperament for this stretch of road elevates to the level of (see blog title) anger! I loathe it with utter disdain.* We (SC and I) have a long sorted history. I am working to not this scenario get to me soooooo much, so this week, a friendly little wager was placed . I was to attempt to drive the 150 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina, to the Georgia border without losing my cool. First you must understand, I HATE this corridor. The rules of the wager included that I was to not make a single gesture that resulted from the way the idiots around me were behaving. Whether they (the others) were aware of it or not. No fingers gestures, no flashing lights, no horn blowing, no muttering insanity over the CB (yes, the truck drivers here are afflicted too) and no grumbling under my breath or at the top of my lungs.

I could have very well lied about my behavior, but I owned up to my failure. Within 31 miles, I smarted off to an idiot on the radio. And a mere 17 miles later a four wheeler got the best of me. Both incidents were reflex, and I alerted Shadow immediately. I have failed miserably.

For my payment, I will be required to wear a certain article of clothing while driving through the state, until I can rein in my reactions and somewhat adjust my attitude. **

And just for the record, I only hold contempt for this short passage. I can face NYC gridlock with a song in my heart and kind words abounding. I suppose I expect traffic to get a little nasty up north, after all, they only have 3 lanes in each direction... Other Cities, where the interstates can get up a total of 16 lanes wide, there is no rhyme or reason to the madness.

* I am not saying that people who live in South Carolina are idiots, just the people who drive there!!

** The shirt is PINK, not my favorite color!!

The Lesser of Two Evils

I just received a phone call from Moe (repair shop supervisor) as in Moe, Larry and Curly. I was informed that they had found the drainage problem and assured me that my floors would no longer be soaking wet. That is wonderful news, because there is nothing worse than putting on a clean pair of socks, only to have them get wet almost immediately. However, the smell factor being eliminated does not hurt my feelings either!!

The bad news...oh yeah, there always seems to be bad news now doesn't there? After replacing the compressor on my air conditioner, it was deemed that this was not my only problem. The compressor was not working, so it was immediately replaced, but something else is awry. After searching high and low, the parts needed to fix the secondary predicament were not to be found. An order has been placed and the parts should be in next Monday or Tuesday.

But here is the dilemma. I was told I could take the spare truck, but I declined almost immediately. Yes, I did make an executive decision to ride around in New England next week with no air conditioning. Am I crazy? NO!! You may remember the small amount of complaining I have done recently about how my legs and back were screaming bloody murder. Well, the only spare truck we have available is Maggie, and she is the current vessel that houses Frankentruck's old captain's chair. I would much rather be a little moist, than to suffer the set back that would so obviously befall me if I chose to ride around in the devil's seat. My legs and back are finally back to normal, and the pain with that chair would begin within 100 miles. So, NO, I will not be commiserating with Maggie next week. Yes, I will probably be a little irritable, but that is my final decision. After all, I can tolerate a little heat better than I can endure even more leg issues.

Just A Matter of Perception

WOW, what a week.

After all the good tidings of great joy I experienced over the weekend, I was really put through the ringer during the work week.

Not only did my air conditioning give up the ghost long before I ever made my first delivery, but it does not matter how many showers you take to feel fresh again, it ain't gonna happen. Within an hour of hosing off, I can assure you, 92 degrees inside the truck is enough to make any one feel no so fresh.

Company policy dictates that we must get permission through our local shop for any outside repairs. I called in to mention my dilemma and was told they would fix it when I got in after the load was delivered. Yes, I probably could have raised hell and had it fixed out on the road, but that would have cost me time and money, besides, it was not so bad to clean the ol toxins out of my skin driving down the road. Well, except during the rain storms were I inevitably had to roll up the side windows. And, I will have to wash all of the bedding again, just because of the odor.

Oh, no!! Not my odor...You see, while the AC is not functioning properly, the auxiliary air conditioning is working like a charm, except it is not draining properly. That in conjunction with the condensation, has left my carpeted flooring a sopping wet mess. So, therefore, my floors are now reeking to high heaven. Did I mention the auxiliary unit only works if the tractor's motor is not running? So while I am nice and cold during the night, I wake up to a wet floor, which then heats up during the day and even though I have the windows opened, the flooring still stinks. I can only imagine what it will smell like after sitting in the hot sun for 4 days with the windows closed....Yuck!!

And to make matters even more pleasant.... Did you see the trailer I picked up last week.

I had no doubt in my mind that these temporary repairs would not make the entire journey, and needless to say I was correct. After 1867 miles, I suddenly hear some strange noises and notice the tarp is now billowing outwards up to five feet. GREAT!! I knew it was going to happen because I had only ventured about 200 miles before the patches started to lose adhesion. So for the last few hours of my journey, I had to pull over every so often and tie a pretty ribbon around my not so pretty package.... Industrial size Zip Ties are even better than duct tape!!

But you want to know something amazing. Even after all the minor pitfalls I endured this week, I can honestly say that I have not been in such a great mood in quite awhile. Nothing could deter me from being happy this week!! And the icing on the cake?? I managed to get a 4 mile run in this evening in a slow steady rain, and it was the best run I have had in weeks!!

Today's Hot Topic

This post actually starts on the previous Saturday, but with all those ecstatic emotions of wondrous events, I forgot to include this. And , well, I did want to publish at least one Truckin Post that did not include whining, crying, or feelings of hopelessness.

You see, when I arrived at the plant to head out on this week's journey, the FIRST thing I noticed was this.....

That, my friends, is the exhaust collection pipe from the front of my engine. My first reaction was dismay, because I found it laying under the front edge of my hood. My first thought, "Oh no, something has fallen off of my truck." and yes, I would not doubt something falling off on its own. I pulled the hood and saw that the part laying on the ground was the original, and a replacement part had been installed. Obviously it fell to the ground during the job and the mechanic forgot to retrieve it. No worries!!

BUT.....I am wondering if when the part fell to the ground, could it have possibly done some damage to other necessary components. The AC components, for example. That's right, boys and girls. I have NO TRACTOR Air Conditioning this week. I do have my handy dandy all in one Tripac unit with climate control, so I am good as long as the motor is turned off. But during business hours all I have is a 2/68 unit. And that makes for not only a very hot little trucker, but also leaves my hair looking Marge Simpson. I also noticed that I have NO insulation under the truck cab, and the sleeper floor is extremely hot after several hours of driving. Almost too hot to stand on.

You know, I am beginning to think ol Frankentruck is just an Attention Whore, and I have given him more than 15 minutes of fame.

One last thing.......

I am definitely stylin and profilin this week...

Oh Happy Day !!

It is about time, but I think my truckin luck has finally turned around.

After spending a fabulous Friday getting pampered, I made a quick visit to see my nephew and help celebrate his birthday.

Did I mention that I also swapped out my mattress? In conjunction with getting the alternate seat in the truck, I seem to have eliminated ALL sources of pain. No more back, leg, knee, sciatic, swelling, numbness. All of it gone without so much as a trace.

On Saturday, I decided to leave out early to meet up with a friend. When I got to the yard, I inspected Frankentruck and noticed that he had a new set of shocks all the way around! But I also noticed that there were new airlines running from the valves to the bags !! I made my way through a very ferocious storm in South Carolina, and it did not take me long to realize that the truck was no longer slipping and sliding around. I went through several storms that day and never broke traction one single time. I am happy that I have the new shocks, but honestly I don't think they were the answer. I had mentioned checking the lines for debris, and waaalaaaaa, I got new lines. I think that is what solved the problem, whether it was debris or just crimped, I am not concerned. It is finally repaired.

So, I left out Saturday to meet up with a friend, as I said before. Someone I do not often get to see, so that was a nice distraction.

As for today, I am running a different route, so I do not have the hectic pace of the New England run bearing down on me. I was finished with deliveries at 12:30 and will not resume them until 8:00am tomorrow. With only 200 miles between stops, I have managed to enjoy a quiet afternoon reflecting on the wonderful weekend, the wonderful repairs and the wonderful lack of tension I feel in my shoulders.

Watch Out. I am on the verge of once again becoming irritatingly happy!!