Tragic Reminders

Not exactly the best week to be blogging about. Oh, there was nothing wrong with the work week itself, but I was reminded to take time and consider all that is important to me. We should all do this more often than we probably do, but life gets busy sometimes.

On Sunday evening while I was making my way towards the Carolina Coast, I witnessed a tragic accident.

As I was progressing eastbound, nearing an entrance ramp, I merged to the left lane to accommodate for oncoming traffic. It was then, as I looked into my mirror that I noticed a huge cloud of dust and debris. As I continued to stare at it, a car came tumbling out of the haze. It was literally doing a barrel roll about 10 foot off of the ground. I watched as it slammed onto the pavement and began to roll again. It finally came to rest in a runoff ditch full of water, sending a spray of liquid nearly 20 feet in the air. This all took place just a few hundred yards behind me in a matter of seconds, but I was still able to see "objects" ejected from the vehicle. I hope and pray those objects were not the occupants of the vehicle. I was shocked into a silence... Immediately I dialed 911 to report the scene and after speaking with the emergency operator, I continued my evening in a quiet contemplative mood.

This for me, is the hardest part about being a truck driver. Facing mortality. I did not know these people, but with the assumption that a life has literally just ended before my eyes, my heart is ripped apart. I grieve for the victims, I grieve for the families, I even grieve for any witnesses who are left with mental scars of what they have just witnessed...

Gratefully, I have not witnessed an excess of fatalities, but then again, isn't even one an excess!

Cruisin'

What is even better than having your day finish off back on track after all hope is lost?

That would be Day Two. Tuesday's deliveries had me beating a trail through Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York. I realize that this probably seems to be a much repetitive post, but with all the complaining I hear over the traffic and whatnot in these areas, I kind of feel obligated to enlighten you splendid readers that such is not the case. At least not for me.

Wide open to The George Washington Bridge

Westbound ~ Long Island Expressway heading

towards the Queen Midtown Tunnel.

Major Deegan Expressway

Heading back to GWB.

Crossing the Hudson one more time.

Total time in New York was 3.5 hours. With 3 stops in Queens and another well out on the Island, I would say I made very good time indeed. But then again, I have been heard boastfully stating that this IS MY CITY. I have also been told that I exude the New York Attitude. I am not too sure about all that. My stop out on Long Island was at the same customer where the Jersey Girl insisted that I had hit her car. I was anticipating a nasty reprisal. Thankfully she was not at work that day, but the boss did make me aware of the fact that this lady wanted to inflict bodily harm to me.. Yikes!! I think the term he used was "beat my ass"! Needless to say, it will be a long time before I head back into this customer without a sense of fear and trepidation simply because, being in a company truck, I have to maintain a demeanor that is respectful to my employer.

Parked at the truck stop by 3:00pm. I enjoyed the rest of the afternoon off duty, with only 7 miles to drive to Wednesday's first customer. Another fabulous day in my fabulous life...

...in My FABULOUS CITY

( searching....)

Another perfect start to a seemingly perfect week.

If you know me at all, you would probably know that from the moment my load is assigned to me on Thursday, the little wheels inside my head begin to turn, churning out numerous options in which I can reroute my trip to save time. From the time I load up my gear on Sunday, I am already thinking about coming home.

Monday morning finds me in Youngsville, NC. After chatting up the customer, I begin my trek towards Evington, VA. Already knowing that because I will remain on the back roads for most of the day, I am inclined to sit back and enjoy the ride. And ride I did... After 4.5 hours of peddling down the lost highway, I am able to arrive at Customer #2, but at this point, I am resigned to the fact that I will not achieve all I have scheduled for the day. It seems that with the coming of Spring, everyone is out and about basking in the glow of warmth. And with this basking, there is surely some sightseeing to be done! Mother Nature is slowly canvassing this part of the world in vibrant colors and there is not a much better spot to take in the beauty than on the back roads. However, I am at work and 35mph in a 55mph zone is not helping my cause, especially when the duration of said impediment lasts for nearly 20 miles. UGH!!!! By 10:30am, I was knew it was a lost cause.

Now don't get me wrong, while I may have grumbled under my breathe for a few miles, I was also soaking up my surroundings. Nothing is more peaceful than tooling around on the back roads. Such serenity!!

The second customer had recently moved and had yet to receive a delivery at the new location, so it was up to me to play Lewis and Clark. You would think with all the fancy technology available, this small feat would have been no problem. First off, I do not use a GPS tracking device. Same routes, same customer... Don't see the need for it. However, when you are riding around in the middle of absolutely freaking nowhere and cannot get more than 2 seconds worth of cellphone service, it tends to start looking bleak rather quickly. Trust me, I have put my Big Truck on many a road I had no business being on, and that is not the most comfortable feeling. So after dozens of numerous attempts I began to get just a little bit antsy. Even the local fellows on the CB had never heard of Happy Home Drive. Could it be because Happy Home Drive is actually just the name of the driveway to the only customer at the end of the Happy Little Road.

But I found it, made the delivery and proceeded back out onto the back roads. Once again settling back to enjoy the country sights, I am in no hurry to get to Maryland. After 6.5 hours of back road trucking at just over 300 miles, I finally reemerged into civilization. I am now racing the clock to beat traffic through DC, because at this point it is go.go.go!!

I arrive at Customer #3 at 4pm. Knowing I was not going to get unloaded, I ventured in to grab some food and let them know I would be waiting on them bright and early in the morning....

Well, it wasn't about 30 minutes later, I was back rolling. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my customers? Oh yeah, right back on track after giving up hope some 6 hours earlier!!

Oh that reminds me, for any of my new readers who have not had the pleasure of indulging in my misadventures or mistaken routes, perhaps you will enjoy this post ----> If I Had A Hammer

Two Birds With One Stone

And in other news....

Lately I have had the pleasure of running into a few friends during my work week. Below are a couple of videos filmed during those visits. Enjoy !!

To Everything.. Turn, Turn, Turn

Spring is in the air, my friends and that would make this an excellent time for new beginnings. I have had the luxury of running the air conditioner in the truck on numerous occasions. I have been watching all the new signs of life as the planet slowly wakes up from its Winter slumber... but I have also woke up freezing several times due to sleeping with the truck turned off... Not quite Spring, but I am soooo ready!

And since I am mentioning life refreshing itself, this seems like a perfect time to also mention the ending of things passed. I have been very preoccupied the past few months with emotional upheaval and perhaps just not in the mood to share. My relationship has ended and it was very bitter for me. Deceit and indifference reigned supreme as deciding factors and while I am so much better off, I will not deny that my heart seemingly was ripped out and tossed aside. So the past few months, I have not exactly been myself. I am no longer mourning the loss of this relationship, but it has once again left me questioning people and their motives. People just suck sometimes, but I am slowly returning to the person that my friends adore. This post was not intended as bitter and it is definitely not bittersweet. It is a post of new hopes and awakenings. My eyes are open and I am ready to dig my heels in. Life is waiting !!