Buster's Busy Day

I almost made it. For four hours from Madison,Ga to Scranton,SC I had pushed and pushed so I could beat the deadline but at 2:24 when I drove up to the cold storage plant in Scranton SC this kindly old guy with a white beard said..."we're closed." He seemed defensive and ready for me to blow my stack and after all I had done I just said ..." Well life is too short for me to worry about 24 minutes. Obviously relieved"He smiled and said, " praise Jesus" and then he was my buddy.But let me go back a bit and show you what came to the 24 minutes.

I had called Saul, a family friend, and asked him to drive me to "recover" this tractor....number 944444. He did and we found the tractor way in the back of the truck stop. Along the way Saul said something like " Oh you mean you are repossessing the tractor." I thought , well, I never thought of it that way. My job title has the word recovery in it. So, to me recovery ...just seems like a sweet Sunday afternoon sort of exercise. But, a repossession is not so sweet an exercise. Fortunately, the now no longer owner was not there and all I had to do is get a locksmith to open number 944444 up and I would be back on the road.

From the qualcom computer you get a load assignment. Now in class they had all kinds of math and geography for us to use to determine the viability of accepting the load. Could I drive to some place on time, and safely with the time constraints that I have to use. However, the real world more like ....just accept and work out the math and geography on your own time.Having previously declined a load I now know what its like to not turn in my TPS report. Cause my manager, my trip planner and everyone else along the line .... wanted to kn ow why I declined.?? Message loud and clear....take the load and figure out the problems later.Well, I had declined because getting to the delivery at the appointed time was not possible...I was told to accept the trip and better get going cause it looks like you are running late. I was late ...and really the world is still turning.

I took the assignment and drove to the pick up point. Bright eyed and frisky I was...hey, I am early. The shipping clerk said something about a 2 hour turn around , she took my cell phone number and said she'd call. So as I go back to my 90 square feet....which is heated by the way. I start figuring out that when you add my required 10 hours of sleep, with 5 1/2 hours of drive time...This appointment to deliver was going to be "ok".....it was now 5 pm. Hey, what me worry ?

At about 7 pm I walked over and chatted up the shipping clerk and was told that she would call when the load was ready. Shipping and receiving is not one of your more warm and fuzzy business pursuits. All the while I am working the numbers. adding up the travel time and the sleep time and I figured that if I rolled out by 8 pm or so I would almost make it.

Imagine my delight when , at 10:30 pm, I got the call. And I got the bills of lading which showed that I would be close to the 80,000 pound limit so I would need needed to find a scale. Heading out on I20 I found myself back at the Madison Pilot Truck stop putting the rig on a scale...and moving the tandem rear wheels to balance the weight between the drive  wheels and the tandems on the trailor. Its a cool machinery process that I had been trained to do...and had helped do before, but this time it was all me and ...it was flawless. The proof is in the pudding cause later on, when en route I was weighted by the state of Ga...and passed.

I can drive 11 hours a day. I can be on duty not driving or driving a total of 14 hours a day. Because I got up early and did some work long before I received the trip assignment I was burning through my 14 hour clock while I was sitting there waiting to get loaded. So much so that I was worried that I would not be able to drive off the lot from the pick up.What a concept, they keep me waiting so long that I can't leave their lot til I get reset...which is done by showing my status as in the sleeper ( hopefully sleeping). Proud to say that I didn't panic. I called the enemy of all truckers....the log auditors.  I explained my problem to the ever present 30 something  (everyone looks 30 at the home office) and she made some edits and got me 3 more hours so I could make it to the place I would sleep. ( how she did it is even more bizarre than the rules that I drive by)

After driving to the Pilot and adjusting the tandems, and filling the reefer tank with fuel,and eating some food...it was late. When I woke I called my manager and he informed me that the eight hours of sleep extended my 14 hours to about nine hours ( too many numbers I know but that's the way it is). So it was 10 am and I need to be in Scranton by 2 pm.

These trucks all have governors that limit the speed to approximately 62 mph. When I got going and put on the cruise control ...and did a little trick of pressing the accel button ...low and behold this 515000 mile beast will do about 65mph. So, as I'm driving along doing the math...I 'm thinking...this could work.Oh I hit some hilly country in SC that gave and took some mph away but overall I was averaging 63-66 mph....maybe I
'll make it. Now, the lady at the drop spot I was heading to was clear. She said that at 2 pm...they stop all receiving. But it seemed to me that I was close.Then , just towards the end of Columbia,SC some poor couple and their car hit two other cars causing 2 lanes to move through just one lane. So,alarmed but hopeful I made it through that mess and kept going .

The last leg was a 34 mile stretch of road through some beautiful farm land that goes through Lexington
 and Salem SC. Very small farms but...nice clean places ....more than likely all very conservative ( SC seems to be that way). Beautiful stretches of pine forests with lots of vistas to look at and homes set up to do just that. But as attractive as it was....small roads eat time in a big way.

I finally arrive at the Plant and ...24 minutes ...late. And the little old guy with the gray beard ( sounds like someone I know) has to be the guy to say....your appointment is for Friday...... So Here I am vowing to make the best of it and glad to have had a very busy day and looking forward to a good nights sleep