The Waiting Game

DATELINE: HAMMOND, LA, 1:30 p.m. CDT

Miles Yesterday: 348

Right now I'm at a truck stop in this town, waiting for my next load assignment. I've been here over 2-1/2 hours and am getting stir-crazy. Maybe by pulling out the laptop, booting it up, getting online, and starting a new composition I'll spur some action in the cosmos to get my assignment to come in and interrupt me. I've already tried napping, reading, and snacking, and still I wait. Which I'd already done a bit of this morning at my delivery. But I'm ahead of myself. Let me re-cap yesterday for you.

You saw the update I posted in the morning, after which I hit the road and headed south. I intended to reach this town (and this truck stop) yesterday, but I settled for the Flying J in Jackson, MS where I had stayed a couple times before. That way I could get up early today and get my day started earlier, which would mean it would end earlier, before the truck stops would be filling up. The drive from West Memphis to Jackson took just over 4 hours, after which I hit the buffet at the "J" for dinner, then went online for another turn at the poker tables. I had modest success there, then went to bed around 9:00 p.m., aiming for a 4:00 wake-up time.

Unfortunately, I woke up a little before midnight, tossed and turned, then had to head inside the truck stop to answer a call. Since I knew I wasn't going to fall back asleep very readily, I spent a few minutes walking around in the still warm and humid parking lot, trying to burn off some energy. I got back into bed around 1:00 to try to salvage something resembling a "good" night's sleep, and had modest success there.

My alarm woke me as planned this morning at 4:00, and at 4:15 I was on the road. I arrived at my delivery right on time, checked in at the guard shack, then drove back to the warehouse loading docks. This was a big place (a distribution center of a national retailer) with lots of deliveries arriving at the same time. I was going to back right into the dock assigned at the guard shack, but the way was blocked by other trucks parked in the way. Apparently all the other drivers decided they had to park in the right-of-way and check in at the Shipping/Receiving office before backing into their docks, so I did the same. Then I waited in a lengthy line in the office. By the time I finished up there, the way was clear to "hit the dock". This was more than an hour after I had initially arrived.

At this site (and the other DCs I've been to for this company), once you back your trailer into a dock, you unhook your cab and drop the trailer there, then park the cab in a waiting area. They then notify you when the unload is complete, at which point you go back into the office to get your paperwork, then you drive back, hook up your trailer, then leave. I had another good, long wait while they were unloading my trailer. All told, I was at that site for 3 hours. Then I drove the 15 minutes to this truck stop and have been waiting some more. Sheesh!

I know my ultimate destination for tomorrow: my Fleet Manager has me booked for a safety class (a continuing-ed kind of thing) in Van Buren, AR that starts on Wednesday morning. But dispatch won't want me driving empty all the way there; they'd prefer a customer be paying for those miles. So they're searching for a load I can take along the way. I've been composing this update now for 1/2 an hour, and still no word yet. They'll have to get me something soon so I can get rolling, or I won't be able to get to Van Buren (I figure it's about 13 hours of driving from here) without violating DOT reg's.

Anyway, it's hot and humid down here, with possible thunderstorms in the forecast, as they are anywhere when it's hot and humid. Hopefully I'll get an assignment soon. All this waiting isn't helped by my sleep deficit. I hope your day is a bit more stimulating. Thanks for reading; please drop a line with your comments and/or questions, and keep on truckin'.