DATELINE: ARDMORE, TN, 9:30 p.m. CDT
Miles Today: 613
Now that was one overly long day. I went to work at 5:30 a.m., driving to my delivery. That drive, including an hour-long stop in Tuscaloosa, AL for lunch and a shower, took 9-1/2 hours. The delivery was a drop-and-hook, so I didn't have to wait for an unloading process there. I had my next assignment before I left that site: Zip over to Decatur, AL and pick up a load there at 8:00 p.m.
Now, 8:00 was beyond my 14-hour window for driving (it started when I began my workday at 5:30 a.m.), but I figured I could get to the pickup early, get loaded, and get to a truck stop or rest area within that window. Wrong-o. It was about 4:15 when I left the delivery site in Gadsden, and it took 2-1/2 hours to get to Decatur, though my assignment listed it as only 75 miles away. I did have to take back roads (2-lane state highways through towns with stoplights) a large part of the way, so that accounted for the lengthy trip.
So it was 6:45-ish when I arrived at the pickup in Decatur. However, everyone there was on their meal break, including the gate guard, so I had to wait over half an hour before I could even get in the gate. And this was a live load, so I had to back into a dock (this was one of those awful places with little extra room for straightening up the truck easily) and wait through the loading. Fortunately, the loading part went quickly, but when all was said and done, I was out of there at 8:15.
This place was a bit of a ways off the interstate (down another state highway), so it took a few minutes to get back to it (I-65) before I could start heading north looking for a place to spend the night. By the way, this load is headed for Wyandotte, MI, with delivery scheduled for Monday morning. I should be able to make it to my "home" truck stop fairly early on Sunday, so I hope to make it to my men's chorus rehearsal that night. (Those of you loyal readers who are members of that group, don't be surprised if you see me there! Those readers who do not know the group, check us out at www.measure4measure.org.)
Anyway, I've stopped for the night at the Tennessee Welcome Center/Rest Area on northbound I-65. (They have "Two-Hour Parking Limit" signs up, but don't tell anyone...I may be here a bit longer than that. Shhhh!) As I typed up top, it's been a very long day, and now I'm hitting the wall. Time to hit the sack instead. Thanks again for your loyal readership, and be sure to keep on truckin'.
1 comment:
Hey there - your younger daughter just read me this following item. We thought you might "enjoy" it. Or not.
Columbus, OH (AP) - A seven-year old boy was at the center of a Franklin County courtroom drama yesterday when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulation requiring that family unity be maintained to the highest degree possible.
The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried and said that they also beat him. After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him.
After two recesses to check legal references and confer with the child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the University of Michigan Wolverines, whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone.
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