What a magnificent day this has started out to be! Hit the road from Houston by five heading to OK. Not long after a Hy-Po pulls along side me and turns his lights on. I'm doing the limit or less and know I've done nothing wrong and don't have time to fool with him. So I run him off the road and carry on with my day.

Wait! Oh, no I didn't. I pulled over. He asks for my license and my "11-14-70." That gave me pause. I started to ask "what?" When it occurred to me he meant my HOS. So I pulled up my summary and handed him Captain Qualcomm.

Once satisfied he informs me I did nothing wrong, he just wanted to let me know I had an ID light out over my windshield. Thanks officer.
So I write in to dispatch that I'm diverting to Dallas for repair.

Soon I came to the scale south of Huntsville which is now set up for PrePass. I get a red light. Awesome. Then I get the yellow arrow directing me to the inspection area. The friendly inspector lady informs me I'm getting a level 2. All's well so she tells me to park and come inside to finish up.

I greet the other driver signing his paperwork and tell him I wish I'd hit the snooze button. His inspector said, "why? If you'd just started an hour earlier....."
I told him I would have if they wouldn't complain about me violating HOS; that'd be an hour sooner I'd get back to the arms of my loving wife.

Then, the stranger occurrence rears it's head: my BOL. It's not really a BOL. I have to get with my DBL on this. Rather than a BOL, they gave me some kind of email memo from one person to another that vaguely references a load number similar to mine and a week earlier date. *Shrugs* I got nothing more on that. But there was addresses, so they went with that.

They barely spoke English at the shipper, so what can you expect?

They were pretty good natured and friendly.

They asked what I'm hauling. I tell them I'm smuggling chicken feed.
"From a recycling center?"
"Was so nice we'll use it twice. It's that good."

On down the road I get passed by a flatbed driver who had a phone pinched between his ear and shoulder and weaving all over the road. That was bad.
Worse? Some of his boards were hanging about four feet out the passenger's side of his trailer. He's on the phone so there's no getting him on the CB. I can't go any faster to get his attention. I suppose he thinks I'm a ####### for continuously flashing my brights at him.

I warn drivers ahead to watch out for him. A moment later he nearly takes out the tires of another flatbed. But that driver saw the boards and served over to the shoulder just before impact.

Soon a sheriff van comes up behind him and puts an end to that mess. Now I'm in Dallas waiting to get my light replaced and maintenance wants me to stay for an overdue PM.

The day is early. Can't wait to see what the rest of the day holds! WOOT! WOOT!