Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

As mentioned previously, I started my day yesterday in West Memphis. Sent a message via Edna asking if they had any loads available. Got a load assignment instructing me to pick up a trailer off the West Memphis yard to deliver to the Volvo warehouse in Reno.

As also mentioned previously, I have vacation starting on Friday. And there was no way I could make it back to Richmond from Reno by Friday. That would be true even if I weren't running on recap, and is even MORE true since I am.

But! There was a nice little note along with the load assignment saying "Run this west as far as you can and we'll swap you out and get you back home." Okay, cool, they clearly understand that I got vacation coming up, so they don't expect me to actually deliver this load. I hooked the indicated trailer and moseyed my way westward.

Stopped at the TA in Yukon, OK for a shower and called it a night. Coulda ran a bit further, but I didn't wanna. Because the further away I got, the harder it would be for me to get back home on time. And I wanted to make sure they could get me back home on time.

Did the math. San Jon, NM was my limit for getting back to Richmond on time. Santa Rosa, NM was too far. If I went to Santa Rosa, it would be impossible to drive all the way back to Richmond by Thursday with the hours I will get back on recap between then and now. So San Jon it is.

Called dispatch Sunday evening to let them know this salient fact. They assured me that Chris N. was on the job and would have things handled.

This morning before I hit the road, I sent another message via Edna:

My vacation starts Friday. San Jon, NM is the furthest west I can drive and still have enough HOS to get back to Richmond by Thursday. So y'all probably want to swap me out sometime before then. Especially if y'all want me to deliver whatever load I'm picking up.
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That was circa 7:30am Richmond time. An hour and change later, I called my DM and relayed the same message via phone. He assured me he was working on it.

Time ticked away. San Jon loomed ever closer on the horizon. About 40 minutes from San Jon my phone rang. It's my DM! He has a question! "When will you be arriving in Reno?"

I paused for a moment to marshal a suitable answer.

"I have no intention of delivering this to Reno. I thought we'd made that clear. I will be parking this truck in exactly 40 minutes. Tomorrow I will begin heading back to Richmond. If this trailer full of Volvo parts is still attached to my truck when I begin that journey, it will be going back to Richmond with me."

There was some confused grunting on the other end of the line. Apparently he had received an email from dispatch or one of the load planners which led him to believe that I had agreed to take the load all the way to the receiver. But I believe I was able to sufficiently resolve his confusion.

I should mention here that I don't think he was trying to jerk me around. The confusion appeared genuine.

In any case he yelled at a few people over his shoulder and I wound up shortly thereafter with a split instructing me to stop in San Jon.

A few hours later, Edna beeped at me with an updated load assignment. The load I am picking up from the other driver is due Wednesday Morning in Ohio. My DM called me a few moments later. Whereupon I told him that (A) I did not have the hours to make delivery in Ohio AND still get back to Richmond by Thursday; and (B) even if I did, there's no way I'd make the delivery appointment on time.

More emails were sent, more phone calls were made, and now I will be dropping the load from the other driver on the West Memphis yard sometime Wednesday.

The other driver is due to be here in San Jon tomorrow circa 11:00am Richmond time, so I will be getting a late start to my day.

Still, it beats the alternative.

In the meantime, I have grabbed an Indian food buffet to go, as well as a tin of gulab jamun for later. Looking forward to getting out of this truck for 10 days.

 

The best line I read all day...

... until I read this one... LOL

I think they receive special training for this skill.

 

That reminds me... I need to find and dig out my P/FJ & P/TA cards... I haven’t seen them for well over a year... lol

 

You could just get new ones.

 

This. Except when I know I'm bound for the West Coast. Then I'll exercise the cash advance at the fuel pump for no more than $40. Because many a time have they booked me on a load that directed me to some cash-only scale or grain elevator weight doo-hickey.

And now for something completely different.
Pulled out of Gatorade in Wytheville several times in the last five days. Only this time I noticed something new. Two, count 'em, two fellow Abilene drivers pulled in behind me at the entrance line. They both got out and started adjusting their tandems.

They both did it with the truck abso-flippin-lutely not in line with the trailer. And not just a little.

Now, I'll complain about almost anything. But the ONE thing that seriously makes me want to introduce a driver's teeth to my lumper, Russell Crowbar, is a guy that doglegs a trailer. It's not like the equipment doesn't get wrecked fast enough as it is but now I know there are at least two guys making absolutely no effort not to #### these trailers up in the most unnecessary way possible.

BUT.

On a positive note, was brokedown on I-70 in Ohio last week and not one but two Abileners called over the radio to check on me while I waited for my tow truck. Always good to know not all of my coworkers are utter pricks yet.

 

Pleasant surprise today... was in Chicago making a drop this morning with less than 10 on my 70 and nothing coming around... so a 34 was in my future... so I got a load heading to Arkansas with a 34 obviously built in... so I opted to visit my mother in Illinois on the way south... She always hopes that I can stop by every time I touch illinois ... that obviously can’t happen most times... but it’s nice when it does work out.

 

That detour on US 95 is kind of a pain going to Reno.....