Where is everyone #5

Max Alert ?

 

You mean like the post "I'm 46lbs over on my drives"?

 

Had a guy come up to me the other day while I was fueling. "My high beams no work" in broken english. Had to ask him to repeat it. Then told him OK well I'm in the middle of something right now, did you try changing the bulb? Dude got mad at me for not just dropping the hose on the ground and helping him. Like dude go try some basic trouble shooting and when I'm parked maybe I'll come give you a hand if you're still around.

Back when I worked for Schneider we weren't allowed to even change windshield wipers. They wouldn't let me just buy the parts. Had to go to a shop and have the shop send in the invoice for the parts and installation.

The mega fleets are just as responsible for this ######## as the useless morons they are handing out CDLs to.

 

Don't take this negative in anyway. It don't matter. It don't matter to me, them or anyone.

I'm 4th generation independent. Great grandfather was a drunk logger who beat his wife and kids. 6 boys, 3 girls. Grandfather died when my dad was 19. Dad was the oldest and first in college. Quit college to drive truck and take care of his 4 brothers and sister. He ran 52 years hauling iron and grain. Helped make a industry as a steel hauler. Teamsters/FASH. Man had a great career trucking. Yet all he wanted was to be a history professor. His Dad slid a truck off a bridge in PA. Died a few days later. Dad had a motorcycle accident which I witnessed at 65. Died a month later of the exact same injuries. Skull fracture and crushed chest. I will say he was a self made man. I'm not. But not in the normal way. I borrowed money from my father 2 times in my life. Once at 16 for a nice car. Same Olds in the back of my shop. And when I decided to buy a truck at about 2012. Now the car in 1995 taught me to never borrow money from my parents. Loan sharks had better rates. Then the truck, he kinda snaked me. I made a deal with the guy on a Sunday. Said I would give him 5k deposit and get a bank check. Oldman pulled out cash and paid him. I was beyond mad. Tuesday at 345pm, I handed a check to the Oldman. He laughed and said "See you have learned".


I tell this, might just be rambles. What happened was. I'm 33 years old in 2013. I had a great job running wreckers. But buying that truck when my father was starting to slow down gave him some more interest again. I worked on trucks all day and night, I worked on his. But now we were working on mine in are free time. I didn't realize this till years later. My mother pointed this out. I spent my childhood as his shadow. Now he was my helper. Now even he claimed that the piece of junk I bought would have broke anyone else. But he was the first to the shop,and last out of the shop. Parts/bolts were clean when I showed up. I never worked for Dad. But sure got to work with him. Even was leased to same company for a few years. Gramps died in a truck. Dad died on his scooter. Had it not be for that. Would have been a truck.

I tell all this for a few reasons. One, I probably never typed it. But it doesn't matter. Everyone had a different path and difficulties on the way. I'm not bragging or chest pumping. But I'll say I'd never made it with out Michel P.

Hear his voice in the shop to this day. Sure would like one more night wrenching together, or driving. He come around me on the toll road one night like I was nailed to the pavement. Sure wouldn't mind that again either.

 

Very popular Pie around here. I'll still pass like the last 44 years. Grandma made it all the time.

 

That wouldn't a been the same lil shop back behind the ole Robins Nest Jane Lew? They was good folks, would take a dime off me. Left a C note on the counter for their kindness. Figured it a bought the fellers lunch or sumthin..

They give me some self tappers, screw gun, orange 1157's, & a warm shop to get er legalish after I smoked a doe the day I met ya. Day after election 2020 if I recall right..

Ain't seen that ole devil in a long while. Lmao

 

That's one of the reasons I kind of liked training in flatbed at Swift. They actually gave you a kit with spare parts for things, bulbs, air line end repair, splice repair, fuses, etc, in case you were out in the middle of nowhere and needed to get back to civilization. I don't know if the new Knight/Swift does the same, but I liked that they thought enough to supply that to you. Now, if only they had maintained the vehicle as well as they expected you to be able to repair them, I may have never left them.

 

Worlds more dangerous. We had one of our drivers who stopped overnight outside a shipper that got jacked and shot in the head. I was pulling a reefer and so we would back to a wall, lower the landing gear and pull the 5th wheel pin, take your shoes off, gun on your chest THEN go to sleep.

It was called long haul trucking, leave home Monday, run 5000 miles, get to the yard Friday afternoon and have a few beers in the shop with the owner. Between the road dangers, spring ride and Armstrong steering, drivers were actually fairly tough (had to be…you never knew what was going to happen next.

In the pickle parks west of Shreveport, there were these rival gangs of good buddies that would fight for pickle park dominance. Out west, the pickle parks looked and felt like a horse stall…especially Texas. They had the weird half walls around the crapper. You could actually see someone turd clipping because the stalls were like 4 ft high.

I was a company schmuck and in those days, 100 gallons of fuel at the Hook would get you a shower ticket and a voucher for a 24 ounce T bone dinners with 2 sides and a beverage.

Would you believe that as late as 2007, Texas still had the nighttime 55 mph speed limit?

 

Yes, kings garage across the parking lot….