Post Gordon ~ Thoughts, Commentary & Reflections

Done on purpose, Denali. I think it's more readable. Thx for input.

I'm not trying to 'imitate' speech because regular speech uses a lot more personal pronouns--but regular speech has voice inflection that indicates what to pay attention to, not available to a writer.

The 'good writing' we've learned has some built-in artificiality that I'm wanting to get around with dropping first "I" and use of sentence fragments, for two.

Regular speech has forms not found in any dictionary like 'kinda,' 'hafta,' 'whaddyuh,' 'wouldenya' that I use, too. Informalizes, I think and gets quicker to the point.

We use these every day but would get kicked out of English class for them.

 

Tomorrow... Dayton

This is X that I haven't been to yet, brought up yesterday. Then switched to KY because I'd been there. Will follow another driver out at 0500, taking advantage that we often have multiple trucks going to any of 10 destinations. In contrast, it was a couple weeks at Gordon before I finally visited a customer for the second time. Different worlds. This is better. Smaller.

Didn't think Wayne wasted time on the yard yesterday morning. Two other drivers acted surprised (acted... probably know better) that I get days off they don't. One said hasn't had a day not in a truck since September. Poor baby!!

Gave me a chance to tease Wayne about his hair cut, which I've been meaning to do. Describes himself as a happy guy as long as has enough change in his pocket for a cheeseburger... and high school sweetheart at home.

Or something like that...

Raining outside, maybe snow later.

What's my Plan B for inside work?

 

Hello-o-o, 3 Hens and Duck

After I decided where to put the new family, up hill from the porch, called the couple in Gosport to see if this afternoon was a good time. It was. Happily, the F350 was in a good mood, started not quite straight up but pretty straight up for its vintage, and off to the Junction we went, only to find that someone knocked Dave's diesel pumps over--something happened anyway.

Decided to cross fingers and continue on. After they moved a couple cars I backed the car hauler across their driveway and up to this incredibly sturdy doghouse. Shingled roof, 8-feet long, built of treated 4x4s, 2x4s, treated 5/8" plywood and some siding. Has a walk-out, covered porch, no less and heavier than all get out. It hardly budged with 2 guys pushing and fighting it.

You could say I got a $450-dollar doghouse for taking it and some poultry off their hands. Well, paid them $25--might cover the 2x4s in that little building.

We got it up on the dovetail after no small trouble and in time, many little breaks, wiggled it bit-by-bit back and forth until had it up against the front bar and I strapped it down. Meantime, the duck took to the woods while the gal corralled the chickens and put them in the wire crate on my passenger seat.

The duck took a while.

They all seem like really happy campers now, have never had commercial chicken feed ("We're allergic to gluten and corn."), just black oil sunflower seeds, kitchen scraps and what they could forage in the yard. They took to the mix of crumbles and sunflower seeds like kids to pop and pizza. Don't know that I'm going to crawl inside and build them a roost tonight or not.

To get it off the trailer, opened two chain link panels and backed up pretty much where I wanted it. Then, of course, the fun began. But it's done. And they seem quite happy. It's all good.


//Thanks for the heads up, Wayne. I like the idea of short footprint run and getting back early enough to get something done, even if it's merely buying more supplies in Bloomington.

 

Dayton's Closed

Apparently Dayton got hit a lot harder than we did. Here we had a combination of drizzle and snow last night that forebode a nasty morning. Wasn't. At least wasn't that bad, roads dry. Had to tug a little bit to get car driver-side door open, that's about it. Set my alarms for 0300.

This time slot and this run will likely my least favorite because between 11 pm and 5 am, I want to be in bed under covers, not outside with a flashlight in the cold. Worse, could only find 2 of the 3 new chickens, and they were perched on top of the doghouse. The duck, smarter than the chickens, perhaps, was inside the doghouse...

Where else would a smart duck be?? I ask you.

All the same, the sight of a coyote waiting to cross the highway on the other side of the creek less than a mile from here didn't help. Haven't seen another this close--ever. I figure one was here and got my cat some time ago, never saw it. Thought that number 3 probably went over the 6-foot fence and was perched somewhere like the other 2, just outside the fence.

Didn't find it. So had rather uncomfortable drive into town and the yard.

The call came to the other driver canceling today's run and we left our tractors hooked to our outbound trailers. "Did you log out?" the other driver asked as I walked to my car. "If not, it'll screw up your hours, your 10-hour break." In fact, I hadn't. Thx!!

Found number 3 new hen after a careful search around the property. Where, you ask?? Glad you did. Had flown up and perched on 6-foot gate to get from the other hen paddock and the one it's in. Was probably there earlier, too. Probably I just walked by it earlier and it let me...

It didn't bother to say, 'Oh, I'm right up here. Thx for looking."

Nah-h-h, too easy.


//Informal Thread Index, see Msg #1303.

 

Still taking care of chickens, roosters, duck and dogs, etc.

Oh, Miguelito!! (Little Miguel)

By the time I got in the car this morning I was already scowling. Set alarm for 3:30 am when I shoulda been asleeeeeeeep zzzzzzzzzzz. The car did not trifle with me. It had warmed up over 20 minutes and shifted into upper range just up the hill. To go downhill, I have to go up first. Safer that way. Not in a mood for games, either. The Sable seemed to know.

Knew that my grumpiness and scowl would serve me well with Miguelito. It did, too. My take on him is much different from yours, Wayne. Just like introverts and extroverts. Last night at the 'Get Fit Challenge' lecture at the Spencer Y, the speaker described the difference between her and her introverted sister--and promptly walked to a corner and faced it. "No, no, no," I interrupted. "That's not right!"

An extrovert gets pumped up walking into a room of 30, like we had. In contrast, the same room drains an introvert's batteries. I'm an introvert; I know. Our speaker's sibling rivalry was showing, influencing her description.

The Area Rep (for 6 of our receivers) really likes Miguelito. Really likes him. He does not play up to her. Eric C. went ahead of us and somehow Miguelito took over the case checking on his load. Still don't know how the shift took place. Just 'Bing'! You would have thought it was his load.

And he's good. He drove well. Blindsided into the dock next to Eric C's truck without so much as a pull up. Impressive. Lined right up. Boom. Set brakes. I pulled straight in and up to the fence and jockeyed a little to get into Eric C's door when Eric left. Just a normal back up to an awkward dock for me.

Miguelito nailed it blindside. We both had 53' reefers. 3-axle day cabs.

"We got screwed on that yesterday," was the first thing Miguelito said this morning. (By the way, nice seeing you pull in to the yard, Wayne. Must have been 7 or more lined up semi's through the gate while I did my pretrip.) "If we'd gone just 5 miles, we'da got the $145 minimum," Miguelito scowled. (We get $25 show-up pay for yesterday.)

That's $25 for getting up at 3 am for me. Pfhooey!!

I out-scowled him. Told him that I emailed Terminal Boss, "Next time, please schedule cancellation for 1100. Not available Wed-Friday. Have plans." In other words, don't even think of me helping catch up. Not happening.

THEN... and THEN... told him how my papers had yesterday's truck crossed out and '82' substituted. It dissipated his negativity. '82' was on the yard, too.

Phooey with this, I thought. I know TB hates mornings even more than I do. It was 4:45. Woke him up. "Ugh," he answered. Silence. Just "Ugh," and barely that. "Hey, my paperwork has '77' crossed out and '82' written in place. '82's on the yard, but '77's hooked to the trailer."

TB: "Take it." (Take the truck hooked to the trailer I need today.)

Me: "Take it?"

TB: "Take it. Ugh... " Click!! Hey!! How cool... Maybe mornings ARE good.

Hey!! I figure if I'm up by 3:30 to get there by 4:45 the Boss might as well be up, too. Anyway, Miguelito and I are a little closer in disposition than I probably should admit. A girlfriend once told me I was 'chronically disgruntled'...

"The Hell you mean by that??" I demanded.

She just shook her head and made a sour face.

Things might be different on a different day. But I helped carry the burden of what a turdy way things can always turn out and how to retaliate.

You, my friend, Mr. Wayne, are Mr. Perennial Sunshine. Life's good, sweetheart's at home, got $3.50 in my pocket for a cheeseburger, washed truck in the driveway yesterday, what's not to like? Happy day!!

Probably drives Miguelito right up a tree...

 

Miguelito 2

It's the fundamental difference between an optimist and a pessimist. Truth be told, haven't had any meaningful discussion with Miguelito. Like whether life is really good--or not. Talked more with Chekhov. Miguelito lives just up the road in Gosport. Either he was on his good behavior, and most likely if really is more like me, there's no 'good behavior' per se with him but can definitely get worse... any moment now.

The world is just a different place for a true optimist versus a true pessimist, just like a roomful of people is a different place for an introvert versus an extrovert. The world's a less complicated place for an optimist. Simpler. You do your part, take care of business and things work out.

For you, life is good and you expect it to stay that way--or even get better!!

Imagine that. You puzzle at the odd ways people use to make life worse...

For Miguelito, and I'm just assuming here, based on myself, to wake up in the morning and everything's just hunky dory's not likely. Always has to have some burr under his saddle. Somewhere. He may not have found it just yet, knows it's there. He'll find it. Like a lost car key.

Wayne, you could get under Miguelito's skin merely by your smile. Your world is alien to him. Nothing much to grouse about there. What's the fun in that? For him, okay is--not really okay. It can always get worse. He's ever-calculating how it could get worse right now, in fact.

He'd want you to know there isn't much reason to smile... about anything.

'Cause there's always another shoe to drop.

Any time now...



//Just an FYI, Wayne, that you don't get under my skin at all. I'm more than a little intrigued that it is possible not to have one's head in the sand and still enjoy life... and not looking for something to grouse about... imagine that.