Story of my first load 44 years ago, on July 4th, 1973

Yeah there was a great spiral Los Angeles street map,forget it's name. Used to hang out at Zimmers Truckstop in Whittier (anyone remember that dump?)and there was always a guy driving around in a car selling them.Great map for getting around LA.
There was also a great color coded low clearance map for Chicago.If you drove a truck there,you better dam well have a copy of it.

 

Second the paper work, massive volumes of maps for the entire NYC and all Boroughs I think the value retail was 200 in those days. But they featured alley level detail plus every clearance.

I would be in Jersey at the old 76 off I-78 I think it was exit 7 in that valley prior to the plateau. Going over those maps for hours taking a whole booth planning the attack into NYC later that night. Long before there was even a internet (Your mind was your net.... consider that and have a smoke too...) you had to know wtf you are doing with 18 wheels waking up the block.

 

Anyone can drive today. Old hands ain't just anyone

 

How are you doing with the leg?

 

Actually he would have been rehired 20 minutes or tomorrow.

Ive been fired proper with profanity exquistely delivered and then called out at sunrise, boy!!!! you late. Get *&^ here NOW.... Hired. =)

 

She broke her leg.

 

I'm back to work now thanks for asking

 

I still have a box full of city maps. 25 cents each back when I started. Nothing like being in the middle of Philadelphia at 3am with a city maps opened up that covered the whole doghouse in a cabover KW. I had to get them out a while back, my two daughters didn't believe me when I told them how I used to find places. I still don't have a GPS today. I do use Google maps though!!

 

I run bulk cement for Schlumberger pre loading silos before the pump crew comes out. Had one of the fastest blowing trailer in our yard. 400 sacks of surfset, roughly 44,000 lbs kicked off in 28 min. Forget the hose hopping around, the whole back end of the trailer was dancing. Partly cuz i didn't have to use the stupid 90 elbow and got away with a long 45

I usually crack the bottle open around 12.5 psi depends on situation and what blend the cement is. Heck sometimes i crack it at 7-8 psi it still unloads just fine

 

Ive gotten cement out of the Heil three potter in Lehigh at the Baltimore Harbor across from the fort mchenry in a shade under 21 minutes once. I show up under the crying seagulls at sunrise, 20 spots, one me foreman says start blowing anywhere you please, I have enough pump air to blow God today.

I hooked up to that huge electric motor that started humming steady. Took her to 16 pounds opened one pot and that hose started bouncing. Took a couple of 5 gallon buckets of water off the dock before it stopped leaking.

All gone in 21 minutes. I will never forget that day. if all my unloads were that fast it would be a extra 150 plus dollars per day on top of the 300 plus as usual.....