CRETE - A Year in Review

Probably them stinking liberals with two left feet ruining it for the rest of us "Naturals."

Sitting and staying awake 11-hours a day and being able to count to 70 is generally not the first thing that pops to mind when thinking about Naturals.

Although I do feel a bit blessed to be able to text with one hand (no looking at the keypad), eat a philly cheese steak with the other, and steer with my knees.​

 

Welcome back ET!!! I think that your thread got off track a bit but now that you're back...

 

Had the same issue with them in that time frame as well.

Came out of the house in central VA on a Monday, picked up a load in Raphine, VA that was due the next day in Oaks, PA. Live unload. Told there was no freight available at that time and was given permission to park on the closest place available, which was supposed to be on the PA Turnpike. Tried WB King of Prussia rest area. Barricaded, boarded up, locked up. Went 22 miles down to Marsh, PA rest area. Sat there for 45 hours until I could pick up my next load in Boothwyn, PA (near Wilmington, DE) on a Thursday. This load was not due until 4.13 (on a Monday) in Maryville, MO. Picked it up and asked if I could relay it in ESL, IL at that humongous multi-carrier drop yard right across from the Pilot at the race track. Dispatch told me that it would be out of route. (Um, excuse me, but right off the 55 from the 270 is probably no more than 5-10 miles at most and I said so. Dispatch got back to me and told me that St. Louis dispatch didn't want my load anyways.) I asked about Indy, considering that that is hardly out of route from I-70. They didn't want it there either. Told me the closest place I could relay it was Columbus. Then they had the audacity to force a load on me from Brookville, OH out to Keasbey, NJ. I fought tooth and nail to get out from underneath it, knowing that I would be sitting once I got out to the Newark area, regardless of the fact that this was a drop load. I sure did sit: 70 hours until my next load was available to go from Avenel, NJ to a stop near St. Cloud, MN to a final stop outside of DM, IA. While I sat in NJ, I finally said that enough was enough and decided to mail it in. If this is the bravo sierra that the boys in Lincoln are going to do, then there is no point in me staying there.

Oh, and to cap things off, after I delivered in Des Moines, they gave me a load to pick up in KC, KS, stop in Evansville, IN, do a final delivery in Loudon, TN. Mind you, I'd already informed them that I was leaving. So, I was supposed to turn the truck in over at their Greensboro yard. K-Town dispatch told me that they had nothing over the next day or so that would have routed me from TN over to Greensboro (at least to relay something). So, I told them not to waste anymore of their time trying to find a load for me if I was just going to sit and twiddle my thumbs and asked if I could drop the truck off at the K-Town truck yard. NP.

BTW, my now-former FM did not sound thrilled to hear me identify myself over the phone when I asked about taking the equipment to K-Town. On top of that, when I told one of his assistants that I was planning to leave, she told me that she would inform him about my decision and that if he had any questions, he would either call me or send me a Qualcomm message. Neither happened. I heard the crickets chirp over this one.

At least when I let Schneider know that I was leaving them back in 2006, they called and asked what was going on. The high-pitched silence that came from Crete spoke volumes this time around.

 

Welcome back ET.
PuritanProwess, you might want to read the Hunt thread in the Bad Company's Thread.

 

glad you are back et!! We have missed you!! Hope all is going well with you and welcome back!!

 

I'm glad everything worked out ET. Got a friend who is trying to get on with Crete and he's dealing with Jessica. They did his background check a few days ago(all was fine) but he's wondering how long the process will be from here. She told him to call back Thursday and check with her on everything. Any idea how long it will take him after that to start? Thanks man & be safe.

 

I don't disagree with you, but I do feel the examples you give are more in the realm of 'good judgment' and acquired skills gain over time. I'd say the problem lies in the definition of a 'Natural', as there is no definition, rather a consensus of opinion. My understanding of a 'Natural' is a driver that has an intuitive grasp of the skills need to 'operate' a truck, i.e., seamless shifting, knowing without think about when to shift and which gear, little or no grinding of the gears, an ability to sense the subtlest engine noise, or the way it's pulling. I'm not a natural, I came from the school of "Grind 'em til they fit shifting." But the lifestyle of OTR driving is a good fit for me because I am comfortable spending time with myself, I have many interests that keep me busy in a truck stop, and I love the independence, having nobody looking over my shoulder. Lastly, I never try to explain to people not in this industry, the many hours without compensation for loading or unloading, because if I did, they'd never understand. Their first question would be "Then why do you do it?" OTR drivers know why, but it doesn't make me a 'natural'.

 

I don't remember. But is K-town a terminal or dropyard? We didn't go that far with Crete.

Just a word of advice. ALWAYS return your equipment to your home terminal. You don't want to risk messing up on your DAC. Don't even drop off at a dropyard.

When we left Crete, they told my husband that it is an abandonment if we left it at a dropyard. He had to travel back to SLC from WA to drop it off with a load of course.

 

I really have missed reading your digest. I just don't know how you do what you do for the pay and time away from home though? However, I find it fascinating to read about your times on the road. The way you spell out your days has never really been done before in such detail. You are to be commeneded.

I would love to be able to chronicle may daily work as you do but I believe that yourself and just about every other driver out there would find it incredibly boring.

Welcome back and keep up the great work.

Drive safe