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

It most certainly is. (Just a teeny bit jealous!) Smile!!!!

 

Wanted to tell you thanks, JB, for the insight the other day. I haven't been on here lately to let you know that.

 

My pleasure. I just hope it gets worked out in your favor. I empty out in edenton nc in the morning. Right now it's time for bed. Talk soon.

 

I got back to the yard about 3pm yesterday. I fueled then went in to see dispatch, I waited my turn at the window listening to the loads that were being handed out. I had home time scheduled for Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday leaving out on Wednesday. I was handed a load assignment as soon as I walked up to the window. It was a load sitting on the yard going to Pompano Beach for 7am Friday. I hooked to it and left with an hour left on my clock. I made it down to the pilot at the 180mm in NC. I was up and rolling at 4am this morning and put in 719 miles today. I have 160 to go in the am and will be leaving here at 4am. Then home for a few days. I'll come out on Tuesday instead of Wednesday. I'm tired, time for bed.

 

You know what's really sad JB? You're averaging only 1k fewer miles a week than my codriver and me. Really can't wait to get my year in, my co and I will be applying to AME to run team. If they can run a solo driver 3500 a week then they should have no problem getting 6-7k out of us.

 

Ok, time to hear me vent. I was home on Friday for 2 f"ing hours. I got empty with my Pompano Beach delivery at 8:15 and was having breakfast with my wife at 9:15. We went home, I do the same thing everytime I get home, I empty my truck with everything that needs to be washed, or put in the fridge. My wife had a bunch of real estate work to do in the house and out with customers so it was going to be me and the dogs relaxing the whole day. Just as she was getting ready to leave my phone rings. Caller ID said Abilene. As god is my judge, I wasn't expecting this phone call. It was Kimberly asking me if I got the reload info. I told her no, I'm at home and that I was now on hometime. She told me that my home time wasn't until Sunday and that I needed to pick this load up in Ga going back to the terminal and that they would turn me around and get me home for Sunday. I told her that after I got back to Richmond I would be short on hours then pick up hours after midnight on Sunday. She basically told me to work with it and hung up. I was pissed, real pissed, the woman I'm married to was twice as pissed. I ran out of the house with no bedding, 2 pair of underwear, my shaving kit, no food and 5 dollars in my pocket. I got to the truck, my wife didn't even kiss me goodbye and I left. I get up to Fort Pierce for a soda and check my dispatch. The load is a drop and hook in Pooler Ga that delivers in Hanover Pa on the 9th at noon. Are you f"ing kidding me? How f"ing important is this drop and hook at 7:30 on a Friday night that delivers 5 days later, that I had to get it? How many empty trucks will be in and around Georgia on Monday that one of them couldn't pick it up?

But, like the good little soldier I am, I take orders and do as I'm told. I've been here 6 months now, have never once said no, in fact, I have proven to everyone in dispatch that I can't even spell the word no. I do the drop and hook and have just enough time on my clock to get to the Pilot at exit 109 on 95, fuel and go to sleep, with no blanket. In fact, I used a sweat shirt I had as a blanket. I'm spoiled, I know I am, my meals since I left Friday have consisted of anything I could buy at a Subway or McDonalds. I wanna throw up right about now. This story gets better, just wait. I get up Saturday morning and have 430 miles to go to get to the Richmond yard. I get there at 3:15, the whole day I'm thinking to myself that at this time of the day, just what exactly will I get to Florida? At 3 in the afternoon, what load to anywhere will I get? I was just hoping that Kimberly told Jonathan that I was head back up and to save me a Florida load so I can get my home time.

Now a lot of you guys have been following every word I have written over the last 4+ years and know that the one thing that I cherish and expect, is my home time. I don't care what earth shattering problems arise, it can wait until my home time is finished. It was that way at any job I had as an OTR driver. It was that way at Calex, and it's that way at Abilene. After 33+ years of this circus, I do expect it. I've earned it, and I want it. I have a great woman at home, very independent, a career business woman, a great mother and an understanding wife, at this age of ours we are both counting down the days until I hang it up. I don't ask for home time because I want to go fishing, I want home time because I've earned it. Plus the fact that after 9 years since my wife and I had our house built, we decided to do a lot of upgrades to the house now that we couldn't do back then. We had all the rear windows and French doors changed out to hurricane proof glass, the house is being painted inside and out, and my driveway is being torn up and replaced due to settling over the last 9 years. Whatever the reason is, I need to be home to do some work before the painters started.

There's policies in place to get things done here and at any other company. When I was on my way up to Twin Falls Id to load 10 days ago I followed the procedure and put in for my home time. It was entered into the system and the system had it planned out. Anyway, after dropping the loaded trailer at the yard, fueling up, then walking into dispatch, Jonathan saw me and his mouth dropped open. He asked me what I was doing back and I told him exactly what had transpired. I can't write on here the words that came flying out of his mouth, but let me tell you, it wasn't him asking me if I wanted some apple pie. He was pissed, big time, not at me, but at whoever it was that had their hand in this mess. Let me tell you, Jonathan is a stand up guy, but listen, I'm not naïve enough to think it's because of my good looks, he knows who does the job, and he knows I never say no. I do my job, period. Whatever goes with this job I do, whatever policies and procedures are in place here at Abilene I follow, and I do it safely and on time, period. Does that count for anything? I use to think it counted for hometime, but I now have my doubts. Not with Jonathan, he does his part, and very good I might add. So, like I had worried about, no Florida loads, and no other freight anywhere else for that matter. Finally, he put something together without saying a word. He called ScooterDawg, who was sleeping on the yard, and asked him if he would give up the Dania Beach load he was waiting on. He had him on speaker phone so I heard the whole conversation. Let me tell you, Mark is another standup guy that I have become friends with. He gave it up with no questions asked. If he didn't I would understand, I mean it was a 950 mile trip. Thanks buddy, dinners on me next time. and Jonathan? He fired off an email to the parties involved. The guy is gold.

So, like I told Kimberly, I was short on hours to get home for today. I had enough to get to The J at the 77mm in SC. This is where my next headache comes into play. After my break, I had just enough left on my 70 to make it to this little Pilot here in Cocoa Beach, where I spent the night Thursday night, in fact, coming off the exit I had to hit the shoulder and do my log work because I had run out of time. I pick up 8.5 hours at midnight, it's 190 miles to my drop and I need to be there at 5am, done deal. I only have 2 coolers to drop off so I should be home around 7am. Then it will be phone call time into Kimberly just to let her know that because I wasn't able to start my requested and ok'd hometime on Sunday, I will be starting it on Monday and will be coming out on Thursday.

Now, for the issue at the Flying J at the 77mm on I-95, ST George SC. Whenever I leave the yard, my truck is fueled up. My DEF tank is filled up. When I get to St. Marys, at the 1mm in Ga, I top my truck off. That allows me to run all the way into Florida, come out and load in Ga then refuel. Well, at 7am this morning, I get out, pretrip the truck/trailer, then leave. I get about 10 miles down the road and I look at my fuel gauge, it's reading between 1/4 and a 1/2. At first I thought it might be the way the truck was sitting overnight. But it never came back up. I pulled off an exit and got out to check everything. Bingo, the fuel cap on the passenger side was unscrewed almost completely off. I said to myself that we have those anti-siphon sleeves in the tanks how could someone get the fuel out. Then I notice the vent whole just above the fuel cap is unbolted except for one little bolt and the vent cover is slid away. I carry a yard stick with me (old school), dipped the tank and sure enough, almost empty. Lucky me was the victim of about 125 gallons of fuel at the Flying J at the 77mm in SC that is frequented by more container haulers that anything else. Now let me tell you, I'm not going to sit here and tell you what I hope happens to this individual, not gonna waste my breath, but I truly believe in Karma, and I'm positive this POS will get his one day. Maybe it will be in the form of a terminal illness for him or one of his loved ones, maybe it will be in the form of financial ruin, like he mortgaged his house to buy his truck that he can't afford and he looses the truck, can't pay his mortgage, looses his house, Karma, see where I'm going with this? Or maybe it will be something simple, like he stole $500 worth of fuel from a company truck, now this week the bearing in his turbo lets go and gets sucked into his engine. Or even simpler, he blows out a right front steer tire on a bridge at 70mph. I'm not wishing none of this on him, but trust me, Karma is a Biotch. I just hope the S.O.B does this one night and the driver he's ripping off comes out of his truck geeking and tweeking and fires off a round or two right into the middle of his head. Ok, that's all I have, it's enough isn't it?


Bear with me, I'm writing a few lines at a time, this Pilot WiFi is in a world all by itself.

 

Wow JB that sounds ridiculous I would be highly pissed too sounds like no communication in the building.

 

Standing by for the updates.....

 

I'm kinda curious to how this turns out myself.

 

JB,

That pilot in Cocoa is bad. I'm gonna pm you about some places to park in that area if you ever have to park there again. Sorry to see this happen to you. I hope all gets resolved.

KH