Post Gordon ~ Thoughts, Commentary & Reflections

The Absconder

Walking up the Wal-Mart aisle towards me, I saw a guy with 2 1-gallon jugs of water dangling from each hand--4 gallons, total. "Your pipes frozen, too, eh? I'm headed for the same, " I said. He smiled and nodded. I, at least, had sense to get a cart.

Once back out to my car it was just too much trouble at the late hour and hard, cold wind to go back into Wal-Mart and make right the 1-gallon jug of cranberry blended juice (grape, pear, etc.) that hadn't made it to the checkout conveyer but had made it out to my car.

Leave it in the cart? No. Sorry, Wal-Mart. I'll just have to owe you $3.99.

Really, sorry. Just too much trouble.

Very glad I took the Louisville run today. We were both at the yard at 2 pm but with yada-yada with Terminal Boss' assistant and all it was, oh, I don't know, probably 2:45 pm before we got out. Tank said they like us there by 5 pm, would not get there until 5:30 but would be okay.

Tank runs this pretty much every day, allows him time with his 14-year-old and 11-year-old; time that he wouldn't have with them if he worked a typical trucker half-day (12 plus hours), like Wayne, Frank and Sunday Driver.

This 200-mile turn gets done in 7-8 hours. We stopped for a lunch break on the way back at his favorite stop, a TS (truck stop) with almost no business but both a Taco Bell and KFC--and probably much like the one he managed in Bloomington, IN where he met his wife when they were both teenagers.

Uh, kinda like someone else we know...

Anyway, we talked on the phone until (town of) Mitchell and when I commented that he had almost a 'normal' work day rather than a trucker half day, Tank didn't seem to get it. We went around 3 or 4 times until, in almost exasperation, after repeatedly trying to EXPLAIN the 12-hour work-day joke, Tank finally said, "Vic, I just don't think it's funny. It's true. It's not funny."

Tank was as serious as a truck wreck.

He does have a point. And well taken. It's not funny.

 

Oh, Louisville Redux

The neat thing about following someone on a route they do every day, same as Trainer Frank and Sunday Driver down to KY--this is Tank's gig and like them and Wayne, he's one of the company originals--is that the pace he sets (even if he's trying to let you stay with him) has the benefit of his long experience of that run, how deep he goes into turns, where he brakes on downgrades, etc.

His truck 'knows' the way and responds like, automatically. (Pun intended, it is an automatic.) Meaning, though, that he has all the various issues of the run pretty well ironed out, speed-wise and braking. From long practice.

If Tank goes through a sharp curve that looks like it might tighten up but he doesn't brake, you can bet you can hold your speed and follow him through that curve without braking, too.

He's been there, done that, day-in and day-out.

His truck knows the way. I think most of the time we both sped up or slowed by clicking our cruise up or down. That's what I did to match his speed, which I saw change both up and down, most often slowing evenly without brake lights flashing. Very pleasant! Or was he free-footing?

Doubt it! Dunno.

For cruise control, the Macks have 2 rocker switches that sit side-by-side on the dash to the right of the steering wheel. The left is just cruise on or off.

The right rocker switch is much more interesting and useful. With cruise on (which happens when the top of the left rocker switch is pushed in with a click), you can then press the right rocker switch bottom in with a click to set your cruise speed at the speed you're going. To adjust your speed up or down, press the top (to speed up or resume cruise) or bottom (to set the cruise or slow down the vehicle). It's very cool and the dash tells you where the cruise is set, at what speed. Digital and it's accurate.

With the right rocker switch you can click, click, click truck speed up; or, click, click, click truck speed down. Each click causes the truck to increase or slow about 1 mph, sometimes 2 mph as you push in on top or bottom. Your first click, though, is usually a 'gimme' where the cruise just echos back through the dash display to show where cruise speed has been set. Not always.

There's also a lit, green, circular dash icon to confirm that you're on cruise.

With the trucks so similar, it is the lack of experience of the 'new' driver compared to the long experience of the 'old hand' that makes a lot of difference in the rhythm of the run.

Good idea of the 'new' (to the run) driver to take heed and pay attention.

What a treat! Felt like I lucked out. Stayed back about 500 feet, sometimes a lot more if he made the light and I missed it or traffic or something else separated us. We both had bulldog (Mack) Pinnacles (sleeper cabs with APU), mDrive transmissions, super single drive tires and m8 engines with variable geometry turbos. His has been a little suspect lately, rumored to hog fuel and boggy on the hills.

Yeah, if I ran that every day the 'issues' on that run would fall away in time, too. It just short cuts things to run together this way and nice that the company/terminal manager and assistant are providing me the opportunity to learn this way.

Eh! Maybe the honeymoon period with this outfit isn't over yet.

Dunno. Who knows?? Thx to Tank, too.

 

Depends. Don't know them all, however Bloomington runs to what, 10 locations? If things slow up soon and for a while, it wouldn't happen near term, for sure. Most likely for now will concentrate me on the 3-4 closest. Fine with me, too. Have too much going on right now to be away. Strongly emphasized to me that out-of-town runs usually go 30 hours, 48 at most. Getting back daily's a good thing.

Where's our update from tsavory? Did he find his transmission?

 

The Calories... Wow!!

Ugh! Calculated what I'd ate yesterday and thought it was light. R-e-a-l-l-y light. Well, for me, it was. Almost 2200 calories, though.

Can see where this is going!!

Chicken Fried Steak Microwave Dinner.................................350
Sips of Cranberry Juice Blend.............................................100
Large Scrambled Egg w/Mustard & Goat Cheese...................100
2 Arby's Fish Sandwiches (Pollock) 569 Calories Each!!!........1140
Taco Bell Cheese, Bean & Rice Burrito..................................420
1/2 Chelada (Clamato & Bud Light).......................................75

Total..............................................................................2185

Image keeps coming up of 130-pound Randy who cuts my hair, wagging his finger at me. Told him of the terrific 2-inch pork chop over at Carson's BBQ in Ellettsville, a full pound.

"A portion's six-ounces, Victor" says he, index finger doing the metronome tick-tock, tick-tock back and forth. "I'd cut that into thirds. Have part now and part later." Oh, yeah, sure, Randy. Sure!

Hell, I could cut it into 20's and still eat it up at a sitting. Oh, spread it out over 10 minutes. And this pork chop was great!! Really, really good.

Later's maybe 15 minutes.

And if it's any good, it's gone. The microwave dinner, although salty, is not that bad for 89-cents and 6 minutes to prepare. When I wake up, I'm ready to eat something. NOW.

Could be on my 3rd week on that, too, though. Got 6 more in the freezer, I think. Had been doing medium baked potatoes with olive oil and goat cheese. Stopped. Gotta do something with the goat cheese, right? Scrambled egg and mustard, sure. Bought cilantro, green onions and large mushroom slices last night, too. Gotta source for eggs...

For sure, I can be good for 3 weeks or so. Ditch the fish sandwiches from here out. Okay, fine. Hey! They were 2 for $5 and probably the best, the best of the burger joint fish sandwiches. Ordered my large McDonald's coffee black yesterday, drank about a third. Still have most of the estilo Mexicano (Mexican-style) coffee from the last KY, loaded with creamers and sugar, cappuchino.

Hafta throw that out. The sweet coffee's no loss... despite that coffee's a driver's friend. Not best friend, just--friend.

Need 2 hours on the track at Spencer Y today to make up missing yesterday.

Can get a shower there, too, if my plumbing doesn't straighten up! My venture into the crawlspace yesterday didn't yield much. Small 220-volt panel's door not flopped open (that's a typical problem in the past), no obvious cracked pipes, looks okay except the heat strip didn't feel warm to the touch despite the light on showing there was juice.

Left a foot square opening covered with a plastic crate (to keep out any critters larger than a mouse) weighted down with a jug to heat up the crawlspace a little more than the ducting provides. Closed off now. May have to drag torpedo heater down there. Warm it up.

Today will start testing from the 220-volt breaker out to the pressure switch. Seems every year need new pressure switch and heat strip wrapping.

Blustery last night, gusts up to 30, even 40 mph. Up to 20 mph today. Ugh!! Temps about 12 degrees currently. Down to zero tonight. Good news, today's high (12 degrees) is tomorrow's low. I'll take it!

Home daily. That's the life...

//Forgot the orange juice. Puts me over 2200!

 

Tomorrow's Run--KY

Worked late morning and early afternoon out on the porch in 12 degree weather tarping off an enclosure for the roosters. They took right to it. A good thing. Except hasn't occurred to them yet to get on the roost I built for them and sleep there out of wind and draft, which was the whole point.

There you go. Can lead 'em to water or roost...

And cross your fingers.

Hope's a good thing but may not solve much on its own.

Got my shower in at the Spencer Y; pipe's still frozen. Have not checked out the electrical (my hunch is the heat tape or pressure switch is bad), warmed the crawlspace with torpedo heater or done anything further yet.

Tomorrow's run is KY, Frank and me. Will be about 1 degree in the morning.

I like that, above zero. Another good thing.