Post Gordon ~ Thoughts, Commentary & Reflections

Good evening, Greyhound! And 57stroker!
--Took a lot longer to unload the pinwheeled pallets today.
--Really busy today anyway, 3 trucks in line, two at dock
--We provide expedited, dedicated runs to this customer
--I parked in street until room to drive inside facility
--You know, the Prairie du Chien was supposed to be 1x/week
--Coming up on my $15K Social Security limit
--Then $1 deducted of SS for every $2 made
--Yard Boss says he'll 'make up' the lost $$
--??????
--Okay, ratchet back to 1x/week, too!!!

 

Hi to johnkraymond! Thx for visiting!
--Chick #5 still MIA
--Broody gets all 4 under her if a bird nearby
--Spent yesterday morning covering top of pen
--With 2x3" plastic-coated, green wire mesh
--Hopefully no more lost from above
Prairie du Chien tomorrow...

 

Foggy this morning and last night
--Kinda grumpy, cranky
--Today, things that don't normally bother
--Get under my skin...
--Usually look forward to this Prairie run
--Rather be back working on property
--Like to hook up with a local carpentry crew
--Know a couple I'd consider if they'd want me
--Grey, overcast days like this my favorite
--Not a fan of sunny, sunny, sunny
--Shifting slightly lazy, not grinding or missing
--Just off enough, result of a pinch of indifference
--Inquired on a couple outbounds this a.m. and weekend
--Most brokers 8-5 M-F
--There was an Indy-Bentsenville, IL left over for today
--Another stop he sort of slides in, Lebanon, IN
--"Next to the truck stop??" I ask. "Forget it. Takes hours to get in there."
--He admits it's AgraFoods.
--Keep it.

 

Loading in Prairie...
--Missed my turnoff to Dickeyville on 61 North
--Daydreaming, I guess
--Looked up at overpass as I went by, saw Dickeyville sign
--Okay, how far to an exit? 20 miles?? (I thought)
--Less than 2 and a really good turn-around spot
--Garmin wanted me to proceed on Hill Climb Road
--I don't think so.
--Certainly took some of the burden off my purple funk
--Difficult not to appreciate the Norman Rockwell beauty
--Dark gray clouds with intense, burning white edges
--And a missed turn that troubled, not.

 

Visited 95-year-old buddy Hal yesterday
--"Oh, I'm fine, Vic. Just fine."
--"But having no particular fun."
--Still has that dignity, wit
--30 years and 6 days older than me
--At 92 was still driving Chrysler Sebring convertible
--Now living within/inside the equivalent of a sack of potatoes
--No mobility to speak of, wheelchairs it but only with help
--Then with help of a sister, video-Skyped
--With my 93-year-old Mom
--Her epiphany, "Not sure I'd know you if you walked in."
--Most of memory, except for years and years ago, gone
--Last visit, "Well, if you've got chicken...
--"You're probably my son, Victor"
--Retired RN, surprisingly okay with memory loss.
--Then Ward, now Robin Williams
--It's amazing how negative one can be in a purple funk
--Ah! Tomorrow's a new day, tonight a new night.
--Robin, Kevin--sorry guys. Really, really sorry.

 

Hi "Hang - Man"! Ford L8000! mp4694330! Thx for visiting!
--Too late for soup at Huckleberry's tonight
--And the Acapulco Grill already closed, too
--Usually open until 10 pm Central
--No Dos Equis tonight, I guess.
--A deer ran across old Main Street
--In front of van in front of me
--Very cool.
--Then waited below, was Bambi far behind??
--Dunno. Shut down for the night at Wal-Mart.
--Breakfast at Huckleberry's in the morning.

 

So here I sit...
--DeKalb Oasis I-88, some oasis! Not!
--Very, very torn up
--Receiving wanted to divert load to Lafayette
--Pow-wow with Yard Boss
--On my own took I-88, 160 miles to Lafayette
--Detour near, through Chicago, 294 blocked with a wreck
--Yard Boss called, higher-ups at customer changed their mind
--Say what?? So, turn around, go back to I-39...
--Sheesh!!!!!! Already called neighbor
--Ugh!!

 

Not only that...
--Got hooked up with InternetTruckStop load board while at the Oasis de DeKalb
--Wow!! What I've been missing!!
--In a half hour talked to 3 brokers about 3 Wisconsin loads all within reach
--Champaign, Lafayette (yeah, that same Lafayette) and Indy
--So Indy was pallets of lead for $500--not.
--Champaign was empty banana crates (so he said) for $600
--Lafayette was empty Smirnoff Ice cans or something like that--7,000 lbs.
--Offered $550, I countered $1,000. Hey, it's to LaCrosse.
--Wanted to know when I could PU (load was for today)
--Told him 9 am tomorrow (Wednesday)
--Wanted to know when I could DEL
--Told him tomorrow night but on paper would only commit to 10 am Thursday
--Both places 24 hrs M-F
--Emails me a rate con with original PU (today) and DEL tomorrow 9 am
--That's not happening
--But rate is $1,000 ("$650 direct, $350 deadhead")
--I email him back my standard $250 min. TONU and $50 hr/detention after 2 on both ends
--Reiterate promise is 9 am Wed PU and 10 am Thurs DEL
--But can probably speed it up. Maybe.
--The short of it he starts to stall
--I stopped at Willow Creek Rest Area, more yada yada
--When he says call me when you're empty--
--He's gonna bail.
--Sure enough, about an hour later emails, "Can you believe this!! They canceled!!!"
--I can believe that when a broker stalls, fails to correct rate con, he's either trying to set me up or will cancel or both. Probably using me as a backup (at any price I might ask) in case his cheapo truck didn't/couldn't so he could cover no matter what happened.
--You know what? It's all good. Mojo's back. Shifts are sharp again.
--So I'm home tonight. Like I said, it's all good. Dogs are happy & so am I. (Just glad I'm not an O/O with a truck payment due. Can you imagine how pissed...)


//Broker sent me a crybaby email this morning, Wednesday, boo-hoo, that he'd been up all night, 23 hours, working on loads. Yeah, sure. Better to man up enough to call me. Not.

 

Other side of the broker/carrier dance...
--Kicked back in bed this morning watching
--Loads pop onto InternetTruckStop
--Lots of loads up around Milwaukee
--Done that, I-39~43, 75 miles off route each way
--So 150-mile diversion off route, out of lane
--Just lots of loads to look at, brokers to talk to
--Settled on one for first thing tomorrow a.m. PU
--Not a lot of $$, $600 for 162 loaded miles, some off-route
--Heavy, too, but drops below Dubuque
--So hit hills empty; could have had Postville, heavy-hilly
--TQL lists same load again and again
--Just uses different origin and destinations
--Listed one for Madison was up above Oshkosh!! Why do that?
--Got a broker very upset with me over $1150
--Marion, IN ~ Tomah, WI ('package goods' to Wal-Mart DC)
--PU this afternoon, DEL tomorrow
--Tried to guilt me, said I was his 'only' option, then hung up on me???
--Knew I was still shopping, no email exchange, no rate con...
--Said I 'backed out' on load; Hey!! Wasn't in it yet!!
--Our CFO needs to complete set up package for load tomorrow
--Plan to run out tonight, but first we need that set up pkg filled out
--Meredith sent out a 'generic' rate con--it's blank!
--She'll add details after package approved.


//All 4 girls, 2 reds and 2 comets, laid eggs this morning. Could carry 3 in one hand, put 1 in my pocket. Forgot about it. You can figure out what wet something I just felt... clean up time. Ugh!!