bbmyls2go
". . . but I have MILES TO GO before I sleep, miles to go before I sleep." Robert Frost
Last night was UGLY . . .
and today ain't no beuaty queen either ! Or to continue the surfing analogy, hahahahahahahaWIPEOUT!
The snow/ice front curled up around the east of me so by the time I hit the PA turnpike I knew I was in for a tough night. Snow, ice, covered roadway, construction zones, snowplows, poor visibility, lots of CB chatter. I don't normally use the CB but turn it on for any trafiic or weather conditions that might inspire news that I need to hear. Oddly enough, truckerrs are a bit like firemen enroute to a call, when it gets serious, they either shut up entirely, or begin with the nervous banter which can include some hilarious conversations as we distract each other from possible impending doom.
I recall the heart beating faster if we were sent on a house fire call and while we casually did our business in the bucket getting our gear set, bottling up etc, the front seat officer turned and shouted (over the din of the siren) "communications says they've recieved multiple calls"). What usually shut us up and put is in 100% battle mode was if the officer just knocked on the plexiglass window seperating him in the front seat from us in the cab, and pointed out the windshield at a column of smoke.
Last night was a combo of those two things, some drivers tried to have real conversations debating driving techniques, weather conditions, and traffic behavior, while others got going with running gags that continued for the next 4 hours that it took to travel the 150 miles to the Carlisle exit. We lambasted the cops, the highway department, rookie drivers, old fart drivers, 4 wheelers, snow plow drivers, the President, the President some more, Bill Clinton (gotta love those Republicans, they can't let go of one sex act while their man, ah, never mind!), the weather man, Phil the Punxatawney groundhog, people who live in Florida, people who live in North Dakota, geesh, no one was safe from our insults last night!
It was frustrating in that everybody going west (the opposite way) would confirm, "just another 10 miles and you'll get out of it" ("IT" was sleet that coated the edges of the windshields and then began turning the wipers into icicles). But "IT" was always already there when we got that far. I finished the day with no problems, but about 2 hours behind schedule.
Of course when I parked at New Kingstown, the storm then enveloped me and we got several inches of snow followed by 1/4 inch of ice during the night. By morning it was raining and the temps slightly above freezing. The problem? The 4 1/4 inches were now turning into slush. All the sewer grates were blocked so road were flooded. The warehouse parking lots are basically 6" tidal pools of freezing water so I'm now soaked up to my knees from having to walk back and forth to the offices, to the rear of the trailer, to the rear tires (to adjust the weight of the trailer), around the trailer to inspect it (3 different trailers this morning). So it's 1pm, I'm sopping wet, and I haven't gone 1 mile yet on my next trip (back to Ft. Wayne, Indiana). Think I'll stay here today, dry out, sleep well, and make the drive tomorrow giving this rain a 24 hour chance to clean up some of the mess that's here today. Wet socks in a closed truck, so much for the romantic ideal of life on the road!bb.
The snow/ice front curled up around the east of me so by the time I hit the PA turnpike I knew I was in for a tough night. Snow, ice, covered roadway, construction zones, snowplows, poor visibility, lots of CB chatter. I don't normally use the CB but turn it on for any trafiic or weather conditions that might inspire news that I need to hear. Oddly enough, truckerrs are a bit like firemen enroute to a call, when it gets serious, they either shut up entirely, or begin with the nervous banter which can include some hilarious conversations as we distract each other from possible impending doom.
I recall the heart beating faster if we were sent on a house fire call and while we casually did our business in the bucket getting our gear set, bottling up etc, the front seat officer turned and shouted (over the din of the siren) "communications says they've recieved multiple calls"). What usually shut us up and put is in 100% battle mode was if the officer just knocked on the plexiglass window seperating him in the front seat from us in the cab, and pointed out the windshield at a column of smoke.
Last night was a combo of those two things, some drivers tried to have real conversations debating driving techniques, weather conditions, and traffic behavior, while others got going with running gags that continued for the next 4 hours that it took to travel the 150 miles to the Carlisle exit. We lambasted the cops, the highway department, rookie drivers, old fart drivers, 4 wheelers, snow plow drivers, the President, the President some more, Bill Clinton (gotta love those Republicans, they can't let go of one sex act while their man, ah, never mind!), the weather man, Phil the Punxatawney groundhog, people who live in Florida, people who live in North Dakota, geesh, no one was safe from our insults last night!
It was frustrating in that everybody going west (the opposite way) would confirm, "just another 10 miles and you'll get out of it" ("IT" was sleet that coated the edges of the windshields and then began turning the wipers into icicles). But "IT" was always already there when we got that far. I finished the day with no problems, but about 2 hours behind schedule.
Of course when I parked at New Kingstown, the storm then enveloped me and we got several inches of snow followed by 1/4 inch of ice during the night. By morning it was raining and the temps slightly above freezing. The problem? The 4 1/4 inches were now turning into slush. All the sewer grates were blocked so road were flooded. The warehouse parking lots are basically 6" tidal pools of freezing water so I'm now soaked up to my knees from having to walk back and forth to the offices, to the rear of the trailer, to the rear tires (to adjust the weight of the trailer), around the trailer to inspect it (3 different trailers this morning). So it's 1pm, I'm sopping wet, and I haven't gone 1 mile yet on my next trip (back to Ft. Wayne, Indiana). Think I'll stay here today, dry out, sleep well, and make the drive tomorrow giving this rain a 24 hour chance to clean up some of the mess that's here today. Wet socks in a closed truck, so much for the romantic ideal of life on the road!bb.
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