Jump to content

other dog

BMT Benefactor
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    13,536

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    444

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by other dog

  1. other dog

    Saturday Update

    By other dog,

    Wow,Bernie Mac passed away-he was 2 years younger than me! Don't get to watch much TV,but I saw the Bernie Mac show a few times,and it was great! He always thought the kids were trying to get over on him,and he'd outsmart 'em,and the kids always thought he was tryin' to get over on them...sad to hear anyway.
    Took some pictures yesterday-I went down to the apple tree to pick some apples. They're not ripe yet,but Jo wanted to try cooking some.I managed to pick 4 or 5 before I had to run for my life-hornets everywhere! Eating all the apples! And this pear tree was loaded-it had so many pears on it they broke the top of the tree off,along with several limbs. Now you can hardly find a pear. But those hot peppers and tomatoes are doing well,eh? (that's Canadian)
  2. other dog
    if everything works here,these are a couple of hills that a truck driver can appreciate as being very,very,steep and the pictures show it. The Kenworth is the original one used in the "Moving On" tv series. So,what's that got to do with 36 degree banking? Bristol has 36 degree banking in the turns,and that's steep too...Besides,Paul was getting annoyed that I was taking all the good blog entry titles, a.k.a. whatever day of the week it was. It gets harder and harder to come up with a new and catchy title all the time you know.
    And another thing-I've been known to criticise drivers who graduate from "truck driving school" and hit the road already having forgotten more than myself or most everybody else has ever known about driving on this blog,and today when I was anylizing my new "Wheels of Time" I came across the article about Joe Becker. This entire issue is about drivers and companies who recieved golden achievement awards,with 50 or more years in the trucking industry. Joe Becker is 79 and still trucking. In the mid 70's he started a truck driving school in Minnesota.He offered a 6 month, 1,200 hour course for interstate drivers and a 4 month 900 hour course for intrastate drivers. You had to log 5,000 miles with an instructor to graduate,but I guarantee you those drivers knew what they were doing when they hit the road. He eventually closed down his training school when others offered shorter courses. I know they say there's a driver shortage,but the "new breed" attitude of these guys coming out now is something else.Not all,but a lot of drivers are so hateful and arrogant-nothing like the commaradorie-oh forget it,i'll never be able to spell comaraderie-that there used to be. Where drivers used to be quick to help each other,now they're quick to cuss each other out for the least little thing. Unreal...what happened?
  3. other dog

    Good,bad,ugly Week

    By other dog,

    I unloaded at Carter Lumber in Fairview, Pa. Monday morning and when I left there headed for Brookfield, Oh. it was snowing pretty hard. First snow i've seen this year. I ran out of it before I got too far though, and loaded coils and went on to Roanoke. Ran into more snow in West Virginia. Unloaded Monday night and came home, where I stayed Tuesday. Got a 55' load of piling Wednesday going to Columbus that had to be there at 6am Thursday morning. So I got there Wednesday night, and they jumped right on it and started unloading me at 11am the next morning . Only problem was I had to be in Sharon, Pa. by 2:30 to pick up an N.B.Handy load coming to Lynchburg. Headquarters called them and told them I was running a little late and they said if I got there by 3:00 they would load me. It's hard to make any time in Ohio, especially when there was a cop or DOT man in every crossover on I-71. I usually don't run but about 57 or 58 in Ohio, but I dropped the hammer and set my cruise control about 62mph. Signed in at Sharon Coating at 2:57.
    Unloaded at Handy yesterday morning, stopped by the shop to fuel and turn paperwork in, then went to Dillwyn and picked up a Fremont load for Monday. The extra day off threw my schedule off, or i'd be on the way to Greensboro to the ATHS show now.
    I wish now i'd waited 'til Friday to put 2 front tires on the pickup. The inspection expired Friday night, so Jo took it over here to this little garage on 699 to get it inspected. They said it needed a left front tire, so she called me, and I told her to just take it up to the tire place- the one on Ward's Road, by the Sheetz, where we get all the truck tires- and get two tires put on it. So she did, and they inspected it again. She called me back and said the bill came to $293. I said we only needed 2 tires (one,actually) not all 4. She said that is for 2 tires, and the inspection. They put a bulb in the license plate light and charged $7.00 to put a 10 cent bulb in, inspection was $16, the tires were $110 each,plus mounting and balancing.I called the tire shop and asked them if they put gold or silver tires on it, that was about twice what I was expecting to pay. They said "well, that's a good tire, it's a 60,000 mile tire" . It oughta be a good tire for that kind of money, but they should've called me and asked before just slapping the 2 highest priced tires they had in the store on it. Last time I go there. I could have beat that price, and gone where mounting and balancing is free when you buy new tires
    Now I gotta go to CVS and get a roll of film developed, make some more hot sauce, and smoke a pork loin
    Was gonna scan a few pictures...now the #$@ *&!! scanner won't work either! Stupid #*^@ing computers!
    Well, anyhow...my pork loin's almost done, and i'm running off another batch of hot sauce-that makes it a little better
  4. other dog
    I delivered that load in Roxana Monday, and boy did I get a surprise! Neal told me when I called in empty to go to Blytheville, Arkansas to pick up a load going to- he said "I can't pronouce it, but it's p-u-y-a-l-l-u-p". I said "well what state is that in?" He hesitated a few seconds and said "Washington". So I said "yeah, right-where am I going?" He said "you wanna talk to your boss-man?" I said "yeah...it's probably in Kentucky somewhere". Then Jeff got on the phone and I asked him if I was going to Washington and he said "that's what Todd said". I still thought it was a joke and everybody at the office was in on it until I got loaded and it was on the shipping order, right there where it says "ship to", it said Puyallup Washington.
    I went to Blytheville, got loaded, went back north to St. Louis, turned left and headed west. Had to stop and buy tire chains, because there's a substantional fine for not having them, but I had no intention of using them, if I had to wait 'til spring to cross the passes. I know Rob would have sent me a sammich by Fed-Ex. Only bad weather I hit was in Wyoming, from south of Casper all the way to Billings, Mt. Some of the slickest roads i'd ever encountered. Except for that, and fog in Washington (I saw Mt. Rainier from the top of the 10 mile 4% grade you climb after you cross the Columbia River in Washington,and never got to see it again because of the fog) , and high winds in Montana and Wyoming on the way back, the weather was great. It was warmer out there than it was here last week. It was 70 degrees in Denver when I came through on the way back. I unloaded in Puyallup Friday morning, then reloaded in Seattle for Houston, Tx. Had to stop in Spokane Friday night and take a 34 hours off because I was out of hours. Did all my laundry and left there Sunday morning. Unloaded in Houston Wednesday morning, went up to Midlothian and loaded steel going to Milton, Pa. Got to the shop at 6:30 this morning.
    I took I-70 to Kansas City, then 29 north into Iowa, rt. 2 into Nebraska, then I-80 west to rt. 26 into Wyoming, then I-25 north to I-90 west all the way to Washington. Came back the same way except I stayed on I-25 all the way into New Mexico, then took rt. 87 and 287 to Dallas and I-45 to Houston. Then it was 45 and 287 to Midlothian, then 20 to 30 to 40 to Knoxville, and 81 back to Va.
    I took 350 pictures on the trip, which i'm trying to put on discs now. I'll probably put some on webshots too.
    I'm gonna put some pictures on here now, but since there's so many i'll just put them in a new gallery, so check them out...
  5. other dog

    New Physical

    By other dog,

    I've got to leave Sunday for Midland City, Al. It's near Dothan. My DOT physical also expires Sunday, so I went to renew it today. Somehow I managed to pass it again, so i'm good for 2 more years. The young girl who took my blood pressure said "now we have to wait 'til we get a room". Meaning an examination room for the doctor of course. So I said ''get a room?!! but we just met, shouldn't we at least go to dinner first?''...yeah, I know-that's the same thing she thought. That's about as funny as a screen door in a submarine. I must be off.
  6. other dog

    Same 'ol Same 'ol

    By other dog,

    Once again I have returned from a week of hauling freight up and down our nation's highways...nothing exciting or out of the ordinary happened,which is good.I went to Avon,Oh. Monday,reloaded at Macedonia for Roanoke,then took a load from Dillwyn to Zelienople,Pa. and reloaded at Pittsburgh back to Lynchburg.Got that off this morning and picked up a load of Kyanite at Dillwyn going to Fremont,Oh. to deliver Monday. I'll be leaving Sunday. Next weekend i'm making a stew,and I wish you all could come. I have a 7 1/2 gallon cast iron stew pot,and make it over a wood fire.I'm not bragging but lot's of people say it's the best stew they ever ate.I make it the same way every time, so it comes out seasoned the same with the same ingredients,right at 7 1/2 gallons.The pot is full,and there's always plenty.If any's left over I can freeze it.That's a lot of stew,but 20-30 people can put away a lot of stew,though last year I had a very light turnout. I just use beef,potatoes,onions,tomatoes,corn,green beans,peas,butterbeans (some people call them lima beans,I call them butterbeans ),secret herbs and spices,worcestershire sauce,and butter-no,land 'o lakes margarine actually.No poke salad though.
  7. other dog

    I'm Back...

    By other dog,

    Got the truck back from Cat Tuesday and took a load of black iron pipe- already loaded for me and sitting at the shop- to Conway,Pa, a little north of Ambridge on rt. 65. The load was a little lighter than usual,only 41,000+ lbs,but I could tell the truck was pulling better than it ever had. I made it past the first rest area in Pa. on I-79, the one just across the state line where they set up scales and DOT checks sometimes,but as soon as the " scales and DOT " motivation to keep going was over,I started to get sleepy so when I made it 3/4 of a mile past the rest area I pulled onto the ramp at exit 7 and went to bed.I still had about 70 miles to go probably. Next morning the phone woke me up at 6:30-it was Neal at headquarters. "Moonshiner,you at the jobsite yet?" "Uh...not quite,why?" "The other driver called and said he couldn't get up the hill because of the ice and he's waiting on a salt truck,so just hang tight 'til I call 'ya back". "Okie-doke-see ya". So I decided it was time to get up and go to work.The thermometer on the truck,which is pretty accurate,said it was 39 degrees so I wasn't too worried about ice,though it was raining pretty good. By the time I got up to Washington,Pa. it was down to 35 degrees,still good,but there was some snow mixed with the rain. When I got up to rt.279 it was 31 degrees and no sign of rain in the snow that was coming down. When I exited off 79 onto rt. 65 north,the road was completely covered. I made it up to Ambridge and went over to Oneal steel,where we deliver to regularly,and parked in their lot. Did all my paperwork and was contemplating calling headquarters when Neal called and said everything was clear,and I could go on in. When I left Oneal all I had to do was get back on 65 north and go a mile or 2,then make a right on 11th. st. The right was a hard turn,Billy Bob had already told me that because when he went there the week before he didn't see it in time to swing out,so he had to go past it and turn around and come back and make a left.What he didn't mention was the hill.I swung out,dumped my air,made the turn all right,then went a little ways and started climbing. The street had a 7 1/2 or 10 ton weight limit on it,so trucks weren't supposed to be on it anyway,but you gotta get to the jobsite and that's how the directions said to go. The hill was probably 12 or 14 percent,it wasn't marked because as I said trucks weren't supposed to be on it in the first place. Then there was a sharp curve to the left which took the whole road to make,but I didn't meet anyone in it. The next curve was a 15 mph to the right,and I met a pickup and a car in it. The car happened to be a policeman.The pickup didn't even slow down so I had to run the trailer wheels over the curb and out through the grass,or whatever was under the snow-the hill was so steep I didn't want to have to stop. At least the policeman stopped until I made it around the bend. I could see why the first truck couldn't get up it. That sucker was so steep a light shower of rain would make it hard to get up. When I was unloading it was down to 24 degrees.
    Left there and went to IDS in Macedonia,home of the lovely Rachel and-I don't know the other girl's name,the one with the shoulder length blonde hair and cutest face you've ever seen. I don't pay any attention to them anyway,i'm strictly binness . And they're happily married,I got a jealous girlfriend,i'm old enough-how did I get on this subject anyway? I loaded at IDS and went to Roanoke.Several trucks were already there waiting to unload,one of which had been there since 8 o'clock the night before. So I called headquarters and told them the situation,and ended up taking the load to a warehouse in Roanoke to unload it. By the time I got unloaded over there all the other trucks ( different carrier ) that had been at Metalsa were there too. Hope they weren't mad at me,but I had nothing to do with it,I just do what they tell me.
    Went to Concord and fueled and had a choice of a two stop load of lumber,New Castle and Grove City Pa, or kyanite going to Conneaut,Oh. Both pretty good loads,but I went to Conneaut. Big Jim took the lumber the next day,which put him by the house for the weekend too,since he lives in Reynoldsville. Then I went down to Macedonia again and loaded another Roanoke which I delivered this morning,then back to the shop in Concord and home,which put me right here right now.
    I missed the Super Bowl,but I should get to see the Daytona 500 anyway.
  8. other dog

    Ready To Go

    By other dog,

    I got that old stew pot all clean and ready for it's next mission.I really should have done it yesterday,but...you know how that goes! I sprayed it out with the hose and it came pretty clean,then I scrubbed it and rinsed it,then boiled it out again,dumped it and reseasoned it with Crisco while it was still hot and dry.All I gotta do now is let it cool and put it away.It probably doesn't need to be reseasoned every time,but it can't hurt,as it's used infrequently.That's probably why it cleans easy and i've never had any problem with anything sticking. Now I can finally sit around and relax,which is one of the things I do best,just don't get to do it very much so I need the practice. I need some ear plugs too,'til Jobyna gets done woofing about me using her good dish towel on the stew pot and getting it dirty.Geez,what's she expect me to wipe it down with? I thought that's what they were for! I know-next time i'll use a pillow case,just to show her who's boss around here. If y'all never hear from 'ol otherdog again,you'll know what happened.
  9. other dog
    OK, enough of the nonsense,it's time to be serious. I've got a 'chicken on a can' cooking in the smoker oven too,always tender,juicy,and most delicious! Very easy to make too.
    I had to start this all over just now-it's very windy here and the power went off just for a couple of seconds,long enough to shut the computer off so I lost everything and had to restart it and start all over again. A big deal when you type with one finger.
    I left Sunday going to Fremont,Oh. When I unloaded there Monday morning the parking lot was covered with a thick layer of ice so slick you could barely stand up.It was extra slick because it was warming up rapidly and was wet on top. 38% slicker than if it wasn't wet. ( I just make this stuff up,no scientific facts here...well,once in a while there might be,'ya never know! ) It was a major operation to get in the proper unloading position. Troy the unloader man said "well maybe the weather will be better when you come back".
    Then I went all the way to Sharon,Pa. to reload coils for Handy in Lynchburg.Unloaded there Tuesday morning,then by the shop for fuel,and on to Dillwyn to load for Fremont,Oh. When I unloaded there Wednesday morning it was pouring rain. Rt. 250 was completely covered before I got to Ashland,Oh. but i drove through OK. I told Troy after I was unloaded "maybe the weather will be better next time i'm here". Then I went all the way to Sharon,Pa. to load coils for Handy in Lynchburg.Wonder what happened to I.D.S. in Macedonia,where we loaded the coils for Metalsa in Roanoke. A great place to load,never took long,all the guys were friendly there-something you don't see much anymore,and the lovely Rachel in the office with the big b-b...big eyes.
    So after I unloaded in Lynchburg Thursday I went to the shop and fueled,and sure enough there was A Brook Park (Cleveland) Oh. load waiting for me. Don't get to go by the house,don't even get to sit down,before you gotta go again.I've already ran two Fremonts-I told Todd "I'll take this Brook Park and deliver it Monday". He said " if you don't want that I've got a Parkersburg at Ed's". Great-Parkersburg sounds much better on Thursday than Cleveland. So I went to Moneta,load the lumber,go to Parkersburg,and when I get unloaded Friday morning I have to go all the way to Brookfield,Oh. to load back-coils for Metalsa. I might as well have took the Brook Park in the first place! That's the way it's been since Christmas,every weekend I either don't get home 'til Saturday or have to leave on Sunday. But as Joe says the bills never stop,so I can't either-not for long anyway. Unloaded in Roanoke Saturday morning,so at least i'm off until Monday now...though it's already Sunday afternoon.
    By the way,pretty catchy title too,don't 'ya think?
  10. other dog

    Youtube

    By other dog,

    Well,I posted my first youtube video.Not much to it really,and kind of shaky-you know how a cement mixer rides! This was taken after I left the stoplight at Concord,Va. headed west on rt. 460,and passing by Litchford's garage. I'm only about a mile from the shop here.

  11. other dog

    Sunny Florida...not!

    By other dog,

    I'm back. Left the day after Christmas and went to Orchard Park,N.Y. (Buffalo area) and then to Boardman,Oh. to pick up three magnets and dropped them at the shop this morning. They said Wednesday they had a load going to Boca Raton,Florida. Long ways, but Florida ain't bad this time of year. But-Neal called back about 2 minutes later and said the Orchard Park was there at the yard,loaded on a side kit trailer,and I could get it and go,so that's what I did. So much for Florida. That's OK,I'd just as soon go to Buffalo anyway.
  12. other dog

    Garden

    By other dog,

    might as well talk about the garden...ain't been doing any truckin'. It's really growing and looking good. Even the upside down tomater in the bucket looks pretty good...bucket's kinda ugly though. Got some herbs in the round things. Waitin' on Paul to tell me what to do with 'em. And squirrels are already eating the peaches, and they're not even close to being ripe. Why don't these squirrels eat all these acorns and hickory nuts around here, like real squirrels?
  13. other dog

    Truckin' Around...

    By other dog,

    Well it's been 9 days since the last cigarette...but who's counting,right?.. and that was an ultra light-only one all day,while I was fueling up before I left for Orchard Park.
    Went to Zelienople and Fremont this week,loaded back to Roanoke out of Macedonia both times. Yesterday I went down to Petersburg and loaded 60' piling going about 10 miles North of Portage, Wisconsin for Monday delivery. Already got a load back to Norfolk out of Crystal Lake,Il. We had about 18-20 loads going up there,most on 53' trailers,but I pull a 48. I put about 3' hanging off the front ( we have headache racks on the trucks,no headboards on the trailers) with about a 9' rear overhang. I could get away with a little extra overhang on the front because the piling is all in one stack in the center of the trailer,so it won't hit the headache rack when I make a turn. Some guys are leaving tomorrow,some Sunday. I think I'm going with the Sunday morning departure.The return load doesn't load until Tuesday,and as the late "Hippie" used to say " everybody can't be first ". I used to leave after church on Sunday going to Boston and Chicago and be there at 7am Monday morning,but that's when I was A young man. If I leave pretty early Sunday I should be able to get it off by Monday evening anyway. And that's something that doesn't really bother me A lot anymore. Sometimes of course A customer may need or want something at 7am and I'll do my best to get it there,but for the most part when I get tired I'm looking for a wide spot and pull over and take a nap. The company I used to drive for,for over 25 years ( until the one A-hole dispatcher came along that I just couldn't get along with,and anybody'll tell ya if ya cain't get along with me,ya cain't get along with yourself! ),would fine you $25 (taken out of your safety bonus) for not delivering at 7 am,whether it needed to be or not. Todd told me when I first went to work for him " I'm more concerned about my trucks arriving somewhere safe and up on the wheels than I am about them being somewhere at 7 am". Makes sense to me. I have unloaded in Fremont,Ohio on Monday morning, sitting there when they opened,loaded back to Lynchburg,Va and was sitting back in Fremont Wednesday morning before they opened,loaded back to Lynchburg out of Sharon,Pa, and was back in Fremont Friday morning when they opened. But if I hadn't unloaded until after lunch every time,it wouldn't have made any difference at the end of the week. I would have still ran 3 Fremonts that week,and that ain't shabby.
  14. other dog

    Me

    By other dog,

    just in case anybody was wondering,this is me,right now-what?..nobody was wondering?.. so,nobody cares where I go or what I do,or what I look like?..well,never mind then,i'll just be here-it relaxes me
  15. other dog

    Bi Monthly Blog

    By other dog,

    just thoughts-
    I cooked some really good chicken on the grill yesterday, and had leftovers today. I had a ten pound bag of leg quarters in the freezer that had been in there a long time, so I cooked them all. As usual with the leg quarters I skinned them and trimmed off the excess fat and "yucky" stuff first, then marinated them for about 6 hours. After they were done I put them in an aluminum pan, smothered them with Open Pit BBQ sauce, and sealed the pan tight with aluminum foil and left it on the grill for about another hour. You couldn't pick one up by the bone without it just falling apart!
    The Charlotte race is on TV-nothing like being there though, when you can smell the rubber and racing gas, and see all the babes walking around. The guy that sang the National Anthem did a great job, unlike the girl that sang it before the all star race last weekend. There's only one way to sing it-like it's supposed to be sung! You can't "make it your own" like you're on American Idol. Just my opinion.
    I used to go to a lot of races at Charlotte, Richmond, Rockingham, and Martinsville but I don't anymore.
    Back to work tomorrow-it's a holiday for some people but not truck drivers. I'm going to Byesville, Oh. with a load of lumber.
    But otherwise i'd have had to leave today...and some of our soldiers never get a day off.
  16. other dog

    Catching Up

    By other dog,

    Now I can catch up on a few details...put some new kind of fertilizer on the garden when I planted the onions and cabbage,and the dogs have been digging them up faster than I can replant it. I read the bag and it's made with feather meal (?),bone meal,fish meal and blood meal-sounds tasty,no wonder they're digging it up.Anyway,might have to add some black pepper to it as dog repellent.
    Hit some kind of unidentified creature in the road on rt. 219 when I was going to Orchard Park last week.I thought it might have been a beaver,but it was about 12 or 1am when I hit it,so I wasn't sure. Noted wildlife expert Big Jim went that way to Buffalo Monday night and he said there was still enough of it left for him to identify it as a porcupine. He lives in Reynoldsville Pa. and said they were common around that area,but it was a new one on me. I've heard of porcupines of course,but i've only seen one-he was waddling across 219 one night when I was going to Orchard Park,N.Y. Then I heard a thump,and felt a slight bump. That was also the last porcupine i've seen.
    I went to Waddy,Ky. Sunday with a load of pipe,or pipes as they say at the shop. Easy jobsite,just had to back out into a field,but there were 5 trucks there and I was no.4 so it took half a day to get unloaded,then I went over to Winchester,Ky. to get a load of air conditioners going to Chantilly,Va. and they said "it'll be awhile,probably about 4 hours". Great-half a day to get unloaded,the other half reloading,and they probably want the load in Chantilly yesterday. Best I could do was lunch time Tuesday,and when I got to Chantilly they said "gonna be a while,we'll get you when we can". So I got unloaded after a couple of hours and went to the shop and Kevin had stayed late to load another load of pipes on me going to Latrobe,Pa. Actually the directions said to take rt. 22 to New Alexandria,Pa. (home of the world famous Watt's Mack) then go south on rt.981 about 5 miles. When I got there I was headed west on 22 and I was so tired I could barely hold my head up,but these jobsites want you there early usually. I thought i'd make a flip and park in front of the Mack place,because I figured they'd wake me up and run me off pretty early,but when I went past to the u-turn exit there was a truck pulled over so I pulled in behind him and went to bed. When I got up at 6:45 I saw a cop behind me over on the left side of the ramp.Thought he might have been waiting for a speeder coming up rt.22,but then another car pulled in behind him,then a white van,and I knew it was D.O.T. I figured they were just waiting for me to push that brake button in,then they'd stop me and want to see my log book,so I caught my book up before I pushed any buttons and they never bothered me. Went down and unloaded and it wasn't a jobsite,they reworked the pipe,added fittings,cut threads,etc. When I called in empty at 9am Jeff answered the phone and said "I didn't figure you'd be there 'til lunch time". I didn't tell him,but if i'd known it wasn't a jobsite I wouldn't have been.
    Only reason I made it all the way to New Alexandria was because I got to run with Big Jim,and we went "through the woods" the whole way. We went up 259 out of Broadway,then up the "hog trough" to Augusta,W.V, 50 over to Romney,28 to Cumberland,Md, then rt. 160 to 219. Some very steep hills to climb going that way. Big Jim got on the turnpike at Somerset,I stayed on 219 to Johnstown,then took 403 up to 22 and headed west. He was going to Conway,Pa,where I went that time the first truck couldn't get up the hill because of the snow.
    I went from Latrobe to Sharon and picked up 5 coils coming to Lynchburg and dropped them there last night and bobtailed home,which is where I left off this morning. Unless Jeff happens to read this,in that case I actually walked all the way home again. His son Jeffrey,who works at the shop, has finally joined and started a blog so there's always a possibility he could read it. Let's hope not...Ive been telling Jeffry for a while he should join here,he was practically born and raised in and around trucks,first at H.H.Moore's (his great Grandfather),now at F.L.Moore and Sons. He's funny too-but I don't know that he's funny as I'm is.
    After I unloaded at Handy in Lynchburg this morning I went to the shop and Jeffrey fixed one of my LED lights on the front fender that's been out for a while,then I loaded another load of pipes going to Durham,N.C. I don't need to leave going down there 'til 4 or 5 in the morning,so that's why i'm here now.The down side is,once again i'll be leaving Sunday. After I unload in Durham i'll probably come back up to Dillwyn and load kyanite,or possibly get another load of pipes. The pipe has really been moving this week.
    ...and some new Peterbilts that just came in,including a green one
  17. other dog
    Another long week,and short weekend coming up. Delivered in Butler,Pa. early Tuesday morning and went to Brookfield and was loaded and ready to go by 10:30 am,figuring i'd get to Roanoke and unload early Tuesday night and come home. But,that all changed when I had to go to Malta,Oh. and make another pickup.Last time I went there and loaded the cement mixers I was empty,this time I had on almost 44,000 lbs. of the big Metalsa coils right in the middle of the trailer,and couldn't make much time on the very narrow,crooked,small,twisty,skinny,roads getting there. Picked up 5 mixers and a small skid of unknown product over there,going to Vinton,Va,near Roanoke. So I didn't get home,but I got paid for 2 loads in one,so it was a very good round.
    Then I had to go to Petersburg and get a 60' load going to Wheeling,W.V. that wasn't ready until about 6 o'clock Wednesday night. I delivered there Thursday morning,then went back to Brookfield and loaded more coils for Roanoke. Got that off this morning and went to Dillwyn and loaded kryptonite,or kyanite I mean, (I can't haul kryptonite,it makes me sick,especially green kryptonite) for Brook Park,Oh. That's near Cleveland,so I'll be leaving early Sunday.
    Got a roll of film developed today that I took during my recent travels-a B-model Mack on rt. 60 between Rupert and Charmco,W.V, a plane towing a sign when I was unloading in Avon,Oh,a Superliner for sale in Moorefield,W.V,3 shots of climbing the mountain out of Uniontown,Pa. headed east on U.S. rt. 40-the little notch to the left of the sign is where i'm headed,then i'm almost to the top with Uniontown visible in the mirror,then the motel at the top. This mountain is so steep the speed limit going down is 10 mph. I once got stopped going down it for doing 17 mph in a 10,with an empty flatbed . Cost me about $100 near as I can remember,that was about 20 years ago. And,some of those giant windmills on a mountaintop,somewhere near Pa,W.V,or western Maryland.
    P.S.-How about Mushroom colors on your B-67 Paul? I like it,very colorful.
  18. other dog

    Fencing

    By other dog,

    Got the grass cut this morning,then had to put a fence around the garden to keep these two out of it. They've been trampling,digging,and laying all over it. Otherwise,it's looking pretty good so far. The big dog is not mine-he's lived here as long as I have,and we feed him about 3,000 lbs. of dog food a week,but he's not mine.
  19. other dog

    Vacation,day 1

    By other dog,

    Well,my first day of vacation is about over-i'm ready to go back to work. Got up at 3:30 this morning,for no particular reason. Climbed up onto the roof when it was light enough to see and fixed the shingles that the wind blew off earlier this year. Used a homemade ladder I built out of some treated 2x4's I brought home. Weighs about 9,000 lbs. but it worked OK. I didn't replace the shingles,just put a lot of tar on it. Then I went over to Wal-Mart and got a weedeater and a sprayer,so when we got home I tested the weedeater for a while,then sprayed some miracle-gro on the garden. Had a pretty good little rain shower yesterday,and another today,so the garden looks pretty good right now...that reminds me,I need to go spray my anti-varmint spray again now (AKA pepper spray) or the rabbit will eat everything by morning-see ya!
  20. other dog
    Went to the annual benefit at the Toga Volunteer Fire Department today. I took some pictures there at the car show,but I left and went to see my Mother and Father in Cumberland,Va. before everything was there...it had just got started good when we left,and was about over by the time we got back. Stopped by to see my oldest son on the way back,and gave him his birthday present...his birthday was August 19th,so I was A little tardy.
    I took pictures of what was there before we left,then a fleet of big Mack trucks in Cumberland,then on the way to my son's house saw the "truck of the day"-A beautiful Diamond T (that's not how you spell beautiful is it? it just don't look right...never mind,i'll ask Rob later) sitting in Gary Barr's yard.So we stopped and I chatted for about an hour-if you check out Old Bill's website and read my entry in "How You Got Started in Trucking",he's the guy that was too young to drive out of state.We ran several trips to the west coast together before they found out,and was practically born in a truck. He can wheel! Hadn't seen him for years,and it was a great time! His daddy had a Diamond T,and I remember Gary driving it to school...really! I thought it was the same truck,but he found this one in New York and brought it home. It's smaller than the one his Dad had,gas engine w/a 5 speed and 2 speed rear.
    So,i'll just put the pictures in a gallery because there's so many,and i'll be looking forward to seeing Paul's pictures from Watt's Mack's open house-would have liked to have been there,but it just didn't work out. I also took a few more of my mixer,because I waxed it yesterday,for the first time ever.
    So check out my albums for the pictures,i'm starting to post them...NOW!
  21. other dog
    I went to LaCrosse and unloaded Monday morning and when I called in empty Todd said to go home and pick up a van load Tuesday evening in Lynchburg at 4:00pm going to Port St. Lucie, FL. So I did, except they called Tuesday evening and said it would be ready at 6:00 instead of 4:00. Had to be in Florida with it Thursday morning, so I had plenty of time to get there. I dropped the trailer at a power plant Thursday morning, and bobtailed all the way back. Good paying load too.
    Now i've got a load of treated lumber at the shop going to Fairview or Fairfield, Pa. Jeff said it was near Erie, and it was Fair-something or other...went in one ear and out the other.
    This computer has about driven me crazy since nocluejoe broke my webcam . I tried to uninstall and reinstall it, but it still wouldn't work...tried a different usb port-nothing. So I figured it must be the camera itself and bought another one, but it still wouldn't work. Re-uninstalled it and tried downloading the latest updated driver direct from Logitech-nothing. What gets me is the little icon at the bottom of the monitor says "your device is ready to use" but QuickCam says ""your camera is not plugged in, or is not working properly" . Well, duh! It's connected to a usb port, and obviously the %$&* thing ain't working properly ! I fooled with it half a day, control panel, device manager, programs and features, windows trouble shooting- i've been to 'em all...but it still wouldn't work
    ...wonder if Barry knows anything about computers?
  22. other dog

    Ice Road Trucker?

    By other dog,

    Things must be slow around here, this is the third week in a row that I only made one turn. I went to Fremont, Oh. Monday and had to layover a night before I got a load back. Ended up loading 9 skidded coils in Hubbard, Oh. going to Orange, Va. After I unloaded in Orange yesterday I went to Petersburg and loaded for Roxana, Il. to deliver Monday. Loaded with H piling, going to a refinery. The rules they sent said drivers must be clean shaven, I guess in case you have to put a gas max on. I took it anyway.
    Got in some ice road trucking Tuesday night on the way from Monroeville to Hubbard. Freezing rain the whole way. Saw many cars in the ditch and in the median from just west of Lodi over to Akron. I just eased along and had no problem, but it was pretty amazing to watch cars spin out and go off the road. You could see it happening, but nobody seemed to slow down-one would go off the road, next car would come along like nothing happened, hit the brakes and do the same thing. On one hill about a mile or so west of Lodi on rt. 42 there was about 6 or 8 cars off the road in a stretch of maybe a quarter of a mile. I had to get over by the guardrail on the right to squeeze by one car that was crossways in the left lane, and had about half of the right lane blocked too. I was empty, even though being loaded doesn't help you a lot on ice, and I never spun once. Evidently they didn't realize it was slick and were just going too fast when they figured it out. My first clue came when the rain was freezing on the windshield from the time I left Monroeville about 5 o'clock that evening. By the time I got to Lodi the mirrors, hood, antennas, sun visor-everything I could see-had a thick coating of ice on it, so I suspected the road might be slick too. Nary a salt truck did I see until I got on I-76 at Lodi.
    Took a few pictures this week too, nothing very exciting though-
    the dog dancing with his donkey,
    tarping loads-like the song says,it's a dirty job-but someone's got to do it! Then your kyanite will be dry and your steel will still shine when you arrive at your destination.
    a sign on a trailer on rt. 422 near New Castle-I just like it!
    old digger machine on 422 near Kittaning, Pa.
    ice south of Altoona
    I'm also a master carpenter-I even have a hammer
  23. other dog

    Saturday

    By other dog,

    Well,I was gonna leave Sunday,but ended up leaving Saturday anyway. Afterwards I was glad I did of course-I drove to Maysville,Ky. Saturday and when I left there Sunday morning I still had 600 miles to go to Endeavor,Wisconsin. It was a good load,paid me $760. After I unloaded Monday I went to Chicago to reload for Baltimore.That paid almost $300,so I had a pretty good week in by the time I unloaded in Baltimore Wednesday morning. Then I went across the Key Bridge to Sparrows Point and loaded a couple of coils for N.B.Handy in Lynchburg,dropped them at the shop Wednesday evening,then took a van load of Kyanite to Chester,W.V. and when I unloaded there Thursday morning I went down rt. 2 a little ways and reloaded at Follansbee for Richmond,Va. I was going to drop down I-79 to 68 and over to Hancock,but since the snow was up to the bumper and still coming down at a rate of 14" an hour ( note-I may not be totally accurate in my weather reports,but that's what it seemed like to me at the time,so i'm as accurate as memory allows me to be ) I just stayed on 70 to New Stanton and ran the turnpike to Breezewood,then dropped back down 70 and 17 to 95 to Richmond.Went from Richmond back to the shop in Concord Friday,dropped the van,then hooked back up to my flat and went back to Petersburg and loaded a load of piling going to Nazareth,Pa. for Monday delivery...whew!
  24. other dog

    Saturday Again

    By other dog,

    Made the trip to Nazareth,Pa. I passed right by the Nazareth Speedway going in,never seen that before. I drove the truck to Rockingham,N.C. to races a couple of times,and stopped and looked at the race tracks in Daytona,Talledega, and Darlington,and have passed by Bristol,Dover,North Wilkesboro,Atlanta,Michigan, maybe a couple more. Used to go to Charlotte,Richmond,and Martinsville every year,but it just got so expensive,and the traffic got so bad,and the cops in N.C. got so hateful I quit going. Nazareth looked kind of grown over,even for the off-season. I don't know if they still have races there or not,it might have gone the way of North Wilkesboro and Rockingham. I know they didn't have cup races there anyway,but didn't they run Busch races there at one time? I don't remember what kind of races they have there.
    Anyway, back in the real world I went down to Baltimore from Nazareth and loaded coils at Worthington Steel for Metalsa in Roanoke-the truck frame plant.Then over to Moneta and picked up treated lumber going to Fairmont,W.V. It rained in West Virginia Tuesday night. It was about 38-40 degrees went I went to bed.But Wednesday morning in Fairmont it was well below freezing,and the parking lot at 84 Lumber was like a skating rink,completely glazed over with a sheet of ice. I couldn't get turned around and backed in the gate 'til about 10 or 10:30 I think it was.When I finally got unloaded I had to go to Pittsburgh to load,so I just stayed on U.S.rt. 19 North thru town until I got back to I-79 at Morgantown. I saw several old trucks going that way,some old Autocars,and one place where you could look down below you and see lots of old iron,including at least one H-model in the woods. The road through there is narrow anyway,and there's no place to pull over and look,or take pictures,but i'd like to.I wish I could take a picture of every old truck I see. Kinda makes ya wonder just what might still be found parked in the woods to rust across the country,and forgotten.
    But,back to the real world,it's work,work,work.I loaded in Pittsburgh for Franklin,Va. It was an N.B.Handy load,but it went straight to the customer.Should have been on a straight truck,their yard was so tiny. When I got that off Thursday morning I went to Dillwyn and picked up a load of Kyanite going to Orville,Oh.It was bright and sunny when I left the shop,but by the time I got to Lewisburg,W.V. it was snowing so hard you couldn't see. I was pretty much out of the snow by the time I got to Charleston,but it was about 2 degrees in Orville Friday morning.Folding tarps is about like trying to fold a piece of plywood when it's that cold. Then over to Macedonia to reload coils at I.D.S. for Metalsa in Roanoke. Unloaded there this morning,and got home around lunch time. I see I got a "Wheels of Time" and a "Double Clutch" this week,so it's time to check them out now. Hmm...used to be that would be the first thing I checked out,wonder what's up with that?
  25. other dog

    Florida

    By other dog,

    I made the trip to Florida and back,but i'd rather have gone to Romulous,Michigan or somewhere. It's too hot down there,and my AC wasn't working. I've always heard you should run the AC periodically in the winter,but I never did. Guess I should have,it worked fine when I turned it off last fall. It was a sweltering 80 degrees in Boca Raton Tuesday evening. Didn't get there 'til about 2 o'clock,because I didn't get away from Lynchburg until 3:00 Monday. I had 8 skids of sheets, 4 pallets of racks, and 1 machine. Made it down to exit 7 in Ga. Monday night and stopped at the little fuel stop and went to bed. Next morning I fueled up,because I figured fuel would be higher in Fl, got my book right,and went on to Boca Raton. I had to load lumber in Brooklet,Ga. Wednesday so I made it back up to exit 7 in Ga. and went to bed-almost 700 miles round trip,all but 14 miles in Florida.
    Like last time I saw:
    0 armadillos
    0 alligators
    1 girl in a bikini,but she was on a billboard
    ...but I did see lots of palm trees,and have pictures to prove it!
    Worst part though was right after I left the shop Monday-my trailer was in Lynchburg,and I had to go to the bank so I just bobtailed. When I pulled into 460 I thought I saw something in the mirror at the end of the driveway that looked like diesel fuel,and pulled over to make sure my fuel tank tops were tight. They were, but when I walked back around the front of the truck a tanker went by and blew my hat off. I looked in front of the truck...nothing.Looked underneath it,in the woods,in the median-no sign of it. I'm not concerned about the hat,it was just a black "Cat" cap,but it had my little bulldog pin on it with the bulldog wearing an "Aussie" hat. I bought that pin at the Winchester antique truck show year before last. I might stop there tomorrow at that little pull off and look again-I would like to find the bulldog. He's wearing a red hat if you happen to spot him.I bought a new cap at the fuel stop,and i've probably got dozens of them here-you should always carry a spare! I'm off today,unloaded the lumber in Moneta this morning, and i've got an appointment at the eye doctor tomorrow,but we didn't have anything today anyway,so... how do you like my new hat?

BigMackTrucks.com

BigMackTrucks.com is a support forum for antique, classic and modern Mack Trucks! The forum is owned and maintained by Watt's Truck Center, Inc. an independent, full service Mack dealer. The forums are not affiliated with Mack Trucks, Inc.

Our Vendors and Advertisers

Thank you for your support!

Mack Related Links

Popular links

BMT Forum Logo

HTML tutorial
×
×
  • Create New...