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other dog

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Blog Entries posted by other dog

  1. other dog

    Garden Time

    By other dog,

    I took those two coils to Suffolk Monday morning, but didn't get a load out until Tuesday. I could have loaded in Petersburg Monday, but the load was going to South Plainfield, New Jersey so I whined and cried my way out of it. Had to spend the night in Petersburg though. Then I ended up going to Moneta and loading treated lumber anyway. That went to Mercer, Pa. and I loaded at Masury, Oh. for Roanoke. Then Thursday I loaded more treated lumber going to Alliance and Kent, Ohio. Picked up a big single coil, 45,000 pounder, at Ohio Steel Slitters in Canton going back to Suffolk, Va. for tomorrow.My son Morgan and his girlfriend came over yesterday so I grilled some hotwings and a hamburger or six-very good! My cabbage plants are really growing too. Was gonna plant some onion sets, but I gotta let the garden dry out some. I'm afraid they'd rot before they start growing if I put 'em in the ground now. I did put some tomato and pepper seeds in a plant bed though. Even got a plan for the rabbits this year-chicken wire. So maybe i'll have some corn and beans this year too.
  2. other dog

    Going To Florida

    By other dog,

    I just found out my next mission is taking a load of steel to Orlando,Fl. I'm already dreading the heat and humidity,it's bad enough here! Oh well,it'll be a nice change to run South I guess,as long as the AC's working.Might see some nice scenery down there too.
  3. other dog

    Gone Again

    By other dog,

    It's about time to leave for Avon,Ohio. Could've left yesterday,but I got up at 4am to go to Chesapeake to unload,went by Kyanite Mining on the way back to load,and got back to the shop to get fuel at 4:45. I'd already ran about 450 miles or so and put in a pretty long day,so I just parked at the truckstop and came home since I only had a couple more hours available to work. I don't usually do that,but I was tired all day yesterday for some reason,probably because I went to bed about 8 o'clock Sunday night so I could get up early. I woke up figuring it was time to go but it was only 12:01am so I went back to sleep,only to wake up at 1am,2am,3am then 4 when I got up,as tired as if I'd never been to bed at all.I should have left Sunday evening and went on to Chesapeake but I didn't want to leave on Easter Sunday. Maybe I can make it all the way to Avon today.
  4. other dog

    Gone To Ohio

    By other dog,

    It's been nice running south for a while,but now i'm headed to Cincinnati.I have no energy...none. Just feel tired all the time. It said on the antibiotics prescription I got that that was one of the side affects. I didn't have a lot of energy to start with with the infected gum-waited a week too long to do anything,now i'm paying for it.
  5. other dog

    Good Week

    By other dog,

    Since I was here last i've unloaded the lumber in Moneta,been to Petersburg and got a load of beams and delivered them in Garden City,Ga, and picked up another load of lumber in Estill,S.C. Got 8' 6x6s this time,but I didn't have any trouble with it sliding. This and the pipe to Weaverville from last week should give me a pretty good week for the first time in a long time. And if I go out tomorrow I should have 2 loads on next week's check. It's about time to make a pickup payment,the electric bill's laying here,and gotta pay my real estate taxes-there's never a shortage of something to pay.
  6. 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
  7. other dog

    Goofing Off

    By other dog,

    I started raking these knee deep leaves yesterday-perhaps I should have started sooner,like a month ago.Reminds me of West Virginia's snow removal policy. I was forced to stop when the torrential downpour started...when 12 or 13 drops of rain hit me I retreated back inside. So today I tried it again and broke the handle on the rake,but I repaired it with a plastic oar handle from an old inflatable raft I used to have and half a roll of electrical tape. Got them piled up anyway,in several different piles. Now all I gotta do is get them transferred from the yard into the woods,maybe next weekend. Can't do too much in one day, it'd ruin my reputation as a world class slacker.
  8. other dog
    ...but it's hard to find time! I usually run three trips from Va. to Ohio one week and two trips the following week.Then you catch up on other things on the weekend,and it's off to work again.I got home about 1am Saturday,got to bed around 2am,back up at 6:30,and went to Troutman,N.C. to the ATHS show.So the only way I'll get a tee shirt is if I buy another one,unless all you other guys don't-no,I'm joking of course,that just wouldn't be right!By the way,I mailed the truck show pictures to the diesel gypsy Monday morning,so check his site periodically.
  9. other dog

    Guilty

    By other dog,

    I've sat around here all day and haven't done anything but pick the tomatoes and go to the mailbox.And wrote some checks to pay some bills-phone,electric,credit card,etc. I know I should relax and try to enjoy A day off,but I can't help feeling A little guilty for doing nothing.Tomorrow I'll probably feel like doing nothing,and I have to go back to work. A truck drivers life I guess.
  10. other dog

    Haircut

    By other dog,

    what did I do?! I didn't know I had such a big fat head!..guess I won't be needing my comb for a while-oh well,I had to much stuff to carry around anyway
  11. other dog

    Happy New Year

    By other dog,

    I'm off until tomorrow,so today I had the traditional New Years meal of blackeyed peas and greens. They were mustard greens,but mustard,turnip,kale,they all taste about the same to me-I like'em all. Creeces are the best,but hard to come by. They say the greens are supposed to bring you money in the new year and the blackeyed peas bring you luck.You're supposed to have hog jowl too,but I skipped on that part. I don't know what the hog jowl is supposed to represent anyway,but money and good luck covers most things I guess. I'm also gonna try to quit smoking. I had quit for 10 years or more but started back just before my wife passed away. One of the more foolish things I've done-it's A hard habit to break.
  12. other dog

    Hard At It

    By other dog,

    Speaking of work,i'm still hard at it. I've been to Zelienople,Pa. and back twice this week. Sounds easy enough,but there ain't no easy runs. It's a titanic struggle to get 46,000 lbs. up the road several times a week. Got to Roanoke with 48,000 lbs,3 Metalsa coils, around 6:30 or 7 o'clock Thursday night and figured on getting unloaded and being home early,but sometimes it doesn't pay to figure on anything. I got unloaded about 3:30 am Friday, got to the shop at 5 am and slept until 8,then went to Dillwyn and loaded kyanite for Fremont,Oh. to leave Sunday with. Then I drove the mixer over to Stonewall and parked it. The annual Stonewall Antique Power show is this weekend,and it almost snuck up on me. Came home,after the usual grocery store stop,and cut the grass and replanted some corn and beans that didn't come up.
    Went over to Wal-Mart in Altavista and dropped a roll of film off too,so I should have pictures to post this afternoon. Took some of a Mack fire truck that's for sale near Sharon or Wheatland,Pa. and we're gonna ride over to the tractor show for a little while and look around so I might take a picture or two there. Hard to say what might be there,or what kind of turnout they'll have this year because gas is so expensive.When I left there yesterday the only antique vehicles there was a 1965 b-53 Mack concrete mixer and a Ford pickup,but lots of tractors were coming in. It's good to have a distraction from just hearing of gloom and doom all the time,so in honor of no clue joe-I must be off...film at eleven.
  13. other dog
    I'm done for the week, actually got in Thursday night. I went to Baltimore with 60' beams Wednesday night and loaded at Sparrows Point Thursday. Left at 2 o'clock and got to Lynchburg at 8:00. Usually takes a little over 4 hours, but the traffic was terrible. I even washed the truck when I got home. I sent Kelsey some pictures of it in case she wants to put them on the new FLM website, www.flmoore.com .
    Got a few pictures, some from last week.
    B-model Mack wrecker on rt. 422 in Pa.
    ...I think I saw nocluejoe on the capital beltway Thursday
    that's some traffic there,eh?
    rabbits in the front yard-at least they weren't in the garden!
    nice looking mixer
    coal pile in Newport News
    a big blue ape in Tn.
    dinosaur in Tn.
    boat on I-40 just east of Knoxville-looks like it'll get you to the fishin' hole in a hurry!
  14. other dog

    Heat,cold,toothache!

    By other dog,

    Just got in ,i've been to Midland City,Al. with A load of beams,reloaded shingles at Peachtree City,Ga. to Oxford,N.C, then loaded Kyanite at Dillwyn,Va. to Negley,Oh,then had a two pick up reload at Ambridge and Leetsdale,Pa coming back to Lynchburg,Va.I was going to drop the trailer in Lynchburg,but I got there at 5:00 o'clock and they went ahead and unloaded me. 'Course I only had 2 beams on. It was still 100+ in Alabama and Georgia Monday,but it was 56 degrees this morning (Wednesday) when I got up in Pa.about 4am and continued on to Negley. I actually turned the heat on for A little while. Had A toothache all day yesterday,but after taking alternating handfulls of aspirin,tylenol,and motrin it wasn't too bad today.Got A dentist's appointment in the morning-actually looking forward to it!
  16. other dog

    Home Again

    By other dog,

    went to Avon...then to Sharon,Pa. Brought 2 coils back to Lynchburg. Talked to Frankie at Handy-he got out of a Western Star with a 550 cat into one of the new 386 Petes they just got,and he was not impressed. He didn't like the slower speed,lower h.p.(485 cummins isx),and mainly the way it rides. They look good though! He said it bounced like a cabover with the set-back front axle. I'd just be whining and crying about the lower horsepower if it was me,and Jeff already has one ordered. It's supposed to be in in October. I'm happy as a monkey on a 'nana boat with my 550 now that it's running right. Just running south or the rathole of the northeast,like a lot of the guys do, it wouldn't make much difference,but running Ohio and western Pa. like I do most of the time that extra power is really nice to have.Especially loaded heavy both ways,usually 45,000+.
    Then I was off to Zelienople,Pa. with a load of kyanite and went over to Malta,Oh. and picked up a load of small cement mixers and miscelaneous equipment that went with them to deliver in Vinton,Va. Monday. This was a pretty light load,but there's no good way to get to Malta,Oh. from anywhere,and it was very tight getting to the place where I loaded.Still haven't gotten the dump valve replaced on the trailer.
  17. other dog

    Home Once Again

    By other dog,

    I made those two turns and I'm loaded for Sunday.Went to Zelienople,Pa. Monday then over to Macedonia,Oh. to reload coils for Roanoke,Va.Then I went to Orville,Oh. and over to Macedonia to load coils to Roanoke,Va,where they make truck frames out of them.Even Mack truck frame rails are made there.Usually I'll have three coils,and I put seven chains on them because they are so tall and narrow-about 6 feet high,and 14" wide.I always horse shoe 2 chains,then criss cross 2,plus throw a chain across the top of each one. Now I'm loaded with Kyanite going to Zelienople,Pa. again,and it starts all over Sunday. Stopped by the grocery store on the way home today,just to pick up A few things...how come I can't go in the grocery store,even to "pick up A few things",without spending at least $100?
  18. other dog

    Hot,hot,hot...

    By other dog,

    Well,i'm at home again,until at least Monday-truck's been running hot lately,and i've had it at Carter Cat twice already to have it checked out,and there's nothing wrong with it. It runs at 200+ degrees all the time,bumps 220 on a hill...but there's nothing wrong with it,the fan,thermostats,water pump-working fine I kept telling Jeff it was running way too hot,and he sent me by Cat both times,and when they said there was nothing wrong when I left there Wednesday evening,after wasting a couple of hours,he told me to "put foot in 'er ass,it's on them now". So that's what I did - when it got up to 220 degrees going up the mountain on I-64 before you get into West Virginia,I never let off it-I kept saying something was wrong,it was running too hot,had been to Cat twice and they said ,in so many words,"no it ain't-our high-tech equipment says everything's fine,you're an idiot,now get the hell outa here!"
    My theory was, it was the water pump-it's got 339,000 miles on it and never had a water pump put on it. I kind've figured it was just worn out from paddling all that water. I couldn't stand to keep driving the truck when I knew SOMETHING had to be wrong,so when I got in Friday morning Jeff told me to take it back to Cat,for the third time,he was gonna get a new water pump put on just for preventive maintenance( or maybe he was tired of hearing me whine about it!). So after I got unloaded in Roanoke I dropped it off at Cat again and went home.They said it would be ready Friday afternoon,and I was supposed to pick it up and get a load of pipes at the shop going to Monroeville,Pa. Before I got out of town good Jeff called me and said not to worry about picking the truck up-it had a blown head gasket. Didn't surprise me-I thought all along it had a blown head gasket At least I get to watch the new "Ice Road Truckers" Sunday night.
    And speaking of hot-geez! Went outside to stake my tomatoes after my Mr. Stripey toppled over and broke and the heat was intense. It's 92 here now. I remember when I was a kid,out in a hay field picking up square bales out of the field ( round balers weren't invented then!) or working in tobacco on days like today-or hotter,for that matter- but I couldn't do it now
  19. other dog

    I Love My Job

    By other dog,

    Had a long week this week,driving in snow for most of it. I left last Sunday for Orville,Ohio and when I unloaded Monday morning it was snowing and the radio said the wind was gusting to 50 mph.When I took the straps off of one side of the tarp it blew off and over the trailer and was flapping like a flag,still holding on by the straps on the other side.I finally got it detatched and it blew up under a trailer parked beside me.I struggled with it for a while and decided I was never going to get it folded,so I was waiting to get unloaded so I could just get it up on the trailer somehow and get it strapped down. When the truck at the dock beside me pulled out I grabbed a corner of the tarp and dragged it up to the dock and stuffed it under the door.Then I went inside and pulled it in and got it folded and rolled up with no problem,then did the other one the same way. All this titanic struggle with my tarps probably took 30 minutes,and the tarp was winning the battle until I outsmarted it. Went from there over to Sharon,Pa. and loaded up 2 coils and back to Lynchburg.The crane was broken at N.B.Handy,so I had to take them to the shop where they unloaded them with the forklift.Then on to Dillwyn to load a Fremont,Oh. I knew they were calling for more snow in Ohio Tuesday night,so that motivated me to get all the way to Fremont,trying to beat it. It started snowing about the time I got there,around midnight. Wednesday morning it was still coming down,with about 3 inches on top of the tarps.I had to get a broom and get up on top and sweep the snow off before I could pull them off,because it was so heavy. Again,I had much difficulty trying to fold them,not because of wind this time,but the snow.I had to fold them on the ground in the snow,and when I got finished they were about the size of a Volkswagon beetle,and weighed about 1400 lbs each ( that's just a guess ) so I had to get Troy to put them on the trailer with the forklift. Then I had to go to Macedonia to load coils for Roanoke.It was still snowing,but the roads were in good shape,plenty of salt. Ohio does a good job on the roads,they were putting brine on them from the time I crossed the state line at Marietta Tuesday night,long before the snow started falling.That's key,getting an early start on them instead of waiting until they're covered and people start wrecking,like they do in West Virginia. I made it all the way to Beckley with no problems,but when I got on I-64 and headed east it looked like they had used up all the salt allotment for the year,or they forgot 64 was even there. It was completely snow covered and I was a little nervous starting down Sandstone mountain...OK,I was a LOT nervous! I mentioned Sandstone before,if you haven't been across there it's a 5 mile 7% grade,speed limit is 45 mph for trucks,and it has 2 runaway ramps on it.I was easing down in the low side until about halfway to the first runaway ramp when it appeared to have been salted and you could see the pavement again.It was clear the rest of the way down,across the flat,and about 3 quarters of the way up the other side,then it was back to completely covered. When I got to the top there was a truck jackknifed on the westbound side,a pickup in the ditch on my side,and a car in the median in a distance of about a mile. I was trying to get to exit 161 where I was planning to stop for the night anyway.The ramp is at the bottom of a hill so I was still taking it pretty easy,running about 35 mph. A car was ahead of me about half a mile,so I wanted to keep plenty of distance in case I had to stop if he decided to slam the brakes on to see if the road was slick. Right about the top of the hill a Swift truck went by in the left lane and he must have been doing 60 mph.That's fine if you're by yourself,the hill was straight down and straight back up,but if something were to happen unexpectedly in front of him,like that car spinning out on the bridge at the bottom of the hill,there's no way he could have gotten stopped. So I finally made it into the fuel stop and parked.From Beckley to there I saw just one truck salting the road. I went on to Roanoke and unloaded Thursday morning,then by the shop for fuel,and went to Petersburg and loaded some beams going to Carnegie,Pa. Got up there Friday morning,and yep,snowing like he....uh,heck,snowing like heck. Took a long time to get unloaded because the forklift was spinning in the snow and he could barely get up to the trailer. Once he got a lift of beams picked up it was all right,then he could hardly get back from where he was putting them on the ground back to the trailer to get another lift. I finally did get unloaded of course,then went over to Galv-Tech in Pittsburgh to load coils for Handy,and by the time I left there it had warmed up and the roads were just wet,so I hammered down to Lynchburg,dropped the load at N.B.Handy about 9:30 last night and bobtailed home.Got the Cumberland County Christmas Parade Sunday. It's the longest trip of the year for the mixer,about 55 miles one way. At least they're calling for nice weather,with temperatures in the 50's!
  20. other dog
    Well,sometimes it doesn't pay to plan to make a few extra bucks.Never did get anything to go with the magnet,so I took it by itself.I might as well have left the day I loaded it as it turned out.Then I could have gotten another load this week,but no, gotta be greedy,try to get two loads in one! I did make an adventure out of it though-I went across rt. 33 from Harrisonburg over to I-79, since I only had 8,000 lbs. on. That's a great adventure no matter what you've got. Hope the boss doesn't read this-"33?!! are you crazy? you must've lost your #@%&ing mind!". There's several 4 and 4 1/2 mile 9% grades across there,and the curves....I've been across there before,but I must admit it's not really a good place for a truck if you don't have to be. I went from Boardman to Aurora and picked up a load of roller coaster track at Geauga Lake Park,where they're closing the amusement park,and took it to King's Dominion in Doswell,Va. where they're gonna put it back up.(I would have said reassemble it,but I don't know how to spell "reassemble") They said when I loaded it that there would be over 100 truckloads shipped to get it all to Va. Might end up over there again next week -i'm loaded with Kyanite now going to Curwensville,Pa. I must be off now,but if anyone has any questions,feel free to ax...I just try to put a little humor in to relieve the job related stress.
  21. other dog
    Made the Fremont turn,and brought coils back to Roanoke again to the frame rail plant.After I got unloaded I loaded some rails and took them to Rustburg,to the school bus place.Now I've got to go load some 51' beams in Petersburg at 10 am tomorrow going to...gee,I forgot.But it's in the Pittsburgh area,on rt.28 just north of the turnpike.Had some leftover turkey and sweet potato pie for supper,still delicious.Had turkey sandwiches for lunch this week that I took with me. Now i'm just waiting for a tape i'm copying from a DVD for Big Jim to finish,and i'm gonna turn in.I gave Big Jim a BMT calendar,and he said he was going to keep the mixer picture and frame it when the calendar's out dated.I told him i'd be glad to print one for him so he could keep the calendar intact,so I did. I'm very proud to have the picture of it on the calendar.
  22. other dog

    I Wuz Robbed!

    By other dog,

    Yeah, it's true- did I tell this story before?..hmmmmm...anyhow, it's very true. I stopped at the TA Truckstop in Huber Heights, Ohio-near Dayton- to take a shower. Must have been around 1979-80, or '81 because I was driving the orange and white 1977 F-model Mack. The truckstop is no longer there.
    The showers had doors you could lock, but they didn't go all the way to the ceiling or the floor, so you could actually crawl under, or reach over the top. I put my wallet,keys, pocket change,and the leather thing...oh yeah my belt, through the loops on my clean jeans and hung them on the hook on the inside of the door.
    When I got out of the shower the first thing I noticed was that my pants were gone-nothing, just a bare hook. I put my dirty clothes back on and ran out, but there was no one to be seen. I got the truckstop manager, called the police, but found nothing.
    Worse part was that I only had about 20-25 dollars cash on me, but the thief took that, my house keys, truck keys, car keys, fuel card, credit card, and a few silver dollars that I got in Reno,Nv. Leaves you with a miserable feeling to know that some lowlife no good bastard just stole what you've worked so hard for so long to aquire.
    The local police department gave me a form to use for a drivers license until I got a duplicate one issued, and I went out to the truck and took the switch out. I found the main hot wire and stuck a paper clip from it to what ever wire made the dash lights come on, then another paper clip from that terminal to whichever one started the truck. Drove it back to Appomattox with the switch dangling under the dash and paper clips in it.
    I even spent the night at the truckstop so I could walk the perimeter in the morning, hoping the thief had just taken the money and threw everything else away, but I found nothing.
    I remember thinking then, and still do to this day, that I wish I had seen that arm coming over the top of that door-I would have twisted it off and shown them what the other end of it looked like. I just hate thieves and liars, especially thieves.
  24. other dog

    I'm Back

    By other dog,

    ...and the heat was everything I expected it to be.The worst was when I reloaded a load of steel going to Petersburg,Va. in Savannah,Ga. Wednesday,and the temperature in the parking lot where I loaded was 114 degrees.That's the hottest I can ever remember being out in.I'm loaded now for Midland City,Al. for Monday delivery.Got in today and took a leaking brake chamber off the mixer,it was a struggle with layers of dust,dirt,concrete,and paint-plus the 100+ temperatures,but i got it off and should get a new one tomorrow to reinstall in the heat!
  25. 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.

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