other dog

Or as Paul would say "I thought i'd try this blog thing too". Kind of a short week. I thought things were picking up- were for a while anyway. Last Friday I motored down to Petersburg and picked up a load of beams going to Neville Island, Pa. I delivered there Monday and went to Sugar Creek, Ohio and got a load of bricks going to Williamsburg, Va. Then I went back to Petersburg and got a load of piling going to Wilmington, N.C, but I couldn't go into the port because I don't have a card that says I can go into the port. I am certified to haul steel coils in Alabama though. The last time I went to the state port at Wilmington you didn't need a card. Now you've got to have the card, which costs 130-some dollars, or pay an escort to take you in. I talked to one of the escorts that was hanging around outside the gate and asked what he charged-he said $20 at the gate, plus $20 an hour for however long you're in there. That could get expensive too. We had 5 or 6 trucks there, and one of the other drivers that had the proper card took my truck in and unloaded it after he got unloaded. He only charged me $10. That was OK-I sat in his truck with the AC on while he was unloading mine (it was miserably hot!) and stole 2 CD's, a pair of gloves, a flashlight, roll of tape, some tools, ate all his snacks, and drank 2 of his Pepsi colas. (kidding) I was the last truck to leave of course, being the only one without proper credentials, but I got a return load of lumber in Dudley, N.C. going to Moneta, Va. A whole load of 8' 4x4's. Left Dudley 120 lbs. over gross. I was afraid they'd make me take a pack off, but they didn't. Dispatcher Neal called me yesterday morning while I was sitting at the truckstop south of Lynchburg-had to park there Wednesday night because the store lot 2 miles from here was full of chip trailers. He wanted to know if I was en-route to Moneta. I said "almost", which sorta meant the same thing as "no". He said there was a load in Moneta going to Fredericksburg that I could deliver that evening, then head to Petersburg and pick up something at the mill. By the time I got to Moneta and unstrapped the 32 packs of lumber and got unloaded and reloaded it was almost 11:30, and I had to be in Fredericksburg by 3:30 to get unloaded, or i'd sit there all night. I didn't stop anywhere and pulled in at 3 o'clock. Got unloaded OK, but there was nothing at the mill to load and dispatcher Randy said we'd try it again Monday so I came on to Concord. I wasn't real enthused about going to Wilmington, but it was all they had, and I wasn't enthused about going to Fredericksburg yesterday. I was afraid I wouldn't get there in time to get unloaded and have to wait until this morning. I wanted to get to the mill in Petersburg yesterday and get another trip in this week, a little longer, like a Birmingham or another Pittsburgh. But, since there was nothing i'm glad I made those short runs or I wouldn't have made enough money to keep the lights burning another month. Insurance on the mixer is due August 31st. too. That's about $400 dollars, and they don't give you the option to pay on the installment plan. Always something.

That's an excellent idea.

Paul gives a very good description of his restorations in his blog.

yes, it's getting hard to come up with new blog entry titles, so now there's more to steal from

I stopped at the Iowa 80 once on the way to South Dakota. Well worth stopping at, if just to see all the antique trucks and models, and toys, and chrome stuff, and- well, you get the idea. You could spend all day there just looking around.

nobody lets me use power tools.

1500' deep?..geez-and I wear a life jacket in the shower! I went to Puyallup once.

I do not know. I'll ax Paul. If there's anything Rob don't know, he do. Oh..hey Rob...never mind.

Now that's just funny right there-quite possibly the most funniest thing i've ever seen...or read! Excellent title Paul, way better than mine! I have lots of thoughts (Paul VanScott) and ideers, but I can't think of a title to post them, that's why i'm always waiting on you so I can copy yours. That show sounds a lot like the Stonewall (Va.) antique power show, where they have old trucks, cars, tractors, equipment, hit and miss engines, old time rock crushers, hay balers, saw mills, flea market, and on and on...i'm still mad that I missed it this year because they never bothered to put the sign out on rt. 460. I asked about it at the bank in Concord and I was too late- it's only a few miles from F.L.Moore and Sons shop. That IH cab looks pretty good on the Pete chassis doesn't it? I'd be proud to drive that. What if truck manufacturers went with the retro look like auto makers with the Mustangs, PT Cruisers, Dodge Challengers, and soon to debut Camaro?..could you imagine that cab with late model everything? or a B-model cab on a new Mack-bigger of course- or a Cannonball GMC cab with todays running gear behind it?

shoot!..good answer...foiled again-my theory doesn't hold water...Rob is truly one of the greatest living Americans.

maybe the corn in Illinois is so big you do need a knuckle boom to lift it. We're not getting any younger, eh? (that's Canadian). When I was in high school and it was corn picking time in the fall Daddy would have 2 wagon loads of corn setting at the barn for me and my older brother to unload when we got home from school. He would unload one, i'd unload the other one. Off the wagon and into a little door in the side of the barn- with a shovel. Not even a grain scoop, a big shovel. All true. It was great.

wow, what a find! and I thought I had the only one around.

don't pay any attention to Rob, he wants everything he sees- they don't even have logs in Illinois anyway, just corn.

Just got a call from Old Bill...thought maybe I was in trouble again, but he just wanted to know about some character named Mike-whew!

3500?!! might've put a hot rod a 903 in it. Lot of people called them 9-o-nothings, but they did all right...or so I thought. You should go take a look-maybe it's still there, with flowers planted in it. I was very surprised to see that one at Mr. Duncan's. It was one of the ones parked in the power line across the road from his shop that I didn't look at the first time I went. It's actually a tandem straight truck with a pintle hook to pull a trailer. He said he got it from Oregon, but it was originally from California. I think they made another model that the cab sat higher than this on. I've seen a picture on Hank's and 3 guys were standing in front of one and their heads weren't as high as the top of the radiator. I always thought they were just a neat looking truck, so I replaced that Peterbilt cab with it. I can hang a lot of steel off the front of the trailer now-no rear overhang with a 60' load!

I hadn't caught things up in a while because I was waiting for Paul, so I could copy his title. Took my vacation a couple of weeks ago and just hung out. NoClueJoe came to visit and we had a good time...I think- haven't heard much from him since. We took the mixer for a little drive and went back to P.L. Duncan Trucking to see his old trucks. I can't say enough what a nice guy Mr. Duncan is, he talked and showed us trucks and told us their story. He knows where every one of them came from, what running gear they have, and everything else about them. He took us in the pickup to see the ones across the road in the power line. Friday we stayed home and cooked ribs on the grill and Saturday we went to Lincolnton, N.C. to the ATHS truck show. I was going back to work Monday but didn't get out until Tuesday or Wednesday because the truck was still in the Cat shop. They ended up replacing the wires or maybe put a new wiring harness on it. The engine light hasn't been on since anyway, and it's been running fine. I went to Baltimore and loaded at Sparrows point back to Lynchburg, then from Lynchburg to Birmingham and loaded in Birmingham for Virginia Beach. Came back through Petersburg and loaded another Baltimore, did the Sparrows Point deal back to Lynchburg, and back to Petersburg to load 60' piling going to Cleveland- on a 48' trailer. Snuck in after dark so nobody would see the overhang. I unloaded at a job site by the train tracks Wednesday morning then I had to pick up a three stop load that I couldn't load until after 1 o'clock, so I hung around and watched trains go by until about 12:30. Got to Majestic Steel at 1:00 and left at 6:00. Had stops in Greensboro, Durham, and South Boston, Va. Got them all off Thursday then headed up rt. 501 to Gladys. Yesterday I went to Petersburg and loaded a load for Neville Island, Pa. It would have been slightly over gross so I had to take my tarps off the truck and go back across the scales for another empty weight- lightened me up 240 lbs. Left there grossing over 79,000 without the tarps on the truck and less than half full of fuel. Last time I was a little over the guy at the scales let me go load anyway, then let me lift up on the door while the truck was sitting on the scales. The woman in there yesterday is strictly by the book- a company man all the way.

What?!!! oh, you thought- naw, naw, naw, I spend a good bit of time trying to get out of work, not trying to do more . I don't take any artificial stimulants except coffee and an occasional Amp or Red Bull energy drink. When I get tired I go to bed. I was just thinking perhaps Mike went to visit and got rubbed out ...just a thought.

That's great, congratulations Nikki! by the way...haven't heard from Mike in a while- he didn't happen to come over to see Nikki lately, did he?..just wondering what might have happened to him

I got one tire that's low, but not flat. I can't put air in it because the valve stem is mashed almost flat on the end. Didn't want to buy a tube for it because I really need tires, but I don't drive it very far or very often either. I've been parking in pretty much the same spot there every year. Last year I dripped power steering fluid on the ground, this year it was fuel. The little clip with the wing nut that holds the plunger down on the pump came loose and it was dripping a little fuel. I saw a red B-model at Winchester with just the top of the hood and fenders painted black, like Old Bill's, and just liked the looks of them. I think the whole hood and fenders would be too much black.

Yeah...I know. I'm still planning to get the top of the hood painted black some day, when I can afford it again. Right now I really need to get some wheels so I can put some of Todd Moore's good used tubeless tires on it-it seems to drive worse every time I drive it now, like the left front and right rear drive tires are egg shaped instead of round. They're all caps and some have cuts in the sidewall on the inside- just junk really. It wants to bounce and shake and drift all over the road- unless you want to buy it. In that case it drives like a Cadillac!

The Fairlane is a nice unit. That and the blue Mustangs are all owned by members of the Hackett family I think, and they like those Fords. They used to bring a a '58 F-600 pulp wood truck that looks like new with a chain saw on the back about the same age and win the big truck trophy every year, but I didn't see it this year. Charles Hackett started the benefit for his brother-in-law. He's a logger and has a Ford L-800 or 8000 with a 6-71 Detroit in it. He used to have a straight pipe on it and you could hear him coming from about 7 miles away. I didn't live too far from them when I lived in Appomattox. I lived about a mile from the Buckingham county line on rt. 24 and Toga is about 2 miles into Buckingham county. I liked the dark blue Chevelle too- the '70 with the 454. I had a '70 SS396. The one with the hood up is a '68 or '69, but I can't tell which. The black Camaro was a nice hotrod too. The '71 Cutlass Supreme was a beautiful car too- I had one of them too, a '70 model 2 door, not a convertible. One of the best cars I ever had. Shame they ruined the looks of this one with those idiotic looking tires and wheels...just my opinion. The maxed man was I.

I just got back from the 7th. annual Toga community benefit, a benefit for 2 deserving people in the area, picked by committee. It's usually for people who are facing overwhelming medical conditions and expenses. I always contribute something, and have every year. I donated $15 to enter the mixer in the car show, and always find something to donate for the silent auction. This year it was a Dale Earnhardt collector set that had a coffee mug, a handled mug, and a ceramic magnet in it- still in the box it came in. Don't remember where I got it, but i'm pretty sure someone gave it to me for Christmas one year. It's just people helping people, and that's a good thing. I think that's what I like best about BMT, it's all about people helping people. I took some pictures of the car show, there were some nice rides there.

True, pinto beans and cornbread wouldn't be a money maker but they'd be a big hit at the company picnic.

I hadn't even thought about that, good point- you could have the pinto beans and ham on one and the cornbread on the other one.

Some places out west they'll pull 2 trailers. I can see the advantage, if you had a fairly long ways to haul and a good place "on site" to drop the trailer, but on a short haul, or if you had to drop the trailer a long ways away then drive through traffic to get to a jobsite, then that's a horse of a different hue.