Howdy
y’all! We’ve been hauling and delivering goods south of the Mason
Dixon line now for a few days. And lemme tell
you somethin’
honey chile, it wouldn’t take much sweet talkin’ to get this California
girl livin’ away down south in Dixie.
Georgia has cast a serious spell on me and I can see myself living in a
little ole town down here in southern Georgia, and working on my southin
accent. Unfortunately Rick doesn’t like that picture, even though
he agrees with me on how pretty it is down here.
EVERYTHING here is so green and vibrant, even the freeways! With
broad swaths of wild flowers lining each side and every kind of tree imaginable.
In addition to the natural beauty, the people are right nice and the food
is delicious (ummm-ummm love those catfish and grits!). I’m even
used to the humidity since we’ve already driven through Kentucky, Tennessee,
Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida, where I had my first
encounter with a gulf coast thunderstorm.
We were heading out of Florida on our way to Savannah, GA, and were just
past Gainesville, when we started seeing massive black storm clouds and
noticing that the winds were blowing from every which
way.
These were prime conditions for tornadoes and Rick told me to be on the
lookout. We are hoping to see a tornado during our life on the road….I
know, I know, be careful what you wish for, it might come true. But
that would make a really good article.
Anyway, I never saw a tornado. I couldn’t see much of anything because
SHEETS of rain started pelting the windshield, and my visibility was severely
limited. The precipitation was so massive I could BARELY see in my
mirrors either. There were some pretty stout wind gusts too.
In short, it was like driving in a hurricane! And still there were
other drivers passing me in these conditions!! These are the guys
that give the trucking industry a black eye. They were driving the
speed limit, whereas I felt the conditions called for at least a 20 MPH
reduction of that. In fact, Bill told me I could pull over and wait
out the storm if I wanted. Rick TOLD me I should stop and wait it
out, not just because of the storm, but also because of the empty trailer
we were pulling.
Even in dry conditions, pulling an empty trailer is far more dangerous
than pulling a maximum weight load. Without any weight in the trailer
pressing you down on the road surface you actually require a longer stopping
distance, AND there’s not much traction. The analogy most truckers
use is that of a rock skipping on water. In other words, if I had stepped
on the brakes too hard, or turned too sharply, we could have been skidding
out of control, and my trailer would have come up to say hello to me.
This is also known as a jackknife, and it is something I plan to avoid.
But I kept on truckin’. I felt perfectly calm, collected and confident
as long as I drove slowly (around 35 MPH). The only time I got scared
was when the thunder roared. It would crack so loud it sounded like
the clouds were right in my ear. Then I would just cringe and duck
my head like Wrigley the Wondermutt would (Gosh I miss Wrigley! I can’t
wait to pick her up after training is over). And when we were stopped
at an intersection, lightning actually struck a telephone pole that was
catty-corner
to us. THAT scared me.
By the time we made it to a town called Starke we were through the worst
of the storm, but then we hit the worst traffic. This town had been
turned into a veritable river by the storm, and it took a while to wade
all the cars and trucks (that had passed me earlier I might add) through
it.
Anyway, I surprised myself with my nerves of steel (ok, maybe not steel,
but at least aluminum) while driving through those conditions. I
received praise from both Bill and Rick on a job well done. Yeah,
it was a tricky job, but SOMEBODY had to do it. Sigh….I guess that’s
what separates the WOMEN from the boys.
Y’all
come back again real soon now, ya’ hear?!
Christine
CHRISTINE’S
TOP 5 FAVORITE SOUTHIN’ PLACE NAMES:
5) Coosawhatchie,
SC
4) Stinking
Creek Rd., TN
3) Opossum
Kingdom, TX
2) Toad
Suck, AR
1) Big
Bone Lick, KY
