“There are times
when only a dog will do
For a
friend…when you’re beaten sick and blue
And the
world’s all wrong, for he won’t care
If you
break and cry, or grouch and swear,
For he’ll
let you know as he licks your hands
That
he’s downright sorry…and understands.”
--From Vagabond’s House by Don Blanding
Yes!! We have completed our training and have our very own truck
that we get to outfit with as much stuff as we can fit in it, starting
with a microwave, toaster and refrigerator. We’re back in Fresno
to pick up The Wondermutt, and we have survived our first two runs without
supervision. It’s a miracle really, because our first load was a
hot one to San Francisco. Let me tell you all about it…..
We were assigned our truck and were very excited about having our own space
again. Unfortunately, we had to have a minor repair made and were
at the shop waiting when our load information came in over the Qualcomm
(that’s our onboard computer that enables us to be in contact with our
office). It was a hot, maximum weight load to San Francisco!!
A hot load means the load is almost going to be late for delivery, so somebody
has to drive all night without stopping to get it to the customer on time.
Or else our company will be fined. Maximum weight is around 45,000
pounds.
So here we were in Tacoma, WA which is 789 MOUNTAINOUS miles from San Francisco,
didn’t know when our truck would be roadworthy, had to stop for fuel, weigh
in at a scale somewhere to make sure the trailer was loaded legal, and
in general didn’t like the thought of going into San Francisco in an eighteen
wheeler. Most
of the
streets in S.F. are narrow and winding. And we have 16 hours to do
all of this! Not to mention the fact that we had both been up since
5:00 A.M. for our road test, and had only had one meal all day. We’re
tired, we’re hungry, we’re disorganized….We’re truck drivers now!!
We tried to talk some sense into dispatch: this is our first run, we have
no supplies on our truck yet, we both need sleep, our truck is broken…
maybe a more experienced team can take this load…etc, etc. That was
a big waste of time because they couldn’t have cared less! So we
took the load, but told them it’s going to be late for sure. We were
bitching and whining and on the verge of quitting the whole trip down to
S.F. We FINALLY make it over the Oakland Bay Bridge and into the
city (at morning rush hour no less), find the street our drop site is located
on, and our jaws dropped.
You should have seen how narrow it was! It was a typical tiny S.F.
street with cars parked on both sides. Up until then we had hopes
that we would be going into a large industrial complex with tons of space.
Well, We could JUST barely get on the street and make it through the parked
cars to our customer.
Then we see the “dock” we’re supposed to back up to. And I told Rick:
Let’s QUIT right now! We can buy a camper van and live out of that
for a while and FORGET ABOUT THIS JOB! And I was only half joking.
Even
though Rick was going to back it into the “dock”, which is not equipped
for semis and can only be accessed by backing down the narrow city street
and then around a wall, I still had to direct him into it. And direct traffic.
So we’re backing down the street. And luckily there’s not much traffic
on this little street. But then a man pulls up in a Lexus, talking
on his cell phone, right behind Rick. I give Rick the STOP signal
and walk up to Mr. Lexus’ window and politely wait for him to acknowledge
me. He’s ignoring me so I KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK on his window.
And we exchange the following pleasantries:
ME: Uh, we have to back down this street into this dock behind you
Sir. (I’m being polite)
Mr. Lexus: Well I HAVE to get to the office building here on the
right. (He’s not being polite)
ME: Then you can go around him to the right. (not as polite as before)
Mr.Lexus: But it’s going to tight!
ME: Not as tight as the dock we have to back this TRUCK
into! (my temper is rising)
Mr. Lexus: Well, I’m NOT moving!!
ME: Then we’re BACKING RIGHT OVER YOU!! (Temper has risen)
Mr. Lexus: (Laughing) Yeah right!
I then walked into view of Rick’s mirror and motioned for him to continue
backing. Suddenly Mr. Lexus realized there was enough space to make
it by Rick after all.
It was ugly, but after half an hour Rick had the trailer perfectly centered
in the dock. And he managed to do that without hitting anything or
anybody. I was really proud of him. He basically did it all
on his own too, because with the exception of getting one rude yuppie out
of the way, I really wasn’t of much help.
Now we’ll be hitting the road with Wrigley and hopefully these loads will
only get easier. Having Wrigley along will be fun, she makes us laugh.
I wish she had been with us in S.F. We needed a laugh then.
TOP 5 REASONS
I DIDN’T LEAVE MY HEART IN SAN FRANCISCO:
5) Toll Bridges
4) Heavy Traffic
3) Narrow Streets
2) Tiny Docks
1) RUDE PEOPLE!
Catch you way back!
Christine and Rick
