Last Week Trucking

Well the time has come, my wife and I have decided that it’s time to jump off that proverbial ledge. Between the farm and the leather shop I was just spreading myself to thin to even spend time with my own kids.

So when I got my schedule for my last week it seemed gravy enough, just 2 loads. The first loaded here in northern IL and delivered to Joplin, MO. When I got to the place to load things still seemed simple, other than all the snow and ice on 4 miles of country roads to get there. I finally left and were making my way south. About 50 miles into my trip it started snowing and didn’t stop for the next 150 miles.

All the while I noticed my drivers side windshield wiper not catching all the glass. Whatever, I’m an old pro and can handle a little snow and a crappy wiper. But to add to the fun, I am way overweight on my drive axles. So that means I get to go around ALL the scales on this little 600 mile trip. Again, I was raised by a bull hauler, no need to worry about a little scale dodging…

By the time I was crossing the river in St. Louis I had about an hour break in the snow and made it around 2 scales. But as I come into town it started raining, and the temps were well below freezing. Me being optimistic, I flipped the wipers on only to have the driver’s side wiper flip over!!! There I was making my way through town in rush hour with now wipers.

But again, I’m an old pro right? I made it out of town and stopped to fix my wiper. Now with the wiper fixed I only had a couple hundred miles left to go. But the excitement/freezing rain didn’t stop the whole rest of the trip. By the time I made it to Joplin I had well over an inch of ice built up on the front of the truck.

The trip home was uneventful, and so was the second load of the week. Other than by the time I got to Albany, MN it was -12!!!

I guess the moral of the story is that the good lord has a way of putting things into perspective. We were really on the fence about me being self-employed. Money is always a huge stress, well it’s really the lack of money. But with the weather the last couple weeks, it made the decision to park the truck so much easier. So now it’s even more important for y’all to subscribe to the newsletter, buy SK Leather and eat beef!