Well I was about half-way to Indianapolis this morning when my fleet manager Qualcommed (Q'd) me to see him before I left Gary. After I Q'd him back saying that wasn't going to happen (Hmm, I forgot to ask what he wanted to see me about). Later, he Q'd me to not take the load to the customer, but instead drop the load at our Cincinnati drop yard. Later, he Q'd me and said customer service advised to deliver the load to the customer. When I was 5-minutes away from the customer, he Q'd me to take the load to the drop yard. I decided to right then and there take a mini-break, check the tires, grab some coffee, and see if there was another last minute change of plans before I dropped the trailer at the drop yard. It turns out that the drop yard was indeed the final destination. Oh yeah, each time I receive a Q, I need to pull the truck over and stop it before I can view the Q message. That gets to be a hassle if you get a lot of messages. So, far I don't get a lot (except for today).
From there, I traveled North to pick up another load headed South (warm weather!) for a delivery on Monday morning.
This afternoon, the jury for the Scott Peterson trial returned a verdict of 1st degree murder for Lacy (his wife) and 2nd degree murder for Connor (his son). I agree with the jury.
Good for them. Sentencing is scheduled to commence on the 22nd. The death penalty is a possibility. I believe Scott should receive the death penalty for the heinous crimes he committed. May God have mercy on his soul.
As I was picking up the load this evening and preparing the tractor and trailer for the journey (and internally complaining a bit on how chilly and windy it was getting now that it's November), a guy came on the CB wanting a mic check (make sure his CB radio was working properly). I assured him it was. Later, he confided in me that he was heading home in his pickup truck. His wife had just called him to tell him that she had miscarried. Wow--what can you possibly say that will provide comfort? I told him I would pray for him and his wife. He thanked me. I told him to go home and give his wife a big hug, hold her, and just love her. We said are farewells to one another. He went home to intense sadness and heartbreak. I went outside and cleaned my reflectors and prayed. Every now and then, life's realities really takes the wind out of your sales. Every now and then, life teaches you that what you're going through at the moment pales in comparison to what your neighbor is going through.
Well I'm ready to crash. I'm parked in another trucking company's truck lot. They have an agreement with the shipper to keep some of the loaded trailers there when there lot becomes full. I'm hoping they don't mind and I won't receive a knock in the middle-of-the-night and being told to kindly move my butt off of private property. I suppose I could use the argument that I'm out-of-hours and by moving the truck onto the public roadways, I'd be breaking the law. At any rate, I won't worry about it until the knock comes (grin).
miles driven = 439
PostScript (added 11-15-04) I was thumbing through some back copies of USA Today I had bought and hadn't really gotten the time to examine all the pages. In the Main section of the Weekend Edition (November 12-14, p. 4A), I was absolutely captivated by a photograph--one of the best I've seen in a while. The image was taken during the Veterans Day Commemoraton at the Dallas, TX City Hall. The picture shows two men. The older man, a sobbing Pearl Harbor veteran, is wrapped around a younger man who's recently returned from Iraq. The older man's face says it all--something to the effect: "War is hell--I've been there myself and I deeply appreciate what you've done for my country." The younger man, a head taller, smiles with the understanding that what he has contributed to his country is honored by the man that embraces him. Oh...you should know that the younger man lost an eye, a hand, and a leg while defusing a bomb. You should view and study this photograph. May God bless the veterans who defend bravely our country with their life and limb.
9:09:23 PM
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