As I progressed deeper into Indiana, the piles of snow increased (the Interstate system roads were clear and dry). In Kentucky, the snow transitioned to ice glistening in the trees and covering everything. It was as if painters had brushed everything with silver glitter paint. In the sun, it was a beautiful landscape. Every now and again you'd see trees splintered by the weight--some falling and even leaning against the freeway guard rail (the weight of the ice split tree trunks into halves and quarters). Last week, this storm was deadly to motorists. Today, the aftermath was breathtaking to view.
As I drove along I thought about the devastation from the recent Indian Ocean Tsunami. One talk show host (Greg Knapp) guest hosting on the Glen Beck program relayed personal horror stories of families losing loved ones right in front of their eyes as well as miracle stories of survival. Those emotional moments brought tears to my eyes....Later I learned that the death count was topping 50,000 people. That is a figure approaching the capacity of football stadiums around the nation. And it all happened so suddenly.
Shortly after starting out in Indianapolis this morning, I dumped my coffee onto the floor of the truck. Just like yesterday. Truck design engineers should spend a minimum of 3-months as over-the-road truck drivers before being allowed to design one component on a truck. Whomever designed the coffee place holder in this truck was brain dead at the time. Today's coffee spill was due to my desire to move out of the way of a trucker I was momentary blocking ('cuz I was inside the store getting the coffee). Maybe I'll learn to pour the coffee from the cup into my mug that fits somewhat snugly into the passenger's drink holder before moving the truck. By the way, this truck stop was a real winner. It was a gas 'n go mini-truckstop. The kind that maybe 10-trucks can park overnight. It had two diesel pumps. The path around the lot was full of ski moguls (lots of bumps). Too bad this place wasn't on a ski slope--it would make for some great hot-dogging. To top it off, their bathroom didn't work. They even had a sign taped on to the counter stating as much (the sign looked like it had been there a while). Me thinks I will not be stopping there again.
I delivered my load in Spartanburg, SC (I've been at the same place 3-times in 3-weeks) and then learned that I was next headed to...drum roll please...California! Since the veteran drivers are probably off celebrating the New Year's festivities, that leaves loads such as this one for drivers such as me. I'll probably not see a load like this one until...well...one year from now.
I even get a couple of hours to relax at the truck stop in the morning before going and picking the load up in North Carolina. So I'll be celebrating the New Year in my truck somewhere across this great fruited plain of ours.
miles driven = 567
8:41:31 PM
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