A Quick Note from I-95
I'm in New Jersey, waiting for the fog to burn off a little more so I can see where the warehouse allegedly sits, or squats, or whatever the proper term is (haven't had enough coffee yet to sort through the grammatical options). I stopped early last night from sheer fatigue, having driven up here from North Carolina yesterday morning. The fog and rain followed me through Richmond, through Washington DC, Baltimore, and onto the New Jersey Turnpike where a day cab (18 wheeler without the sleeper on the truck) nearly ran me into a concrete barrier while he nonchalantly careened down the highway, one hand on the steering wheel, the other holding the cell phone, yakking away.
I managed to avoid too much trouble, though when the guy walking into the service center in front of me pointedly let both sets of doors slam in my face, I was careful to thank him. And when a fellow in a suit, talking loudly about his "employee optimization" initiative into his pretty new iPhone, was blocking the passage way into the main store, I politely said "excuse me" a couple of times before I heard a voice come forth from me saying, "please move, ya pretentious geek." Just another day in paradise.
This morning I wandered back inside the building for some coffee, managing to arrive just after a bus full of high school students unloaded. There were a couple dozen of them in line when I got to the Starbucks. Now I'm sure the word "like" will be bouncing in my head until my last breath. And I'm like, so happy because they were all like, involved in their conversations? And one girl was like, Omigod(!) because she like, backed into the little retractable rope thingie ya know? And it like, broke! But she was like, soooo apologetic and blah bluh blah. Come to think of it, several of the kids were like, way polite because they would say, "excuse me" as they cut in front of me to, like, stand with their friends that they haven't seen since they like, stepped off the bus a few minutes ago?
I'm like, sooo gonna miss them! Now, back to the road. I need to find this warehouse, stand outside the truck, and just swear at no one in particular for a few minutes to get my equilibrium back.
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Jan '11
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
Whatever.
(Sorry - not a reaction to Dave ... that's the reaction I get when I point out the same things to the same age group, i.e., my daughters.)
Edited on October 3, 2012 at 4:18pmMay '10
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
Are you escaping New Jersey when you're done? Or are you stuck in the NYC area until tomorrow? Offer still stands for dinner and debate here.
Jan '11
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
I think I will "like" every comment here, you know?
My world is very insular so I don't see this, and it's unsettling to hear Dave's chronicling of the decline of the USA, which was once a country of stout-hearted men and stoic women.
Mar '11
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
Hey Dave: Think pure thoughts. Be grateful that your LSU Tigers don't have my Georgia Bulldogs on the schedule and hence won't have to worry about getting pounded into the turf until the SEC title game.
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
And it appear that I-95 is shut down where I am. Traffic accident. Lovely area...
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
Illiniguy, you mean like last year?
Aug '11
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
Just bought a International 9400 at the Ritchie Bros. auction in Ft. Worth and a 20 - ton equipment trailer at the Vegas auction the following day. I'll be hauling my own equipment around in a week or so. It finally made sense to get my own rig. The truck is cherry, with just 40K on it, but it's not a sleeper. My business is pretty much all local. Now if I can only get the FMSCA crypto-Nazi's to lay off. As long as I stay in AZ, I'm OK. Gotta love AZ. We never entered the interstate/international fuel tax treaty. I hope someone challenges that extra-national construct; it is so obviously unconstitutional.
Apr '12
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
Manners maketh the man and I like yours.
Dec '10
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
Erik Larsen:
... it's unsettling to hear Dave's chronicling of the decline of the USA, which was once a country of stout-hearted men and stoic women. · 1 minute ago
I agree, but part of me thinks "yeah, but wasn't it always like this?" Our grandparents thought the same about our parents, and their parents before them. This optimistic part of me says that I shouldn't be worried and that the kids are alright.
However, I really can't help but feel depressed when I think about the state of our younger generation. Brought up on self-esteem, entertainment, and lax responsibility coupled with a complete sense of entitlement and absent of any understanding whatsoever of the principles that form the foundation, upon which, rests their entire lives.
Bah. I'm 28 years old and I already want to tell these damn kids to get off my lawn.
Dec '10
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
As we've discussed before, this is the worst stretch of highway in the entire country. I've made this journey from DC to my hometown of CT more times than I can count.
Jun '10
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
I guess you were right about having brought the rain to NC with that freshly-washed truck. They were predicting big storms around here the last couple of days, but almost bupkis. The weather people didn't know that the front was following a big orange truck up I-95.
Right after I like finished reading your post, I realized that, ya know, in a few years, like those kids are gonna get elected to Congress and stuff, and they'll get the like the cool, secure bureaucracy jobs at like the Federal Government and then they'll be the ones on like the Death Panels.
Way cool.
Sep '11
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
Daughter[1] and I used to compete with horses up and down the East Coast--I've been in and out of a lot of most truck stops and turnpike rest areas between New Jersey and South Carolina.
Most places want horse trailers to go park with the trucks--which is kind of awkward. Here you are with an SUV and a three-horse trailer that's all of 20 feet long--parking in the midst of the pros. You tend to get patronizing looks from the drivers (when they're not ogling your daughter).
But then there comes the day when you find yourself in Linglestown, Pa., in line behind that same busload of, like, teenagers, who are, like, SO chatting? And a driver says something about having to haul "that kind of a load"--meaning the kids--causing a couple of others to shake their heads. And their conversation turns to "what's the best freight?"
Daughter[1] perks up, and says--evoking the true spirit of The Valley Girl, and loudly enough that every teen can hear--"oh, WE have the best freight. We're carrying PONIES!!!"
It was...priceless.
Feb '12
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
Hi Dave, I've been at Costco Depot in Frederick, MD waiting on a door since 05:30 and it's like.....a bummer! And remember, the best way to see jersey is in the rear view mirror.
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
Mike, I got lost in Frederick once. Those 45 minutes were the longest two weeks I've ever had.
Jul '12
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
Is the I-95 Northeast corridor the worst drive for a big rig hauler? I do not see any opportunity to relax.
Mar '11
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
Last year, we said "wait 'til next year". Well, this year is last year's next year. Drive careful.
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
Without a doubt. Most truckers avoid it like the plague. Many professional drivers will refuse to work for a company that covers the northeast. For semis, it's the place where good attitudes and driving records go to die. There are some exceptions, of course,...but they appear to be just that; ...exceptions.
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
Illiniguy
Last year, we said "wait 'til next year". Well, this year is last year's next year. Drive careful. · 1 minute ago
Understand. We said the same thing about Bama. Time will tell...
Nov '11
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
L'enfer c'est les autres.
Re: A Quick Note from I-95
Starbucks?! When you could go to Dunkin' Donuts?
Like, who does that.