Riding the Storm Out
If anything exciting should happen as a result of Hurricane Alex, I should be able to provide a first-hand account, due chiefly to the inability of a dispatcher to read a map. Yesterday I had the privilege of bringing a truckload of debris to Weslaco, TX. Actually, it wasn't called debris. The bill of lading said it was lumber, and on close inspection it certainly looked like lumber. People will attach it to their windows, after which the hurricane will remove it. Once it is fully processed, it becomes debris, and no self respecting storm should be without a good supply of it. I've often wondered, when watching television coverage of these storms, where all that debris comes from. Now I know. We truck it in! I'm glad I could help in the effort to pre-position the debris.
I was hoping to get a load assignment this morning that would take me out of the area. After all, I wouldn't want to haul all that debris back to San Antonio. Instead, the little computer in my cab beeped this morning with an assignment to go to Brownsville, TX, to pick up a loaded trailer and deliver down the road close to Padre Island, even as the storm homed in. I called my dispatcher to inquire what brand of glue they had been sniffing when he promised that if I could take care of that load, he would get me out of the area. Of course, if he failed, it wouldn't really be a problem since the storm itself could get me out of the area much faster than he could.
I made my way east, but it was no use. About 40 miles outside of Brownsville, the weather deteriorated rapidly. The onslaught of rain reduced visibility to just a few feet. The roads were already flooding. As we say back in Louisiana, the wind was blowing so hard that one of the hens laid the same egg four times. Am empty trailer in high winds is tough to control, and trying to keep the thing on the road was becoming more tricky by the moment.
I decided to err on the side of safety, messaged the dispatcher that it was simply unsafe to continue, and made my way back to the truck stop in Edinburg, TX. Tomorrow, I will try to get to Brownsville to make this infernal load work. One good thing about the folks I work for is that they respect my judgement in these matters and do not pressure me to continue if I feel it isn't safe. At least it gives me more time to catch up on Ricochet.
If I see any camera crews from the Weather Channel, I will assume that the end is near and take cover immediately.
- Comment (5)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (1)
Comments :
May '10
Re: Riding the Storm Out
Be safe Dave. Sorry, but I'm a Jersey guy, so I don't understand the bit about the hen laying the same egg four times. Is it possible to explain without falling afoul of the Ricochet Standards Bureau?
Re: Riding the Storm Out
About being from Jersey, Matthew, ...well, ...on the positive side, you've got a great governor, right? As to explaining the hen without fowling up the ground rules, ...I wouldn't touch a straight line like that for a free weekend at Pismo Beach.
May '10
Re: Riding the Storm Out
Dave, I've driven that road from Brownsville to South Padre. Flat, flat, flat with nothing to block the wind, and nowhere for the rain to go once it's fallen from the sky. Good for you for turning around. Watch out for the debris.
May '10
Re: Riding the Storm Out
Am I completely naive here? I understood the hen joke to be the wind kept blowing the egg back inside the hen. I have a pretty warped sense of humor, but I can't get anything else out of that joke. It's hilarious.
May '10
Re: Riding the Storm Out
Dave Carter: If I see any camera crews from the Weather Channel, I will assume that the end is near and take cover immediately. ·
When the company I work for had our recent grand opening for our new building, Jim Cantore was a special guest there. We were definitely concerned about our safety when he walked up.
Also, Andrea. Having heard that hen joke from Dave all my life I can tell you with confidence, there is nothing more to get out of it.