Isn't it strange...

I found such great interested today in the strength and overall durability of a Subway restaurant spoon. It was complimentary with the meal I purchased which included my 6" sub, Dannon yogurt and a soda. I was nodding with great approval while feeling very satisfied with the spoon as I took it out of its plastic wrappings. It was like a gift from Jared himself!

Then I finally snapped out of it and realized it's just a stoopid spoon that I will utilize then dispose of when it's served its full purpose in my life. And I enjoyed my yogurt immensely.

So it's been a little exciting the last couple of days. After my fun in Virginia and a chilly overnight stay in PA on the I-80 I headed north on US-219 to make the rest of my journey towards Buffalo. My delivery was set for 13:00 hours, aka 1 pm, and I was making great time, despite the hefty load I was hauling the hills I had to climb. I really enjoyed the drive through parts of PA and NY I'd never seen before. It was picturesque in many places and I just really had a great time of it.

When I was about 20 minutes away from my destination, I was pulled off the road into a small rest area by the NY DOT for a routine inspection. I was assured it wouldn't take long and that I'd be on my way in no time. I believed it, too!

After relinquishing the required documents to one officer (license, medical card, cab card, and log book) I was approached by another officer which would conduct the physical examination of truck and trailer. Everything was going great. Everything worked properly and the brakes were in alignment and such. The tractor was tip-top. Then he did the walk around on my trailer.

Things were great down the drivers side. All the lights worked and the hoses and wires and such were all as they should be. However, when the officer disappeared behind the trailer and reappeared on the passenger side, things took a turn for the worse.

Turns out that some time during my trip from PA my right rear outer tandem tire had lost all air and its' seal with the rim and was just "hangin' on for dear life, as it appears, ma'am". So I was immediate put "Out of Service", asked to pull over to the side to clear the way for other traffic and to sit tight.

I did as I was told and immediately got on the phone calling our roadside service department ("emergency maintenance" they call it) and sat on hold for nearly an hour, a good thing it wasn't a true emergency. Meanwhile, the first officer who still had all of my documents had returned them to me with an additional piece of paper.

A traffic ticket.

For a flat tire.

I don't get it. I mean, I got the "fix-it ticket" from the inspecting officer which to me should have been sufficient. But the other officer wrote an actual traffic violation ticket which states that the offense was simply a "flat tire". WTF? Anyone out there in commercial driving land care to explain this one?

I mean my company claims that they will pay any fine and take care of the ticket. Which is peachy keen, but will this go on my MVR? Seriously?! I don't get how a flat tire can warrant an actual traffic ticket. But then again I'm not Lucy Law so I have no clue how it actually works.

Anywho. So the officers are done with me but I obviously cannot leave until the tired is repaired or replaced. So I have to sit and wait for the roadside guy to show up and do his bit. It took him two and a half hours to get there and another hour to do the job. He was baffled, however, by the fact that the tire itself seemed 100% okay. He could not locate any puncture or foreign objects in the tread or on the side walls. But he also couldn't get it to hold a seal on the rim.

Strange.

But he had brought along a replacement tired and finally I was on my way. The delivery I was to make had also been rescheduled during my time spent at the rest area. I was granted permission to head on over to the facility and park on the premises and be ready to get unloaded at 9 am sharp.

So I hit the road, and twenty three minutes later I pulled onto the lot. It was a long cold night, but I survived. I also got about halfway through the George Orwell classic, "1984". WOW... that's all I'm saying so far about that.

This morning I got up, docked and delivered. Of course, I was ready promptly at 9 am as I was instructed to be. But they didn't even touch my freight until nearly 10 am. Go figure! But once they started I was done pretty quickly. And I had received a load assignment while getting unloaded and was ready to roll on when I was emptied.

I headed up into actual downtown Buffalo to a recycling place that was fun. Getting there of course was half the fun. Most of it, interstate and main highway. Cool. Then I exited the highway and was following my directions when I came upon a sign before a train overpass that said Clearance 12' 7".

CRAP! I'm 13' 6" for those of you wondering. I freaked a little but just stopped as close to the curb as I could and pulled on the hazard lights and dialed 9-1-1. The voice on the other end said to hang tight and they'd send someone for help. I didn't expect it to be a USPS mail delivery guy.

I don't think he was actually dispatched to the scene but he was driving by and saw that I was in distress over the low clearance warning. So he assured me that I could make it but that if I was too worried, that I could turn around in the adjacent businesses parking lot and take an alternate route.

I did pull into the lot to do the turn around, but figured that while I was out of harms way I'd call the actual shipper and get "accurate directions". The friendly female on the line assured me that I can make the underpass with inches to spare and that the sign is actually meant for the second overpass a few blocks past where I was. She told me to take it slow and easy but that trucks go through there day in and day out with no problem.

So I swallowed hard and held my breath and onward I went. I made it through without a scratch and I was so very relieved! I arrived at the shipper and did my thing and was on my way in about an hour. It was nice to drive back under the bridge without worry.

Things were looking up!

And then I got west of Buffalo on I-90 and ran into the worst snow storm I've been in yet. Thankfully it was short lived and cleared up well before the PA state line. A nice little lake effect ditty that was more of a nuisance than anything. Drive with a brain and you'll survive I kept telling myself as I kept my distance from other drivers.

I ended up just this side of Cleveland for the night and will head west and northward tomorrow on my way to Green Bay. I hope that weather and traffic allow me to make it there tomorrow evening. But I'm okay with Sunday as well. I plan on making a trip to eat at my favorite restaurant while I'm there no matter what. YUM YUM My mouth is watering already!