Driver Had a Stroke, Need to get Truck Home

[Duck]

Julian was not a smoker, but I don't think Chris is going to bitch if you smoke while you're driving. Most of the stink in a smoker's vehicle is from the open ash tray and from canning the smoke up inside the vehicle. Roll the window all the way down and use an empty juice bottle with a screw-on cap for the butts. Yes, it's plastic. just put some water in it to extinguish the cigarette and keep it capped. there will be very little smoke odor when you deliver the truck.

I usually use the windows. But that's in the midwest. I guess I'll have to invent some kind of ash tray since I'll be in the southwest where there's a fire hazard everywhere.

For the record... I domiciled in my usual palace while our galant Sir Duck was pampered by a host of Red Roof servants.

He's at hotel California and I snuck up to GF with another load and hit the J shower up here cuz the water's cleaner the further north ya go.

I thought you were just gonna run that dry van "next door" to the terminal, LOL.

I slept a solid 11 hours, alarm woke me up at 9. Was tempted to shut it off & just turn the ringer back on so you could wake me up at 10. (I had the phone's ringer set to "alarm only" because I fully expected SkateBoard to wake me up at 4:56 AM like he did yesterday) Walked next door to gas station, got small quantity of coffee & large quantity of Gatorade. (I just said "tity" twice, hehehehe...)

 

[coachman]

Sorry to heard the driver did not make it.

 

[Duck]

There's no bathroom door in this two-bed hotel room in Fargo. I had just stepped out of the shower & hadn't even reached for the towel yet & in spite of the fact the "do not fucking disturb" thing is on the door knob, some short person wearing a black sheet & a burqa (possibly a muslim female) entered the room & saw me & turned around & walked out.

At least I HOPE it was a muslim female, ... cuz the only other kind of person who would dress like that is the grim reaper...

Heading to Stanley now. Just left Fargo. ETE about 5 or 6 hours.

 

[Inkeper]

There's no bathroom door in this two-bed hotel room in Fargo. I had just stepped out of the shower & hadn't even reached for the towel yet & in spite of the fact the "do not fucking disturb" thing is on the door knob, some short person wearing a black sheet & a burqa (possibly a muslim female) entered the room & saw me & turned around & walked out.

At least I HOPE it was a muslim female, ... cuz the only other kind of person who would dress like that is the grim reaper...

Damn, Duck scared the grim reaper! Now that is bad!

 

[Duck]

 

[Duck]

 

[Duck]

Per a large bald man's advice, I ain't posting my 20 with any degree of accuracy in the public thread til I'm in El Paso.

I'm parked for the night. Still in ND. These headlights suck & I think they're wired backwards. The low beams are better than the high beams & people keep flashing at me.

Heater stuck on, blowing hot through the vents even with the fan turned off. Annoying "recirculate" light comes on dash if I set it to recirculate, which is the only way to stop wind force from moving hot air through the vents.. In the morning I'll shut off the valve to the heat exchanger.

Worn out shocks. Steering wheel 45 degrees off, deep tire grooves in the pavement on this 2-lane highway, yep I'm a call it a night.

I love the way this Detroit 60 runs though. The throttle response & rate of RPM increase/decrease during shifts is 100% predictable, unlike a Cummins ISX. I'm afraid to push it over 1400 though. 1400 in top gear is 65 mph, ... might run 70 when I get to the big road though. After sitting in a traffic backup (accident scene) a couple hours ago, I noticed a puff of smoke out the left stack when I hit the throttle. It would be nice if I can make it down there without having to buy any oil. There was a 2.5 gal jug in the trailer side-box, and it took the whole jug to bring the oil to the full mark. All that's left is 3 gallons of Lucas oil.

And seeing that quantity of Lucas oil gives me the willies, like it might be a major oil burner.

Injun I'll be at a big chain truck stop some time tomorrow I think & we can do that Comcheck thing there. I have plenty enough fuel to make it to .... the place I'm thinking of.

 

[Duck]

El Paso, TX

Mission accomplished.

 

[8978]

So where are you now, in the truckers lounge until Mon?

 

[DubbleD]

Mission accomplished.

Not entirely... You ain't at the home 20.

 

[rebel]

Mission accomplished.

Not entirely... You ain't at the home 20.

No but y'all did a real good deed.

 

[Duck]

So where are you now, in the truckers lounge until Mon?

No. I'm at the guy's house til Tim comes & picks my ass up.

Here's a picture of Chris taking a picture of the truck to send to Julian's son.

Right now he's cooking some kind of Tex-Mex stuff & it smells great.

 

[Duck]

Yummy Yummy

Estufa Del Diablo ("The Devil's Stove")



I didn't even know it was possible to make pasta that good.

Pork chops in a red chili pepper stuff w/potatoes. Refried beans, tortillas.

 

[Injun]

http://www.lagronefuneralchapels.com/services.asp?locid=11&page=odetail&id=29075

Julian Delfin Sabedra
August 13, 1957 - June 6, 2013



SABEDRA, JULIAN “DELFIN” —A rosary is scheduled for 11:00 A.M., with a communion service at 12:00 P.M. on Wednesday, June 19, 2013 at St. John’s Catholic Church for Julian Sabedra, age 55, of Socorro, Texas who passed away June 6, 2013. Deacon Ernesto Martinez will officiate with interment to follow in South Park Cemetery.
Julian was born August 13, 1957 in Roswell, New Mexico to Delfin and Noyola Sabedra. They have preceded him in death.
Julian is survived by one daughter: Rachel Marie Sanders and her husband Justin of Amarillo, TX; one son: Bobby Lyman Sabedra and Brandy Ezell of Amarillo, TX; grandchildren: Taylor Dickson, Faith Ramonez, and Benjamin Ramonez of Amarillo, TX; one sister: Yolanda Herrera of Tucson, AZ, one brother: Carlton C. Hamilton Jr. of Socorro, TX, Julian’s girlfriend: Gloria Sanchez and numerous nieces and nephews.
Julian was a professional truck driver. He enjoyed golf. His favorite football team was the Pittsburgh Steelers.

 

[Injun]

Thank you, Duck.

Thank you to DubbleD, Tim, blackw900, Magnum and Swift. Each named here had direct influence in making this happen.

If I missed anyone, please make the correction for me and accept my apology. It's late, I'm tired and this whole project has been draining in more ways than finances and time. Julian was a great friend to have. In the middle of doing everything I could from my end, I am mourning his loss.

It was my privelege to help my friend when he needed me most, as he was the type to never ask for anything, yet give everything. It was also my privelege to work with the drivers who made this happen. You guys have shown that caring and brotherhood are not dead in this industry. Thank you for restoring some of that belief in me. I think that by itself is valuable.

 

[Zen Trucker]

Did you eat at Space Aliens?

That place is a rip off. Fun....but a rip off...

And the food's bad, too.

Guess that was Dave's punishment for all of the pee breaks.

 

[2xR]

Y'all did good. Proud of ya'...

 

[Duck]

Chris's shrine to Julian:



Julian's geriatric cat. It rarely leaves me alone & Chris says it will eat my shoes if I don't lock them in a bedroom.





Can barely see it in this crappy cell phone pic. This is cropped from a wide-angle 1600 x 1200 pic. The border fence/wall is the dark horizontal line seen just above the top of the chain-link fence in the foreground. With my naked eyes, from this distance it almost looks like a freight train parked on a rail.

Last night at 2AM I was on the deck with a cigarette & heard female voices singing the Star Spangled Banner ---- in English, .. from that direction. Really weird. Afterwards they were singing Mexican stuff in Spanish.



That post in the lot next door has burnt garbage around it. It's creepy as hell. It looks like someone was burned at the stake. For Halloween, I told Chris he should get a plastic skeleton & spray-paint it black & tie it to that stake with black rope or wire.

And the food's bad, too.

Guess that was Dave's punishment for all of the pee breaks.

Actually it wasn't bad at all. And the waitress was hot.

 

[Duck]

Mercer suspended his account. He is not insured by them right now. This was to avoid him going in the hole with them. Anyone can drive it with trip insurance and fuel now.

Nope. I saw the letter they mailed to his house. They wanted him to sign a "termination of lease" thing before he was even deceased.

However, Mercer will reactivate the account if someone who drives for them wants to move it.

Bullshit. They were quick to repower that load into Canada but didn't give a damn about helping relocate the truck, and in addition, they were calling his house demanding their license plate & vinyl graphics be sent back to Mercer & they were withholding some funds or an escrow account or something until they receive it. This was before he was even deceased but they knew he was in the ICU & unresponsive.

 

[Injun]

Mercer's Permits department sent a certified letter to Julian's house demanding the return of his fuel card, permit book, log book and truck plate within ten days or they were going to report the truck stolen.

I called Tim Comstock, one of the bigwigs in Louisville, and begged a stay of execution on that. Julian was still on the ventilator.

This whole experience just made me sick to the bone how this family was treated by Mercer. Swift....hell, even Prime isn't this cold-hearted.