Another First

I'm in the IdleAire in Monee now, not without a little entertainment. Last week, on Sunday, I got a CB while in Baltimore and got it working. Don't seem to listen to it much but today it came in handy. Rumbling up I65 out of Indianapolis this fella pulls up beside me and waves his CB mike at me. I get the picture he wants to tell me something, geez someone on this lonely road wants to talk to me. Is it 'cause I'm doing something wrong, or just because I'm so handsome.

No, he tells me I've got a flat tire on the trailer and it's throwing rubber pieces off behind. I tell him thanks and he continues on. I wanted to ask him "so what do I do now" but though better of it. That would be a little to rookie-ish, even though at the moment it was true. I traveled on up I65 to the next exit and pulled off to take a look. Yep it was flat, I didn't really doubt it, but I thought I should at least verify it. Hmmm... we don't carry spares, it's throwing rubber and therefore not safe. Hmmm... I call Schneider Emergency Services and after a few minutes on hold, it is Sunday after all. The operator answers and I tell her my story. She says "run it till they all fall off" and my butt immediately puckers up. Then she laughed one of those belly laughs and I knew she knew she got me.

She summons up a tire repair fella at a truck stop down the road and comes back to tell me he'll be there in an hour - cool, I'm not in any big hurry today, or anymore.

Now understand I've got 40,000 pounds of glassware on the truck.. .

Again, dumb me, I didn't get his name. But he did a quick job.

He observed me watching him, taking it all in and taking the pictures and says to me "haven't you ever seen a truck tire changed before" and I say "not in the three weeks I've been driving." He laughs and says "well this is my first road change, I guess we're both new." Nice guy... I gave him one of my Trucking Funks cards so he could check out the pictures back at the shop.

Why is it still so cold here in Illinois... 38 degrees out ?