A RAINY NIGHT ON THE ISLAND... Long Island that is!

Quite a few years back on a rainy Thursday night another company driver and I were on the return trip from Deer Park to New Jersey. We were heading towards the L.I.E. when a BMW came flying out of a parking lot and into the lead trucks right side first axle drive wheel causing it to go flat. Terry, the company driver, got out of his Mack and surveyed the damage and went to confront the BMW driver. I stepped out of my KW to keep him from ripping the BMW driver apart.

The driver of the BMW was already out of the car checking the damage, Terry and I approached the driver and found a somewhat attractive blond in a fit of hysterics and mumbling things about her husband was going to kill her for damaging the car which, by the way, was not equipped with airbags.
Terry tried to get the Lady's information for insurance purposes and for the law if and when they showed up. She refused stating that she wasn't supposed to be there and her husband would kill her if he found out where she was.
Yes, there was definite underhanded things afoot with this scenario all the while the rain just poured down which, in turn, caused the woman's makeup to run...

After 20 minutes of getting nowhere the woman jumped back in the BMW and took off, Terry stood there in disbelief as the tail lights disappeared into the rain.
The law finally did arrive and took our statements the officer asked us to give a description of the lady, Terry told the officer that the woman's makeup was so bad he probably wouldn't recognize her again. I told the officer with the mascara running down the chicks face she looked like Alice Cooper. The officer did make that note in his report.

Two hours later Terry's wheel was fixed and we where on our way home. As we rode along the L.I.E. we conversed on the CB and out of the blue he asked me who Alice Cooper was.
I was surprised by the question but took it all in stride I just told him that Alice was a ministers son and he sang for band...

I really wonder if the "Rendezvous" was worth all the trouble on a "Rainy Night on the Island"

 

Wow Doc Boy, you tell them stories good. I hope that idiot learned his lesson, or the lack there of. :lol:

 

HEY, WHERE DID THE SNOW COME FROM????
Or, this was supposed to be flurries!!!

All morning long the weather prognosticators kept saying a brief episode of flurries would occur today.
Well, the flurries turned into a quick moving storm that totally screwed up the entire Coastal Plain area...

I was cruising up my favourite highway US 264 towards Zebulon when a big wall of white critters swarmed the truck, yeah the flurries were attacking with a vengeance.
"Flurries my ass!!" I said to myself. "This is going to get ugly!"
I dumped the load of rocks and headed back towards the quarry all the while noticing the "flurries" where getting more organized and a lot bigger.

After loading the next load I noticed the "flurries" had just reached the quarry. I weighed the wagon and headed off back to Zebulon.
I dropped down on to 264 and drove west and ran into a pure white highway which was becoming extremely slick. The truck seemed to do OK with the 23 tons until I got off the highway and tried to turn onto the NC highway. The CH-600 slid to the right towards the bridge rail, I punched the throttle and managed to snap the truck back in line at the same time I noticed a dude in a Dodge Intrepid tailgating me lost his composure and slid into the bridge rail. I stopped to check on the driver asking him if he was all right and just what he was thinking. I did call 911 and the operator told me the guy would have quite a wait, I did relay the message and rolled on to the concrete plant.

Trailer emptied I was dreading the ride back I actually started to shake which is something that normally doesn't happen. I told the plant loader operator I guessed it's a sign that I need to give up the wheel...

I took the slow ride back to the domicile noticing the vehicles spinning off the highway in vain attempts at breaking land speed records in the snow.
When I finally did pull into the yard I was shocked to see all the other trucks in and all the drivers gone. The foreman laughed telling me he had no doubt I would be the one he would have to wait for. I asked him why he felt that way, all he said was "You're a Damn Yankee!!!"
I told him that may be true but it had more to do with "Lack of SENSE!!!"

As of this hour 2045 there are still people stuck on I-40 from 1400 this afternoon.

One more thing I just had a short conversation on the Ham Radio and made a rude comment about some of the Hams who are now stuck where the same who made fun of the drivers stuck on I-70 a few weeks back!

 

What a hoot!

 

All right, Doc. I will acquiesce and give in to the story bug, but only because you gave me a good opening with the snow story.

I live in the midwest, born in Ohio, grew up in Iowa, so am quite used to driving in adverse weather conditions. I made the move to Greensboro, NC, a number of years back and existed there for about 7 years total. One thing I really noticed about the south? Southern drivers can't drive a lick in rain, much less ice and snow. Another thing I noticed about the south? If the weather turns bad, grocery stores end up with a 3 for 2 stock split the next day.

So, to set the story, in the 7 years I was there, I saw snow once (10 inches, shut the city down for 3 days, even though the snow melted in less than 2) and ice once. While the snow incident allowed me to witness 5 accidents happen on my normally 9, this time 45 minute trip home, the ice incident was without a doubt, one of the more entertaining times I had at the expense of my southern neighbors.

As our story begins, the ice storm is moving in and giving us a misty rain at first. Seeing as I'm in need of picking up a couple gallons of milk at the store, I figure I better get there before all hell breaks loose. Afterall, when we got the 10 inches of snow in my first year there, I got to see a Kroger store stripped down to bare shelves. Even the dog food aisle was cleaned out.

So I hop in the car and hit the interstate on my way into town. Traffic on the interstate is restricted to the right lane with a top speed of about 15 mph...and the pavement is still dry. So, I get in the empy left lane and tool on down the road at a comfy 55 mph and quickly attract a highway patrol car. Needless to say, I get pulled over and the officer begins to lecture me about the dangers of driving in adverse conditions. When I pointed out the road was still dry, he hesitated a moment, before continuing. But when I told him I grew up in Iowa, he laughed, we chatted and he sent me on my way. It was that simple, since the officer, too, had grown up in the midwest.

During the time I was on the side of the road, though, the ice began to make it's presence known and by the time I got into town, it was starting to get pretty slick. I get down to the bottom of the dip in Cone Blvd and notice that at the very bottom of the hill, there is a little foreign car sitting dead smack in the middle of the road, straddling the centerline. I begin to make my way around him on the shoulder and notice that his windows are down and this little old Korean driver is hunched over the steering wheel, his knuckles white and his teeth clenched, completely oblivious to the outside world. He ignored my questions concerning his well-being and didn't respond when I asked him if he had any Grey Poupon (mustard), so I went on my merry way.

Destination? The Winn Dixie Supermarket.

I get there and pull into the parking lot and I swear, if you saw the scene you would think we were getting nuked. People are whipping their cars into the lot and leaving them wherever they end up, whether across 3 parking spaces or bumper-to-fender with another car. They are running to and from the store, falling on the ice, etc. I mean, they were in a clear panic and I had a feeling it would be quite the entertaining shopping session.

So I parked a safe distance away and made my way carefully across the icy parking lot and into the pandemonium of the store. If people were crazy outside, they were even crazier inside (probably because they had traction), yelling across the store to family members that were apparently on a mission or yelling at each other. A couple of the more memorable moments?

- In the canned food aisle, there was an Indian couple with two carts up against each other, literally pulling armloads of canned goods off the shelves and into their carts.

- I watched a rather large construction worker whip his cart around the end of an aisle and take out an end-cap potato-chip display. Bags of chips went everywhere and he simply steamrolled right over them. And I assume he was a construction worker because he was wearing a hardhat. Either that, or he considered it combat gear.

- In the milk aisle, they were obviously out of milk. There was a lady sitting on the edge of the refrigerated case, completely broke down and crying her eyes out. I swear, she had completely lost it, crying about them not having any milk and what would her children drink? Her husband was standing beside her, patting her back and doing his best to console her. My suggestion that he run her over to Charter (mental hospital) and have her evaluated was met with less than stellar enthusiasm.

So, not having any luck on getting milk, I mosied on out of the store, shaking my head in disbelief and chuckling. I slid my way across the parking lot to the Handy Mart that sat right on the corner and walked in. Sure enough, they had milk. It may have been twice the cost of the grocery store milk, but it was still milk. And apparently, in a fit of weather-insanity, people forget that grocery stores are not the only places you can buy milk. So, I made my purchase and slid my way back out into the parking lot, holding my jugs of milk and watching people running and sliding in and out of the Winn Dixie store.

If you were near me, you would probably have actually seen that little light bulb go on above my head because I got an evil grin, raised the milk above my head and yelled...

"Look everybody! MILK!"

In hindsight, that probably wasn't the smarted thing for me to do. Have you ever watched the movie 'The Lion King'? Do you remember the part where the wildebeests stampeded down the ravine and killed Simba's father?

This was worse.

And it was on ice.

Anyway, I barely made my escape with my milk intact, got myself out of the madness and headed home. I swear, the above story is true and not embellished in any way, other than telling it in a comical light. People literally do completely lose it in the south when the weather turns bad. Makes for some great afternoon entertainment.

And yes, the little Korean guy was still in his car at the bottom of Cone Blvd.

 

LMAO! This is great!
In B'ham area even WallyWorld Supercenters are cleaned out at the mention of snow/ice!

 

It's about time!!!!!

Ah SNOW.. The dreaded four letter word that strikes stupidity in the best of drivers....



Um the Southern folk keep saying the Yankee drivers don't or, can't drive in Southern snow storms...
As per a conversation last evening on the Ham Radio. I promptly interjected in to the conversation by asking the pontificater how he came by his conclusion. His answer??? Because of the ICE, to which I replied the North gets ICE also, the main reason for the dispute is that when the snow starts falling the stupid get rolling testing their lack of intelligence and causing the semi-sane on the road to avoid the blazing amounts of ignorance... Needless to say I was not rated very high on the popularity scale...

Hey I know that place!!!

OH you're the guy who did that?!?!?!?
By the way the manager of that store still has a Bounty on your life...

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Hey now, I should have been able to claim profits off that little fiasco, with all the business I drove to that handimart. But considering 972 people were trying to fit into the equivalent of a 7-11, I thought it better to just leave.

 

You just may have a difficult time trying to collect since Winn Dixie is in extreme dire straits hence the loss of my driving/dispatch postion with the above mentioned company...

Ah yes Winn Dixie---The Beef People soon to be no more!!!

 

"DO I MISS ANY OF THIS???"

Subtitled: An EX-longhaulers road trip or, driving 535 miles for a Philly Cheese-steak Sandwich....

The trip was supposed to start on December 26 but a slight "dusting" of snow put that plan on hold as I-95 became a path of mangled metal. Monday the 27 was no better as the morning dawned with more mangled metal and the occasional 18 twisted around including one of the Acklie Groups trucks: Shafer, I will say no more...

We left 0500 Tuesday morning, later than I wanted to but left we did three people and a dog in a RED VW New Beetle. First stop though was at the Kangaroo to grab some coffee and Dasani water for the dog, then we were off on to the I-95 mayhem...
We did manage to avoid the Richmond Rush Hour Battle Zone and turned off at exit 104 to run 301 for the rest of the trip North. Before anyone asks, the ride on 301 is not all that bad and there is just one toll to pay on the way up.

Traffic for the most part was tolerable until we rolled into La Plata and Waldorf Maryland. The timing was not good as the dump truck traffic was extremely heavy plus, 301, at this point, is stop light infested, not to mention the hour of the day.
The XYL asked me if I missed all this. I told her not really but I would normally be through that area in the wee hours of the AM just to avoid the foolishness and battles of testosterone...
Once we got to highway 50 the ride was not so bad, paid the (one) toll at the Annapolis Bay Bridge the ride into and through Delaware was not too bad. Did take one detour though, just had to stop at a Dunkin Donuts in Middletown. The dog needed a break plus, the trip would not be complete without a Dunkin Donut...

The ride in to NJ on I-295 was rather torturous if not treacherous. I did tell the XYL that I didn't really miss this part of the country and if she had any thought about moving back she was on her own!!!!
I will state that the Beetle did hold its own against the onslaught of aggression and just plain meanness. I took it all in stride my middle finger worked just as good as the other guys plus, it was fun to see the reactions of the other drivers...

OK where does the cheese-steak come in????

Patience is a virtue...
Wednesday, my dear sister-in-law had planned on a big family dinner (a little insight she can't cook worth a shit).
My daughter and I left my brothers house and headed towards the in laws. As we rode along US 1 she said she was hungry and we realized that we had passed one McDonald's and that was back at the town my brother lives at.
After we got on to I-95 I told her that I'll find a place to eat, I was wrong!!
While we discussed our next move the traffic came to an abrupt stop, didn't really surprise me until I saw what caused the stoppage, a Freightliner garbage hauler was sitting diagonal on the shoulder and one the State Troopers was carrying the drive shaft with a few gears still attached.
With that little crisis out of the way my daughter noticed a mileage sign stating that Philadelphia was 30 miles, she turned to me and asked if she could get a Philly Cheese-steak. I thought about it a moment, mentioned something about her aunts dinner, her response was pretty much what I had expected so, off to Philly we went arriving at Geno's Steaks on 9th Street where, the daughter got the best cheese-steak on the planet.
Needless to say we caught Hell when we finally did arrive at the house of the angry XYL and In Laws!!!

The ride back on Thursday was, to say the least, a pain in the ass. We did take the same route back only difference was two tolls on the way back, Delaware Memorial Bridge and the Potomac River Bridge in Maryland...
The traffic on 95 in Southern Virginia and into NC was really crazy I guess it was all the people trying to get somewhere before the New Year started. My frustration level got to the point that I finally hopped off 95 in Roanoke Rapids and ran 301 back towards home, the blood pressure level returned to normal...

DO I REALLY MISS THIS???

HELL NO!!!!!

For the best cheese-steaks anywhere