This past Friday A Ryder mechanic and I went to Roanoke Rapids NC to pick up two customer straight trucks that were scheduled for PM. The ride to RR was uneventful except for the steady parade of "Yankee" four wheelers heading North after their holiday excursions!

On the ride back on I-95 South I followed the mechanic as he had a habit of running slow and disappearing for long moments of time. The two trucks were not asphalt burners by any stretch of an over-active imagination so the stream of left lane runners kept me entertained enough to keep from dozing off. That was until a beat to death Chevy pick-up came up along side of me. This gem from GM was making alot of racket. At first, I thought the owner had an annoying muffler system or lack there of!
That thought was shattered when the pick-up got a few feet in front of me and the motor let go creating a huge smoke cloud I slowed down cause I lost sight of the pick-up and the other straight truck. I did have visions that the pick-up would come back across the highway and I would hit it...
The driver did manange to stop on the median. I called the Highway Patrol and noticed the crowd coming up behind me had slowed down during the smoke screen..

When the mechanic and I stopped for coffee and Dunkin Donut break he told me he could not see the truck I was driving when the pick-up melted down. I did tell him that it had made my night and I just may add the incident to the book of never ending insanity!!!

 

Is there any other kind? Love your tales.... Dr. Who

You never fail to entertain...

Thank you!:clap:

 

That's too funny.

 

Not so long ago on a rather boring night a driver pulled in for the nightly fueling ritual. As I proceeded to go through the motions of quenching the trucks need for fuel and what ever else an aging Freightliner Century required, the driver noticed a couple of the stray Ryder cats hanging around the truck. The driver asked me about the cats and I told him that they were the only source of entertainment out at the service area.
Well the conversation continued as the driver told me he liked one of the cats and that he would like to take it home. I told him if he could catch the critter it was his I then turned my "undivided" attention back to the fueling ceremony.

With the fueling done and tickets signed I went on to take care of a minor detail when I heard a rukus emminating from the cab. I turned to look and saw the cab rocking hard side to side and then saw a gray object flying out the passenger window. I wandered up to the cab as my curiosity peaked and noticed the driver had several scratches on his face and hands. Of course, I had to ask what had happened.
The driver had tried to lure the cat into the cab and the cat was not happy with the new "living" arrangements.

Needless to mention, the driver now avoids any eye contact with the gang of cats that come to greet the trucks.

 

generally those kinds of cats don't make good pets. they are used being 'wild'.

 

The "Ryder gang" are a pretty well fed "wild" bunch.
They get to eat left over Golden Corral dinners the food delivery drivers bring back from their tours of duty, so to speak.
The gang don't like regular cat food and they definitly don't like raw fish. Someone left two fish that were caught and the gang turned their collective noses up at them. The smell did get bit overwhelming after a while!

 

Good to hear from ya, Doc.

I would have paid to see that, Doc. :rofl:

Wild cats are what they are. 'Wild, cats'. Wild cats seem spooky, and skimmish, but they can turn into fierce creatures. :lol:
I hate cats, but the ones we have around our barn do a great job of controlling the mice, and other rodunts.

 

Back in 1994, on my very first trip, I actually stole a guy's TV...

I was running team at the time, and my co-driver/instructor drove into the plant in Lawrenceburg TN. While we were loading, he sacked out, and I was to drive out. I got directions from the shipper, and followed them to the letter, making sure each turn was a signed, designated truck route. ABout 5 blocks from the interstate, I heard something hit the stack, and figured it was just a tree branch. WRONG! a few seconds later I heard shattering glass. So I stopped and got out to investigate. Here some guy had strung his own illegal tv cable from the pole to his house, but had not strung it high enough. I had hooked the cable, and as it grew taught, it pulled his TV stand (on wheels) across the floor until it hit the wall, and the tv continued out the window onto his front lawn...

 

Well sort of!!

I was sent on a mission to Roanoke Rapids to retrieve a customer tractor that was due PM. The ride to RR was annoying at best but all that would change when I found the tractor and pulled away from the customers yard.

I was heading back towards I-95 when a Highway Patrol officer passed me and made a very quick U turn. and rolled up very fast behind me with the siren wailing and blue lights flashing!!
I knew I wasn't speeding and I did have the bright orange seatbelt on! I pulled over at a safe spot for the LEO and me.
The LEO walked up to the truck and asked me to step out very slowly. All the while I kept thinking "What in Hell did I do??"

The trooper asked me where I was going with the truck. I told him to look at my shirt and pointed to the name Ryder and then pointed to the ID sticker which read Ryder 642. I told him I was sent on a mission to retrieve the tractor and to bring it back to the shop for some TLC and whatever else the vehicle needed plus, I gave him the shop phone number so he could call to verify the mission!

The trooper told me that someone at the customers site called to say one of the trucks had been stolen.
As we conversed the trooper kept looking at my CDL then at me.
I did tell him that the person in the photo was me.

He then asked me if I was related to---- and I said yes. I then asked if he was going to tell my cousin I got busted for Grand Theft Truck!

We both had a good laugh and he let me go... Never a dull moment!!


One added item: When I got back on I-95 the entertainment value went way up. The one thing I do miss about driving is the VIEW from the driver seat.
VW Jetta, bright pink panties and a pair of big thighs!!!

 

That is the one thing I do miss is seeing the SEAT COVERS that cover some of those seats.