Okaaaayyyy...Called For Directions, Operator Can't Give Them...It Gets Better...Read on...

Yeah...the stoopidity of companies AND their people...

I will load in the morning at a place in northern Minnesota.  So's, my dispatch gives me a number to call and get directions.  Simple enough, I can do that.

I called the number but they don't have a direction line.  Called back and went straight to the operator and asked for directions.  Still, pretty damn simple, you'd think. 

She tells me she'd have to put my call over to shipping, but, shipping has already gone for the day.  I asked HER for directions and she actually said she can't give out directions, only shipping can!  ....and of course, are gone for the day....

Never in all my born days have I had anyone refuse to tell me where they are located!! 

To top it off, the broker, on my previous call, told me to go on to the shippers, be there first thing in the morning.  Yeah, right.  Well, actually, even if I knew where to go, I'm not going to park where there isn't a bathroom nor some place to eat.  But, the absurdity of not giving out directions.  Somehow this strikes me as stoopid, dense, dumb, i don't even have enough words off the top of my head.  A little gobsmacked!!

Chalk this up to the joys of trucking!!

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Drove Smack Into A Tornado Today!

I have videos but I can't get them to load from my phone.  I guess I'll have to put the vids on my laptop and then post them.

At any rate, I was driving northbound on I-35 in Oklahoma and all of a sudden, it was like I was underwater, like a wave had washed over us!  I barely made it to the edge of the highway and parked.  I hoped like hell I didn't run over anyone or someone hit us, that's how bad it was! 

At first we thought it was a bad rain squall but we've been in enough tornados to know what the wind does and it was was swirling.  I think I got about four vids and you can tell I am scared.  I'm not religious in the least but this time, I did call upon the name of the Lord.  I think that's human nature.

Anyway, I grabbed one dog and hubby had the other.  If our truck went over, I wanted my babies safe and sound.  All the other stuff in the truck can be replaced but our babies sure can't.  The truck rocked and rolled and I couldn't get over how a heavy rig could be pushed around as it was.  We had a load of generators on the deck, tarped.  The wind actually pulled the tarps out in the front and back!  Broke some of our bungees too!  No tears in the the tarp as far as we know, though.

The tough part was the truck behind us, I passed him to park on the side of the road, got blown over!  I looked in the rear view mirror and in a lull in the wind, I saw he was over.  Then a bull hauler and another flatbed passed us and THEY got blown over.  The bull hauler was spilling fuel all over the place.  There was another blown over truck a bit farther down the road but we couldn't find the driver.  Still don't know what happened to him.  I hoped he wasn't under his truck.  It's possible.

I was pretty rattled by this point and once the storm had passed, I drove on and up to exit 211 to the Loves.  Except just about 30 seconds before I exited, a travel trailer in front of me blew over on the off ramp!  So, hubby ran up to see if he could help.  We sat there for an hour, till the State Patrol and a tow truck could get things squared away.  The owner of the trailer wasn't hurt but his trailer is going to need some big time TLC and rehab.  A monster claim, it will be! 

We pulled into the Loves' parking lot, finally, only to find it didn't have power.  A powerline was down and it will be 3-4 days before power is restored. 

So, then, we thought we'd go down to the rest area, so we could use the bathroom.  You guessed it, it was closed....  So, we went a little farther and found this truck stop and I backed this baby in and then nuked some soup and am bunked in with my laptop and TV, dogs at my feet. 

Today was the scariest day we've ever had related to truck driving.  I'm so glad it's OVER. 

A Reminder To Male Truckers

Never, never, never, ever, ever, ever stand in the way of a female trucker and the bathroom.

You've been warned before and here's another one.  Read it and remember it. 

Female Truckers and a Bathroom...

A word of advice...NEVER stand between a female truck driver and the bathroom. N-E-V-E-R.

You've been warned.