Slick Trick

I thought winter was over. Yes, I know it’s still February, but after a few days of good roads, I was hopeful. Sadly, this past Tuesday night I learned winter was not quite finished yet.

As a truck driver for the last twenty-some years, I’ve come to despise winter. Driving on slick roads every day can get old. Worse yet, it’s making me old, I think. What hair I have left is turning gray, and whether it’s accurate or not, I’m blaming the winter driving.

But back to my story. I was almost done with my run, only about 50 miles to go, when the rain started. The temperature was 27 degrees. I kept up my speed for a few miles but when the sides of the road began sparkling, I decided to back it down a little.

I was catching up to another truck and debating on whether or not to pass. Knowing there was a bridge coming up—a bridge that is notoriously slick, and built on a curve—I slowed down more and stayed behind the guy. We were traveling about 30 mph and all was well.

But the car that had been rapidly gaining on us didn’t slow down. The driver passed us both and pulled back into the right lane. Then about a half mile ahead, just before he crossed the bridge I saw the brake lights come on. And that’s when all the fun began.

As the car did a few 360’s in the middle of the freeway, the other truck and I slowed down as much as we could (without using the brakes). The car came to a stop right on the dotted line but left us enough room to squeeze by—barely. We were now moving about 5 mph and that would prove to be too fast.

I saw the truck in front of me start sliding the moment he hit the bridge. His trailer turned sideways and he drifted to the left side of the bridge. At this point, I still had a little control and I moved al the way to the right, trying to avoid him. But then I crossed onto the bridge and at 5 mph started a slow slide to the left with my trailer fishtailing behind me. And there wasn’t a thing I could do.

Just to give you a feel for the situation, I’m in a 100,000 lb rig, on a bridge, sliding to the edge, with no control. I couldn’t steer or accelerate, and I knew better than to hit the brakes. And at this time of year, I was pretty sure the water below was COLD.

It’s funny how things slow down at times like this. Of course, at 5 mph, I was barely moving anyway but still...  As everything slowed down, I had time to consider my options, which came down to either: jump out or keep going and hope for the best. One thing I knew, I most certainly didn’t want to stop. I’d be a sitting duck when more traffic showed up, which could be at any moment. And since I didn’t really want to jump out, I kept my foot on the throttle. But with no traction, that may have been pointless.

I saw the truck in front of me slam into the side of the bridge and then start sliding the other way. Figuring that was as good a plan as any, I turned my wheel all the way to the right, hoping the tire stuck out past the fender. (No need to go smashing up the truck unnecessarily). I wasn’t sure but it seemed to work and bouncing off the guardrail, I joined the tuck ahead of me in sliding to the right.

We proceeded all the way across the bridge like that, bouncing our way to the other side. Thankfully, no other traffic came by. Once off the bridge, we could get a little traction. By little, I mean we got up to about 10 mph, then slowly climbed to 15 mph. We couldn’t go any faster. And that was fine with me. I was no longer in that much of a hurry. Apparently, neither was the other driver.

Two hours later, I finished my run without any further incidents. Once the truck was parked, I checked for damage and there was none! Not even any marks on the tires!

So, all in all, a good night!

Later, I started thinking how the car that wrecked probably saved me. If I’d hit that bridge at 30 mph, I doubt the flimsy guardrail would have been much of a hindrance. Most likely, the truck would have plowed right through it on its way to the river below.

I was already wishing winter was over, and now, more so. But, this week’s forecast calls for... snow. And more freezing rain. Yay! ~

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. Bruce A. Borders is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.

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Vacation Plans

At my job, I’m required to take one week of my vacation in the winter months. I doubt they could make that requirement stick if anyone were to challenge it because, as my attorney once told me, vacation time is accrued during the previous calendar year and once accrued, the time is rightfully the employee’s time to take—whenever the employee chooses. Barring some sort of emergency, a company can’t legally prevent an employee from taking earned vacation. Some, I’m sure, would argue differently.

I’ll probably never know which argument would prevail in court because while I love things of this nature—arguing and court cases—I don’t mind taking a vacation in the winter.

A winter vacation is one week that I may not have to drive in adverse weather like: freezing rain, ice, or snow—“may not” being the key phrase. That is always my plan but it seldom works out. Only once, actually. I continually pick the wrong week to take off. Since I have to choose my vacation time nearly a year in advance, I really have no way of knowing which week will be bad weather so I just pick one and hope that’s the week. And nearly every single time, all but once, I am wrong. The week before, or the week after, my vacation, will be the bad weather and instead of enjoying the fact that I do not have to drive 700 miles a day in it, there I am, slipping and sliding along down the highways.

This has been the pattern for the eighteen years I’ve been at my job. Yes, seventeen times out of eighteen tries, I’ve been wrong. That’s not a very good track record. Especially since where I live, we don’t have that much bad weather. You’d think the law of averages would kick in at some point and help me out, but no.

This year was no exception. I’m currently on vacation, and high temperatures are supposed to be in the fifties and even sixties, with no freezing temps at night. And no wintery mix of misery is in the forecast. But last week...

Last week was full of ice, freezing rain to be specific. And snow. Someday, I’d love to go back to work after my winter vacation and rub it in to the other drivers that I’d missed the bad weather. But after this long, I’m beginning to think it’s a lost cause. I just can’t seem to hit it right. Well, except that once.

But about that, the one time that I guessed right. That was the year I had plans to go on a trip with my wife to attend a meeting for her job. So, I got to drive with chains for hours through the same ice and snow as everyone else at my job. And down the same road. Maybe I should invest in a Farmer’s Almanac. ~

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook and paperback on iTunes, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords.  Amazon Profile - www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS. Bruce A. Borders is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.

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Long Awaited Road Trip

When my oldest daughter was two years old, I took her on a cross country trip. Just her and I. A father/daughter trip.

My wife had no desire to go along since she absolutely hates driving anywhere in the winter. This is probably due, at least in part, to a trip the two of us took before we got married. A trip that contained a little extra “adventure.” I wrote a blog about that event, which you can read here.

But back to the father/daughter trip. We traveled from Wisconsin to Wyoming to visit my parents at Thanksgiving. A memorable trip, and one I still look back on fondly. At the time, a few people thought I was crazy. Apparently, fathers do not generally take their small children on long trips. Well, I guess I’m not normal. We had a great time and I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. A few years later, I again took her with me, to Missouri this time.

Some years later, when my son came along, he and I made several road trips, to Wyoming and other places. Again, these trips made for great memories that I reflect on quite often. Reminiscing, as it is called. Now, I realize as a truck driver, my view may be skewed, but there’s something about a long road trip that connects people in a way nothing else can.

But wait, there’s more! I also have another child, a daughter. As a momma’s girl, when she was young, she never wanted to be away from her mother very long at all—with me or anyone else. And so, the two of us never took any extended trips together. That is, until this last weekend. She’s now an adult but better late than never, right?

Being that we’re smack dab in the middle of winter, as you can imagine, my wife did not wish to make the journey. So, the two of us, my daughter and I, drove to Idaho to help my son move. A three-day trip that brought back a lot of memories from the travels with my other two children and reminding me of what I’d missed out on with her.

Of course, this time, I wasn’t “in charge” of, well, anything really. I didn’t have to hold her hand when we got out of the truck, order her food, or think up road games to pass the time. In fact, I didn’t have to take care of her in any way. She is quite a capable person! In some ways, that made this trip quite different. Yet, in many ways it was the same. A father/daughter road trip. Just her and I.

And at last, my trifecta of father/child road trips is complete! Good thing too. Because, apparently, I’m older than I used to be. Although I drive for a living, weekend trips tend to wear me out these days. But before I go to bed for some much needed sleep, I just wanted to say thanks to my daughter for traveling along!

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook and paperback on iTunes, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Diesel Books, and Smashwords, or at www.bruceabordersbooks.weebly.com. Amazon Profile - http://www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS. Bruce A. Borders also serves as the Vice-President of Rave Reviews Book Club.

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Beneath African Skies

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Where Am I?

Fog. Another winter driving hazard with which I’m all too familiar. Usually, when people encounter fog, either they run out of it in a few minutes, or they are not going that far so it doesn’t last long enough to affect them. Me, I’ve driven for twelve hours straight in fog so dense I could barely see the signs on the road. As a fellow driver put it one day, “I’m sitting out on the edge of the hood and I still can’t see where I’m going.”

Sure, I’d much rather have the fog than ice or snow, but it is still rather frustrating and nerve-racking, especially when spatial disorientation kicks in. For those who may not know the term, spatial disorientation is defined as the loss of a sense of direction, position, or relationship with one’s surroundings. The phrase usually refers to pilots but can also be produced in other situations such as through blindfolding or, by fog.

Pilots who suffer spatial disorientation lose the ability to determine the direction they are flying or their altitude. Despite their instruments providing them this information, they are lost - flying blind because they simply don’t believe the instruments. For truck drivers, this translates to believing you are traveling uphill when you’re really going downhill or vice-versa.

It’s quite a remarkable phenomenon actually, when your brain begins to override what you know to be true. And, it can be fun! Sort of.

The first time it happened to me, I found myself arguing with the speedometer. I knew I was climbing the mountain yet from all indications outside it appeared I was headed downhill. Then I started thinking something was wrong with my truck - I had to keep downshifting and was still losing speed. Now, all of this is perfectly normal when going uphill and still, I was convinced I was going down a steep grade. Keep in mind that even in the heaviest fog, I can still see mile markers and other roadside landmarks as I go by. I’d driven this road every day for years and knew every bump and curve. I knew exactly when to shift and the speed I should be going at each point on the road so I should’ve been able to determine exactly where I was. Yet, I could not.

Since that first time, I’ve learned to recognize when this starts happening - and try to not let it affect me. Just the other night, I was finishing up my run - in the worst fog I’ve experienced in a while. I couldn’t see where to turn but since this is my sixteenth year of driving for the same place, I knew precisely where it was by the contour of the highway. Still, it takes a little nerve to turn a loaded semi off the road into a vast nothingness. But just because the road can’t be seen doesn’t mean it isn’t there!

Feeling pretty proud of myself, I parked the semi, grabbed my stuff, and walked toward my pickup. Or, at least that’s what I intended to do. It took only a minute to discover that I was headed the wrong direction and was nowhere near my pickup. But which direction should I go?

Obviously, I did find it - eventually - and even made it home. But clearly, spatial disorientation is still alive and well! And still fun. Sort of.

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Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books. Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, and other titles, are available as ebooks on Apple I-Pad®, Amazon Kindle®, Barnes & Noble Nook® and Sony Reader®, Kobo, Diesel Books, and Smashwords. His books are also available in paperback at most online retailers or at www.bruceabordersbooks.weebly.com. The popular Wynn Garrett Series Books are now available on Barnes And Noble® at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/?series_id=867526 Bruce also serves as the Vice President of Rave Reviews Book Club http://ravereviewsbynonniejules.wordpress.com

My Winter Rule

Yay! Winter is almost over! Only four more days left!

Yes I know, technically, winter lasts until March 21st, but you see, I have a rule: no more snow, icy roads, or extreme cold after February. And since 2013 isn’t a leap year, that leaves just four more days. And I’m very glad. As I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions, I do not like winter. I could blame my dislike on the fact that I drive a semi nearly 600 miles a day, but the truth is, even if I didn’t, I still wouldn’t like it. Never did. Too cold, wet, and snowy. By this time of year, I’m really sick of it all. Thus, the rule.

My wife tells me I do not get to make the rules concerning the duration of winter but I disagree. I’ve had this rule for quite a few years, fifteen in fact, and not once during that time have I had to drive my semi on bad roads after February - it’s never even snowed! So apparently, I do get to make the rules. Of course, it may help that fifteen years ago, I moved to a milder climate - one where winter weather is usually over by mid-February.

I realize that by writing this blog I’m probably jinxing things. March 2013 will now become known as “that one winter.” That one winter that set a new record for snowfall. And freezing temperatures. That one winter that extended through the middle of April. That one winter that everyone remembers as the worst winter - for the entire region.

And that brings up a problem. Obviously, such a long winter would break my rule. But I’m not exactly sure what I could do about it. It’s not like I’m actually the boss of well, anything but especially, the weather. That would be God and I’m pretty sure He gets to do what He wants. He doesn’t generally check with me on these matters. Okay, He never checks with me on these matters. That’s all right. I really do not expect Him to.

I suppose then, my “rule” is more of a hopeful wish than any sort of requirement. And in light of that, I should really be thankful to live where my “rule” has prevailed for the last fifteen years. And I am.

Hey! Wait a second. What is that white stuff falling from the sky? Snow? Yep, it’s snowing on me. It wasn’t when I started writing this. “Time to kick off the cruise,” I mutter to myself as I blow out an exasperated sigh.

The good news is: there are only four more days of winter. Maybe.

Bruce A. Borders, author and songwriter, has over 500 songs and more than a dozen books. Over My Dead Body, The Journey, and Miscarriage Of Justice, his latest books, are available on Apple I-Pad®, Amazon Kindle®, Barnes & Noble Nook® and Sony Reader®, Kobo, Diesel Books, and Smashwords. Now also available in print at many online retailers or at www.bruceabordersbooks.weebly.com. The popular Wynn Garrett Series Books are now available on Barnes And Noble® at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/?series_id=867526 See Bruce’s Smashwords Profile at www.smashwords.com/profile/view/BruceABorders

Pet Peeves

I have a lot of pet peeves – a lot of things bug me. I know, a pet peeve is supposed to be the one that irks you more than any other, but I have a hard time deciding on just one. So instead, I keep a running list. It has grown quite large over the years. The list includes; slow drivers when I can’t pass, people getting my order wrong at a restaurant, anything resembling rock music, waiting in long lines when I’m in a hurry – and of course, I’m always in a hurry. Also on the list: shaving with a dull razor, high prices of practically anything, winter – in its entirety, and running out of ink – even though I have three printers in my office. As you can see, the list covers a broad spectrum of subjects. It’s quite long and there seems to be no common thread other than these things really bug me. I once thought of making one of those tear-away calendars – one with each day of the year. Each sheet would proclaim a different pet peeve for the day. I soon discovered that wouldn’t quite cut it, 365 days just isn’t enough! Perhaps a five-year calendar would work better?

At any rate, now that summer is here, and being that I’m a truck driver, you can probably guess what currently tops my list – road construction, miles and miles of road construction. In itself, the construction wouldn’t be so bad – if the road actually needed repairing. The problem is, most of the construction going on is to replace a perfectly good highway. I think they’re just fabricating jobs and wasting money. I’ve driven the same stretch of road for more than fifteen years, this summer marks the fifth time they’ve resurfaced the same portions of that road. Then, to make things worse, the construction brings about another of my pet peeves – slow drivers. I don’t mind that they slow down a little, but when the posted construction zone speed limit is 50 mph, and I routinely follow people through it at 30 mph, or even slower, I get a bit antsy.

To my credit, to date, I have not used the 95,000-pound semi to push anyone out of my way! I’ll admit it sounds tempting and could easily be done - but no, I just take a breath and add the driver to my list. And then add another half an hour or so to my day, arriving home much later than I should have – you guessed it, another pet peeve. Then, that cuts into my time at home – just one more of my pet peeves.

You see my problem? How one thing leads to another? Pretty soon, a cascading of pet peeves is released. As they pile up, my list keeps growing. It’s getting hard to keep track of them all.

I suppose I could just quit my job – and eliminate over half the items on the list in one shot. But, not having any income and eventually, no vehicle and no house (or much of anything else), my list would again balloon, and probably be larger than it is now. I guess the only thing I can do is complain about it.

Perhaps I should revisit the idea of a calendar. Is there such a thing as a ten-year calendar? That might do it. Writing everything down and then tearing off the paper might even prove therapeutic. My wife says far too many things bug me. Maybe so. She’s usually right about that kind of stuff. Hmm. Where is my list?

Bruce A. Borders, author and songwriter has over 500 songs and more than a dozen books. Over My Dead Body, The Journey, and Miscarriage Of Justice, his latest books, are available on Apple I-Pad®, Amazon Kindle®, Barnes & Noble Nook® and Sony Reader®, Kobo, Diesel Books, and Smashwords. For more information, visit http://www.bruceaborders.com/. See Bruce’s Amazon Author Page at www.amazon.com/author/bruceaborders or view his Smashwords Profile at www.smashwords.com/profile/view/BruceABorders

Is It July Yet?

22 degrees and raining. Raining hard. Conditions not at all conducive to driving. The winter weather storm warning said driving tonight would be extremely hazardous or impossible.

And where am I? Behind the wheel, of course. Since the notice didn’t mention an offer to pay my bills, I went to work. I am now cruising down the freeway at an astonishing 20 mph! At that rate, my normal run of 700 miles will take 35 hours. I think the Department of Transportation, which limits driver’s operation of a commercial vehicle to 12 hours, might frown on that.

So, I made an executive decision. Instead of my usual two trips, tonight, I’ll be making just one. The shortest of the two. That will cut my miles to around 300. I realize that’s still 15 hours at my present speed but, according to the CB chatter, parts of the road ahead are better. I should be able to get back within the 12-hour timeframe. If not, I’ll stop and wait. After 10 hours off, I can drive again. Of course, in that time the roads may become impassable. With as much snow and ice as we already have, any additional accumulation could mean an even longer wait. And the longer I wait, the worse it could become. A guy can’t win.

So, maybe I should just wait for warmer weather. How long could it take? July isn’t that far away is it?

Bruce A. Borders, author and songwriter has over 500 songs and 9 books. Over My Dead Body, and The Journey, his latest books, are available on Apple I-Pad®, Amazon Kindle®, Barnes & Noble Nook® and Sony Reader®, Kobo, Diesel Books, and Smashwords. For more information, visit http://www.bruceaborders.com/. See Bruce’s Amazon Author Page at www.amazon.com/author/bruceaborders or view his Smashwords Profile at www.smashwords.com/profile/view/BruceABorders