Mississippi Delta Blues

I woke up this morning in Rochester, Indiana after spending the night at the Paradise truck stop there. I managed to get all three of my stops done yesterday on the load I had.  My final stop in North Liberty, IN was scheduled for this morning, but I was able to get it done a day ahead of schedule.  I had a plan in mind to get that done like I did so that I could get back to Delhi in time to have myself available for that "gravy" run up to Farmington, Connecticut.  Sure enough my dispatcher called today and asked me if I wanted a load to Magnolia, Arkansas or Farmington.  I laughed because he knows which one I would want. Then he jokingly told me that he just wanted me to know that I have options.

Then he proceeded to tell me that he gave out the loads a little differently today.  He said he started at the bottom of his list of drivers instead of the top.  (He is referring to the top as the best performers) He said that he gave the lower tiered drivers their choice of the available loads until he had worked himself back up to the top and he was left with these last two loads.  He did this to make sure that he was being fair with everyone as far as being able to get enough miles assigned to them so that they can make some decent money.  Either way I still end up with the Connecticut run - he said he wasn't surprised because he only has one other driver besides me who likes to do that run.  For me it is the best run we have on this account, but most drivers don't even want to get near the Northeast part of the country.  It's no walk in the park going up there, especially in the winter, but it is not that bad if you plan your trip so that you can get in and out of there during the best times to avoid the worst traffic.

I'm sleeping tonight at the "Shady Nook" truck stop in Clarksdale, Mississippi on the historically significant "Highway 61."  If you are not familiar with the significant relationship between this part of Mississippi and "Blues" music, I can't take the time to explain it to you tonight.  I've got to get myself in the sleeper berth so that I can get started early tomorrow.  I need to get to Delhi and then have enough time to log ten hours in the sleeper so that I can start running this load tomorrow night with a full set of available driving hours. I'll have to drive through the night for two nights in a row to make it come out on time, which is probably another reason some of the other drivers don't like this run.  This job has no set hours - we do what is needed to get the freight delivered on time.  The folks who understand that end up rising to the top of the food chain.  It takes some sacrifice to be the best at this job, but for me it is well worth the effort.  You won't catch me "singing the blues" about this job!