Week 11: Buckets of Mud

The load that we had picked up in Shoals was slated for delivery to Huntsville on Monday. Unfortunately, my truck needed repairs, and the delivery had to be rescheduled until Tuesday. When repairs were complete, we delivered to Huntsville and returned to Bridgeport to pick up a load of drywall to take to Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Upon arrival to Bridgeport, the load was not ready, and we had to wait almost 15 hours before we got it. This week was shaping up to be a week of delays, which would translate into a crappy paycheck. In theory, the company offered detention pay for delays such as this, but trying to get it out of my terminal manager was like trying to extract a wisdom tooth with a pair of tweezers.


We got our load at 3am and set out for Hattiesburg. When we arrived at the Sherwin Williams store there to deliver buckets of joint compound, the “delay” theme stayed in effect. The unloading process was painfully slow because the forklift being used looked like a battery-operated toy that should have had “Tonka” inscribed on the side of it. Also, the forklift driver was obviously a rookie, as he appeared more qualified to drive a bumper car. As I settled in for a long wait, I took little comfort in the fact that, this time, it was not me who looked like a “monkey screwing a football”.

About midway through unloading, the forklift driver had, apparently, failed to seat one of the palates correctly on the forklift. As he was taking it back to the warehouse, he hit a bump that caused the palate to break, and all of the buckets of joint compound went tumbling into a huge mud hole.

As he began the long and arduous task of fishing all of the buckets from the mud, I finally took pity on him and got out to assist. My good deed served as a stark reminder that I still had not purchased any waterproof boots. By the time we were unloaded, I was out of hours so, we spent the night behind the Sherwin Williams store.

It rained for most of the night, and it was still raining the next morning when we left for Meridian, MS to pick up lumber. In keeping with the theme of the week, I had to sit and wait on a stopped train for half an hour before I could get into the shipper.

Mid South Lumber in Meridian was nothing but an enormous mud pit. By the time I had strapped and tarped my load I, once again, looked like the Lizard Man from Scape Ore Swamp. To make matters worse, this load was designed for a 48-foot trailer, and I had a 45’. The lumber was sticking a little over 3 feet off the back of it. As per DOT regulations, I was required to tie a red flag on it, but I didn’t have one. Thankfully, the forklift driver saved my arse by finding an old red tee shirt for me. I thanked him, but spared him a muddy handshake.

This load would deliver to Morristown, Tennessee, the home of Davy Crockett. The cult-favorite horror movie, “Evil Dead” was filmed off of Kidwell’s Ridge Road in Morristown. Sadly, the cabin featured in the film has since burned down, but the chimney still stands, and continues to attract some of the most fanatical devotees of the film.

We arrived in Morristown before noon on Friday so; I fully expected to get a load assignment that would destroy my weekend again. I almost suffered a cardiac arrest when the Qual-Comm beeped and the message read, “Head to Bridgeport”. I would actually get home at a respectable hour this week. However, because of all the delays this week, my paycheck was going to be abysmal.

Nonetheless, I was still in a pretty good mood as I drove back toward Bridgeport. I had no idea that the next week would be the last one I’d spend with this company.