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...My Life as 'Drive away' driver
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Trip 60 - New GMC - Class C Refer ... to Portland, ME Trip 60b - Used IH - Beverage Truck ... from Portland, ME to Knoxville, TN Think I'm done doing the all night return trips ... used to be the way to keep the costs down ... run hard for two days, drop the trucks, hop in a rental car and 24 hours straight back. Haven't done that solo for a long time but just did a marathon last trip, not nearly as bad as we used to, this time we had a fresh start but still had been up for over 24 hours when I got my speeding ticket ... not because I was in a rush, but because I was too tired to hold a steady speed ... $200 down the drain ... plus all the accidents we saw ... now that I'm home I hear that three kids from one family were just killed in an accident (story). (Now a couple of days later another teen dies in a crash within a few miles of there.) Guess I'm getting old ... its just not worth the money to run that hard. Had things I had to do on Monday so couldn't run until Tuesday ... I take the first job that dispatch offers me ... Maine ... it comes with a couple of plus' 1) its at the office so no down time going to get it (will actually pick it up on my way home tonight and leave from there early) and 2) fuel is paid. Found out this AM that I will for sure be off all week next week ... will give me some time to decide what to do about the "max $.10 fuel surcharge" our company has ... When I picked up my paperwork from the after hours lock box it has a post-it note on it ... "Enjoy beautiful Maine" ... I will ... 10/12/04 - Early start ... direct from home ... no rush hour traffic ... no (major) speeding after last weeks ticket. All this adds up to staying right on / ahead of schedule ... truck had been filled at pickup so todays 'non driving hours' are ... 15 minutes for morning inspection and 15 minutes for one fuel stop. Used to stop in Toledo for the first night when going to the northeast ... now with the speed limit 65 in Ohio instead of 55 I can run until I get to ... Toledo ... I don't know where any cheep motels are beyond this point ... but lots of them at the I-280 exit ... Knights Inn / Stoney Ridge Inn / Howard Johnson / Budget Inn. I passed the Motel 6 a few miles back for $29 ... at this exit there is a coupon for $29 at the Stony Ridge Inn (but never found the office last time I was there) so I first stop at the Howard Johnson which has a huge neon sign advertising $33 ... "sorry, that price is only with a coupon, which is only available at the I-80 Oasis," the coupon I have is for $39 ... so I say 'No thanks ..' Went next door to the Budget motel and paid $31 ... have stayed here before, forgot how nice it was ... a cheep motel where a female may even stay twice. Doing the math later it would have been cheaper to stay at the Howard Johnson ... they are running a promo where you get a $25 discount after two stays which would have gotten the price down to <> $27. Little mistake for me ... buffet ... should not eat that much. Wasn't that great of food either .. Petro truck stop, lasagna was the reason I went for the buffet. 10/13/04 - Problem with getting an early start the first day is you can get an even earlier start the second day ... and I only logged 11 hours yesterday instead of the usual 12+ so I'm fueling and rolling by 5 am (4 am local). This should get me past Cleveland before rush hour. Not quite, it's almost seven by the time I get to downtown and hit some minor traffic delays, if it had gotten any later I was going to try the by-pass that the computer recommends. Another uneventful day ... I fuel just east of Buffalo, NY and doing the math I should be able to make it to my drop without fueling again ... 500 miles. BUT, after almost running out of fuel last week I don't want to go through that again so I'll stop at one of the 'non-Flying J' places on our cheat sheets ... Easy said than done, much easier ... there was supposed to be pro-pain at NY exit 28 at a TA ... but instead there was a fence around a small piece of grass where the tank used to stand. They couldn't help me but there was a 'True Value' hardware in the next town who sold pro-pain ... so off I go ... but hardware stores are like gas stations where the names change often ... it was now an Ace hardware, but it did have propane. Just not propane for trucks ... so they sent me to the Farrell gas dealer ... they were open / had propane ... just couldn't get the pump to work ... so they sent me to a garage in town ... who had propane, and a pump that worked ... sort of ... it pumped about a gallon a minute ... vs 10 gallons a minute at some locations. But after killing three hours of trying, I finally have my 20 gallons of pro-pain which should be enough to get me drop ... sure glad I didn't have to get the full 100 gallons ... so much for another quick day. Dispatch had called and left a message by I keep getting their recording or disconnected when I try to call back ... but I have to keep going, after burning three hours here I will be up against my 14 hours ... but as I'm pulling back on the tollway they reach me ... there may be a change with the second leg of my trip ... check in before picking it up ... Oh, and our new customer has just released 40 of the 150 trucks I saw last week ... how long do I want to stay out? (Have to be home ON Sunday.) Had hoped to make it into MA yet tonight and still do. Am told there is a Motel 6 at the Springfield exit, and have a coupon for anther at that exit. By the time I exit the tollway it is dark and I can't find the Motel 6 ... I drive about 5 miles before coming back to the exit and staying at the Economy Inn ... $45, nice place, very recently used to be a Ramada Inn. As I'm walking to the truck stop for supper I now see the Motel 6 sign ... right across the street ... helps when they turn the light on ... (isn't one of the slogan's?). They would have been $44 ... at this exit I'd stay at the Economy Inn again ... all the perks of big bucks and 10% off the Fifty's Diner at the truck stop next door. Watched about a half hour of the third Presidential debate before hitting the lights to get my much needed five hours of sleep. 10/14/04 - 14 hours on / 10 hours off means starting at 5 AM again ... doesn't look like I'm make my drop by 7 AM ...Called the customer just before 7 to say I wouldn't be there at 7 ... "That's good, we are having a meeting from 7 until 8 this morning." Not sure what going on in this area ... no matter what station I find ... Sports, sports, sports ... more specifically baseball, baseball, baseball ... you'd think there was playoffs between a couple of major teams or something ... like maybe between the Yakee's and Red Sox ... By the time I get to the customer, it is past 8 ... I need to double check the milage ... looks like I put on an extra 100 miles or so. (Have done the math now that I'm home ... just did the math, if we pick up these trucks at the office we drive 30 unpaid miles, which I'll gladly do but I need to remember to add these miles when I estimate fuel needed.) Took a little extra time to find the place because there was an extra stoplight that wasn't listed on the instructions. Now here is a major reason I stay with my driveaway company ... this account ... 90% of the locations will get us to 'transportation' ... today they are doing one better ... they have agreed / offered to take me to my next truck 30 miles away. Not sure why we can't ride with a route driver but it is usually a salesman or manger that does the honors ... thanks again guys. Leg 2 - Trip 60b - Used IH - Beverage Truck ... from Portland, ME to Knoxville, TN Parents of three brothers killed in car crash find solace in faith Jim Adams and Terry Collins, Star Tribune October 12, 2004 FATAL1012 Nathan and Connie Backstrom stood quietly Monday afternoon on the lawn of their hilltop home in rural Dakota County and tried to explain the devastating loss of their three oldest sons in a head-on car crash the night before. "They were the love of our lives," said Nathan Backstrom, a pilot. "So many things happen that we don't have answers for," he said softly as friends and relatives stood on the front porch of the home in Hampton Township. "God is in control. We don't know all the answers, but he does and we know that someday we will know." Brothers Matthew, 20; Jacob, 17, and Justin, 16, were killed after their car was hit about 7:35 p.m. Sunday by an oncoming car trying to pass a third vehicle a mile east of Farmington on Hwy. 50. Matthew, who was driving, and Justin died at the scene. Jacob died early Monday at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. Matthew BackstromStormi GreenerThe other car was driven by Boe E. Barlage, 22, of Farmington. He was in serious condition Monday at Regions. Dakota County Sheriff Don Gudmundson said the preliminary investigation indicates that Barlage was talking on his cell phone while driving west toward Farmington on the two-lane road. Witnesses said he pulled out on the 55-mile-per-hour highway to pass a third car, saw an oncoming car and pulled back toward the right ditch. Then he overcorrected and spun back into the Backstroms' car, Gudmundson said. He said it is too early to say whether any charges will be filed. Justin BackstromStormi Greener'You have to tell me' Nathan Backstrom said he was in the cockpit of a Northwest Airlines jet Sunday night preparing for takeoff when his wife called with an urgent message. "She just said, 'Come home right away,' " he said. "About halfway, I called and said you have to tell me what's going on. She did. I had a hard time driving the rest of the way." He met his wife at a restaurant, where a friend drove them to Regions to see Jacob, who was in critical condition. Nathan and Connie BackstromStormi Greener"Two of our pastors and friends were at the hospital and were praying for us and sang with us as Jake passed away," Connie Backstrom said. She said she read parts of Psalm 34, which she remembered reading after the oldest of her five boys was born. "It says praise the Lord always, even when we don't understand," she said, standing by her husband's side Monday as they faced a bank of reporters and TV cameras. "I prayed for sons," she said. "God never said how long I could keep them." She recalled Matthew was born without a diaphragm and needed immediate surgery, and God "gave me another 20 years. Justin had severe asthma, and we almost lost him a few times in the hospital. We had 16 years with him." She said her two younger boys, ages 8 and 12, tried to keep busy Monday on the computer. Jacob BackstromThe three victims, who were home-schooled with their two younger brothers by their mother, were very close, friends said. They were driving home Sunday evening after getting some photos developed at a store in Apple Valley for Matthew, who had just enrolled in a graphic design program at Dakota County Technical College. No signs of alcohol The State Patrol said the brothers were wearing seat belts and were not using alcohol. Barlage was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from his car. He showed no obvious signs of alcohol or drug use, but routine blood tests will be done, said Susan Lasley, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Safety. How fast the cars were going on the straight roadway at the time of the crash isn't yet known, but the State Patrol will reconstruct the accident, Lasley said. State records show that Barlage had two speeding convictions when he was 17 and a careless driving citation when he was 18. The patrol has interviewed the woman whose car Barlage tried to pass, but wouldn't release her name. She wasn't hurt. Barlage graduated last spring from Augsburg College in Minneapolis. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and played junior varsity hockey. He had been football captain and junior class president at Farmington High School. He was fun-loving and the kind of "tough-nosed kid" you'd want to help clear out the front of a net, Augsburg varsity hockey coach Mike Schwartz said Monday. Inseparable sons Meanwhile, friends and worshipers grieved Monday at the Backstroms' church in Cannon Falls. The three brothers were practically inseparable, said Tim Banks, a youth pastor at Our Savior's Evangelical Lutheran Church. They served on the worship team and participated in Bible studies on Sundays and Wednesdays. Banks described Matthew and Jacob as very personable and outgoing, and Justin as thoughtful and shy. They often talked about their paintball matches, he said. Relatives said Matthew played the violin and enjoyed art. Jacob, who played guitar and drums, planned to make a recording with friends and wanted to become a helicopter pilot. Justin played the saxophone, liked computers and loved to cook, his mother said. The deaths also were mourned at the Country Kitchen restaurant in Cannon Falls, where Matthew worked for two years as a cook. Owner Carol Dahl said co-workers learned about his death Monday morning, when he was to have helped unload a food supply truck. "We can't even begin to get a hold of it here," Dahl said. "He was one of the nicest kids you ever want to meet. I don't remember him ever being mad or angry. He was very even-tempered." The three boys tended sheep and chickens on their 80-acre farm and often played basketball with the three children across 250th Street, said Rachel Schaffer, 16, a neighbor. She said Matthew used to baby-sit for her and her brother and sister. They often went sledding with the three boys on the Backstroms' big hill, she said. Matthew stopped while driving by once to help dig her car out of the snow, Schaffer said. "All five [brothers] ... were always together. They were so close," she said. "They were good kids and had really good parents." The Backstroms are comforted by the fact that their three sons were together at the end, said their pastors at Our Savior's Lutheran. "They found a lot of strength in that," Banks said. "Many have asked how are we doing," Nathan Backstrom said during the hilltop news conference. "My answer is God is faithful. Justin, Jacob and Matthew each had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and they are now in the presence of their Lord and Savior. Our prayer is that because of this lives will be changed and God will be glorified." Staff writer Tony Lonetree contributed to this report. |