♪ ♫ ♪Driving in the rain ♫ ♪ ♫...
It was raining when we left Davenport, Iowa, this morning. And it was raining when we arrived in Columbus, Ohio, this evening. And it was raining for the entire 500 miles in-between. Not a bad day to have rain if you're going to have it, though. Crossing the middle of the states of Illinois and Indiana is a lot like walking through a corn maze--all day. The first few minutes is pretty interesting, but after that you just want to be out of there. This is pretty much what the view out the side windows was all day long:
Corn to the left of us.
Corn to the right of us.
Trucks in front of us.
About trucks...
Some folks don't like to share the highways with big trucks. Personally, I like them. Part of me is a little kid and what little boy doesn't like big trucks? And as a person who is as likely as not to drive 500 or 600 miles a day, I feel a kinship with the drivers of them. These guys aren't on the highways playing tourist like the rest of us. They're doing their job, and it isn't an easy one. It's hard on the back and the spine. They have to stay alert, mostly to prevent running over nitwits who don't understand the braking, accelerating and steering limitations those 18-wheel heavies have. The drivers are people like you and me, trying to make a living and support their families, and they are most often away from home, sleeping in rest areas or alongside highway exit ramps. They eat in the greasiest of spoons; may get to clean up occasionally in a Travel America truck stop, if they're lucky. Truckers earn about 40 cents a mile, and are limited in the amount of time in a 24 hour period that they can be on the road. Every time they have to down shift because some weanie prevents them from passing the truck in front, they lose money.
Give these guys a break. If a trucker signals his need to pull in line in front of you, back off and flick your lights to let him know it's OK. If he's bearing down behind you, get out of the way so he can get all the miles he can out of the upper gears. All they really need is just what you and I do: a little respect.
Werner Transportation: the big blue.
Wal-Mart - more Chinese gewgaws for next year's yard sale.
Fed-Ex.
Another Fed-Ex. Note different trailer identification.
Schneider's familiar orange rigs.
We arrived in Columbus, in the rain, in time to enjoy dinner at Red Robin with our son Dana, his wife Wendy, and grandkids Violet, 5, and Victor, 2.
Time to see what the Red Sox can accomplish in Anaheim.
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