Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
It had to happen. It always happens. Usually it doesn't happen so soon. Sometimes you can go for a year straight and never have it happen. This time it happened after three days. It's kinda like death. You know it will come eventually, but none of us really know for sure. Well, I'm told that the Buddha was given 3 months notice of his death by some faculty, but I'll go out on a limb and say he's an exception. Anyway, my truck broke down today. No Buddha warning there.
The circumstances surrounding the break down are less than exciting, since I am a professional and all, but they bear mentioning. (lots of technical talk here so bear with me) Going down the road at 60 (I'm in the States now so back to the archaic Imperial system) when my ABS light comes on. "No big deal. Brakes are probably working. I'll look into it at the shop tonight when I get to Seattle." Motoring a bit further, then all of the gauges sweep to zero and cease to register. “Hmm. That is odd,” I start thinking. Logically, I go to downshift and slow down to pull over. The accelerator pedal does not respond. (for those who do not know, trucks need to be at a certain RPM to shift into a gear up or down, and to shift lower, you need a higher RPM... or to rev the engine a bit). My thinking then moves to, “Oh shit. That kinda sucks.” Immediately after this thought leaves my mind, both the Check Engine light and the STOP Engine light start blinking furiously. You know things are bad when the red STOP ENGINE light comes on. So then the engine dies completely, I'm coasting out of gear (read: technically out of control) and the engine has stopped working, so no more power steering.
Wrestling with the wheel and gently applying the brakes, I manage to get to the shoulder which was thankfully wide enough for a truck and then some. It also happened just north of Cour D' Alene, Idaho, which means I wouldn't get eaten by wolves or sodomized by ravenous hillbillies. (happens all the time apparently, right?) I enter some information on the Quallcom and sit. No big deal. The company arranged for someone to pick up the load and take it to Seattle. So I thought everything was hunky-dory. Everything is co-ordinated for 11am, (I would like to point out that I have an awesome Driver Manager for arranging all of this) so I take a nap.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I jump right out of the sleeper, thinking it was the relief guy. I couldn't have dozed off that long, right? I look out the passenger window to find a police officer looking up at me. He was friendly and helpful, so bonus, and he asked me what was wrong and what was going to happen, since I was on the shoulder, which I gather was not a good thing for too long.
“Well officer, I'm having a problem with the ECU, which means that I can crank the engine but it won't fire. I've got another driver coming to repower the load and a tow en route to pull me out from under the trailer and to a shop.”
He blinked.
“I don't know a damn thing about these trucks. (he was a local cop, not a DOT guy) You could tell me that the gerbil's not running and I'd have to believe you.”
“No that little bastard done shit the bed. He's long dead.”
(this was the actual conversation)
I then gave him the simpler explanation that the truck couldn't start, somebody is coming to get the trailer, and I'm getting a tow. He seemed to like this a lot, but decided to take my license anyway for some unknown reason. I can only speculate, and my mind runs with the possibilities. However, I would say that it is probably some boring routine thing to make sure I wasn't a criminal or stole the truck (which would make me a criminal I guess). The realism certainly defeats the imaginative opportunities; nothing would be more satisfying to a local cop than to foil an epic drug smuggling ring, or to stop a terrorist plot. Both of which I have nothing to do with. Indeed.
So I was towed to Spokane, WA where I am now. The Freightliner dealer thought that they would be able to look at it when the second shift got on at 1400. That came and went, so no dice there. Not 10 minutes after my driver manager (hereafter referred to as a DM... but not the guy with the dice) goes home, the shop people come out and tell me that they won't look at it tonight. I could have went to the drop yard in Spokane to get in another guy's truck (who is apparently coming off medical leave shortly) but I was kinda hoping that they would at least look at it before my DM went home.
But you know what? That means I get to stay in a hotel for the night! Even more importantly, that means I get to take a shower. I'll write more about that in another entry I'm sure. I am trying to keep each entry to one event per day. There is always a bright side to everything. I've heard that life is nothing more than a series of events. What makes it good or bad is merely how we react to those events. I'm gonna go hit the pool now.
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