Back Home, MN

I got home last night at 8:00 pm. It's been an eventful 3 days, and now I have 3 days off to recurrence.

From Ankeny, IA I went to Cedar Rapids, IA to pick up rolls of paper. Since I was close to Dubuque I decided to stop for the night near there and try to see Kathy et al. We were able to meet in Cascade, IA (20 mi from Dubuque). Jenna, the boys and a friend of theirs also came. Elias played in the truck and we went to Subway so I could get something to eat. It was a good time.

The next morning I drove to Red Wing to refuel. For the first time since driving trucks I went thru Decorah. At Red Wing I needed to have 2 new front tires put on, and put in 222 gallons of diesel fuel. At a truck stop that would have cost over $1,000. After that I drove to White Bear Lake, MN to drop off rolls of paper. I was then sent to Eagan to pick up a load of Coca-Cola products which I drove up to Virginia, MN in northern Minnesota. Once there I picked up an empty trailer which I needed to take to a paper mill in Cloquet, MN.

This is where it got interesting. I was close to being out of hours and needed to find a place to stop. I saw an abandoned truck stop in Canyon, MN and turned off the Hwy onto a frontage road. The turn however was quite sharp and I wasn't able to make it without taking out a sign. So I instead went into a business that had a large grassy area next to it's building. I attempted to turn the truck around, but in the process the front tires went into a soft spot and settled 8-9" into the turf. I was stuck. Embarrassed and a bit upset. I needed to find a way to get out. No one was around, but finally the owner of the business drove by. I was able to get a phone number for a wrecker. An hour later I was pulled free. It was an expensive mistake however. Wreckers are not cheap and I gave the owner some money to repair the area of grass where the truck was stuck. Besides that I was concerned that this incident might effect my employment. I am just a week away from the end of my 90 probationary period. I had visions of being fired or needing to start over with the probationary period. I didn't sleep well that night (Thur). Yesterday morning with trepidation I call Monson and spoke with the Safety person. I explained what happened and how I took care of it and asked if I needed to fill out an Accident Report. He said no. He thought I handled it well after getting stuck. I was extremely relieved as you can imagine.

After the call I drove from Cloquet, MN to a town in WI called Combined Locks. It's close to Appleton. It was a 6 hour drive. After unloading I went to Menasha, WI, 10 miles away and picked up another load of rolls of paper and was told to take that to the terminal in Red Wing. That took 4.5 hours.

For the week I drove 2700 miles. A good week.

Tristan spent the night with me and we watched the new 'National Treasure' movie just out on video.

I hope you are all doing well and are enjoying your weekend. I intend to take it easy and rest up. - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Ankeny, IA

I'm laying down in the sleeper berth of my truck waiting for my trailer to be unloaded. It could take 3 to 4 hours. I'm in Ankeny, IA. I brought a load of Solo cups (light load).

It's been a strange couple of days. Monday afternoon I needed to drive from Chicago to Baraboo, WI which is an hour north of Madison and pick up a trailer at a Slumberland Dist Center. I then took it to Champaign, I'll for a 8:00 am delivering yeaterday. I was then sent upo to University Park, I'll just a bit south of Chicago to pick up the load of paper cups. I arrived there at 2:00 pm, but the load wasn't ready until Midnight. To make my hours work the best I didn't leave there until 4:00 am this morning and arrived in Ankeny at 10:30 am. So, I've been sitting around a lot taking naps, reading. books and watching DVD's.

I was able on Monday night to visit with Erika, Pat, Sydney Kate & Elsa in Madison. We went to a mall where the was a McDonalds. This time the girls each wanted their own milk shake. We also had to visit the Children's section of the neighboring bookstore. It is so much fun to see them looklng at books and stuffed animals, etc.
The weather has been great. Sunny and warm. I hope it lasts. This weekend I get an extra day off because of the Holiday. I think Tristan and I will hang out together. I also bought a WW II German Style motorcycle helmet (black) which I will be wearing when I put the top down on my PT 'Cruiser' Ragtop. I still need to get some goggles. I think I'll look pretty goofy. Tristan has threatenned not to ride with me if I wear it.

I hope you are all doing well. I'll let you know where I'm headed next. - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Chicagoland, IL

Hello from Chicago. I'm currently at a 7 Eleven somewhere near O'Hare airport waiting for my next assignment. I've got my Cubs T-shirt on and my Bears cap, so I feel right at home. I had to make a delivery this morning at 9:00 am of paper products from Boise Cascade.

The last few weeks I've been entirely in the Upper Midwest crisscrossing the states of MN, WI, SD, ND and IA. I'm getting to know the secondary roads pretty well. I've been getting home on the weekends which has been what I've wanted. Monson is a good company. Being smaller it isn't so impersonal. Unlike Schneider where I was driver 49123, here I'm known as James.

I'll have been working for Monson 3 months the beginning of June and at that point will be out of a probationary period. Benefits will kick in, as well as getting a significant raise. I'm driving about 2500+ miles per week which is good.

I hope you are all doing well and are enjoying the Spring weather. Having left the Winter season we are now entering the season of Road Construction. Take care - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Park Falls, WI

It's been awhile since I last sent out an email. Last Thur I was sent to Sioux Falls, SD to pick up a load. My cousin Jeff lives there and just recently, his parents, Norman and Jan also moved there. I didn't have time to let Jeff know I was coming, but was planning on calling him when I got there. Well, it just so happened that as I was backing into the dock in Sioux Falls I received an email from him. I don't know if he had ever emailed before. I quickly called him and we were able to have lunch at a local truck stop.

By the way, Norman's 81st birthday is this coming Sunday, April 27th. Also on the birthday front, my brother-in-law, Jim, also known as Dr. Hall of Fame will turn 60 tomorrow. He's getting quite old.

Since my last email I have gone from WI to Huron, SD to Sioux Falls to Red Wing to Hoyt Lakes, MN to Cloquet, MN to Eau Claire, WI to Grand Forks, ND to Moorhead, MN to Duluth. Today I go back to Cloquet and then east to Park Falls, WI.

It is beautiful up here. In places there is still snow on the ground and many of the lakes are still parially ice covered. Spring is coming. Slowly.

I've been driving about 2200 miles a week the last 3 weeks. Mostly, I've transported paper products (scrap, pulp, rolls of paper). Last week I picked up a load of sugar at a warehouse in Mpls. A huge warehouse stacked high with bags and bags of sugar. And I thought to myself that this could be the birthplace of ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder).

Tristan has started baseball. He practices Tue, Thur and Sat each week. I hope he continues to enjoy the experience. I'll go with him as much as possible.

I hope you are all doing well. - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Confrontation, MN

I had a confrontation today and I lost. Let me explain. The word 'confront' comes from the Latin words 'cum' or with and 'frons' or face. To confront is to do something 'with face'. Well today I literally confronted the side of my trailer and lost. I was trying to loosen a bolt and the wrench slipped and I went face first into the side of the trailer. My nose made contact first, then my mouth. I was bloodied a bit, but I survived. Don't try this at home. My nose is sore and my profile is a bit flatter.

This morning at 4:00 am I started out from Red Wing and took a trailer up to Baxter, MN (180 miles) and had it unloaded there. I then drove 4 miles to Brainerd and picked up a loaded trailer and took that back down to Red Wing. From there I picked up an empty trailer and drove to Minneapolis and picked up a load of scrap paper and will take that to Duluth and arrive tomorrow morning. I was able to get as far as Rush City, MN which is on I-35 about 40 miles north of Mpls-St Paul.

There was over a foot of snow on the ground in Brainerd. Pretty depressing. They had a storm this past weekend. I hope your weather has been better. Well, have a good week. - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

Detroit Lakes, MN

I started out from Red Wing last night at 9:00 pm. I had to take an empty trailer to Eau Claire (Menard's Distribution Center) drop it and pick up a loaded trailer by 11:00 pm. From there I was to take it to Detroit Lakes, MN for a 5:00 am delivery (290 miles).

Everything went smoothly until halfway through the drive to Detroit Lakes. First, I got really tired, so I stopped at a truck stop near Alexandria, MN. I heard there that I was driving into a snow storm. And sure enough I did. I also discovered that the interstate I was on (I-94) was closed north of Alexandria due to the snow and 3 semi's that had gone into a ditch. I had to pull off onto a exit ramp and wait 2 hours for the highway to reopen. I slept most of the time. When I got back on the road, it was snow packed and I could only drive 45 mph. I did that for about 100 miles. When I arrived at the Menards in Detroit Lakes their lot was full of snow so I had to wait over an hour for them to clear it out enough for me to back up to their dock.

When they are done unloading I'll need to take a 10 hour break, since I was on the road all night. I'll try to sleep for a few hours. I'll be able to start again at 6:00 pm this evening.

Fortunately, I didn't slip or slide at all while driving. I'm glad spring is starting to emerge up here in the 'Frozen Tundra'. I'm looking forward to driy roads and warmer temps.

I hope you all had a good weekend. Root for the Cubs! It's been 100 years since they've won anything. I think it is about time. - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )

St Peter, MN

I thought some of you would be interested in knowing that I drove through St Peter, MN yesterday afternoon. I honked as I drove by Gustavus. I also called grandma and grandpa to let them know and they were pleased.

For most of the week I've been driving around MN and WI, but yesterday I picked up a load of peanuts (44,000 lbs) north of St Peter. I drove it down to Decatur, IL and am now waiting to be unloaded. I imagine I'll get home sometime tomorrow.

I forgot to give you the results of the Trucker Quiz from last week. It was a trick question. There is both a Menomonie, WI and a Menominee, MI. 3 of you got it right. Tristan's dad and step-mom replied first. Kari was the second one to get it right, and my uncle Jim and aunt Carole were the third ones to respond correctly. They all will get Snickers bars.

If Memphis beats UCLA on Sat I think I will win the west coast Barth NCAA pool. So, root for Memphis. If UCLA wins, Neil will win the pool.

I hope you have had a good couple of weeks and that you will have a great weekend. - James (Jibs - Dad/Papa )