Chrimbo Trees

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL



Okay lets go back a little while. Are you sitting comfortably, then i'll begin. It all started on the Monday, I remember it well as it was the day after Sunday. I rang in about 8 and was told to come in. When I arrived at the yard my friend Jozsef had just arrived. We were both told to bob tail to Bridgewater and pick up our trls full of those loverly Christmas trees. I ended up with 4 deliveries in Connecticut (not tooo bad). Now the thing is with delivering these trees, en't the unloading(handball everyone), it's the fact your taking a Highway truck where even a city truck would'nt go. So that night was spent looking at Google earth, so I could at least know what to expect when I arrived at each delivery. Now my 4 dels were garden centres(of sorts), the 2nd one was in a back water town selling animal feed and all sorts(s**t hole place actually). "You'll have to go down the road to turn round" he said. " I need you to back into my parking lot" (fit all of 4 cars and a bike in it) " plenty of room for you to turn round down the road" What a prat, I belived him. There was just anough room for Del Boy to turn his Reliant round in. Ahh well couple of shunts and it was done. When you deliver trees they always want them where the people can see them, which sometimes en't the best place for my truck to be. Take the last del, bloody great Garden Centre, big parking lot, big goods in area, where did they want them? In a small parking lot in front of a dog grooming place. High kerbs, fire hydrants and cars. No got to admit love a challenge, to get 72 foot of tractor and trailer in some of these places and coming out un scathed, is quit rewardind in it self. Now this was the Wednesday I was doing these dels, now Penny in Dispatch told me my reload was from Tottawa, New Jersey and I had to be there before 4. Whats the problem with that I hear you say. Well the following day was Thanks Giving in the States, and if I did'nt get loaded that night I'd be stuffed till the following Monday, as they took a long weekend. Well I think everyone had headed out of New York on the Tuesday as the GW bridge was moving pretty good, which was a relief, and I made it to Totowa just before 4. The load was heading for Ajax, ON so it was a pretty straight forward run up to there. Delivered that on the Thursday morning, picked another load up from Concord bound for Dartmouth. Sorted, I was going to be home Friday night, take Sat and Sun off and head back down the road Monday. Well it sort of went like that. Through October and November they have a Winter Safety meeting most Wednesdays, keep you up to date with any changes, tests and all that B' s**t. It just to show the DOT that the drivers are kept up to date on training etc (like I said B' s**t). Well I'd managed to avoid going to one and the following Wednesday was the last one of the year. I did'nt drop my p'work in on the Friday night so I popped round and dropped it in on the Saturday morning. Ron (head of Dispatch) was in so I asked him if I really needed to go. "Yes" was the reply "but don't worry i'll keep you busy on local work Monday and Tuesday" he said. He's good like that, the local miles soon add up and anything round the City is paid by the hour so I've never lost out. 2 days resulted in 860 miles and 7 hrs pay, which en't bad.

Going for a smoke catch you with part 2 in a bit