Blog
Thoughts, stories, and reflections from the road and beyond. From personal insights to behind-the-scenes glimpses of writing and life, this is where experiences turn into words worth sharing.
CHAPTER 34: 11/21/25 Assignment and Book Reviews: It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan and The Parrot’s Perch by Karen Keilt
ROUTE: Cranbury, NJ to Monroe, MI: 587 miles (586 loaded + 1 deadhead) The previous assignment was to bring a trailer full of auto parts from Michigan to a Ford Distribution center in Cranbury, NJ. This assignment was to bring back to Michigan a trailer full of racks. I arrived at the consignee on Friday…
Chapter 33: 11/20/25 Assignment and Book Review: A Slash of Emerald by Patrice McDonough
ROUTE: Canton, MI to Cranbury, NJ: 644 miles (613 loaded + 31 deadhead) The assignment should have been from Detroit, MI to Cranbury, NJ but I wanted to stop by our terminal to have the mechanics check my truck’s batteries to see if one or more of the four were defective that forced me to…
Chapter 32: 11/19/25 Assignment and Book Reviews: Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell and Murder by Lamplight by Patrice McDonough
ROUTE: Manchester, TN to Brighton, MI: 668 miles (602 loaded + 66 deadhead) Wednesday 11/19 my day started at 06:00 as my delivery was scheduled for 08:00 and I was two hours away. I arrived at 08:30, which is OK, as most places have a one hour tolerance on appointment times. The unload took two…
Chapter 31: 11/17/25 Assignment and Book Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
ROUTE: Hazelton, PA to Lebanon, TN: 956 miles (765 loaded + 191 deadhead) This ended up being another Hellish assignment. I started my day on Monday at 09:30 after a three-day break at home where I got done a bunch of errands and spent time with two of my kids. The drive to the shipper…
Chapter 30: Reset November 14-16, 2025
I requested home-leave time for Friday 11/14 because I had a doctor’s appointment with the retina specialist. I see him every six months. I tend to schedule my doctors appointments for a Friday or Monday that way I can have the weekend to see the kids. My CDL and hazmat endorsement expire in February 2026,…
Chapter 29: 11/12/25 Assignment and Book Review: Dead of Winter by Keri Beevis
ROUTE: Canton, MI to Fishkill, NY: 731 miles (630 miles + 101 deadhead) I had requested home-leave for Friday 11/14 as I had a doctor’s appointment at 10:15 and had other errands to do. I always set up my doctors appointments on a Friday or Monday so I can see the kids on the weekends.…
Chapter 28: 11/10/25 Assignment and Book Reviews: Tell Me What You Did, A Novel by Carter Wilson; When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley and Animal Farm by George Orwell
ROUTE: Baltimore, MD to Portland, MI: 704 miles (612 loaded + 92 deadhead) What should have been a routine assignment turned into a Hellish one. I started Monday 11/10 at 06:00 with a Dunkin Donuts’ coffee, bagel and munchkins. My delivery was a just over an hour away and the delivery appointment was set for…
Chapter 27: 11/06/25 Assignment, Reset Nov. 07-08 and Book Review: The Mechanic by Tom Fowler
ROUTE: Belleville, MI to Martinsburg, WV: 517 miles (457 loaded + 60 deadhead) My previous assignment ended with a delivery in Port Huron, MI. From there I was instructed to pickup a load in Centerline, MI headed to Fishkill, NY but I was suppose to bring it to our terminal because the consignee did not…
Chapter 26: 11/04/25 Assignment and Book Review: The Book of Sheen: A Memoir by Charlie Sheen
ROUTE: York, PA to Findlay, OH then Port Huron, MI: 695 miles (674 loaded + 74 deadhead) This was a shitty assignment, but sometimes that’s the luck of the draw. The miles were good the problem is that it was two stops and each one would take two hours to unload. The bigger problem was…
Chapter 25: 11/03/25 Assignment and Book Review: A Man Called Ove, A Novel by Frederik Backman
ROUTE: Salem, MA to Chambersburg, PA: 509 miles (454 loaded + 55 deadhead) This assignment was brutal. It wasn’t the distance but driving small country roads going through towns where cars are parked on the side of the road with barely enough room to get by. Sharp turns at night where it’s hard to see…