ITASCA, IL to TECUMSEH, MI: 305 miles (272 loaded + 33 deadhead)
Thursday September 3rd, I arrived at the shipper at 10:00am and afterwards stopped at a nearby Petro in Wilmington, IL, for lunch at a Charlie’s Cheesesteak franchise on the premisses. It was a short trip but there’s always traffic in the Chicago surrounding area. Unfortunately, there weren’t any truck stops near the consignee so I had to park at a Petro in Battle Creek, MI. It was ninety-minutes away but had a nice diner on the premisses and easy parking. Also, I needed to add DEF to the truck. I had diner and went to bed as I had an early start the next day.
Friday September 4th, I started my day at 4:30am with a shower and headed out at 5:30am as the delivery was scheduled for 7:00am. Suddenly, the skies opened up and a wicked rain storm came upon me. I was forced to drive at 30mph because visibility was minimal. Once I came upon a rest area I stopped for an hour until the rain subsided. I was going to be late but my safety and of the truck came first. I arrived at the consignee at 8:00am and they were okay with the delay as several employees also drove through the torrential rain.
BOOK REVIEW: Tear Me Apart by J.T. Ellison (2018), THRILLER – RATING (****)
A fast paced thriller with many interesting twist-and-turns. The story is a little convoluted in the beginning and throughout but comes together at the end with heartfelt moments about parenthood.
Mindy Wright, a seventeen year old, is a competitive alpine skier that has a spot on the US Olympic team almost guaranteed but on her last run of a competition she’s going for the course record. A gust of bad weather comes across the course toward the end of her run. She clips the last flag and is sent flying landing awkwardly fracturing her leg in various places. While being treated at the hospital the doctors realize she’s suffering from a fast advancing form of leukemia. She needs an immediate stem cell transplant in order to survive.
Her parents are not a biological match. Mindy finds out that she’s adopted and her mother has been hiding many secrets from her and who she thought was her dad. The race is on to find the biological parents but doing so there are many secrets uncovered, some very dark.
Very entertaining.
