ROUTE: Windsor, CT to Newport, MI: 693 miles (no deadhead)
The previous assignment was to bring a load of auto parts from Newport, MI to the Ford distribution center in Windsor, CT. This assignment was to bring a load of racks and some auto parts back to Newport, MI. The advantage is that the shipper is the same as the consignee so no need to waste time going to a different shipper in the area.
I started my day on 12/04 after a hearty breakfast at I-84 Diner where I spent the night. I arrived at the consignee at 10:00 and left at noon. I would need to refuel on the way back as I had used about half of the fuel to get there. My plan was to drive to the Petro in Girard, OH that has an Indian food truck opened until 03:00 and easy parking. Unfortunately, there was traffic getting closer to the Ohio border coming from Pennsylvania. My GPS indicated that the backlog was about an hour and I had just the enough hours to get there. I decided to stop at a Love’s Truck Stop on Exit 81 on I-80. Parking is more scarce but Love’s doesn’t care about Creative Parking, whereabout truckers park wherever possible without impeding other truckers. I shut it down at 21:00.
On 12/05 I had four-and-half hours to reach the consignee and I arrived at 14:00.
BOOK REVIEW: Worst Case Scenario by T.J. Newman (2024), FICTION – RATING (***)
The plot is a sanitized version of 9-11 including a newly elected President in his first term. The odds of the plot are one-in-a-gazzillion, but lets allow it because it’s fiction. The debris of the plane are scattered over miles which is unrealistic, even if it a work of fiction we can’t defy natural gravity. This is harder to forgive and unfortunately a key part in one the main sub-plots.
The biggest problem is the narrative. The first third of the book is very dry and immediately focussed on purely describing the catastrophe and its implications. The in-depth characterization of the protagonist develops slowly in the second half of the book. Had it been done earlier than it would have been easier to relate to them. There are tear-jerker events toward the end that would have resonated better if there had been a connection with the characters from the beginning. Good research on the mechanics and environmental dangers of nuclear power plants.
Could have been much better but it wasn’t awful either and I stuck with it until the end.
