ROUTE: Ecru, MS to Auburn Hills, MI: 867 miles (780 loaded + 87 deadhead)
My original assignment was from Pontotoc, MS to the same consignee in Auburn Hills, MI but Friday 02/20 when I woke up the batteries of the truck were dead. Different to a car a truck has four batteries. On Super Bowl Sunday I also had battery problems but that was due to single digit temperatures in the New York area. I was ready at 8:00am and the shipper closed at 11:00am but the Emergency Road Assistance would not be able to give me the jump for three-four hours. Therefore, my company managed to change the load otherwise I would have been stuck in Mississippi for the weekend.
The route to Michigan passed through Nashville so I was planning on spending Friday night barhopping. Due to the delays from the dead batteries I would be arriving in Nashville around 7:00pm instead of 4:00pm as originally planned. This could complicate finding suitable parking but fortunately I managed and proceeded to have fun in Nashville, a city I love. I started at Tootsies Orchid Lounge, had a steak dinner at Posty’s, stopped at Luke’s 32 Bridge and ended the night at The Stage.
I only needed to deliver the load on Monday morning so was in no rush. Saturday 02/21 I started my day at 3:30pm and arrived at our terminal at 1:30am. I went from the warmth of Tennessee to a snowy Michigan. On Sunday 02/22 my truck went into the shop at at 9:00pm for the Preventive Maintenance (PM) we do every 20,000 miles and to check the batteries to see what had caused the problem on Friday. The mechanics were worried that it could be a serious problem but fortunately it wasn’t. Two of the batteries were defective so they changed all four for new more powerful ones. That day I also ran some errands, fueled the truck, did laundry and took a shower.
Monday 02/23 I drove to the consignee and delivered the load on time.
BOOK REVIEW: Heart Life Music: A New York Times Bestselling Memoir from the Beloved Country Music Star by Kenny Chesney, Holly Gleason (2025), MEMOIR – RATING (*****)
EXCELLENT. Even for those that are not Country Music lovers or followers. It’s an inspirational story about a person following their dream and a ton of hard work to reach it. It maintains a positive tone throughout the narrative without focusing on the setbacks or struggles as many memoirs tend to do.
Kenny Chesney goes through his upbringing in East TN, college, his breakthrough into Country Music then his rise and the doubts he faced while being on top. He goes into depth of how he created some of his best selling songs, what he was going through and reflection on other songs that were not as successful. I wished he had gone more into his personal life.
Overall very entertaining.
