ROUTE: Clinton, CT to Clayton, IN: 908 miles (856 loaded + 52 deadhead)
I’ve done this assignment many times and like it. It has good miles, the shipper is a live load but is done quickly and the consignee is a 24/7 facility with drop-and-hook procedures. The docks at the shipper are relative tight with parked cars on the perimeter but since I’ve been there I can maneuvered around them with ease.
Monday March 30th, I arrived at the shipper just before 2:00pm and left around 3:30pm. The trip takes around 14-15 drive hours plus time for breaks. Delivery was scheduled for Wednesday at 10:00am so I had plenty of time. I drove for an hour and stopped at a Travel Plaza for a Big Mac meal then I drove for another three-and-half hours and shut it down at 10:00pm.
Tuesday March 31st, I started my day at noon. I was not in a hurry and I let my body determine how much rest it needs. That’s one of the great advantages of the trucking world, we’re not subject to a strict nine-to-five schedule but we’re not limited to a forty-hour work week either. On average I work sixty-hours a week. I drove three hours and stopped at a Pilot for lunch that has a decent diner. Then I drove six hours to a Pilot in Spiceland, IN, about an hour East of Indianapolis that normally has parking even late at night. I arrived at 11:30pm and proceeded to take a shower. I prefer to shower in the mornings but I tend to oversleep as well, so wanted to make sure to make the delivery on time.
Wednesday April 1st, I started my day after the minimum DOT Regulation ten-hour break and drove an hour to the consignee. I arrived at 11:30am and made the delivery. Though I was a little late there’s normally a grace period and since it was a drop-and-hook the appointment time is not as strict. Overall, I made the trip just shy of the fourteen drive hours calculated at the start. Our fuel tanks hold 230 gallons of diesel and was able to make the trip without needing to stop for fuel but I would need to after the delivery.
BOOK REVIEW (1): In the Wake of Golgotha by Daniel Grace (2026), HISTORICAL FICTION – RATING (****)
An intriguing jambalaya of words that goes back-and-forth from events that occurred 2,000 years ago to modern life in New York City even quoting lyrics of modern songs.
Jude Issachar, a social worker and professor at Calcutta Community College in New York City is the incarnation of Judas Iscariot, the world’s most renown villain as the betrayer of Jesus Christ. He has a vivid recollections of his first life but none of the other ones. Peter Pheiffer, a Harvard educated defense lawyer, is the incarnation of Pontius Pilate but his recollection of those days are limited to sporadic dreams that he has a hard time figuring out. Balthazar Bedrossian, an MRI technician with no criminal record brutally kills three individuals and crucifies them in his basement. He apparently is aware of Peter’s true incarnated identity and hires him to defend him.
The facts seem to line up with historical assumptions though the facts described in the Prologue seem off with what we know happened but that’s not consequential to the story.
Well written though at times it wonders aimlessly. Overall thought provoking with an interesting ending.
BOOK REVIEW (2): Five Liars by D.L. Fisher (2026), FICTION – RATING (****)
It was a very odd premise and that had me apprehensive. It’s fiction and better to have only five well defined characters instead of a bunch barely explained.
Brit and Joe are having a joint bachelor-bachelorette party in the Dominican Republic and there’s only five people attending. Who has a joint bachelor-bachelorette party and why only invite five people attending? All is forgiven if entertaining and it was. Suspenseful too.
In addition to the groom and bride to be, there’s the Best Man, the Maid of Honor and Brit’s assistant which even the Best Man thought it was odd. Things start going wrong from the get-go and to make matters worse the first night they’re hit with a category III hurricane. Dark secrets start emerging from their pasts and people start to die. None of them are who they seem to be and their pasts are coming out to haunt them.
Overall entertaining and suspenseful though at times the plot is held together by a shoe string.
