Here I sit, brokenhearted...

No, it's not what you think. I'm not in the potty. Actually, I'm sitting on the shoulder of the road. I-65 southbound at the 181 yardstick, which is about 7 miles north of Lafayette, Indiana. And no, I'm not taking a break. I'm waiting on the road repair guy. I called our office, they looked up a couple numbers, I called one, they sent me to another shop, that guy said it'll be an hour or so before my man can get there. Fine. Can't go nowhere anyway.

I bet you can cut the tension with a knife. "What happened, John?" I hear you all asking.

Not much really. Just blew a tire on my trailer. Rearmost axle, passenger side, inner dual. Get the picture. Luckily, I've got a spare hanging underneath, just need the man to come and swap the tires out for me on the rim. No big deal for me, really. But it was a little scary for the truck that was following me when it blew. If you're not familiar with the inner workings of trucks here's something new for you.

When we lose pressure in a tire, the term used is "blow" or "blew". We very seldom get "flats". Only once have I walked around and checked the tires and found one that was flat. When they go flat, it's usually at 60 mph and the result is quite, how shall we say, explosive. When this one went there was a loud boom, lots of dust and flying tread. The truck behind me was a little close and a quick glance in my mirror saw him nosing down and dodging debris. Here comes the man. That was quick.

It's now 10pm and I'm sitting in the dock at the post office in Columbus. I was due here at 830 and I just backed in about 5 minutes ago. They've got 23 skids of Sports Illustrated coming off here so I may be an hour or so. It doesn't take long once they get started. It just seems that it takes a while to get started. From here I'm just looking for a place to park and eat a warm meal. Well, look at that, there's the first bang on the trailer. That was quick. I'll get back with you.

OK. It was an alright day even considering the blowout and subsequent running late. But now I'm pissed. My favorite truck stop is closing. There's a Pilot and a Flying J at the 131 on 71 northbound and then another Pilot at the 140. But I usually run up to the 151 where there's a Duke Travel plaza. The restaurant has good food and the lot is large and always has open spots, even late at night. Pilot's only have fast food places any more, Subway at 131 and Arby's at 140, and sometimes you just want a good hot meal after a long day. Arby's is way over priced for the quality and Subway just doesn't float my boat anymore. So I pull into the Duke longing for a good hot grilled chicken sandwich and some fries. Straight into the lot, straight into a spot with empties on either side, no idlers around me and I'm wore out. I stroll over to the restaurant and my heart drops into my stomach. All the lights are out. What? There's a sign on the door. "We're sorry. Our restaurant is no longer open for third shift. The restaurant hours are now 6am to 10pm. We're sorry for the inconvenience." AW MAN!! Sorry?! What now? Behind me is a convenience area. Crap food in the soda fridges, you know. I go look. Maybe I'll get a couple burritos and throw them in the microwave. I just need something hot. Nope, no burritos. Let's see what's over here. Not much. A couple pepper loaf sandwiches, a couple ham and cheesers, and one roast beef with cheese that looks like it's been there since Clinton was in office. Oh my, what a feast.

So I'm back in the truck, snacking on some Fritos and one ham sandwich is gone. Another day over and done with. Started at 7 this morning. Oh look, it's tomorrow morning already. 1245 am.

Guess what. No alarm will be placed in service tonight, or this morning rather. I'll get up when I wake up. Period. End of discussion. Have a nice day.

Well, I couldn't end this on a down note. So here's an up note. I'm going on the radio this afternoon on the show "A way with words". They want me to call them and pose a question to the hosts. Cool, huh? Tell you later about that. Have fun and get some sleep. I'm outta here.