Texas hates me
Maybe not all of it, just one little stretch of I-35 just south of the Oklahoma border. Same stretch of road I fishtailed on in the rain last March.
Ok, the full story. We're renting 6 intelligent lights for the next show, a dance show. The place that gave us the best deal was in Dallas; and since we blew the budget on the units, we (meaning I) had to go down to get them in a box truck, a 15 footer. It's only 3 hours down. No sweat. I decided, knowing Wife as I do, that if she knew I was going down alone, she'd pitch a fit and worry the whole time. Ok, I won't tell her. I leave at 8 or 8:30 as usual, down by noon, pick up, leave by 1 latest, back by 4. I'd tell her when I got back of course, but not before.
Going down, no problem. Picked up the units and started back. The truck had been a bit of a gas guzzler, but I had nothing to compare it to. I had just about a quarter tank as I left the rental place. I'd pick up gas somewhere north of Dallas, out of traffic (It is noontime, remember). North of Dallas, maybe 20 miles south of the border, I happen to look in my mirrors to check traffic, and notice I'm spewing white smoke. A lot of it. A car pulls up alongside and gestures down at my tire emphatically. So I pull over at the next exit, which also has a Shell trucker plaza.
As does the guy next to me. I figure, cool, if he knows anything about motors, he knows more than I do. We get out and it wasn't my tire he was gesturing at, it was the motor and the smoke billowing out of it. But I'd looked at the guage, and the motor was normally hot. There was also now a growing pool of dark liquid streaming out of the engine. Looks a little thin to be oil and it's not hot. Turns out it's Diesel fuel. The damn thing had blown a hose into (or out of) the fuel injector. The Ryder mechanic who came out told me that, and that it would be at least two hours to get TO the hose, stripping the engine as he went. Wife finally gets the call that I'm gonna be late for dinner. She's not happy, and concedes that if there WERE somebody else with me, nothing would happen any faster. The mechanic called up for a replacement truck, but the nearest was in (get this) GrapeVine, Texas. Right by Dallas. Well, the truck broke down at 2. The mechanic got there at 3. The truck gets ordered and is given an ETA of 2 hours. About a half hour later, I get a call back asking if I wanted the tow truck to take me to the station to pick up the truck or have them bring the truck to me. HELL NO, bring me the damn truck, I'm already an hour out of Dallas!
So I wait.
And wander the selection of finest gift ideas that a TEXAS rest stop has to offer.
And I wait.
And wander the (getting chillier) afternoon air.
And I wait.
And watch the trains go by on the nearby tracks. The same ones that probably go by Norman. 153 cars on one! Yep, I counted. 5 trains total during the time I was there.
And I wait.
About 6 I get a call that the new ETA is an hour.
Another hour.
It's now too dark to see the train, but I hear it.
And I wait.
The tow truck arrives, new truck in tow. I've been told it's an Isuzu, as if that makes any difference (actually it was a really smooth ride.). The tow truck driver is glad that the old one runs at least. "Sure," I said, "but it spews gas like a fountain!" "I don't care," he said, "it runs."
Thankfully I don't have much cargo. If I'd been loaded up, it would have been a problem. Just 4 road boxes. And the new truck has a lift on the back. Sweet. Send 'em up; push 'em in. Jump up to strap 'em in, hitting my head on the half-closed roll door. By 7:40 I'm on my way again. I hate night driving. Although there is something cool about driving a truck. So I get into Norman, and traffic is INSANE! at 9:30 at night. I chalk it up to the big game the next day, but still...
I drop off my load to my students, and take the truck back to the Ryder place in OKC. Ya know? That drive up to the city isn't very long in the grand scheme of things. It went by rather quickly. Most times I drive it, it's a chore, now, it was a breeze. Drop off the keys with a night mechanic, with a brief explanation of why it's a different truck, and back in MY car to Norman. Home just after 10. One VERY long day.
All weekend, my head and neck hurt from hitting it on the roll door.
Ok, the full story. We're renting 6 intelligent lights for the next show, a dance show. The place that gave us the best deal was in Dallas; and since we blew the budget on the units, we (meaning I) had to go down to get them in a box truck, a 15 footer. It's only 3 hours down. No sweat. I decided, knowing Wife as I do, that if she knew I was going down alone, she'd pitch a fit and worry the whole time. Ok, I won't tell her. I leave at 8 or 8:30 as usual, down by noon, pick up, leave by 1 latest, back by 4. I'd tell her when I got back of course, but not before.
Going down, no problem. Picked up the units and started back. The truck had been a bit of a gas guzzler, but I had nothing to compare it to. I had just about a quarter tank as I left the rental place. I'd pick up gas somewhere north of Dallas, out of traffic (It is noontime, remember). North of Dallas, maybe 20 miles south of the border, I happen to look in my mirrors to check traffic, and notice I'm spewing white smoke. A lot of it. A car pulls up alongside and gestures down at my tire emphatically. So I pull over at the next exit, which also has a Shell trucker plaza.
As does the guy next to me. I figure, cool, if he knows anything about motors, he knows more than I do. We get out and it wasn't my tire he was gesturing at, it was the motor and the smoke billowing out of it. But I'd looked at the guage, and the motor was normally hot. There was also now a growing pool of dark liquid streaming out of the engine. Looks a little thin to be oil and it's not hot. Turns out it's Diesel fuel. The damn thing had blown a hose into (or out of) the fuel injector. The Ryder mechanic who came out told me that, and that it would be at least two hours to get TO the hose, stripping the engine as he went. Wife finally gets the call that I'm gonna be late for dinner. She's not happy, and concedes that if there WERE somebody else with me, nothing would happen any faster. The mechanic called up for a replacement truck, but the nearest was in (get this) GrapeVine, Texas. Right by Dallas. Well, the truck broke down at 2. The mechanic got there at 3. The truck gets ordered and is given an ETA of 2 hours. About a half hour later, I get a call back asking if I wanted the tow truck to take me to the station to pick up the truck or have them bring the truck to me. HELL NO, bring me the damn truck, I'm already an hour out of Dallas!
So I wait.
And wander the selection of finest gift ideas that a TEXAS rest stop has to offer.
And I wait.
And wander the (getting chillier) afternoon air.
And I wait.
And watch the trains go by on the nearby tracks. The same ones that probably go by Norman. 153 cars on one! Yep, I counted. 5 trains total during the time I was there.
And I wait.
About 6 I get a call that the new ETA is an hour.
Another hour.
It's now too dark to see the train, but I hear it.
And I wait.
The tow truck arrives, new truck in tow. I've been told it's an Isuzu, as if that makes any difference (actually it was a really smooth ride.). The tow truck driver is glad that the old one runs at least. "Sure," I said, "but it spews gas like a fountain!" "I don't care," he said, "it runs."
Thankfully I don't have much cargo. If I'd been loaded up, it would have been a problem. Just 4 road boxes. And the new truck has a lift on the back. Sweet. Send 'em up; push 'em in. Jump up to strap 'em in, hitting my head on the half-closed roll door. By 7:40 I'm on my way again. I hate night driving. Although there is something cool about driving a truck. So I get into Norman, and traffic is INSANE! at 9:30 at night. I chalk it up to the big game the next day, but still...
I drop off my load to my students, and take the truck back to the Ryder place in OKC. Ya know? That drive up to the city isn't very long in the grand scheme of things. It went by rather quickly. Most times I drive it, it's a chore, now, it was a breeze. Drop off the keys with a night mechanic, with a brief explanation of why it's a different truck, and back in MY car to Norman. Home just after 10. One VERY long day.
All weekend, my head and neck hurt from hitting it on the roll door.
posted by Intothelight4now at 7:33 PM
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