I was scheduled for the Monterey County Weekly last Wednesday. I had only gotten about three hours of sleep and when I got to the plant it was time for my second 32 ounce coffee.
Before I even get a piece of product I'm informed that there's a 52 page color magazine inserted into the MCW today. This means 50% more carts and they'll be much heavier. So I get our one trailer with a liftgate set up. Jesus shows me where the controls are, but he doesn't show me where the second up and down control is. So, when I get to Seaside, I need help with the lift. Fortunately, Greg with the MCW helps out.
Anyway, I leaves about 40 minutes late. I get 4 miles from the plant when the tractor takes a dump right on the freeway in rush hour traffic. I nurse the truck over the divider and onto the offramp. I get to a safe spot on the shoulder and wait for help to arrive.
After a while the replacement tractor shows up as does the tow truck. I get the tractor switched out and am on my way. As I'm pulling away from the shoulder to move into the middle lane I check my mirrors and when the light turns green I start to move. I hear a horn honk, then the unmistakable sound of glass and fiberglass breaking. Oh shit.
I pull through the intersection and pull to the shoulder of the onramp. The other car apparently turned left and disappeared. I waited a bit then called the police to inform them on a taped line that I was hit and ran with no injury. I wait a total of 25 minutes before leaving.
But wait, it isn't over yet. I go through the scales and get weighed on the static scale. Turns out I'm 700 pounds overweight on the steering axle. So I park and go in for my ticket. The paper actually has "owners responsibility" on this so I personally don't get a citation. But the head of my department gets the love note from the CHP. We think that the 5th wheel is too far forward for the weight. This is where the 52 page color tab comes into play. A regular paper wouldn't have made me overweight.
I finally get to Seaside and drop the 36 carts. Usually I have 21. Greg had pizza for his delivery drivers and let me tell you cold pizza and watered down Dew never tasted so good. I had my cuppa knocked over when I was four wheeling over the divider so half my diet Dew was lost. And I was hella thirsty after this fiasco of a day.
I got back to the plant where the crew was waiting to bust my ass over my misfortune. Jerry said that I should have gotten outside of the cab while on the scale and I'd have made weight. Nothing but love. I think they were all glad it wasn't them dealing with all of that bullshit.