It was quite a week.
Monday, December 22, 2008

Monday was a busy day and I was exhausted when I got home. The things I wanted to take care of before Thursday's surgery were put off until Tuesday night. Tuesday was another busy day and I was thankful for it since I knew I was about to be laid up for 2 weeks. The afternoon brought the beginning of the snow showers for the projected 1-3 inches and a phone call from my dispatcher. "Would you like to take a delivery to Chicago?", I was asked. "Does it pay more than fuel?", was my response. When I was informed what it would pay, I agreed to take the run. I was hoping I would beat the worst of the weather by running east out of town. I was also hoping that the minor headache feeling was not going to develop into a repeat of Monday night which was nearing migraine status as I lay on the couch feeling ready to puke at any minute.

As I got on the road I learned that the forecast for Chicago was 3-6 inches of snow and that it was already falling at a pretty good clip. "I'm doing this why?", I asked myself. The answer to that question is many fold. I cannot turn away work for mere laziness. I had a scheduled 2 weeks downtime about to begin. A group I belong to had prayed for work for me and I wasn't about to turn my back on an answered prayer. Business had been slow and the cash flow had been hurting. As long as it was better than a break even proposition, it was necessary that I accept the assignment.

As the time passed, the ride grew more intense. The snowfall got heavier, the road got slicker, and with nightfall the reduced visibility became worse. I was now looking at the 400-mile ride becoming longer due to the greatly reduced traveling speed. Couple this with the tendency of drivers choosing the better lane to drive in even if it is the left lane and they are backing up traffic by driving the same speed as those who are in the right lane. It could have easily been a very frustrating night without patience and accepting anticipation of these issues occurring.

About three hours into the normally eight hour drive was the first bit of excitement. While traveling eastbound on I94 just west of Madison, Wisconsin, I learned that my intuition to look out for others was correct. I was in the left lane of the interstate crossing a bridge. A red pickup was 2 car lengths ahead of me in the right lane and a snowplow was in the same lane as the red truck and approximately two car lengths ahead of it. As we neared the end of the bridge the red truck snapped loose and all of a sudden was doing a 360 spin in front of me. Fortunately the speed kept its forward momentum although the margin had shrunk to one car length. I heard myself repeating the phrase, "Lord, don't let him hit me." The truck spun back into the right lane. I watched as it squarely hit nose first into the guard rail which extended from the end of the bridge. The pickup bounced off and did a 180 and was now facing me. My anticipation was that it would continue its path and lodge under my truck. To my amazement, the spinning truck stopped in its tracks as I passed by, missing its nose by inches. Whether it was an answer to my hastily offered supplication or he caught a dry patch with good brakes, I was blessed by being spared involvement in the accident. The rest of the evening's ride was intense as the road disappeared below the blowing snow. I was trusting that the truck I was following was staying on the road as I kept it's lights in view and followed it with intense focus.

I decided to pull off the freeway at Elgin, Illinois, to get a room for the night. I was looking forward to getting something to eat while pulling out the laptop to check the status of my financial accounts to insure I had available funds for fuel and maybe pay a bill or two. I was also needing to adjust the lineups for two fantasy football teams I had playing in championship games this weekend. Well, that would have been too easy. My obsolete laptop was not finding the wireless internet from the motel and my frustration began to grow with my limited tech skills. I tethered my laptop to my cell phone which I use as my modem at home. I immediately realized I was dealing with a new problem as my computer did not recognize the phone. I had service, I had power and I soon realized I also had a low battery. The battery was supposed to be charging from the laptop. I headed through the snowy parking lot to the Kenworth and dug out the car charger. The phone was not recognizing the charger. I realized I had to begin conserving what power remained and had to forgo the internet activities.

What was pictured as an easy drive into the delivery site in downtown Chicago became a maze to be solved as I had to circle around a number of low bridges in the unfamiliar territory. The delivery was made, I successfully navigated out of town and made the trek back up to the Twin Cities. It was a long, uneventful ride for which I was thankful.

I then spent and hour and a half at the phone store seeking repair for my Blackberry. The jack for the cord was indeed the culprit and the phone needed to be replaced. I tried talking my way into replacing it with the new Storm at a reduced price, but I was unsuccessful. I wasn't surprised being that it is the brand new item that hasn't been out for two weeks yet. So replace the phone. Easy, right? Well, the word came that the data could not be transferred to the new phone since the malfunctioning jack was necessary to the process. Fortunately, I regularly synchronized my Blackberry to my laptop so the information would be readily available to transfer to the new phone. Or so one would think. As would be fitting for this week, the phone is missing something in the software so it is not acknowledging the request to transfer the data. So, back to the store or a call to customer service will be required, either misery of which will be better than manually entering 181 contacts, the full calendar and memos that existed.

That all made Thursday seem rather relaxing as I headed to the hospital for my scheduled hernia repairs. The pain over the past months from my abdominal hernia required the surgery. While there, my surgeon decided he may as well repair the herniated belly button I've had for the past 25-30 years. The surgery went well as I was in and out on schedule and sent home with the appropriate prescriptions and instructions. After 2-1/2 days of loving care from my beautiful bride I began to notice improvement and was quickly growing sick and tired of being sick and tired. The pain pills and I don't get along well and I look at them as a necessary evil. The groggy, woozy feeling gets old quickly. I am now lowering the dosage and frequency as much as I can.

So the weekend was spent laying low in the warmth of the indoors while the arctic air poured into the region. I have enjoyed watching my teams in their championship games as I have wrapped up one victory and I have the lead going into tonight with the other team. On the downside, the Vikings lost yesterday rather than wrapping up a playoff berth with a division championship. I look forward to relaxing and enjoying the holiday season as I heal up before heading back to work on January 5th to begin a couple of weeks of light duty.

Merry Christmas and God's blessings to you.


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Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14:6 That doesn't leave much wiggle room. Yet, we continue to try to get right with God on our own terms rather than submit to Jesus Christ.