Dallas Breakdown

I cruised into the truckstops on the south side of Dallas about midnight. I knew that these places, like those on the south of Atlanta or east of LA and truckstops near cities everywhere had a tendency to crawl with illicit activity, primarily prostitution and drug dealing. It was also late and my chances of finding a place to park were slim. As I maneuvered through the Flying J people scurried around the lot like rats, one dude jumped up on my running board clinging to my open passenger side window.
“hey man you looking fo a girl?”
“no, man I’m looking for a parking space.”
I started to drive off requiring him to dismount.
I found a spot. Not a real spot, but a spot where people could get around me, at the TA on the other side of the highway.
The next day I woke and showered and came back to the truck. Still no load. I moved the truck into a real spot. I waited.
I did a crossword, or maybe six.
I tried to read. It is miserably hard to read when you are waiting for something. When trucking you are almost always waiting (or driving) and so, while it may seem like a great job for reading time, it isn’t. I get most of my good reading done at night before bed, like everyone else.
I waited some more.
I was getting exasperated.
I had spent a night in Laredo waiting, I had spent the better part of the next day in Laredo waiting. I had driven to Dallas and spent the night and the waited some more. It was 2pm. I was loosing hope. It was also Friday and the likelihood of getting a load on a Saturday (at least with this company) is nonexistent.
I cracked.
I wanted to quit. I was so done. How could I go home? Melton has a terminal in Dallas, I’d leave the truck there. How could I get rid of my stuff? I could sell some over the CB, but there would still be too much to walk or bike with, or even take a plane, especially with these baggage fees. I could buy a car!
I looked at the Dallas Craig’s List. There was a beater ’84 F-150 for sale for $900, I could do that.
I drove to the Dallas terminal. Not sure why. I got a cab to go check out the truck.
The guy selling the truck was a little unhinged I think. He worked on the oil rigs near Amarillo. He worked for 14 days at a time and then had 14 days off. He was selling the truck because he had another kid on the way. He said it needed a new starter solenoid, which he repeatedly pronounced “sodenawd.”
We drove to AutoZone to get it rather than wait for his mom to get home (he didn’t have any money for this $10 part) He installed it in the parking lot. When he drove the truck he scared me, though it did prove that the engine and brakes were working well enough.
Then we had to go to the DMV to get a title since he didn’t have one. Apparently he had bought the truck only a month before and the dealer had not yet got the title to him.
That process was surprisingly smooth and in 25 minutes I had the title in hand. I asked him how much he wanted for the truck.
$900
what about $750?
$800 and it’s a deal.
Deal (I didn’t really expect to pay $750, I suppose this is at the core of the bargaining art)

He cleaned his junk out of the truck and handed me the keys. My phone rang.
“Hey its Angie” [my dispatcher] “I got a Canada load for you.”
(sweet, what do I do with this pick-up?)
“It picks up in Norman [Oklahoma] tonight and delivers on Monday”
“sweet, where in Canada?”
“oh don’t make me say it, Butcher-vull.”
“Oh yeah Boucherville, Quebec. Sweet put it on me. I’ll be back at the truck in 45 minutes.”
The seller looked at me, “goin to Canada huh?”
Yup.

I drove the truck back to the terminal. I could leave it here until I did quit, whenever in the next month or two that would be. Then I could have them route me here and I could put my stuff in it and drive it back to Maryland. And now I would have seriously useful vehicle for these building projects.

I parked the truck and took some pictures and then headed up the road to Norman.