STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 21210: Gretna Gobbledegook

August 7, 2005 on 12:32 am | In On The Road |

I spent most of the 6th engaged in hi-tech electronic wizardry (updating my BLOG and copying CD’s to my hard-drive). I left Cheyenne in mid-afternoon after successfully using my recently acquired TCH Fuel Card for the 1st time. I worry needlessly whenever I attempt something new (especially when it involves the combination of electronic media and human input), so I was relieved when the transaction went through without a glitch. I drove to Big Springs, NE where I took a short break for an MMM relief excursion. I then drove to Gretna, NE. Here I stopped for the night. I arrived precisly at the witching hour. I detected no presence of evil spirits, but was entertained for a few minutes by a breech of “truckstop etiquette”. A driver was attempting to back into a parking spot about 2 stalls to my right. Another driver who was behind him had neglected to turn off his headlights, so just when the driver attempting the backing maneuver needed to use his mirrors to check his position, he was blinded by the glare from the “truckstop etiquette” violators headlights. After a couple of trys, the “backer” stopped his truck, walked back to the offending driver and, I assume, requested that he turn off his lights. A brief verbal exchange ensued, then the offending driver turned off his lights, and the “backer” was able to finish his maneuver. Aside from the “etiquette” violation of not turning off his headlights, the offending driver was also ‘guilty’ of a second minor violation of etiquette by not having his C.B. radio on so that he could hear the “backer” requesting him to turn off his headlights. Seems trivial, but I’ve seen a few fist-fights over lesser “etiquette violations”. Testosterone combined with fatigue can be dangerous. Of the 8 hours I worked today, I used 7.75 driving 470 miles.