Mayhem in Memphis

Written Monday, 3/5

Today was exciting. With a tinge of anticipation in the air, the farmers were out in full force today while driving through the upper southeast. In their wake came billowing clouds of dust and the smells of freshly turned dirt, fertilizer and the crisp hint of someone burning the scraps of the previous crop off. Birds took full advantage of this buzz of activity to haunt the trail of the tractors, turning up vital good eats for them. Watching them undulate in waves to make way for the farmer was fascinating. Even the wind chimed in, kicking up whirling ballerina-like wisps of dirt, joining in the fun of it all. We all could feel it, spring is approaching.

The road twisted and turned, making my job as navigator only slightly challenging. This time the customer was in Jonesboro, Arkansas and the lucky recipient of tortellini apparently. Thank you, Stouffer’s. The peak of the day hit when James’ Qualcomm kept beeping in, recognizing a message was received. The number of beeps (or messages) in succession will tell you what kind of message it is. One, it could be anything, usually a safety message. Four means you got a new load and boy had I been eyeing the comm today! You see, ever since I got on the rig, James has had a crack in his windshield. Problem has been that he could never schedule an appointment with the SafeLite people to coincide with his current load. And believe me, in this industry if you aren’t driving, you aren’t making money. Yesterday, he put in a request to be routed through Salt Lake City, Utah (one of their main yards) for maintenance. Hence, my anticipation of the next order. Well, the comm went off it’s customary four times and I yipped, but then, it just kept going. We got TWO loads at once. The first one was short, just under 200 miles, but the second… WE’RE HEADED TO OREGON! 2,200 miles in 5 days. This is going to be so exciting. Just have to make the first load first. So where were we headed next? Memphis, Tennessee! Home of Sun Records, Elvis and honestly God knows what else. As we cross over one of the main bridges into the city, I realize that we have crossed the Mississippi THREE times in the past two days! I’ve also crossed the Missouri and the Illinois Rivers in the past four days. But back to Memphis…

I’ve learned in my short time riding that you can judge a city by it’s bridges, mainly the ones you have to pass under. Typically, the older the city, the lower the bridges. This recent interest in bridges has prompted me to begin taking pictures of them for show and tell (mainly because I have one friend in particular who is scared to death of crossing them!).

Found this one in Kentucky. How tall do you think it is? 

This one surprised me. It turned out to be nearly a mile long!

I thought this one was the most interesting shape of its type.

Taken on the bridge going into Memphis. Beautiful.

Compared to St. Louis, Louisville and Cincinnati, Memphis seems just as crowded, but the drivers here are just about the craziest I’ve seen yet! (Still not as crazy as Atlanta however, because other than hearing the usual stories of drivers getting in accidents because they were angry at other drivers, James heard that a man actually ran into another man for cutting him off in traffic, then got out and SHOT him! Since this is not my story, ask James for more details.) They are rude even when they are not in the right of way (one trucker cussed us out because HE came in the wrong way and was bickering because we wouldn’t move for him!) and people making near suicide pulls out in FRONT of the rig! I don’t know about you, but I tend to wait for a lull in traffic to pull out, not when I see a tractor/trailer coming at me. What little I saw of the skyline left me bewildered because I swear I saw a pyramid in the distance and tried to take a photo of it to no avail. Keeping a close eye on the map made me realize I came within a couple of miles of Graceland, home of the King himself and a place of pilgrimage for many an Elvis fan, including my father. You may not know this, but Elvis died in August of 1977 and according to my parents, three days before their wedding. My mother has always commented that my dad was still mourning over him while saying their vows. Knowing my dad’s affection for the man, I can believe it. So in the long run, anytime I think of one, I automatically think of the other.

My parents on their wedding day. 

For the night we are bunked out in the edge of Memphis and believe me, its not a place you want to go alone, at least from the looks of it. To round out the day, we were thinking about it and we realized that we have crossed state lines 7 times today. From Kentucky to Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, then to Tennessee, Mississippi and ending in Tennessee again. Amazing, don’t you think?