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13:35 - Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2008
afternoon edition happy veterans day!

back in the day when i could afford a car and all the trappings to go with it, i was a "rubber tramp". now, for those who dont know, a "rubber tramp" is a fella who sleeps and lives in his car, or van, or truck. i used to have a 73 t-bird, green, and nice, with a 460 police interceptor innit, tap on the gas and go 100000 miles per second!! yeeeeeee!


the flying t-bird

there it is!! best damn car i ever had! the back seat was 10,000 miles long, and after a good day of cruising down the highway, i'd roll up into a truck stop somewhere, and crawl back in the back and be toasty warm, stretched out nice and comfy, just like folks! wheee!

i had a c.b. radio innit, along with a mini tee vee, a police scanner, and a mini fridge. it was wonderful! took good care of it too!! along the back, i had "flying t-bird" that would light up at night, and run with the truckers! they all thought i was a cop, what it being dark, and all the antennas i had up! hahaha!!! i would pull into a truck stop, and squawk on the CB asking if any the drivers were needing a "lumper". now, a "lumper" is one who unloaded and loaded trailers, and i'd do it cheap, $50 for 40 footers, and 80 for 48 footers. this was back in the day before 52 footers. so, thats how i would get the work, and i'd meet the driver at the truck stop, and we'd talk about what he had usually over dinner. i'd get the cash up front, and in the morning, he'd come by and bang on the window, and after breakfast, i'd follow him to the warehouse where he would then back into a bay and i'd start unloading, generally with an electric pallet jack..

heres a good example of one!

if there wasnt an electric pallet jack available, i'd use a regular one, that you would have to push by hand under the pallet, then pump it up by moving the handle up and down, until the pallet wheeled easily out from the floor of the trailer; then you would have to tug and pull and push the load to where it had to be, generally setting up a staging area near the bay door, so the reciever with the fork lift would count it and inventory the goods before he would take it back to where it had to go.

generally 2-4 hours work for me, and all the while the driver was in his sleeper taking a nap, or setting up his next load. and when i was done i would close up the trailer, and bang on the side of the cab to let the driver know i was done, and sometimes i'd get an extra 20 just because!! and sometimes i wouldnt! thats the way that was!!

drivers would sometimes ask me if i'd just follow them around and work for them exclusively, and sometimes i'd do it, and sometimes not. depends on the personality of the driver, and if i felt like it.

when i drove trucks, i'd always find me a lumper, and i'd get reimbursed for using one from the dispatcher. so lumping money always the company paid for, and sometimes you'd get shiity ones and sometimes you'd get good ones.

the driver is responsible for the load from the time it is put on his trailer until the time that the receiver has accepted it and it is off the trailer and signed for and counted into the inventory. so sometimes you had to watch the lumper to make sure he didnt fuck up the load by spilling it, or what not. it has happened, and if the reciever refuses the load, you are up shits creek.

i used to haul produce, and with hauling produce or refrigerated items, the place where you deliver to would have thier own lumpers employed by them, so you didnt have to find one and pay for it, and once the company owned lumper touched the load, it was considered accepted, and that was that.

so, there ya have it, a tale from back in the day. i dont drive anymore, theres no money innit, and its way too much aggravation these days, not like it was in the old days.

i ran the 73 t-bird for 3 years, and logged well over 100,000 miles innit, many times across the us and canada, and she finally came in for a landing back in 1997 as i was coming into quincy illinois, the engine block cracked open like a cocoanut, and i didnt have 1500 bux for a replacement engine, but the ole flying t-bird did me good, coming in for a landing right 3 blocks from the salvation army, cruised to a stop, folded up her wings, and gave up the ghost. i sold her to a junk man who gave me $100 and hooked up the car and dragged her off to the scrap heap.

seattle waterfront live!

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