Shippers take holidays? Who knew?

As small-town truck stops go, this isn't bad.

It's a "fuel and forget," but there's a fast food place (as many of them have) and a place to sit where you can plug in your laptop (as many of them don't). And the folks are friendly.

Just as well. I'm gonna be here a while.

After dropping off my last load, I sat for an hour or two, waiting for the next load's info. After all, it was a holiday weekend. No sense in nagging my dispatcher. This turned out to be a mistake. I got to the shipper 45 minutes past the end of my pickup window.

Embarrassing, but usually not a serious problem. This time, though...

The lumberyard was silent. Nothing moved. The parking lot was empty, except for one pickup, next to the office door. One vehicle right next to the office usually means a security guard. And sure enough, here he came. "They hung on 'til quittin' time," he said. "Couldn't make the guys work over on New Year's Eve, though, could they?"

Suppose not. So when would they be opening tomorrow?

"Tomorrow? It's a holiday weekend. They'll be opening back up Tuesday morning."

(In case you missed it, this is Friday night.)

Oh, well. At least I might get to church Sunday.

And I'll have some time to think.