Haulin' air

I haven't seen a pager in a while.

Some of you may remember those--the gadgets that would beep plaintively if someone was trying to contact you. A victim of the cell-phone tsunami, they are now relegated to bars in crowded restaurants, where they sit ignonomously under your drink until your table is ready.

This one is old-school, with a belt clip and everything. When it goes off, I will push a button on the side and it will tell me what door to back into. A clever use of old technology.

("Old technology"! Lord!)

Once I get unloaded, I will then do something I have never done before. Well, not on this scale. I've been told, as soon as I'm unloaded, to start south to our terminal in Atlanta.

About 800 miles.

With an empty trailer.

If the Company had its way, trailers would never move at all unless some shipper was paying for the privilege. An empty trailer moving means a truck is towing it. Burning fuel. Wearing out parts. Being driven by someone they have to pay.* They don't like that.

So why are they paying for 800 miles worth of it?

My best guess is, they're getting ready for Christmas. Too many trailers in the Northeast, not enough down South, and National Shopping Day on the horizon. So I'm hauling a load of New Jersey air to Atlanta so they can trade it for some toys for WalMart(tm). Better than defaulting on a contract because they didn't have enough trailers.

No matter. Long as they're paying.

*That last part varies from company to company. It's still not that uncommon for a driver to eat any time he spends not UNDER a load. But the one I work for pays for every mile I'm TOLD to drive. If I unload at Point A and they send me to Point B for my next load, I get paid for driving there.