Monday, Monday....so sad to me...

Who was that? The Mommas and the Pappas? No, The Moody Blues! Now THAT would be appropriate!

I had an 8 am appointment Monday morning to get my truck aligned and 2 minutes into the deal, the mechanic shows me that my rear axle is SEVERLY out of whack. I'm talkin 2" difference between the left side and right side clearence betweeen the front of the tire and the wheel well!!!

(Flashback) - about 6 weeks ago, I was in a small town just east of Kansas City for the night. I had dropped my trailer but left my tailgate down since I was going to re-connect early the next morning. I then drove around and found a dead-end street with a cul-d'sac to park and spend the night. After a few hours (watching a video) a city policeman stopped by to check on me (a truck parked by itself on a dead-end street is suspicious in small town, USA). Everything was cool!

I climbed into my little sleeper but was rudely awakened about 2:30am when I felt my truck rolling down a hill (or so it felt). Dazed and confused, I lept into the drivers seat trying to grab brakes and throw it into gear and get my truck to stop -- which it eventually did after several seconds. As reality was slowly taking control (guess I was sleeping pretty hard), I realized there where red taillights in my rearview mirrow that shouldn't be there.

A tractor trailor had swung into the cul-d'sac and then backed into the rear of my truck pushing me about 15' into the field! He claimed to have ..."not seen me." RIIIIIGHT! Coincidently, the same policeman responded to my 911, the other driver was cited and I now have an insurance claim.

Originally I thought a crushed tailgate was the only damage and could be simply repaired at my liesure. Apparently, because the parking break was set, a pin broke that aligns the rearend thru the leaf springs to the frame while being shoved by the big-truck. This discovery now made repairs critical since this became a safety issue. So, my truck is presently in the repair shop here in Belleville. They tell me at least a week! And where do you find a rental vehicle to tow my flatbed with? So now we have lost income - perhaps.

Alas, as with most dark clouds, there is a silver lining. My best friend - Dennis - is scheduled for a surgery Wed morning. He needs a ride to the hospital 90 miles away. He has a small delivery (truck) service that he will be unable to do for a few weeks. So, I will become 'Dennis' for a bit while he is in the hospital. He gets a ride, his business has no interuptions, I get a place to stay and possibly make a few $$$ -- everyone wins!

You see what an awesome life I have! How blessed am I? So, our lesson for the day: No matter how dark it looks there is ALWAYS a glimmer of light somewhere! You just have to keep looking. Many times it's not right in front of you. Have you ever noticed, like in a really dark room, you can see better using your peripheral vision -- concentrate on 'seeing' what's off at an angle. And so too are many things in life.

'Till next time.