Hit by Truck
5 August, 2008
I leave New York City on a sticky July afternoon, travelling with the Bolt Bus to Philadelphia –Elizabeth’s hometown– to continue the Trucker Research. Bolt Bus is what used to be the China Town Bus. One can travel  from the heart of New York City to the heart of Philadelphia for a mere 10 dollars.
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Philly car trouble, or: “The worst part is: we didn’ t get to do any research!”
One evening Elizabeth and Suzanne get on the road to go to Elizabeth’s mother’s house because there is an interview lined up the next day with two truckers. As they leave Philly, getting on the highway, E tries to merge into very fast traffic, as S tries to get the CB to work. As well as it worked earlier that day, the radio stopped working altogether. (more…)
Fuel and on to Philadelphia
17 July, 2008
Rising diesel fuel costs has been a topic all drivers were eager to talk about. In this era of oil wars truckers get fired if companies find out they idle too long at truck stops to keep the cabin cool. Every day, smaller companies (about 90 percent of all trucking in the US is done by companies that operate 6 trucks or less) are filing for bankruptcy. Trucker P. decided to cancel his plans for owning his own small company and decided to work for a bigger one so he doesn’ t have to do all the worrying.
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CB Radio
10 July, 2008
Two days ago we went back to our most favorite place in Portland, Jubitz truck stop, to buy a CB radio. CB stands for Citizen’s Band and is a “system of short-distance radio communications between individuals on a selection of 40 channels within the 27 MHz(11 meter) band” as described on wikipedia.
P. the Trucker
8 July, 2008
When we hung out at a truck stop in Portland last friday, the 4th of July, we met trucker P.
P. is a retired marine. ” There are two types of marines”, he says. ” Dead and alive.” He declines our offer to buy him some coffee. He is about to take a nap. He just drank some cocktails. Wants to be fresh for the Honky Tonk later on (live country music at the Pondorosa Lounge) Says that you have a good view on the fireworks from a flatbed truck. He is stuck in town. He was supposed to deliver his load last night, but got in too late. Now he can’t deliver until Sunday night 7pm. He works for a company that pays him by the mile. No worries about money. “I have so much fun I can’t believe they pay me to do it.” (more…)