Murphy's World

If only trucks had sails…

Dear Murphy (and Lucky Dog),
I've had a few Murphy moments over my career, but I'd like to share this one with you. It happened in 2004. I got up one morning in Sullivan, MO and began heading for Dallas. It was just like any other day, nothing out of the ordinary. But that soon changed.
     In the span of an hour, the wind began to grow strong, and like it does 98 percent of the time, it was blowing against me. I was on I-44 west, and the wind was coming out of the south.
     When I headed down US 69 in Oklahoma, the wind got really bad. I had more than 42,000 pounds in the trailer. I thought I could make it to Dallas on the fuel I had. (You can see where this is going).
     Once I got down to Dallas, I missed my exit because they had poorly marked it due to construction. So I went another three miles to the next exit in order to turn around. As I was making my way around the U-turn at the exit, the truck finally ran out of fuel. Needless to say, after a few choice words, an angry phone call and $250 later, someone came and fueled me up.
     Sometimes I wish they had sails for these trucks in case someone is fortunate enough to get a tailwind. That might save a little on fuel. God bless.

Dear J.M.,
Thanks for sharing. We can now add the phrase “I thought I could make it to (fill in the blank) on the fuel I had” to the Murphy’s World Hall of Fame Famous Last Words, right alongside “Trust me, you can’t miss it” (the official last word of dispatchers worldwide) and “So far, so good” (seconds before some idiot decides to slam on the brakes right in front of you for no apparent reason).
     Putting sails on trucks is another one of those ideas that sounds good at the time. Remember, this is Murphy’s World we’re talking about. A tailwind might be nice if you’re flying an airplane, but as something of an old salt, I can tell you it ain’t so good if you’re sailing. What you really want for sailing is a nice headwind or slight crosswind so you can tack back and forth across the directional line at a good clip.     
     Try that on the highway and you’ll wipe out every vehicle on both sides of the median. If the wind is strong enough, it might even knock you and your truck for a loop. Like I said, in Murphy’s World, it’s always something.

Regards,

Murphy and Lucky Dog