Sept 7

We spent yesterday in Memphis after bringing a load in from Los Indios, Texas. It’s amazing how many different landscapes you can see in a 24-hour period when you’re driving straight through. Los Indios is about as far south as you can get in Texas, just about 20 miles north of Brownsville and Matamoros at the very tip of the state. The road over there from Laredo skirts the Rio Grande the entire way and you pass a lot of little border towns with names like Roma-Los Saenz, Garciasville, La Joya, and Mission. Each one has its sister city (or more like sister village) just across the border, without much distinction to be seen between the two sides of the only international boundary in the world that separates an industrialized nation from a third world country. In most places, even on the US side, it has a distinctly third world feeling anyway. There are miles and miles of sugar cane growing on both sides of the road that stretches between these dusty little towns. When we finally reached McAllen, it started to feel like civilization again. We passed by all of the Chili’s, Applebee’s, Outback Steakhouses, and even the fast food places and stopped on the outskirts to eat at a little mom and pop Mexican restaurant. The man at the counter didn’t speak a word of English, and six semesters of college Spanish failed me miserably, but somehow we managed to order some fajita tacos and soft drinks. The waiter (same guy who was at the counter) brought us each a cup of freshly cooked pinto beans with cilantro and onions cooked in to give them a soup-like consistency. They were wonderful, and the tacos were pretty tasty, too, so we were glad that we took a chance on a local place for lunch (or was it an early dinner? I can hardly keep up with the times when we’re running down the road at all hours). We ended up at a loading dock in Los Indios for Panasonic. We were hauling a lot of electronic components including new radios for the Toyota assembly plant in Indiana, but we were only taking them as far as Memphis, where another truck would pick them up at a cross dock. The warehouse employees were all Mexicans with limited English as well, and after we backed up to the dock, the foreman handed Jim a stack of about 10 sheets of paper – packing lists for the 11 large pallets of parts, and told him that we were responsible for completing an inventory of the freight before they would bring the forklift to load it. Each pallet was shrink-wrapped and had several labels and manifests visible beneath the plastic. This was the first time we’d ever been told to do anything like that, since our contract with Panther specifies 99% no-touch freight, but we jumped in, figured out their labeling system, and (over 3 hours later) finally verified that it was all there. All of this in the humid August climate near the coast and with Panther calling every few minutes wondering why we hadn't headed toward Memphis yet. But we got there in plenty of time after driving all night. It rained almost all the way as we drove past Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Austin, Waco, Dallas, Little Rock, and finally arrived in Memphis. After unloading and waiting for most of the day, we got an offer to pick up a shipment at a cross dock there in Memphis from another driver who was out of hours on his DOT logs. The freight was bound for the Caterpillar plant in Decatur, Illinois. The route to the cross dock took us right by Graceland, but, sad to say, we didn’t get to stop to pay tribute to the King :) I’m not a big Elvis fan, anyway, but the grounds around the mansion were pretty. When get got to the Caterpillar Plant in Decatur, Illinois, I told Jim I wanted to be the guy who sold these people yellow paint! There are acres of brand new loaders, dozers, huge dump trucks, wheels, buckets - you name it - and everything in sight is Cat Yellow. (Here are some pictures, as requested, Josh.) Anyway, Jim said they probably make their own paint, so there went my latest scheme for an early retirement. The guy at the guard house when we entered the yard was a little bit rude from what Jim told me. He smirked and said “You’ve never been here before, have you?” Jim said, “No sir, I haven’t,” and he said “Well then you don’t have any idea where gate 8 is unless I tell you.” Jim is more refined than I am. I would have looked the guy in the eye and said “Ooooo, the power!” (That’s why I stay in the truck at guard shacks and loading docks :), which is, in turn, why I'm still alive! I think this area must be the soybean capital of the world considering the fields full of them. There are a lot of corn fields, too, though, and both are turning gold at this time of year, so it’s pretty sight. The fields are very uniform in nature. I’ll bet they make a lovely patchwork design when seen from the air. After we get unloaded here, we’re going to look for a nice place to eat lunch, and then see what comes up next. We’re only about 150 miles from Indianapolis, so we may deadhead over there, check our mail, and see what’s moving around there. Drop us a line and let us know how you are doing. Jim says Hi! Oh, and thanks for the pictures of you and Jonathan, Ashley. I’m posting one of those as well. Now if we can just get one of Doug and Bethany . . . hint, hint. And finally, I don't know how many of you know Chad and Michelle Kuhl, but please keep them and their son, Kasey, in your prayers. He was injured in a hunting accident last week. He was shot in the knee at point blank range, and they still don't know what the outcome with be. They are dear friends, and can use all of the prayers that we can lift up for them. We love you all. Please take care. Here are some pictures - Tulip Farms and corn test crops near Goshen, Indiana Amish buggies in Ohio The St Louis Arch (kind of makes you crave half of a Big Mac for some strange reason) Stadium in St Louis Palm Trees in Laredo!! Downtown La Joya on the Mexican border A Spanish style bank building on the border Pictures from the Caterpillar plant in Decatur, Illinois