Freight seemed to pick up on the east coast, and Shelly, my new lead dispatcher, convinced me to camp out there while the getting was good.
"East coast is where the money is, hun. You take a load out of Amarillo to Charleston, South Carolina for me, then I'll have you working the piers between Baltimore and Norfolk. That cool," she said, as she would regulate me to running containers out of the ports in those locations.
I wasn't the biggest fan of pulling the 20 to 45 foot steel boxes hauled in via ships that crossed the Atlantic, as working in the ports tended to be an unnecessary hassle.
"You'll be working with broker companies, doing a lot of the drop and hooks as their local guys will do the in and outs of the ports," she said. "Can you help me out Wayne?"
Shelly didn't lie, and for that I'd come through for her as she always came through for me. I got unloaded in Charleston, then took a light load from Columbia, South Carolina to the Norfolk area, and dropped my trailer at one of the broker's yards, then continued by hustling containers. I'd end up loving it, as I ran up and down I-95 a lot between New Jersey and the southern tip of North Carolina, running into old, and new faces, drivers mainly, at numerous places.
"You've been through here four times this week. I know you ain't in love with our cheddar biscuits," said Herman.
"So you choose to put my business all in the street," I joked, as he and his crew laughed.
Herman was the manager of a food joint that was attached to a truck stop just north of Baltimore, as I ran a few boxes from that port up to Trenton, New Jersey a few times and would stop at his establishment. He gave me shit in his native Maryland drawl, stretching out the "u" sound in many of his words as I could tell he was looking to befriend me.
"I've seen your pretty ass truck pull into the lot and my eyes blew up," he said, referring to my tractor.
I thanked him on this particular day as he was working the register while talking trash, showing his gapped smile on that nice, brown bear body of his.
"I been wanting a nice crab cake. You know where to find one," I asked.
"Tell you what: you coming through here Friday," he asked. "If so, I'll treat you to one of the best that Maryland has to offer.
"Hell, I want one now," I said with laughter, as he had my mouth watering.
I'd leave with the biscuits, nodding goodbye to everyone, then heading back to the truck to drive to the yard with a biscuit hanging out of my mouth, gnawing on the cheesy goodness before unhooking my trailer at the yard, then bobtailing back to the truck stop as I planned to spend the night. I parked, cut the engine, then made a bag of toiletries and clean clothes as I wanted to take a shower and slumber. I walked across the lot and back into the establishment as he was chatting with the cashiers, getting ready to exit.
"Damn trucker, you came back quicker than I thought," he said to me.
"Well, I'm ready for them crab cakes," I said with a chuckle.
"Hell, I'm hungry right now. You wanna go out and get one," he asked.
I looked down at my bag, then him as I was tad reluctant.
"Come on. Hell, I'll bring you back for a shower. Come enjoy a meal with me," he said, as he would bid adieu to his workers, and we'd talk through the double doors together.
We climbed into his Nissan Pathfinder and started chatting, as he offered free room and board for the night.
"You got any freight lined up for tonight or tomorrow," he asked.