[CH] The great Red Savina(R) run- a long one
jim@wildpepper.com
Mon, 17 Nov 2003 11:22:53 -0500
This story is posted at the request of Cardinal Cameron. Humorous in
some parts, pathetic in most others :-)
The things we do for greed....
The chiles in this part of the US (Midwest) ran VERY late this year.
Faced with a prediciton of 28 F October 8th, which they wouldn't
survive, and no appreciable harvest yet, I hit the panic button.
Needing chiles to survive and knowning that the rest of the country's
crop was coming to an end as well, I got on the phone and attempted to
find some Red Savina(R) at a livable price. Thinking that was going to
be my biggest problem, I was happy when I located 6,000 lbs about 2
hours north and west of LA. Couldn't have done it without the
inestimatable generosity of Frank & Mary Garica, owners of the Red
Savina(R) either. Incredibly they gave me permission to have at it with
a minimum of restrictions.
Having negotiated a price, I then set out to find a trucking company
that was interested in running 'reefer LTL'. Not what you think Rael
;-) Finding a trucking company that was interested in picking up Less
Than Truckload and running it refrigerated from the boondocks of
California to Columbus Ohio proved to be impossible, within my time
constraints. Two solid days were spent on the phone in which I talked
to no less than 32 different trucking companies and 8 different truck
brokerage outfits. No luck at all. Only half jokingly, while talking
to a buddy of mine who flies for American Airlines, I asked if he knew
of a cheap ticket to LA & I'd just fly out there and drive the danged
things back myself. It turns out, he could get me out there for free.
Hmmmm.... this is almost sounding do-able.
Next obstacle was to find a rental truck with a 6,000+ weight capacity
that would rent one-way from CA to OH. There are exactly three
choices: Budget, Penske, and U-haul. Ryder & Yellow both sold that
part of the business to Budget. A 24' straight truck was located only
about two hours away from the pick up point. Now, mind you, the biggest
thing I drive is my Dodge Dakota pick up truck. I am not comfortable
driving 'big rigs' & detest doing so. Smaller is better to me. It was
a big step up for me when I went from my Honda CRX to the wife's Buick
LeSabre a few years ago. Most folks find that surprising 'cause their
first comment is always 'well, if you can drive that firetruck you'll
have no problem with this'. Let me explain something... I DON'T DRIVE
the blessed firetruck!! You don't WANT me to drive the firetruck. And
besides, on those thankfully VERY rare occasions when I DO drive, folks
are required BY LAW to get the heck out of my way! The drivers in LA,
and much of the rest of the US for that matter, felt no such
restrictions in yeilding to just another yellow truck :-) Interesting
to say the least.
Chiles located, truck found, airfare arranged. Next problem- I don't
fly. I used to fly all the time in high school & have even sky dived
before but have had an aversion to flying since my early 30's. I know
that, in theory, that pilot wants to live as much as I do, but still
those aren't MY hands on the wheel. Silly again, I know, especially
when one considers that I run INTO burning buildings for a living but I
just don't believe in pushing my luck on some things:-) Flying just
isn't natural. The pilot didn't help much, when preparing for our
landing into Burbank CA, he preps us with the following warning:
"Folks, we're approaching Burbank now and those of you familiar with
this airport know that the runway is rather short for an aircraft of our
size. The landing will be rather abrupt so as to make sure that after
we touchdown in Burbank, we STOP in Burbank. For you first timers, we
will be applying maximum breaking upon touchdown, so brace yourselves."
What a thrill ;-)
The chiles were picked up without incident, and it was a site to see- a
warehouse filled with hundreds of thousands of pounds of habaneros- red
and orange. 40' to the ceiling and as far as the eye could see. The
seller was rather impressed when I chomped off the end of one to check
for quality (outstanding!). He was of obvious Hispanic decent &
remarked 'so much for steroetypes- I wouldn't consider even touching one
to my tongue & some rubio takes a whole bite!' :-)
I'd forgotten how beautiful it was out in CA. The chiles were loaded by
8 PM EST & I set out across the mountains under a gorgeous full moon for
a non-stop drive to Columbus OH. The trip itself was (thankfully)
rather un-eventful. I was socked in by weather the second night,
somewhere outside Tulsa OK by pea-soup fog. I couldn't even see the
front of the truck & decided that it was probably time to take a nap
after being up 36 hours anyway. I called CaJohn to let him know my
estimated arrival time in another 24 hours. I arrived in Columbus at 8
PM 48 hours after setting out. Watching that third sunset from behind
the wheel of that truck was one of the toughest things I've ever had to
do. My right arm ached for weeks afterwords from having held a two day
death grip on the steering wheel.
This was probably the dumbest thing I'd ever done in my life & let me
tell you, that encompasses quite a bit :-) There was always the talk of
'beer runs' in high school and 'road trips' in college & back then they
sounded romantic and adventurous. HAH! The truck got 5 miles to the
gallon. I stopped every 250 miles to put 50 gallons of gas in,
sometimes at $2/gl. The seat did not adjust, recline or move in any
fashion whatsoever. It was only AFTER the trip that I found out that it
was actually supposed to stop at all those weigh stations I blew by and
scales you see on the road side. This, despite asking that specific
quesiton of the folks who I picked the truck up from. I was
non-commerical & didn't need to stop they said. I was only glad I
didn't find out the hard way! I can imagine the look on the State
Troopers face as I try to explain my story :-) It'd be directly into
the straight jacket and padded van for a trip to the nearest state
sanitorium for sure! Or, arrested for assault when he opens up the back
of the trailer and takes his first breath ;-)
I won't even get into the part about 72 hours of straight processing
once I got to Columbus ;-) As much as CaJohn & I depend on habaneros
for our living, we were both pretty much done with them by the time the
last one got processed.
Folks, next time you see one of those big yellow trucks on the road you
might do well to consider something; that isn't necessary a professional
behind the wheel. Sometimes it's just a plain idiot :-)
-Jim C
Mild to Wild(R)
Oh, and did I mention that the 28 F never happened & I came back from
this trip to find my fields in full glory and producing madly? :-)