NOTE: The following is a run down of our trip to New York while Hurricane Floyd was moving in on the East Coast. Words can not begin to describe what this trip was truly like. Anyone who was out there knows what it felt like and what our truckers were up against and dealing with.

We can call locally here, but not everyone is working as far as phones go. The schools have waivers up for the kids who can't or don't make it because some people around here are still without power and the kids won't make it. Mine are home with me today because of course with no power from 4 p.m. yesterday until this morning we couldn't set the alarm clocks to get us up. Paul just left to deliver a load that should have already been there this morning (09/17/99) but he couldn't get out of town and we didn't have power to set the alarms to get him up at 3:00 a.m. and I sure wasn't staying up until 3:00 in the dark, quiet house to get him up.

It was awful out there on the road. Just awful. Trucks were blowing all over the place, the rain it was just amazing how hard it came down in some places. I can't even describe what we went through coming home last night (09/16/99) but I'll try. I do wish I'd of had a video camera with me though it was incredible for sure. We're 80,000 lb. loaded and the winds were just picking us up and rocking us all over the place. At first it was pushing us down the road. We had a tail wind for a long time and then we got side winds and that's when it got really scary. We went to Rochester N.Y. rather easy run and what should have taken us 6 hours to do, took us almost 10 1/2 hours to do.

We headed out from here around 8:00 p.m. Wed. night went to the yard to get the trailer and head to Rochester, the rain had started but it wasn't anything really heavy at the time. We trucked our way along pretty good. Paul's appointment was for 5 a.m., we got to Dansville, N.Y. (just above) on 390, and that's when Paul and I had a argument. We had been getting along so good, but then he dozed behind the wheel and started off the road. I screamed at him (I know error screaming, but I was scared and my life seem to of flashed before my eyes at the time) I yelled, "And where the hell do you think you are going?" He jerked the wheel and tried to give me this crock of a story about thinking he saw something run across the road. Why not just risk it being late? I just don't get it. There is nothing more important than life it's self and the family that sits home waiting.

I told him, you "LISTEN!" we are already late with this load and there is no load or anything else in this world worth taking my life for. None! Now you pull this truck over and get some sleep (time was 4:45 a.m.) or I'm going to get another trucker to take me south bound and go home. I was so upset when he did that. He's so responsible when it comes to getting sleep and I don't know why he felt this load was an exception to the rule.

All my years with him (almost 20), I've only had that happened to me one other time and it scared me then, but I was a lot younger then to. My chest tightened so badly because I was that scared (to my right when you looked out the passenger window and in the direction he was headed there was a gully and way down there, was the valley. The street lights looked like the flickering flames on a small candle. It was way down there.) I couldn't shake this chest tightness to save my butt ..... Sorry, but I'd much rather hit a stone wall at least I have a chance of making it to the bunk before we hit, but dropping a couple hundred, thousand feet I wouldn't have a chance of making it, because we'd of been crushed.

I hit the roof, I told him, I'm out here fighting for our drivers and you, you don't have to be that one poor example just because you are worried about this load being late. I have babies sitting at home waiting for a mother and father to return and I'll tell you what Paul maybe you chose not to return home, but one of us is going back! I have nothing written up that in the event something would happen to one or both of us, what should happen with my children. I'm not leaving my kids motherless, and I would appreciate not leaving them without a father to.

I told him I will personally call the bossman the next time he does that to report it. His boss is a great guy. He'll hang around the shop down there and talk to the drivers who come and go and the first question he ask his drivers before they head out is "Did you get enough rest?" He really watches over his drivers and only has their best interest, safety and well being on his mind. He is truly sincere about it to. A driver could not ask for a nicer more caring employer then the boss my husband has now. I was sincere when I told Paul if he ever pulled that stunt again, I would personally call the bossman. There is no explanation or reason for a tired driver behind the wheel of a truck, car or anything else. Pull it off the road and risk being late! Don't risk your life or the lives of others!

Paul pulls off the side of the road (time 4:55 a.m.) he sleeps until 7:30 a.m. and heads down the road. We are 43 miles from where we have to deliver. He's complaining that we'll have to sit there all day, or we'll be lucky if they take this load. I stayed calm and said so what? At least we're alive. This load in price and loss of revenue can never compare to our lives. So what?! We have to stay there big deal. You'll get more sleep and we're all ok. I originally went along because the boys are seldom home, their always at a friends, now that their teenagers, and even spend the night at friends during school days because Nathan drives them to school, so why should Joseph and I sit here and twiddle our thumbs? It also gives me a chance to spend time with Paul which I seldom get these days anymore, and truthfully I'm missing my husband and need some time with him, I'll take it any way I can get it ........

Anyways ..... we make it to Rochester N.Y. as luck would have it, we only had to wait an hour to get into the door (Paul sleeps). A lot of trucks didn't show up for their appointments and we lucked out. 40 minutes later we get backed in and Paul has to unload it, but at their pace. The driver can't do anything as far as running the stuff off the trailer or nothing. He/she can't break it down inside the trailer, so naturally the guy running the lift took his good ole' time unloading that trailer. Total of 30 skids on the trailer for them. There were six skids on the trailer yet to be broke down and wouldn't you know it? It was lunch time, so Paul came out to the truck and waited for them to get off their lunch break.

We get done at 1:45 p.m. have one skid left on the trailer so we head to the second stop to deliver. Backed us right in pulled it right off and off we go to Leroy N.Y. to get loaded. Loaded right away (loaded at Seneca Foods. Nice bunch of people over there. They are always so quick and also so friendly when you go in there) ... while we sat there the skies opened up, it poured, the rains dumped down on us. It started getting pretty ugly up there. All I could think about was how things were going here at home. Called Cheryl (where the boys were staying) to check in on the weather here in Williamstown and surrounding areas and see how everyone was. She said it's a mess around here and the boys are fine. They had football practice until 6:00 p.m. (it was 3:30 p.m. when we checked in) we told her we'd call back around 8:30 p.m. to talk to the boys, she should let them know to stick around for our call.

So now we are loaded and headed home. The winds were just rocking us. We couldn't travel any faster then 30 m.p.h. down the highways, sometimes we were all the way down to 20-25 m.p.h. and we had a line of traffic five miles long behind us. If they were mad to bad for them because Paul was working his butt off to keep the truck on the road at times. We hit 390 and traffic was at a crawl out there to, so we didn't feel bad, we were not the only ones who weren't in a hurry. 65 m.p.h. normal and we're crawling down the road at 30-35 m.p.h. the winds were pushing us across the white lines and everything. We are 22 miles from Dansville N.Y., Paul ask if we should stop to eat there at the TSA? I said to him let's just grab a cup of coffee to go and hit the road. My insides were a wreck and I just wanted to make it as far as we could make it. I suggested stopping at Fry's Turkey Ranch to eat. Now why I said that is beyond me, but that seemed to be where I wanted to eat and all. I mean we're talking another 2-3 hours plus down the road. With the winds and rain it was plus hours. Took us 4 1/2 hours to get there. In Blossburg just outside of Mansfield there were trees down across 15 and we had to watch out for that. Weaved in and out of the trees going up the mountain there in Blossburg. That was about the worst other than the winds and rains coming down from N.Y. ... That construction they have going on up there in Blossburg and Mansfield for the new by-pass was a mess, there's mud all over the roads and everything, it has poor drainage and the waters are just gushing off the sides of the mountain side onto the road below where trucks and cars are traveling, this caused problems because whenever we'd hit that run off water it tried dragging us into the bank off the side of the road.

The CB radio was nuts with emergency calls and everyone letting everyone else know what was ahead of them. Trees down every where you could think of, heard N.Y.C., N.J. and those areas had shut down all bridges into the city, even heard on the CB that a tractor trailer was blown off the Bay Bridge between N.J. and Philly, but haven't heard anything in news reports to confirm that. I sure hope and pray that's not true. I wouldn't doubt it because of the winds and all, but I pray if it is true that trucker was able to get out of that truck. Drivers were held up every where you looked. The ones headed for N.J. and N.Y.C. halted in their tracks and called it a night. There was no sense going all the way over there and getting stuck (from what I saw on the news here this morning when the power finally came on they made a good choice for sure). I heard drivers admit they were scared and I'm sure there were many more who were worried, scared and nervous, who didn't say anything either.

We make it to the Turkey Ranch, the winds were all but laying us over to a leaning position. I was really concerned we'd be inside and that tractor and trailer would lay over onto the guys truck parked beside us, so Paul backed it some just to be safe. An easy walk inside to eat, took us the longest time because the winds kept pushing us backwards. We finally made it. Soaked from head to toe, freezing from the wet rains and the a/c they had on inside, but we made it. So we eat, drink coffee, talk, listen to others stories and experiences and run. We are heading down Steam Valley Mountain and there are trees down in the left lane and farther down in the right lane. We were back and forth all the way down that big mountain. I was worried about four wheelers coming down the mountain hitting those trees in the dark, so I had Paul tell drivers going North Bound to stop at the Turkey Ranch and let everyone know there were trees down coming down the mountain. A driver stopped in and let everyone know about it. Phew!

Creeks all looked good in Williamsport, didn't look bad at all really. That eased my mind about my Aunt, my sisters, and my dad and stepmom seeing that the river was not real high considering all the rain Williamsport got from Dennis. They had just had 7 inches the week before and I wasn't sure how they would make out with all this rain. I'm not sure how things went for them once the rains actually stopped and with all the run off water coming off the mountains. I hope everyone is still ok up there.

Homeward Bound, I'm feeling ok, but when we reached Muncy I got a panic attack and told Paul to stop as soon as he could find a place and call home. We stopped and called home. Kept getting a recording that the service is out, that the number don't work, all negative recordings. My mother instinct goes into gear when something is wrong and I just had a rotten feeling about things here at home. We had pulled out of the Turkey Ranch at 8:03 p.m. to head home, I was feeling pretty good because I saw my dad up there with my step mom at the Turkey Ranch, saw the river and creeks so all was what I thought to be calm. Then that panic attack hit me ....... phew and it was a big one to. That call home and getting the recordings had me a wreck. I told Paul let's get home something's wrong. Paul kept telling me I am a worry wort and of course after hearing this half a dozen times I got ticked off and we started arguing again. I can't help myself. I try biting my tounge, but sometimes it don't always work out. MY mouth flies into gear and I let it go .... Is it normal for husbands to always tell us we worry to much? Mine gets more upset when he finds out my feelings were right. Then he don't know what else to say after that. I just look at him and say, "See all that yelling for what? Should have just listened to me."

Now we are only an hour from home and I can't reach my kiddos. No way, no how are we stopping for anything. Not with what I was feeling at that point. We get to Northumberland and there are leaves and trees down across the road on 147, again weave around them, cross the river (river still looks good around here) traveling 147 and we see lights (it's dark outside by now, pitch black actually) slow down, it's a crew cutting up trees across the road, there's a train halted on the tracks running to the right hand side of us because trees were across the railroad tracks, we pass the crew on what is now one lane of traffic only. Go about another mile and more trees down.

We get to Herndon and it's shut down. Trees and lines down every where. No power. They detour us down a cow path. No joke we were in a semi and actually on a cow path running out through farm lands. I had the camera with me and tried to take a picture of it, but it was dark and the flash stuck on me, so I don't know how well they will turn out or anything. Two vehicles couldn't pass on this road and yet we managed when they were coming towards us (only three cars, but three too many). Thank heaven there were no other trucks on this road or we'd of all had a problem. We were headed home it's all familiar to us, but we've never travel out the farm land roads ever in all the time we've lived here. We saw land we didn't even know existed out there. Ended up a 22 mile detour through farm land. We get to Pillow and the roads are closed there as well, another detour on yet more roads we've never been on and didn't know what was a ahead of us.

Skinny roads, small bridges and everything, taking tree limbs with us and leaving a mud trail along the way because of mini mud slides that were across the roads.

The fire and police officers were great to us when we approached these areas. They kept referring to Paul as big boy. The one fire women come up to the truck and said, Well hey there big boy, we'll get you through here as best we can and take care of you. They talked to Paul on their radios over the CB and got us through there. People in four wheelers travel across these roads were flashing their lights to warn us of what is ahead of us and signaling to us about dangers on the road. They were such a big help and I was really impressed with how everyone watched over us traveling through these country lands. (((HUGS))) to them all across 147, 225, 25, 209 etc. from Selinsgrove to Williamstown, PA. They were great! They did a super job of watching out for us.

There were no lights any where across there. It was like a spook movie. Not one light shining except the lights on top of the fire cars and the flash lights of the firemen, and our headlights of course. I said to Paul, I had a really bad feeling about what we are heading home to. Every single town we went through down this way had no electricity. We reach Elizabethville, no power (it's now 10:55 p.m.) what was an hour home was now 2 1/2 hours so far and we still had a long way to go. So to shorten this trip up, we come all the way home down 209 and there's not a light in sight except our head lights and the flashing lights of police cars where the signal lights and blinkers are. The scariest feeling you've ever experienced. Out here in the mountains it was pitch black. I instantly thought of Steven King and what a wild time he could have with this enviorment right now. We came through made the left hand turn towards town where Paul drops the trailer and I started to cry. I kept saying my babies, I can't believe that my babies were here alone while I was out there risking everything to go on a trip with my husband to make sure he was safe and so I could be by his side.

Paul dropped the trailer and I said to him I pray those boys didn't come home because we told Cheryl we should be home by 8:30 p.m. I was worried they were sitting in the dark here waiting for us. I know their big boys but I am so protective of my kiddos and hate the idea of them going through anything alone. I'll be like that forever I'm sure. Anyways they were fine. They went to a friends house who happen to be alone because her mom and dad were stranded some where so they kept her company. We called over there to let them know we were home and they were soon home with us about 20 minutes later. Her mom and dad just happen to get home ten minutes before we called.

I had lanterns burning in the house and it was not a comforting feeling to look up and down the streets and not be able to see a thing in sight, not even your own hand, it was so dark. Finally around 1 a.m. we still had no power and I told everyone to hit the hay. Paul was already in bed because he was suppose to head out at 3:00 a.m., but he didn't make it. I followed the boys upstairs with the lantern and got them all settled in. Joseph did not want to go to bed because it was dark and I sure wasn't going to leave that lantern burning so I went out to Paul's truck and got his flashlight. I laid it on the dresser pointing towards the ceiling and Joseph was fine with that just as long as he had some light in here. The flashlight burned all morning and is still strong surprisingly.

Being with out power for all those hours was a good trial for everyone around these areas. With all the talk about Y2K and everything this was a chance for those of us up here in the mountains to see how we could get by, what we had, didn't have, what we needed and what we should stock up on for later down the road here, if by chance Y2K does happen to cause any real problems.

We were traveling down the roads with the winds and rains and I sat there watching the trees shaking and blowing around. As hard as the winds were at times I was in awe over how graceful the trees swayed back and forth. I don't have a clue why I said what I said, but after I said it I thought maybe it's true. I looked at those trees and said to Paul don't they look so peaceful swaying like that? Here we had this awful heat wave over the summer and they kind of looked like they were there, but not awake. They stood so still and looked so drab at times. Then to see them swaying like this in the winds and rains it's almost like the higher powers were shaking them awake. Come on sleepy heads it's time to wake up. Here's some water to revive you and here's some winds to shake the tightness out of your limbs. To look at them it really did appear to me that they were waking up. The trees that had fallen, some were young, some were old, it felt to me, like the circle of life that we ourselves experience, except I was feeling it through the trees. With all the fear and tenseness I was feeling on that whole trip this was the most peaceful time for me believe it or not.

From what we were told the power came back on around 4:15 a.m., school was open because with the phone lines down no one could get hold of anyone to call the delay so they are giving the kids who don't make it a waiver, so today won't be considered an absence. We have a huge football game tonight and they were really worried about having to cancel that. It was said it could be 24-48 hours before the power was restored around this way. A football game with no lights would have been interesting. We all agreed last night if we had to, all those who drive would light up that field with the headlights of our cars so we could have a football game tonight *LOL* Phones still are not working right this morning. Called the school and they couldn't transfer calls around the school, then I called back and was told the number does not work. My phone hasn't rang at all today and that's really unusual to not have my phone ringing first thing in the mornings by the boys friends checking on things.

I can't believe how cold it is around here this morning. I actually had to turn the heat on when the power came on this morning.

Whelp let me get the boys off to school here they have a pep rally and from what I am told all the kids are attending even though most of them didn't make it to school today. School is ok with it and it won't go against them. This is a big big big game for sure. If we beat Halifax tonight we'll be tied with them. Their 2-0 and we're 1-1. It's going to be packed there tonight. I have to go dig out my winter duds so I'm warm tonight. If I can't get warm, I don't go .....

Paul should be in Maryland as I write this. He called the company and they were able to get the place to receive the goods, so that load is or at least should be history now. He got a full night's sleep (unplanned) and was well rested this morning, had his morning coffee, got to see all the kids and hear what they had to share with him/us. It was a perfect morning even though he wasn't where he was suppose to be.

I can honestly say even if I had woke up around 3:00 a.m. when Paul wanted to head out, I would have ignored the clock and let him sleep. What could he do? Besides get mad at me, rant and rave a little bit? I can live with that *smile*

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