In 2008/2009, when the economy turned against us for a while, I began noticing that all of a sudden there was significantly less truck traffic on the roads. I remember talking to people about it and nobody thought too much of it. In 2010, before anyone started to talk about a recovery, truck traffic started to pick back up and on the Interstates, you could feel that things were changing. What is moving on any given day and which way it is moving is a real litmus test of the things going on in the country. Let me give you some examples.The other day I was traveling north on I-35. Stretched out in front of me were 4-5 trucks from Hulcher Services. If you don't know this company, they handle all sorts of rail issues, such as derailments, spills, track damage, etc. They have quite unique equipment and once you have seen their trucks; you will always know who they are. So, based upon the fact that they were heading north with several trucks, I knew there was a derailment somewhere in that direction. This may be something that we hear about on the news, or it may be something that happened in a switch yard, but based on what I saw, something big happened. This is one kind of information that our transportation system gives us.
A couple of weeks ago, I was coming home from Iowa City when I started passing really nice Harley Davidson trucks. After seeing the third or fourth, I wondered what was going on. It did not take long to figure out that the Sturgis Bike Rally was starting the next week and all of this hardware was going to that show. We began to see a large increase in motorcycle traffic heading north and west. Then in the week following, we saw a similar increase going south and east. These are the kind of things that I think of when I say that the Interstate system is like the heartbeat of the country.
The last example that I will give is one that I never did get to the bottom of. A couple of years ago for about two months, I watched truckload after truckload of timbers heading across the Midwest, mostly heading north. They were probably 6 inches square and 20 feet long, not new timbers by any means, but had obviously been used before. Although the number of loads was staggering, I was never able to figure out what they were being used for, or where they were going. If you have any ideas, shoot me a note. I am still interested.
As you can tell, I am always interested in the things that go on around me and what you can learn or infer from them. Honestly, my biggest frustration is not knowing what is inside all of the trucks that have no real information on the outside of them. Are they hauling something to or from Roswell? Is it truckload after truckload of printed transcripts of every cell phone call ever made? What is in all of those trucks? Mostly mundane things I am sure, but I want to know.
Ok, enough of that for the day - other interesting things have happened this week. First, my daughter returned home from camp this week and it is wonderful to have her around. The laughter and the stories echoing through our house have been wonderful. Andrew and Lyndsey are coming up to go to the State Fair and had get here fast …they are missing out on all the fun. Last night Megan and I sat at the State Fair playing a new game: “Real or Not.” The basis of the game is to find someone wearing boots and then decide if they wear them on a daily basis or if it is just something they put on for the Fair. It may sound strange, but we had a great time just sitting, watching people, and deciding.
One final item of note this week; the Toybox has become the proud owner of a twelve foot stepladder. This came from my brother-n-law Neil and is certainly appreciated. It will let me put things higher on the walls in the Toybox and I am sure will be borrowed on occasion by friends and acquaintances. Pretty nice addition to the tool arsenal out there.
Well, have a great week and get out there to see what is moving this week. You never know what you may find.
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