by Tom Molnar

Duke stops at the bottom of the freeway exit ramp. Well, he almost stops. No sense having to go all the way down to first gear. He makes a left under the overpass and heads for the truckstop on the other side. It's a busy night and the fuel island is almost full.

But Duke isn't here for fuel. He's here to get coffee and flirt with whichever waitress is unlucky enough to be on duty.

He pulls through one of only two unoccupied fueling lanes, hoping to find a parking place on the other side. He squints in the bright lot lights, shading his eyes as if he was on the beach on a sunny day. No good. He can't see any open spots. No problem for Duke, however. He just pulls up a ways, stops his truck, lights one of his Black Russians, and hops out pulling on his fancy B.S. Trucking jacket as he goes. Hell, he won't be long, and he's not causing any problems. The guy behind him pulls into the other open fuel lane - to fuel.

______________________________________________________________________________

Ned drives for C.R. England trucking company. Been with them for almost three years, and likes the job. He's coming up on one of the company's fuel stops and his fuel is getting low.

"Better stop for fuel", he thinks. Besides, Ned is out of coffee, and that's almost more important than the fuel. He exits the freeway, stops at the stop sign, makes a left, and heads for the truckstop on the other side of the freeway.

"Damn", he mutters under his breath. "Where's the party?" He eyes the full house. He sees one lane sort of open. The truck isn't actually IN the lane. It looks like the driver pulled partly through, almost, then stopped.

"Wonder where the driver of the B.S. Trucking truck is?", he thinks.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Sunflower driver, Sammy Marks, hears his alarm ringing loudly on his dashboard. It's time for him to hit the road. Sammy always puts the clock well away from his bunk so he has to actually get out of the rack in order to shut it off. That way he's not tempted to just hit the "off" button and go back to sleep. And the clock plugs into the cigarette lighter receptacle. This eliminates the temptation to let the spring wind down and go silent. No spring involved. Sammy knows himself well.

He sits up, rubbing his eyes and brushing his hair back. He pours a cup of coffee from his Thermos, lights a cigarette, and heads for the 'office' of his Freightliner. He fires up the rig while taking his first sip of hot coffee.

"Isn't today Sunday or something?", he thinks out loud. "I love my job, I love my job, I love my.......". He stops mid-sentence. As he pulls down his windshield sun blocking screen he looks right into the nose of another truck.

"What the hell is this?" he says out loud. "How in the hell am I supposed to get out of here? What kind of a moron blocks someone in like this?" He looks up at the airfoil on the cab of the offending truck. B.S. Trucking.

______________________________________________________________________________

The Worther's are an elderly couple returning from a trip back east to visit a son. Mr. Worther likes to travel at night when it's cooler and when there's less traffic on the roads. As they drive along, Mrs. Worther says she'd like to stop at a bathroom somewhere. She doesn't think she can make it until they stop at the motel in the morning. Mr. Worther sees a truck stop coming up and gets off the freeway quickly. After stopping at the stop sign, he makes a left and goes under the freeway to the truckstop on the other side. Since Mrs. Worther needs a wheel chair to get around, he looks for the handicapped parking. Some inconsiderate motorist has parked in the handicapped zone in front of the store so he has to park elsewhere and push Mrs. Worther all the way to the end of the car parking area to find a wheelchair ramp. When they get there they encounter a big truck blocking access to the ramp. The trailer wheels are even with it, making it impossible to wheel Mrs. Worther up on the sidewalk. Mr. Worther looks up at the back doors of the truck - B.S. Trucking.

______________________________________________________________________________

Al is a fuel driver. He pulls for Flying J Petroleum and tonight's run has him dropping diesel fuel at two truck stops. One drop to go and he's done for the night. Al likes the truck stop run because there's a lot of driving and very little work. He gets to play 'big strapper' and talk on his CB.

"Breaker one nine.... This here is my last stop", he jokes into the microphone without actually keying up. He exits the freeway, stops at the stop sign, and makes a left and goes under the overpass to the truck stop on the other side. He's pulling a set of Rocky Mountain doubles and needs room to turn around to pull up to his fuel dumps. He sees a truck sitting in the "No Parking Zone", blocking his access to the fueling area.

"%#$*^ #@+*^ these idiots!!!!", Al yells inside his cab. "How stupid can you be??! What part of NO PARKING do you not understand?", he spews out loud. He looks at the side of the truck to see the name - so he can charge in and read the driver the riot act. B.S. Trucking.

______________________________________________________________________________

Duke slowly sips his steamy cup of coffee and takes a drag on his Sobranie Black Russian cigarette.

"So tell me babe", he says to the waitress. "When are we going out? I come in here all the time. You know me. We could go to dinner and maybe go dancing or something."

Duke watches the waitress walk away without answering him. He looks at his watch. Lots of time.......

______________________________________________________________________________

Sammy and Al are both heading for the store when they come across the Worthers looking at the high curb. Sammy offers first.

"Would you folks like some help here?, he asks, seeing their plight.

"Why yes young man. How kind of you to offer."

Al arrives just then and offers to help as well. The two drivers each grab a side of the wheel chair and easily lift Mrs. Worther up on to the sidewalk.

"Thank you boys very much," Mr. Worther offers.

"You bet!." Says Sammy. It's this truck here that seems to be parked in the wrong place."

"Yeah", says Ned, the England driver. He's headed for the store too.

______________________________________________________________________________

Duke turns on his stool just in time to see the small army coming through the front door, wheel chair in front.

"Wonder what the hell this is all about?, he thinks.