Our first load after coming back from Montreal went to Beulah, North Dakota - located in the western part of the state, equal distance from Dickinson and Bismarck.
We were supposed to deliver on Friday, then pick up a load out of there that same day. That meant great money (it pays to go to North Dakota), and no waiting around for another load. Then the agent called and pushed the load to Monday. OK, we thought, at least we still have something out of there and won't be completely stranded. We'd just ride bikes over the weekend. How bad could it be?
To say that there's nothing in Beulah, North Dakota would be an understatement. One main drag, one grocery store, one department store and no national chain restaurants of any kind. Oh, except for the Subway inside the gas station.
The gasification plant is the town's largest employer, giving jobs to over 24% of its residents, and is listed under "Tourist Attractions" on the city website. That should tell you something.
The weather was pleasant - warm but with a nice, constant, cool breeze - and we discovered they had a pool, which was great because Ed wanted to do laps. And the charge for the lap pool was only $3.00. Can't beat that, so we put it on our (very short) list of things to do.
It was Saturday and the town was deserted. A few cars on the main drag, but most of the businesses (banks, law offices, etc.) were closed. We found a spot at the end of town to accommodate the truck, tucked ourselves against the curb (making sure we were between the yellow lines) and proceeded to get the bikes out of the side box.
That's when we had a little run-in with local law enforcement.
Ed was assembling the bikes when I came out of the sleeper and saw him talking to a police officer holding a ticket book. Are you kidding me?? I walked up and said, "What's going on?" That's when officer Travis Watson said, "I'm going to have to give you a $50 citation."
I know I didn't hear him correctly, because I'm sure I looked at him like he had three heads and most certainly said, "Are you fucking kidding me??"
OK, I didn't say that. Because for once, I bit the front half of my tongue off, swallowed it, and instead of cursing at him, I took a breath. I thought it was probably best not to get all bitch ass crazy on one of the four cops in a town of 3,000 people. Four cops, but fourteen churches. Go figure.
What actually came out of my mouth, as calmly as I could muster, with the sarcasm dialed down a few notches was, "Seriously??"
"Yep." he said. "You can't park here."
He was serious. He was honestly going to write us a ticket for being LEGALLY parked. I was confused.
We had scoured the city for signs and even checked their website. This wasn't our first rodeo in a small town. Or in a truck. Or in a truck in a small town. We know the drill. FIFTY dollars?? Can you say crooked revenue collection system?
I then told him we didn't see any signs, that in fact, there were no parking signs of any kind let alone ones addressing commercial vehicles, and that there was nothing about parking ordinances on the town website. That caused a look of confusion on his face, like he didn't even know they had a town website. He seemed flustered and again repeated that it was a city ordinance. Yeah, okay. I know you keep saying that, but where do I find that information??
After talking to him for a while and explaining that we absolutely, positively could not get a ticket, that we have special clearances, that the company would frown upon it, he finally acquiesced and said he'd just give us a warning. A written warning. Oh no, no, no. Hell, no. I don't want anything written. Not with our names, not with our truck number, not with our license plate or CDL information.
"If you want to warn us," I told him, "can't you just say you'll let it go this time? I mean, we've never been here before. Now we know we can't park on the street." He didn't seem to like that idea. He really wanted to write that ticket.
"That's just really not cool." I said. "I can't believe you want to write us a fifty dollar ticket. We're still with the vehicle. We could leave right now."
He then looked at Ed and said, "Look, I'm not trying to be a dickhead here..."
He actually said that. I must say though, he did utilize his Podunk manners and prefaced the dickhead comment with, "Excuse me for saying this in front of a lady."
If Ed weren't standing right there, I would have said, "But you ARE being a dickhead. A HUGE one."
My "lady" would have gone right out the window.
And because he kept saying we were in violation parking a commercial vehicle on a city street, Ed decided to leave right that moment. 'Ol Travis still had an itchy ticket-writing finger and it was only a matter of time before he was going to give in and start filling in the blanks in his ticket book.
At that moment, the cop saw one of his friends across the way, and ran into the middle of the street trying to catch up with him, "Keith! Wait up. Hey, Keith!"
Um, hello?? Am I just supposed to stand here while you socialize with your buddies, or are you done with us? As he was running, he yelled back to us over his shoulder, "You're free to go!"
Uh, yeah. We kinda got that. Ed got in the truck, started it up and left me standing there with the bikes. I was pissed.
The thing that annoys me about this is that we (meaning Ed and I) make a supreme effort to be considerate about where we park. We don't block driveways, we don't park in front of open businesses, we don't take up spots in the front of a store parking lot. Our truck is neat and clean at all times and we don't ever leave any debris or garbage behind. In this particular case, we wanted a paved area to unload the bikes rather than having to take everything out in the dirt lot we saw on the way in, the same one the cop told us about when Ed had to move the truck.
The whole truck parking situation, all over the country, is a real problem. They're closing rest areas, they're utilizing space in truck stops to install natural gas pumps, and cities and towns all over America are banning trucks from parking on their streets. Warner Robins, GA was the most recent city to deal with the backlash their ban unleashed, and even truck drivers getting killed don't seem to underscore the importance of safe parking.
Just last night I had to wake a guy in a rest area for him to move his truck because the place was so full, the way he was parked made it impossible for me to get out. Walmart is notorious for not allowing truckers to park in their lots - even though they have plenty of room and they allow RVs and other large vehicles - and malls are typically a no-go. For us, ramps and right-of-ways are off limits, a condition upon which our lease can be cancelled.
But when you come across a town like this, really in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but land and sky as far as the eye can see and less people than you'd find in a major city mall, you don't think parking would be such a big deal. In fact, we get hassled less in crowded cities like Chicago, New Jersey, or Seattle than we do on the vacant city streets of a place like Beulah.
They should welcome us because not only do we bring them goods for their stores and businesses, but the plant that employs the majority of people in their town, is the place we hauled freight IN and OUT for. If it weren't for drivers like us bringing the materials and equipment needed for these gas plants and mines to function, there wouldn't be any employment for them.
Take a look at this page. The last sentence on the page says, "Be prepared to stay as you will see why our progressive merchants expand on Main Street and new business continues to look at relocating or expanding into the city."
I wonder if they mean businesses like the abandoned car dealership that anchors the east end of the 874 yards that makes up Main Street?
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2012: She’s Political Coming And Going And Doesn’t Even Know It
2011: Old As She Was, She Still Missed Her Daddy Sometimes
2010: Crafty Little Bugger
2009: Beauty For A Buck
2008: What My Thoughts Sound Like When Left Uncensored And Ultimately, Formed Into Words
2007: New York Style
2006: I.H.O.P.G.
2005: Sorry, no post on this day.
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