Wednesday, June 25

Greenville, South Carolina

9:30 a.m.

Neither Sheila nor I could sleep. Periodically we would get up and turn the light on hoping to catch a creepy crawly under the sheets. The mattress was hard as a brick and the air conditioner struggled to produce cool air. My only prayer is that we can go home today.

12:00 p.m.

We haven't left the room, but we did hear that the truck could be repaired by 4 p.m. If it isn't, Covenant said we can come home anyway. If we do come home and they can't fix the problems, we will have to race the sunset. With no lights or blinkers working on the truck it will be dangerous, especially if it gets dark.

6:00 p.m.

We will not be coming home today. While we thought we might be able to get home without lights or signals, we were warned by the mechanics that it would not be safe. State troopers were certain to pull us over and make us turn around to have the problem fixed. Regardless, there was no way we were going to remain in this bug-infested motel without a car. Sheila and I made an executive decision to find a new place to sleep and rent a car. At this point we didn't know what was wrong with the truck or if it was ever going to be fixed.

Thursday, June 26

Still waiting. The problem is not the computer system, apparently. It is the harness (whatever that is). A new part has to be flown in and the work on the truck will be slow because only one mechanic can work on the truck to ensure consistency.

Friday, June 27

Still waiting. The mechanics called and said the truck repairs may extend to Monday. They don't work on the weekend, of course, and Sheila is furious. She spoke with some team drivers in Philadelphia who have been broken down for two weeks. They are driving the same new truck we have. Sheila, like so many other drivers whose trucks fail, is losing hundreds and hundreds of dollars just sitting and waiting.

Saturday, June 28

Still waiting. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Sheila has gone stir crazy. There are only so many trips to the mall and sitcom reruns you can ingest before it becomes too much. Her brother lives a few hours away, and she asked him to come down to visit her for the day. While she spent time with some family members, I visited with a friend in Asheville, N.C., under an hour down the road. It was good antidote to cabin fever.

Sunday, June 29

Still waiting. The highlights of the day has been a dinner at Cracker Barrel and a few Lifetime movies. We have been told that tomorrow an expert is being brought in to look at the truck and that we may be able to go home tomorrow. It is hard to believe, but some truckers want to get into this type of situation. The hotel clerk told us that one trucker found a girlfriend while he was stranded and told his company his truck was broken for three weeks when it was really fixed. Eventually, the company caught on and fired him. So far, Sheila and I haven't found anything to take the edge off the situation. Our best hope is some Fancy Cakes, chips and a National Enquirer with a headline "Clinton Mistress Revealed" that Sheila bought at Wal-Mart. I want to go home.