ST. LOUIS – STORM WARNING!

We performed yesterday in Farmington, MO – just south of St. Louis.  It was a matinee (2pm) so we arrived very early.  Doors opened at 1:30pm and we were ready to go.  The audience was a lot of fun and the show went off very well.

I was scheduled to do a workshop tonight for a group of Physical Therapists but it was canceled because of a HUGE winter storm that is moving across the area.  We decided to get out of Farmington as quickly as possible to try and get ahead of that storm.  They were expected a lot of ice south of St. Louis and I definitely did not want to be driving in that!

We made it as far as St. Louis when something strange happened with our rig.  While driving north on Interstate 55 (and with no warning), the truck engine just stopped, shut down, quit running.  And then the warning buzzer went off.  That’s when I realized something was wrong and, as I tried to pull off the interstate, I also had no power steering.  Sixty-five feet of truck, 35,000 pounds, and I’m trying to steer it off the highway – fun!

I talked with our mechanic at home to try and figure out what might be the problem.  We also called the local International Dealer in St. Louis who called a tow truck to come and pick us up.  While waiting, I was able to do a little amateur mechanic work and found a burnt wire behind the ignition switch.  Tow truck arrived, hooked us up, and we were off.  We FINALLY made it to the repair shop (that’s a whole other story) and the great guys at International got it pulled right into the shop.

Meanwhile, just as the weather channel predicted, sleet starting moving in at 6pm!  It’s going to be an interesting night!  Cindy and Keith found us a hotel for the night.  Ethan moved the luggage into the truck. We called a taxi and they left for the hotel.  I stayed to settle up with the tow truck company and make sure everyone had contact numbers to reach me when they find out something about the rig.

We are expecting bad weather overnight…and we’ll be driving in it tomorrow.  It’s going to be a fun drive to New Jersey!