Mackey came to B.O.N.E.S. from a bad situation in central Massachusetts. He was underweight and limped painfully. X-rays revealed a displaced femur fracture in his right hind leg – it was amazing that Mackey could use the leg at all. The options didn't look hopeful, but with help from the B.O.N.E.S. Medical Director, a carefully-structured exercise program, and a lot of TLC, he can now lead a normal life.
As Mackey recovered from his injuries, long-time B.O.N.E.S. adopter John was mourning the loss of his long-time beagle companion, Hudson, whose "Chronicles" were documented here for many years. John was settling into a new job with lots of driving, and Mackey loved to ride... a great match. John and Mackey will both share their viewpoints with us on this page.
Good morning from Cianbro's yard in Baltimore, or as I call it, "Playa Del Curtis Bay." Sounds quite exotic, I think. Watching the sun rise on the bay isn't a bad way to start the day.
We had an eventful week several weeks ago when a message came up on the dash saying the engine was going to de-rate 40% in four hours, service immediately. Well, that got my attention at 4 AM, so I swung by the Penske service center in Richmond to have them take a look. After connecting the computer to the truck, they couldn't find any fault codes so they tried to clear the warning from the system, but they couldn't. They said it was probably some glitch in the system and would probably go away.
Well, it didn't! My first stop was at a powerline substation in Durham NC. As the engine de-rate clock was ticking down I kept heading to Durham, with the last 30 miles on narrow two lane highways. As luck would have it, the truck did in fact go into de-rate mode, but it de-rated by 95% (not the 40% the message had said). That meant no faster than idle! Luckily, this happened in the driveway to the substation. After getting unloaded, I called Penske and had a wrecker tow the truck to the nearest Penske shop, where they directed us to the local Kenworth dealer that had the proper computer software for the truck. What ever happened to wrenches for repairs??!!
The truck eventually ended up at the towing company's shop, since they had the software, and they were able to find the problem, replace the sensor, and after a good part of the day, clear out all the fault codes.
This was late Thursday. I had a touch-a-truck event that Sunday in Bangor, and a family reunion the following week, so there was a little pressure to get the truck up and running.
I made it to all the events and the truck seems to be behaving.
On a side note, I spent last week moving equipment into a new lay-down yard next to a kennel. I had to take a picture of their mailbox and share it here. That kennel has its priorities spot on!
Morning!
Just got in from walking the yard here in Baltimore. going to enjoy a lazy day.
Been busy the last few weeks with breakdowns, family reunions, and kids!
A few weeks ago, the truck broke down, so a tow truck had to come get us and tow us to a shop to get repaired. It was a really nice tow truck, a Peterbilt, to be exact. I was finally proud to be seen in a truck with John! Anyway, after a couple of days, the truck was repaired, and we were back on schedule.
We headed back to Baltimore and loaded for Maine.
We had a career day/touch-a-truck event that Sunday in Bangor, and then a Family reunion in Wells, Maine, starting that evening through the following week.
It was fun to get all the undivided attention the whole week. I'm sure I was the favorite family member. I was the only one that didn't fight with anyone, um, well, to be fair, the cat started it!
Anyway, it's nice to be back in the truck, in our routine and having a nice quiet Sunday without people.
Until next time..
