Slight Detour – October 2022
Although you should never take from an overturned truck, here is a list of party supplies that could have been picked up along the way to a barbecue.
Hold my beer
Imagine driving to a party. It’s BYOB, but you forgot to bring something. If you were on the Interstate 71 south ramp to Interstate 265 in Louisville, Ky., around 9 a.m. on Aug. 10, you were in luck (we can discuss why you were driving to a party on a Wednesday morning some other time).
A truck hauling Bud Light overturned, causing hundreds of beer cans to spill from the trailer. A few people pulled over either to help or perhaps collect. Depending on who you ask, Bud Light may not be the best beer out there. In the opinion of this reporter, free beer is the best kind, regardless of what it is.
Here’s hoping the driver is OK and the delivery was sorted out.
Beef on the side
Meanwhile in Columbus, Ohio, you could have picked up some meat on your way to the barbecue.
A truck hauling 32 cattle overturned on the ramp from Interstate 70 east to Interstate 270. Consequently, some cattle got loose, wandering around the shoulder of Interstate 270.
The driver was treated for minor injuries. It is not clear whether any cattle were harmed.
If you were somehow able to pick up just one head of cattle, you could serve a rather large party. Unfortunately, you will need a butcher on hand.
In a similar situation, a truck hauling cow intestines overturned on a Houston street. However, ingesting intestines might not make you very popular at most parties, but who’s to judge?
How the chicken really crossed the road
Chicken nuggets may be more popular for guests at the barbecue. In which case, you’re in luck!
A Pennsylvania highway was shut down for several hours after a truck hauling 40,000 pounds of chicken nuggets overturned. According to UPI, the driver lost control of the truck on a Wednesday morning, which is apparently a good time to scour the highways for spilled barbecue supplies. Fortunately, the driver was not injured.
Several tons of chicken nuggets will be more popular than live cattle or cow intestines. No word on whether sauce was included.
Hot chocolate
Some hot cocoa for the kids would be a delight. For that, we go to Florida.
Florida state troopers arrived to a tractor-trailer on fire off Interstate 95 in Volusia County. For some unknown reason as of press time, the trailer caught on fire. The contents: bags of cocoa.
The kids may have to wait awhile for the cocoa to cool down, but they’ll appreciate the gesture when you arrive with an unlimited supply of hot chocolate.
Time to cook
With an entire cow and 40,000 pounds of chicken nuggets, you are going to need something large to cook that in. Again, we’re in luck.
Earlier this year, a trucker hauled something that caught many people’s attention: a 14,000-pound cast iron skillet.
The Lodge Cast Iron Museum in South Pittsburg, Tenn., had what they call the world’s largest skillet made just for them. Someone had to get it there, and that someone was a trucker, of course. Since the skillet runs about 18 feet from handle to handle, it required a flatbed.
It was loaded up and hauled on Interstate 59 to the future home of the museum. Perfect for several tons of chicken and beef.
Hail Mary option
If you’re not lucky enough to find all of these barbecue supplies on the nation’s interstates, then consider hanging out with truck driver Juan Hernandez of Uniondale, N.Y.
Well, former truck driver. Hernandez won New York Lottery’s $10 million Deluxe scratch-off game earlier this year. That alone is a great story, but that is only half of it.
This is the second time Hernandez won the $10 million prize. Three years ago, Hernandez won $10 million from a different lottery scratch-off ticket.
“I’m still trying to spend the $10 million I won in ’19,” he said in a statement.
Hernandez received his prize as a single lump sum payment totaling $6,510,000 after required withholdings. That is more than enough to cater to thousands of people, if necessary. LL
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