Phantom of the Opera – My First Rodeo

Vince working on his log book at Jubitz

Jubitz

 

As 2010 comes to a close, I thought I would pay tribute to my all time favorite show that poetically was also my first rodeo, “Phantom of the Opera”.  The curtain came down on “Phantom” for the final time last October. Since I will not be able to share stories about this great show in the future, my next two postings are a tribute to the show’s crews, especially its lead driver Jeff, who made sure that the show, always went on.  

       

On a Saturday in September 2008, we arrived at the Jubitz truck stop in Portland.  The Jubitz truck stop is one of the nicest in the country.  I was still finishing up my MBA on- line so I needed to get a paper submitted by Sunday. So while Vince slept I decided to multi task by going to the Laundromat to do laundry while working on my paper.  I was surprised how well I was able to concentrate in such a noisy public setting, because my paper was finished by the time the clothes hit the dryer.

 That evening we had to move trailers down to the streets of downtown Portland for the Sunday night load out.  “Phantom” was approximately 17-19 trailers so we joined five other drivers, to hook up to trailers and like a convoy head to downtown Portland.  It was fascinating to see how the drivers understood where to position their trailer along the streets, since I was totally confused.  After the first set was in place everyone returned to Jubitz to pick up a second set of trailers to do it all over again before returning to Jubitz for the night.  What I didn’t understand at that time was that I really needed to appreciate that night’s sleep.

On Sunday, we slept in and then later took a nap. But, I just couldn’t get into sleeping during the day. I figured I didn’t need to worry about sleeping.  The night wasn’t going to be that long, right?  When we arrived at the theatre that night I got to meet some of the other drivers.  I met Dennis aka OD and Joe.  As we stood around getting acquainted and listening to the political banter between the two of them, OD suddenly asked me if this was my first rodeo.  I said “yes” and they started laughing.  I mean that laugh you didn’t think your answer should solicit.  I thought why are they laughing? How long can this load out really be? 

We were positioned next to the theatre and even though there were signs for no parking there was a car parked in front of us.  After the show started in the theatre, our show began when a tow truck pulled up next to the illegally parked car and within two minutes the tow truck driver had the car pulled away from the curb.  He then took the car up the street, attached little axles and wheels underneath it and away he went.  Please know that when you go to a show you need to abide by the parking laws, because when the show is at the end of its run, it needs to go. All the trucks must be in position and ready to load, since the show opens in the next city in only a day or two.

As is the standard for most load outs within a half hour of the curtain coming down the crews begin loading the trucks.  In order to load out in Portland the show blocked off a couple streets and brought in overhead lights to help the crew see as they loaded multiple trucks at the same time.  They started on our trailer around 12:30 am so I thought wow that’s not bad we will be out of here soon, but as I mentioned they were loading three other trailers at the same time.  After getting into position, we got out of the truck and I was introduced to more drivers.  There I got to really see how big a production it was when I saw the crews pushing out boxes and fork lifts moving big pieces of equipment to all four trucks at the same time.

By 2:00 am the cold damp night air caught up with me so we headed back to the truck.  I was hungry so we fixed sandwiches which I hoped would help me fight the tiredness.  But the warmth of the truck led to a sleepy feeling that I couldn’t fight, so I put the bed down.  After I got comfortable on the bed, still in my clothes because after all this was just a nap, Jeff, the lead driver stopped by to say there was food in the theatre.  Vince was ready to go, but there was no way I was getting out of the truck.  He asked me if I was sure.  I could tell he wanted me to go, but falling out of the truck or sitting with my head on the table seemed too embarrassing this early in the game, after all I had just met these guys, so I declined. 

After Vince left, I turned the TV on since I just needed to doze a little and the TV would keep me apprised of the time by the changing of the shows.  Well, it advised me that it was 4:00 am, then 6:00 am when the morning news show started, but it didn’t matter I went right back to sleep each time.  In the meantime, Vince had been back and forth checking to see if I was moving, which I was not.  Soon, the truck started up and we were on our way back to Jubitz.  I thought great we are done, but no we were only to drop this trailer then head back to the theatre to pick up a second trailer.  To even my surprise by the time we headed back for the second trailer I was actually in my seat, but trust me I was not really quite with it.

When we got back to Jubitz with the second trailer, which this time meant only about a half hour wait on the street before the trailer was loaded. However, keep in mind the total time for the load out was 11+ hours.   Now I was awake and inquiring about breakfast.  Keep in mind Vince had been awake the whole time, so this may have been his first homicidal moment, but he would never admit it. Despite being tired, he agreed to breakfast so off we went to the restaurant for breakfast then we returned to the truck so that Vince could sleep.  The funniest part was I slept just as long as he did that morning into the afternoon.  I guess I finally adjusted to sleeping during the day.

As you might imagine it is tough to take pictures of a night load out, However the show’s next stop was Seattle. As you can see from the picture below we made it there and were able to get pictures and a story or two from that load in.  So next up – the Seattle load in.