The fly that died in Mathiston Mississippi

The company I drive for allows passengers. Normally I would welcome a passenger to keep me company but this passenger was not welcomed.

I pick him up in Panama City, Fl. while I was getting loaded with rolls of paper. Due to the heat and humidity from approaching Hurricane Fay I had my windows down. Unknowingly I picked up a fly. Normally i have screens that I can install to avoid this sort of thing but this time I didn’t bother with them. A bad idea being in Florida. I first noticed the fly minuts after I got on the road. I hate flies! I’ve had flies in the cab before and usually its not that big of an issue, but this fly was out to get me.

He started his attacks immediately. I’d swat, he’d fly away. He’d land on my dash, i’d smack. nothing was working. I hoped he would back off and I’ll deal with him when I get fuel in Montgomery, Alabama. no such luck.

I finally arrived at my fuel stop, started fueling and armed myself with an old magazine and went on the hunt for the fly. I spent the time it took to fuel 140 gallons but he was nowhere to be found. I finished fueling, checked my oil, filled out my paperwork, and went to the restroom. Overall about 15 minutes. Before I started back on the road I did one more sweep through the rig and still found nothing. thankfully he was gone.

I start on my way, getting on US 82 west. US HWY 82 is a 2 lane road between Montgomery and Tuscaloosa. Its not ideal for big trucks but it was my route. It’s slow, winding, hilly and full of little one horse towns. The deep south. The first 20 mile was without incident and then…..there he was coming in from my right. He bombed me in the face. DAMN!! Not again. He was back. I know it was the same fly because he landed on top of my steering wheel and could swear, flipped me off.

Once again he started with an endless barrage of attacks. It was hell. I could do nothing but pathetically swat at the air around me trying to sway him off. There was no place or time to pullover to deal with this threat. I was at his mercy.

For over 300 miles he had been a superior opponent but all things come to an end. Maybe he was tired, maybe he thought I had given up but he landed on my dashboard and just sat there. I watched him for a moment. He just sat there. Slowly I reached for the folded magazine that was stashed just within reach and took my shot. Direct hit! His reign of terror has ended. Ended in Mathiston Missisipppi.