Day ten continued and the end of my days with Esther along for the ride.

I'm gonna finish this by sharing with you why I chose to be flat-bedder.

It's kind of a long history of my situations and circumstances in life, but as many of you know I am retired from one industry in which I was, for a long time, self-employed in the electrical sign business. With the economy being as it has been for the past eight or so years I simply needed to do something else at this point in my life. I had dealt with truck drivers in my business all through the years and always found the flat-bed drivers to be the friendliest, most courteous, and most helpful drivers we ever had to deal with. This is not a jab at the other drivers, it's just the way it was. I still remember a very nice Conway driver we had bringing and delivering stuff in a dry van for us, but he was an exception to the rule. Also I've always enjoyed physical work outdoors with my hands. Even though I was the boss, I was a very "hands on" manager. If my employees needed to training or certification in their jobs I always made sure I met those same qualifications. Consequently I am a Certified welder, certified crane operator, and a licensed master electrician.

I also owned big trucks of my own for my business. We had crane trucks, and other various large pieces of equipment to enable ourselves to meet the needs of our customers. I was already familiar with load securement practices because we hauled large signs and pipes around on our own flat-bed straight trucks or trailers. My familiarity with the drivers and the practices of the flat-bed business made it an easy transition for me to go in that direction, and my love of working with my hands and being outdoors all had an influence on this decision.

I enjoy the daily variations in this job. Some days I'm outdoors, other days I'm just driving, some days I get a little of both. Some days it's not always fun, but it is always challenging. For me that is what makes life and working enjoyable. I need to be challenged each day, I want to try my best and accomplish something each day. Flat-bedding allows me to overcome obstacles every day, and I find that type of job to be personally rewarding. I may just sound like a nut to some of you, but that doesn't bother me. I know who I am, and I enjoy this type of work. I'm not going to get rich doing this and I know that, but if I don't have a challenge in my daily work I will be bored and unsatisfied. Being satisfied at the end of the day that I did my best to help American industries and citizens get the things they needed to keep producing and being innovative is a reward that cannot be measured.

I'm an American truck driver who happens to enjoy being a flat-bedder, and because of that I can sleep very well at night.