I'm Loving this Job

This week I ended up going through the state of Indiana three times.  My first time through was during what was an early winter blizzard.  It was actually a little scary, and I saw a lot of big trucks that didn't make it through.  Lots of cars and trucks in the ditches and medians, along with several accidents involving multiple vehicles.  I try to be extra cautious and careful when traveling in the snow and ice, but as a truck driver you have to be not only watching out for yourself but everyone else around you also.  It can be stressful at times.  The other drivers around you are constantly getting in front of you when you are trying to maintain a safe following distance between you and the vehicle ahead of you. The truck driver puts up with a lot of craziness from the other drivers around him.  They don't want to be behind him because they can't see, then when they manage to get past him they cut over into his lane causing him to have to adjust his following distance which angers the next car behind him.   The drivers behind him complain that he's too slow, and the ones ahead of him complain that he's too close on their tail.  He does the best he can but still everyone wishes he were not there at all.

I know that is a strange way to start a post about how I'm loving this job, but those thoughts are also on my mind tonight.  It's amazing how many people come racing up around me to pass me and then they blow their horn at me just as they are about to get past me.  I'm paying attention to them the whole time and I know I haven't done anything to warrant them honking at me.  It happens so often that I wonder what the deal is, as it can be startling at times.  I can only assume that they think I don't know where they are and they want to warn me so I don't change lanes.  I know where they are and I usually have figured out what they are about to do even before they've decided to do it.  Anticipating the actions of the other drivers around me has saved me from an accident a considerable amount of times already.  When driving something that is like a building on wheels (over 75 feet long and up to 80,000 pounds) you have got to be on your guard constantly.

My first trip through Indiana I got stuck there for two days because the highway department closed the highway that I was traveling on.  I stayed at the first truck stop I could get in.  The temperature never got above zero while I was there.  It stayed around 15 below for several days.  I came up from Roanoke Virginia that first trip and after spending my first night there I woke up trapped in the snow at the truck stop.

Truck driving is more of a lifestyle than it is just a job.  It takes some getting used to a life of being on the road away from the comforts of home, the routines of a home life, and the warmth and affection of those you hold dear.  I see a lot of people living this lifestyle that really don't belong in it. I'm not sure why they got into it, maybe they just needed a job. It's a great job for those who are up to the challenge, but it is demoralizing for those who just jump in thinking "hey I know how to drive, and I love to travel, I might as well get paid for it."

It takes a special person to fill the shoes of an American Truck Driver. We work long hours in all kinds of weather, we take considerable risks accomplishing our daily tasks, and we do it with little thanks from anyone other than the modest paycheck we receive from our employers. I feel a sort of sadness, or maybe it's more a feeling of compassion, for the many people I come across in this field who just shouldn't be in it. I was in Roanoke VA securing the load of steel I hauled into Indiana and noticed another driver from my company beside me working on his load. The poor fellows shoulders looked like they were hanging down below his knees. It was pretty obvious he hated what he was doing, and after talking with him a few minutes he made it clear that he was completely demoralized by his choice of career. He told me that trucking was sucking the life out of him. He clearly needs to be doing something else. This is not a cushy job for the faint of heart, but sucking the life out of you?

It was such a contrast to the way I feel about this career. I love this stuff, I can't wait to get started each new day and show what I'm made of. I love being challenged. I get a charge out of coming up with creative solutions for the difficulties staring me down. I'm energized when a plan comes together and the obstacles are conquered and vanquished. I don't ever really think about my pay in connection with the amount of hours I work, I look at the accomplishments and the victories, and if there are defeats along the way I commit to learning from them and facing them square on the next time I'm up against them.  I hit it hard each day and make my way through the obstacle course of what is a rewarding career for some and a demoralizing defeat for others.

I came up from Roanoke through the mountains of West Virginia on I-77 and I-64. There was a beautiful carpet of snow on the ground, and bits of it lying heavy on the bare limbs of the trees. I've got to tell you it was simply beautiful. I was hauling a 47,000 pound precarious load of flat steel up through there and I felt a certain degree of pride rise up in me to be doing this job while commandeering my rig through those mountains.  I love what I do.  This is a great job.  I only wish that the loveliest woman I've ever known wasn't having to keep the home fires burning all alone.  I am grateful for God's provision for us, and I rest in the solid fact that He knows best.