Three Years In

This month marks my third anniversary as an Over the Road truck driver.

Here's some reflections on my experiences and the things I've learned:

There are a lot of nuts in this business.  So many of the people that drive trucks have "odd" personalities.  It is a unique job that allows you to not have to interact very much with others, and therefore it attracts a good number of people who don't function well in society.

There are a lot of brazen type of folks in this business.  Having a type A personality in this business will help you succeed, it is just as much a demanding job as being a self employed person.  A lot of determination and drive (no pun intended) are required.  The ability to make good solid quick decisions that will affect your income and your safety is vital out here, and because of these things the same type of folks who would usually be successful as entrepreneurs are also successful as professional drivers.

There are a lot of lonely people out here driving trucks.  Man, sometimes I cannot avoid a lengthy conversation with some random driver at a cafe.  They just want someone to talk to sometimes.

There is a great diversity of people in this career.  I have met young people, old people (two guys in their eighties) fat people, skinny people. (more fat than skinny though, man it is a tough job to stay trim) I have met a former lawyer, and a former dentist!  There are a lot of people like me who are out here doing this as a second career.  Some of them spent all their life in a different career while secretly wanting to be a truck driver all those years - now when they got the chance they finally took it.  There is just something "cool" about driving such a huge vehicle across the country that appeals to some people.  Even from our childhoods we find trucks to be appealing.  I still remember reading children's books to my kids about trucks!  And who can't resist the charmingly "redneck" appeal of "Towmater" in the movie "Cars?"

This is a job for the independent minded.  You set your own hours, you basically determine how much you want to make by your own measuring cup.  Your willingness to do what others will not (like driving all night, or starting your work day at 1:30 a.m.) will often times put you ahead of the game.

This is a much mis-understood career.  People who are not truck drivers don't understand why truck drivers do the things they do.  People driving cars get irritated with trucks for either going to slow, or going too fast, or for swinging out wide for a turn.  People who are trying to get started as truck drivers usually have completely false expectations of how it will be.  There is a very high failure rate for people just trying to get started in this career.  Something like 90% of the new entrants to the field give up before reaching ninety days into their career!

I could go on and on, but I don't want to bore the three people who read this poor excuse of a blog!

I will say this, I really do enjoy this career.  I take every advantage I can to enjoy my time out here. The sacrifices are real, but the pleasure of it are also tangible.  This last week I ran 3,650 miles from Delhi, Louisiana up to Connecticut, then all the way down to Boca Raton, Florida, and back up to Delhi.  It is just now becoming spring like in Connecticut, and yet it was hot as ever down in South Florida.

I took a little walk in Hamden, Connecticut this week and found a surprisingly good little "Greek" restaurant tucked away in what appeared like a convenience store in the neighborhood I was walking through.  I also enjoyed the spring time scenery in that town.  Here's a couple of beautiful trees I spotted while out taking in the fresh air.

Truck driving as a career has it's problems - I really miss my family, and I know the sacrifices they have made are much more than the ones I have been required to make.  I have my days where I just want to be at home with my wife and near my children and my friends.  It is a strange life to constantly be away from those you love.  It makes my time with them more special though, and I can only trust God to keep our bonds as close and tight as they should be.  He brought this amazing career into play for me and I trust Him to keep the circle unbroken.

I realize I am kind of rambling on, but I trust that won't bother you who follow this drivel.  I am looking forward to continuing on in my career, and hoping I can provide you with a little bit of interesting commentary on the occasions that I get to jump in here with something to say.

By the way, my incision from the surgery is healing very nicely and I'm not quite as ugly as I thought I'd be, or maybe I'm just getting accustomed to the way I look now - who knows?

Getting Back To Work

Five days after my surgery I got back to work.  Today I'm resting in Charlotte, North Carolina.  I got here a day early to my final stop on this load hoping to get it done, but my final customer is a stickler for their appointment times.  I knew this was the case, but just had to give it a try anyway.  They said, "we'll see you at seven in the morning," and that was the end of it.  So, I get to take it easy this afternoon, and that's not at all bad.  I'm not trying to push myself too hard this week anyway.

It is always difficult finding a parking place in this area, but I had a place in mind that usually will work out for me, and it did.  I got here about two in the afternoon and there were still a few spots left. I could have parked at the customer's property - they will let me park on the premises, but since I was going to be here all the rest of the day this will be nicer with restaurants and bathrooms available to me during my convalescence - if you can even call it that!

The day I left Nacogdoches I went and bought a part for my weed-eater at a local shop.  The young, and seemingly sweet, Hispanic girl who waited on me kept kind of staring at me, and then she said, "that's a bad looking cut on your head."  "Oh, yes, I had some surgery this week," I replied.  She came back with, "I thought maybe you had fallen and cut yourself.  Stitches kind of creep me out, if I ever have to have stitches I'm afraid I will just pass out."  I guess I should have worn a hat - I'm glad she didn't pass out though.

My dispatcher was glad to have me back at work - he commented that most of the guys on his board would have milked this surgery out for about two or three weeks of being off work.

My friend Brett Aquilla commented about me getting right back to work on Trucking Truth with these remarks:

Hey that's awesome news! Man, you sure don't like to sit around much, do ya? A few days after cancer surgery and you're like, "These loads aren't gonna deliver themselves!" On go the work boots and out the door you go.

I love to see that kind of tenacity. Another great story the grandkids will have about their grandad. Of course twenty years from now it will be:

Yeah, and then he punched the surgeon in the face, took out his own stitches, used them to fix the surgeon's face, and said, "That's what you get for trying to hold me back!" and drove over 10 cars with his big rig on the way out of that hospital! The cops didn't even try to chase him because they knew they were in for it if they actually did catch him, which they couldn't have cuz he was already doin' 90 through Louisiana before they knew what happened!

Home and Recovering

Well I got my procedure done at the Nacogdoches Surgery Center and I am at home and doing well.  I had a slight fever last night, but nothing too concerning.  Sarah took one look at me and said, "that's a scary looking face lift your got there."

My sweet wife is fussing over me and putting up with my convalescence like an angel.  It is soooo good to be here with her.  I have been teasing her over the past week and saying that I was going to lay up in the bed and be as much trouble as I can, but in reality I'm wanting to help her with things around the house, and she won't let me because the doctor doesn't want me to exert myself.

Here's what I looked like when I got home from the hospital:

Later when I removed the ice pack and bandages I got to see my new look.  It was a little scary - I'll have to get used to it, and so will my friends and family.  It looks like what Sarah said, "a scary looking face lift."  Here's my new look:

I'm doing well, and feeling pretty good.  I had a little fever last night, but it is gone this morning.  I'm happy to be home, but ready to get back to work also - such a conflict of desires at times.  It is a difficulty having a job that requires you to be gone, but it makes your time at home that much sweeter!

Going Home, But Not Because I Want To

Don't get me wrong, I love getting to go home, but this time I'm going home for some surgery.  I've got a skin cancer situation that I'm going to have to deal with, and I'm scheduled for surgery on Wednesday this week.  Today is Monday, and I'm down in Corpus Christi, but as soon as I finish up down here I'll be heading home - I should be there tonight.

We'll just have to see how this all turns out, I may even lose an eyebrow in the process.  It's not certain how extensive the tumor is and they really won't know until they get in there and start cutting away the tissue.  I'm not really looking forward to this, but it must be done.

On another note I was really wanting to be home this week because I got sick on the road.  I think I got some sort of food poisoning.  I was throwing up and having severe diarrhea - not a good combination of problems when you are trying to drive a truck.  I felt like a little kid who just wanted his mommy!  I knew if I could just get to my wife, she could make it all better, but alas I was too far away to benefit from her gentle ministrations.  Oh well, I will soon be home, and I plan on laying up in the bed and being as much trouble as I can for a few days!

While You Slept

Many times I find that I have to drive all night on this dedicated account for SAPA.  The trip that I just finished up into several states which was supposed to end in Grand Rapids, MI had one little glitch in it, the first customer in Columbia, MO rejected their freight because they apparently had specified that their part of the load be loaded on the back of the trailer because they can't get their fork lift out of the building to unload me from the side and they needed me to back up into a dock so they could unload it from the back.  So, I worked out an arrangement with them that I would go and deliver everything else and then I would have my last customer in Grand Rapids move the material to the back so I could come back through Columbia and deliver it.  That all worked out fine, plus it allowed me to get another 535 miles on my load, because it was SAPA's mistake.  We talked about it on the phone and they agreed to add the miles onto my dispatch order.  I'm sorry, I'm getting all bogged down in the details, but what I was trying to tell you is that I had to drive all through the night for three nights in a row, plus a little bit of day time driving to make everything work out right on that load.

It is not uncommon for me to work while most of the country is sleeping.  Even tonight I will be driving all night back to Delhi where I will pick up a load tomorrow that is bound for North Collins, New York.  It will need to be there Monday, so I will be driving all through the nights on Saturday and Sunday to make it work out right.  Driving at night removes all the nice things that you get to see, but it also takes away a lot of the problems with traffic and crazy drivers.  I know when I was growing up my mom would always warn me about being out at night, and as a parent I understand those concerns, but when you are travelling like I do, the night shift can be a welcome surprise at how peaceful and quiet it is with out all the cars on the road.  I have had cars do some amazingly stupid things around my truck in the day time, but I only can recall one such incident like that which has happened at night.

When you go to the store to pick up your favorite brand of toilet paper, or that special box of Kraft macaroni and cheese, just remember there was probably some dedicated truck driver who drove all through the night so you'd have the convenience of having what you need at your fingertips.  I recently heard about a city that was implementing an ordinance against any eighteen wheelers coming to their city.  Well, that was kind of dumb!  I guess they'll re-consider when they find they can't even get the goods they are accustomed to having on the shelf in their stores.  Almost everything we purchase or consume makes it's way to us on a truck, and often times the driver was driving through the dark of the night.

Simple Pleasures For A Simple Man

The life of an over the road truck driver is not easy, which is probably one of the reasons that this industry has a 100% turn-over rate.  Part of that is attributed to people job hopping for a slight increase in their wages, but most of it is new people who try to give it a go and then realize how difficult it is to live on the road away from all that makes life secure and comfortable.  Familiarity and comfort with your surroundings are transient pleasures, at the most, for an over the road driver.  I won't deny that I actually enjoy this job, but it can be very trying at times.  I completely understand the paradoxical stories from veteran truckers whom I've talked with who tell me stories of growing weary of the road, so they hang up their keys and settle in at home only to find in a few weeks that they are missing the road.  I miss my family terribly at times, and I know that my being gone causes them issues also, but we all do our best to make it work.  For us, this job was a God-send, and we try to keep that in focus.

It is a strange life out here.  I've been doing this for almost three years now, and just recently I've realized that I am starting to have friends all across the country that recognize me and are glad to see me when I randomly show up at their places of business.  Just the other day I stepped into R.J.'s Cafe in North Collins New York to be greeted by the owner with "Hello stranger, where have you been?" Of course I couldn't really answer the question because she didn't have the time to hear all the places I've been since I was there probably something like four months ago, but it kind of feels good having somebody recognize you every once in a while.  In my hometown, my kids were always amazed, if not vexed, that everywhere we went there would almost always be somebody that would come over and greet me at any public place we visited.  I've made a lot of friends over the years, but this job removes you from all those things that are familiar and comfortable to you.  I am so constantly on the move that I seldom ever rest in one place for any length of time.  The sun may rise on me in one state and then set on me three or four states away each day

I have learned to settle for a different type of satisfaction or pleasure if you will.  I'm sitting in Dandridge, TN today and will leave here at about two o'clock in the morning heading to Delhi, Louisiana to pick up a load that has nine different stops on it.  The stops run like this: first stop is Columbia, MO, then Evansville, IN - Louisville, KY - Hebron, KY - Greenfield, IN - Aurora, IL - Sturgeon Bay WI - Dowagiac, MI and then finally into Grand Rapids, MI.  They wanted me to run a load right back up to the Northeast but it needed to be in Riverdale, N.J. first thing Monday and I couldn't get it there until about ten o'clock Monday morning with my available hours, so I had to decline the load.  My good friend Habakkuk will run that load.  He is coming off of his home time and has a full clock available to him.  Okay, I'm getting all distracted from my subject of simple pleasures - here is what I wanted to share with you - the things that brought a little pleasure to my life and formed a bit of a smile on my face recently as I was running this last load from Louisiana up into Upstate New York.

-The dogwoods and red-buds in bloom all along the I-40 and I-81 corridor through Tennessee and Virginia.

-An old simple white farm house and red barn pleasantly situated in a verdant valley in Virginia.

-A small flock of Turkey hens on the side of the road with a proud looking Tom, just concealed in the edge of the woods nearby, standing tall and looking with pride over his little harem as they feed in the grasses along the interstate.

-At least a quarter mile of Wisteria in full bloom hanging from eighty or ninety feet up in the trees and cascading all the way down to the ground along the edge of the roadway.

-A single blue bird perched atop a fence post, satisfactorily surveying an open field before her that promises a horde of insects that she can feed to her brood this year.

-A group of ten or twelve white-tail does grazing along the roadside with their heads bobbing up and down, looking for all the world like pop-corn popping in a skillet, and wagging their short little tails like ducklings who just can't seem to be satisfied with where God made it to hang naturally.

-The seemingly new invasion of grey hair I noticed as I was hanging my head out the window to catch a reflection of myself in my side-view mirror as I combed my overly long hair. (I need a haircut)

-Bright yellow daffodils, and intensely red tulips in bloom.


I could go on and on, but I see so many things that they all begin to run together in a blur.  It really is like living three or four lifetimes when you are out here moving around the country like I do.  All of these things managed to bring a little satisfaction and contentment to me as I made my way along the all too familiar route from Louisiana up into the Northeast quadrant of this great land.  Even though I am familiar with the route there is always something new to give a little variety and pleasure to my daily tasks.

Constantly On The Go

Two days ago I reached my eighteenth month anniversary at this new job driving a dedicated flat-bed position for SAPA aluminum through Knight Transportation.  I have been overwhelmingly pleased with my situation here - it has so many positives to it that help you be successful.  One of them is consistency - I'm serving a dedicated customer who always has work for me to do.  I'm never sitting off somewhere in a part of the country where the freight happens to be slow for a few days, and even if I am off somewhere like that they don't bother with waiting around to find me something, they just go ahead and tell me to start back toward Delhi, Louisiana so that I can get one of the many loads they have there waiting for a driver to get.  My good friend Paul Anderson, who was instrumental in bringing this great job to my attention will be leaving here soon.  He has desires to run out in the Western states, and he has gotten bored with the same routines involved with this job.  I wish him the best, and have tried to point out to him the really positive things about this situation, but he has never done a true over the road job like I have, and he wants to see what it is like.  I will miss him.  He started here at Knight, and I can understand his desire to see if there is some greener grass out there beyond what he has only known.

Forgive me for the quality of this photo, but I just couldn't get it to work properly on this electronic display in my dashboard.  I wanted you to notice the mileage on my odometer - I took this photo on the eighteenth month anniversary of driving this truck for Knight.

Can you make out that number?  250,002 miles.  If I remember correctly, when I was issued this truck it had just a little over 40,000 miles on it.  In eighteen months I have driven this truck a lot of miles!

I enjoy this job, but I miss being with my family very much.  It is a balancing act that is nothing short of difficult.  As you can see I am constantly on the go.  I have been remiss in posting on my blog lately, but I will try to be a little more active as I can.  I have really been busy lately, and my down time is usually spent on resting up for the next go at it.  I have so many things transpire while out on the road that they all become memories very quickly, I need to keep posting some of this stuff just for the sake of chronicling the things that take place out on the road.  I have heard this career be described as living three or four lifetimes, and I believe that is a good way of putting it,  You see so many things when living on the road, and come across so many characters that it all starts to run together as one big blur, like the trees passing by my window as I'm rolling down the highway.