The best of trucking-only + comments

Having a cup of coffee with someone who either just helped you, or you just helped....

Listening to the engine growl while climbing a hill...
Someone asking me on that hill "how much weight you got on that thing?"

 

Another thing about trucking that i enjoy is that many years ago I was only dreaming of being a trucker, as my family traveled this u.S.A. when i was a child my dad and I were riding in a 1952 ford 2ton bubble nose truck with a house built on the back of it, this was in the early 80's, 1 was 12 we were doing about 50mph going through the Virgin River george in Arizona, when a 359 model pete passed us,twin straight stacks the turbo whistling and he was still shifting gears, my dad got on the cb in our old 2ton truck and said bring it over big truck, I told dad thats what I wanted to do when I got old enough.. after my entire childhood on the road tramping around with my family, i started driving in 1993 7 years later i had a million miles, everytime i went through the virgin river george i remembered telling Dad thats what i was going to do some day, now im dreaming that dream again... someday ill be back on the road...if i can figure out how ill put a picture on here of our 52 ford truck with the house on it..

 

I love being on the road, with the cruise set, nobody in front of me, and just driving along listening to the radio.

 

Work wise I love the fact that I can work around 65 hours per week with nobody telling me how to do things - just what needs to be done..

Life wise it might be more company or segment specific but I love the fact I can choose my shift and general income every year.

Not trying to be overly ####y but I really love the fact that according to Wikepedia, 78.37 of households make less than I do as the household.. The average size of the household in my income range is 1.94 but I'm just a one man show right..

Gonna take around a 30-35K pay-cut next year but that is 100% by choice because I selected an 8 and the gate shift..

It's nice to know that with the stroke of a pen I can almost guarantee over 100K for 2012 if that's what I choose to do but probably more like 110K..

Trucking cost me some things personally but I've learned from those mistakes and won't repeat them - note the pay-cut..haha.. All kidding aside, trucking has been pretty good to me and even though I finished my chemistry degree a little while back, I will continue to drive here till I figure out a way to make loot by myself or Con-way Freight is no more right..

 

You and me both. It's frightening to realize that some couples don't pull in what I do. I often wonder how they manage.

 

No doubt right.. I suppose they do it by getting 100 feet or 30.48 meters above their eyeballs in debt right..haha.. I guess it's not really funny though.. That will never be me though as it seems to me like it won't be you either.. 100% debt free is the way to be - made that my motto about 1 1/2 years ago..

 

Wining a 1000 Dollars at the Big Sky casino in NM an picking the wining KY Derby horse on the sane day.

 

Thank you Nana. You reminded me of a Christmas Eve some years back. Since I was single I got stuck covering for "The guys with kids" and was feeling pretty low. It had snowed hard all day and I was running a load of fuel into a remote tank farm; nothing but woods for miles. The snow had quit, the clouds was breaking up and the moon was peeking out. I was moving kinda slow cause there was 6 inches or so of fresh snow on the road.

I came around a curve and came upon an open field just as the moon popped out bright and full. Picture this.... the surrounding trees were covered in snow like they were wrapped in cotton, the open field was glittering like diamonds.... and right in the middle was a small herd of deer who all stopped and were looking at me. A for real Christmas card.

I still smile when I think of that. I call those my Thank You Lord moments.

 

No sun on my glass, no bears on my ace. Wind from the rear, sippin an ice cold beer. Critters stayin on the side of the highway given me the right of way. Runnin on a small scenic road with the hammer down and no oncoming traffic to be found. On a hot summer night, on an old county road and not a soul in sight, skinny dippin in a lake by the moonlight. Watching the fire flys on the eastern USA. Fall in the northeast. Winter in the south. Driving hard when all the other trucks are cuddled together at a haven, driving threw the night and seeing all the overturned trucks in the morning whose drivers made a mistake or luck was not upon them and did not make it. The adrenalin of driving on ice or threw blanket fog showing no fear, wondering if luck will turn on you and the next breath may be your last, being thankful when your shift is done you are still here. Knowing that there might be one or more who didnt make it, running that line that night. When I work all day and run all night, the sight of my pillow in the morning is one of my most beautiful sights.

Lots and lots of coffee, music cranked, no traffic, long run, beautiful scenery, flat windy roads and plenty of spots to safely pull over an drain da lizard. Im a happy camper.