The Old days are dying and the New drivers only smell like they have.

I mentioned this in another post but I thought I would see if this bothered anyone else.

I'd like to start out by saying, I'm far from the fashion Police and I'm a major supporter of the do your own thing club, but, a trend started emerging several years ago (About the time of the big CDL mill flair up) and seems to be getting worse in leaps and bounds.I'm just wondering if I'm the only person this kinda bothers.I also know this is just a rant,but if it causes just one newbie to change his clothes,take a shower or shut up while I eat my $20 meal in peace it will be worth the flack I'm gonna get for it.

Back in the day (Rooks LOVE tales that start out like this and I can hear their eyes rolling from here) if you walked into a truck stop you had for the most parts 3 types of dress with a bit of variation on each....You had your cowboy types,your biker types and your steel worker types....They ALL had something in common though....Leather boots to protect their feet, Denim pants that provided a little protection from scrapes and gouges and a shirt that at least covered their man b00bs and for the most part they were semi clean with some pride in their appearance.

They spoke in lower volume polite terms with each other and the whole place would dirty look a loudmouth or overly noisy patron until he/she was so uncomfortable they would either tone it down or leave.Kind of a "Police your own" thing that worked every time and taught respect to the misguided fairly quickly.If you played anything closer to rock than rockabilly you could tell instantly that you were branded a hippie and would probably receive a lot less polite looks than you did before you played that hippie ### "Flying Burrito Brothers " tune.lol.The loudest area would be the pay phone area where Hands talked and argued with dispatchers,old Ladies,their kids,mechanics etc etc and it was a free range area for noise with the Hands respecting what the other driver was going through.

Everyone tried to stay out of the others way and "excuse me" accompanied by smiles could be seen and heard several times before you left out.

In the parking lot there would ALWAYS be a couple of mega star 0/0 rides..(they were fairly common then) and the owners had no problem with showing them off to each other if they were breaking or had some slack time and the conversation was interesting.You left out feeling kinda like you had been to church and you were full and ready to hit your second wind and feeling like you were among true working class heros

Flash forward 20 years...10 miles before you make it to the truck stop you can start to hear the vendors of all types of goods on the CB...everything from tarp straps to high speed chicken feed.You pull into the fueling area and wait while some unknowing azzhat leaves his/her truck in the fuel bay while they browse through the store area for dingdongs and diet pepsi and leave you idling in line while they stroll around..get fueled and you walk in to the building and ALL of your major senses are assailed and kicked into the high hole.It seems without fail to go something like this... You have 3 idiots leaning on the fuel desk with terminator looking crap stuck to the side of their peanut heads and yapping at full volume..You stand there waiting to pay behind these grubworms and by the time they move out of your way you know way more about what their drug of choice is,what their"babies mama's" name is,what new rap disc is out and who's ### they are going to kick when they get home than you care about...the good part of it is they speak some kinda "urbanesse" and you only understand part of it...."Fo'shizzle my wanker,you got that right, a'ight,I'll chump him up when I get back to the crib" ..What the hell does that even mean...You make it through that and head for the restrooms and have at least a half dozen more wandering around with vacant stares and ipods cranked to the hilt, standing right in the line of travel and it makes you feel like putting a couple of their teeth in your trophy box when they just "fisheye" you instead of moving when you say "pardon me"...You finally make your way to the crapper and if your lucky they JUST cleaned them,if not it would knock a buzzard off of a crap wagon with what you are subjected to.TAKE A SHOWER ONCE IN A WHILE FOLKS!!!!...If your stomach hasn't rebeled against you at this point you fight your way back through the lost boy herd who are still scratching their butts and smelling their fingers and make your way to the restaraunt section where you run into that couple that must follow you to every truck stop,beat you to the food section and stand in your way stinking....You know them don't you?? You know, he's about 5'5 goes about 325#,he's wearing sandals, cut off jogging shorts that should have a hazmat placard for bio hazard and a white wife beater shirt that broadcasts two things about him to you,the fact that he is not a picky eater and that that is his favorite shirt because he hasn't changed it in a week or so...His main squeeze is holding his hand and standing there too..She's the little dove that was up to shipping weight long ago and any more feed is just spending good money(you Bullhaulers understand that dontcha)...She also has her favorite attire on...a "big company satin jacket" with enough dog hair on it to make her another dog or two and the ever so lovely cheetos lipstick....he's a lucky man indeed.An hour later a pissy acting waitress slams a menu in front of you(No ice water left anymore??) with crap all over it...you finally get your grub and try to eat it while screaming kids run loose,15 jerk wads talk on the cell phone and try to out tough guy each others conversation.A few old Hands will look at you and know what you are feeling all the way to your soul but are helpless in there own misery.Finally disgusted you go pay $20 for gruel that you wouldn't have ate 20 years ago much less paid for without a fist fight of epic proportion.You wade your frazzled butt back through the steering wheel holders wearing everything from beach attire to the "bad boy" attire which is tribal crap of their choice accesorized with the tribal wrap tattoo and topped with the goofiest looking fashion of headgear that has ever hit the planet...The doo rag...uhh..do you guys EVER look in the mirror..no protective clothing anywhere.( you folks are working...dress for work)By the time you get to the door your praying some scrote in one of the"big company" trucks hasn't drug one of your fenders or your whole hood off in the parking lot with his wagon while he was leaving.You leave there feeling old,gaggy and shell shocked and feeling like you were the only straight one in a documentary about methanites...And missing home...oh so badly missing home.

 

Thanks for the Info

 

LOL Mick...you know me well enough now to know I ain't shy about sharing info (good or bad)and thanks for your info too.

 

Totally agree with ya, Muleskinner.

As a female driver, it makes me personally wanna go to the hygiene aisle, grab body wash, deodorant, shampoo and a razor for the scuzzy looking ones along with a bit of laundry soap, complete with a map to the laundry part of the truckstop itself.

As a mother, the people who dont control their children in the restaurant make me want to scream when they let the snots run loose. It's a restaurant. If the parents dont want to keep them under control, they have a place like that too, it's called Chuck E Cheese. I have kids myself but by gosh, my own mother would choke the crap right out of me if I didnt make mine behave in public and private. If they cant behave, take em home until they can.

 

Great post.....just laughing my ##### off!!! I drive local for a major snack distributor. All our bakery loads come in via the OTR guys. Alot of these drivers resemble your description in one way or another. They come into OUR drivers room and stink up the whole place. If they use the crapper.....jeez, you can't go in there for 1/2 an hour! That's even with the fan running. It's either a mega-slob or his mega-slob wife/ GF. The older, more seasoned drivers are ALWAYS clean, polite, friendly and customer service oriented. Most of the young guys really don't give a ####.

 

So very true...If my Dad heard anything from us kids mouths other than chewing while we were in public he would put what I call "eyemarks" on us...next warning was to lean over and whisper under his breath " I'll smack you so hard that your Mom's nose will start bleeding if you don't shut yer pie hole till we get out of here".I don't know what the third warning was cause I never made him give me that one ...He was not big on public displays of stupidity by parents or their kids.Super nice guy, but he was a firm believer in "spare the rod,spoil the child" and if you even so much as dirty looked another adult you might as well start kicking your own ### to get it warmed up for the main event.I think a lot of the problems today are grandparents have to raise so many of their kids offspring and are just to worn out to care anymore.lol

 

Mule,
Your observations are right on the money.

Unfortunately for all of us is that most of "them" can't, don't, won't come here to read your words.

Perhaps a few mirrors next to a cardboard pic of a more "appearance conscious" driver might instill a question in "their" minds?

I think I would "chip in" for a few of those if the TS would prominently display it.

 

I agree with the nasty and stinky part. I also cannot stand the talking on the bluetooth thing either. What is the deal with the "protective" clothing though? Are we driving trucks or motorcycles here? After I strap and tarp my load I take a shower. If it is warm outside, hello Margaritaville. I'm wearing shorts and sandals. Winter is way too long where I live. It is still in the twenties and plenty of snow on the ground. If I get a chance to enjoy some warm weather I am going to take advantage and drive in comfort as well.

 

Sooooo true!!!! I had to go in sometimes not as clean as I'd like to be but my clothes were clean and I was as clean as I could be without a shower as often as I wanted (three days instead of two!) - and I was heading RIGHT to the showers, too!!!

It was nice if we'd go places to eat around 11:00 at night when most "families" were gone and more older drivers were around - neat, clean, tidy, friendly, QUIET... ahhhh!!!!!

I'd hate to see their houses... some of their trucks smell so bad we've moved to park elsewhere for the night from the smell wafting over... it was GROSS!!!!!!!

 

Lord I can't even imagine how rough their homes might be..Can you imagine turning some of them loose with your mega star chicken truck and what it would look like when it came back in??? Candy wrappers soda bottles ,food crumbs..I swear I'd be in jail for murder....Most of the time I don't even wear my work boots in the truck, if they are dirty I'll change em out for my "go to town" boots...And one buddy of mine only wears socks in his truck because of his hardwood floors and another won't let you in his truck with boots either if it's for a long ride.I know thats mighty anal, but they built em up and they have pride in them ....I've mostly hauled cattle and equipment...both are pretty dirty jobs and I always tried my best to take a quick shower once a day when I fueled up ...If it's really hot or super cold I couldn't really do it if I had hoofs on the deck because you got to keep em dancing, but with equipment I would usually be able to do it.It just made me feel better and a little more rested.