I've
been out of the front seat for just about two years now. I watch the
winter weather reports and see the many accidents and mishaps on the
nightly news. I put my time in. 15+ years of over the road flatbed
driving in some of the worst conditions. I always feel bad when a
semi is involved.
I'll
be someone – anywhere - and for whatever reason my mind will flash
back to somewhere I was – driving, delivering, picking-up or
arguing. Sure, there were plenty of good times. I wouldn't trade a
minute when my son was with me on the road during many summers. Like
other jobs, there were instance's of much satisfaction and pride. Other
occasions, when safety threatened me not to idle when it was frigid
cold or sweltering hot or I would be terminated, made my blood boil.
One
of my greatest safety valves was the blog “Life On The Road”
where I posted over 650 articles about what I was experiencing and the business of trucking. I was
both applauded and chastised for my viewpoint and opinions. I was
always under the impression that the newer green drivers, most of
whom never lasted very long, always wanted to think that truck
driving was some kind of adventure. That drivers were paid tourists.
It
is not an adventure and after a million miles driving, only maybe
once or twice did I ever shift in tourist mode. For the experienced
and more senior drivers, trucking is and will always be a serious
business. Anyone who doesn't think otherwise is a fool. A few back to
back weeks of low miles and a zero paycheck, especially during the
holidays, and off come those rosy glasses. A wife and kids back home
that can't pay the mortgage or power bill because of slow freight
takes years off everyone's life. Depression is common.
I'm
not going to dwell on the downside of trucking. I earned my CDL and
all my endorsements after I was downsized from another industry in a
much earlier recession. That CDL got me employed again and became
worth far more than any college education or other business
experience. I jumped around at first as most newbies do and finally
joined a decent company out of Tulsa. I spent almost seven years
there.
During
all my years driving I can honestly say I fought hard for every mile,
every dollar and for the best safest equipment. I also must honestly
state that I never got paid adequately for the work I did and the
time on the job I put in. I viewed it as a 60/40 relationship with me
on the short end of the equation. It was only at the very end of my
driving career that I did not give 125% to the job and the company
that employed me.
The transition from driving is tougher than I though, but I'm trying to move on. Water under the
bridge and all. Due to physical limitations, I'll never be able to
drive a commercial vehicle again. My time behind the wheel of a
4-wheeler is also limited. Every once in a while I'll go back to my
old company website and see how things are going. I was doing that
just today and I saw that they're building a new corporate
headquarters. They broke ground earlier this month. The old
facilities, at least to me, still look new.
I
think it might have been Warren Buffet – or some other gazillionaire who said that in certain industries – like trucking – all you
need to be successful in business is a desk, chair, computer, telephone and
someone willing to put in the time and deal with all the BS. A
multi-million dollar headquarters structure wasn't part of the deal.
As one of the folks that picked up and delivered the freight, I never
saw the need for the people that supported my efforts to have any
better “digs” than me.
I
looked at the picture of that new corporate headquarters and there
came the rush of flashbacks of all the penny pinching, pettiness,
harassment from safety, operations and maintenance, the arrogance of
customers and all the absurd rules, regulations and policies that all
drivers have to deal with daily. That new building, although I don't
work at the company anymore, will be built with my sweat and that of
all over the road truck drivers. We will never get the credit or compensation for what we do.
Build
your beautiful impressive new corporate headquarters, but never
forget as every brick is applied that "you" refused to pay "us" for an extra stop, a HAZMAT load, waiting or
detention time, days waiting for special loads to clear customs in
Canada to come back to US, crossing picket lines, time re-powering loads, downtime
repairing your truck or trailers and missing all those holidays or
cutting home time short to do those “special” favors. Our sweat and sacrifice made that building possible.
