Mama tried...mama tried....

Tonight's dinner and a movie consisted of a Cobb salad and Lethal Weapon in the lounge of a truck stop in Texas. Instead of my wife being my date, it was an empty stool at the counter of a Dennys. The salad was good. The empty seat..not so much. I find out tonight that Dusti, my wonderful lady, organized and coordinated a gathering of my side of our family for a birthday dinner for my mom's birthday. Thinking about that right now is a little too much to think about. Moving on.

Well just a few short hours after posting my initial entry, the gears of this machine start turning quickly. I was given my papers and told to meet my new partner, Steve, at a Flying J truck stop right outside of Dallas at 1 a.m. in the morning. That was 2 days ago. The reality of this hit me like a ton of bricks. Both in a good way and a bad way. On one hand, it's a lot to learn. Not so much the driving. That's actually pretty natural. But all of the computer and trip planning stuff is Chinese to me. I'm sure it'll make sense at some point. But right now it doesn't seem possible. Its only day 2 of my 6 week stay out here. Now....you may think to yourself "It's easy...just put the destination in your navigator and there's your plan." Nah. See...the government now has 836,754,394 rules that restrict the amount of time we can be out here on the road. You have to account for sleep, breaks, duties relating to the trip and the vehicle, fuel stops, weigh stations, and cleaning chicken blood out of the bottom of a refrigerated trailer if there's any. Plus...the customer also has the audacity to want their product picked up for delivered during a time frame. It's over whelming at this moment. I'm hoping to read this in a year and chuckle. No laughs right now. Just cold sweat anxiety attacks.

On the other hand, I was riding in the passenger seat of our rig this morning across Texas as the sun was about to come up with Buck Owens playing on the radio. The picture of that moment in my head won't ever go away. Not to mention my riding partner Steve as part of that moment. Steve is a 61 year old ex Marine with long gray hair in a pony tail, scraggly beard, and faded tats. Personality matches the appearance. He seems like a solid cat. Typical old school trucker that grunts when he answers but insists on flirting with every cashier and gate clerk between Houston and Sherman, TX. It's fun to watch. Me and Steve won't be partners for long. He goes on break in a week and I'll be reassigned. But for now, I'm soaking up as much as I can from him. Oh yeah...and I'm not taking it for granted that he has XM satellite radio and all that we listen to is old country. All day...every day...every mile.

Reading back on this just now, it seems a little too serious. It's not. In all honestly, this has been harder to deal with than I'd like to admit. I have 5 or 6 weeks of not sleeping in my bed and seeing my wife.  Typical trucker life. It comes with the territory. I know. Working on it. Truth is, if I left home with my boys and was playing music or doing something I knew something about, I'd be a little more chipper. Right now, my time is dominated with working, studying, testing and trying to build something close to a comfort zone. Right now...I don't have one. Don't take yours for granted. That, and the people in your life. They make your days easier to handle.

Happy birthday Mom. I'll see the rest of you in a few days and a few miles from now.