*May 12th*
Beaumont, Texas. About 7am. Been rolling since 4:30am. That's my favorite time to start out. I miss a lot of traffic in the city when I'm on the road that early. I never drive in evening rush hour. And I always easily have my pick of the best parking spots at whichever truck stops I choose. Which is usually Loves or Flying J. Either way, it's way better than scrambling to find a spot at 11pm at night when they're all filled up.
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So that was earlier. I got informed my load was ready to take off 10 minutes after backing up to the dock. That's what I like to hear! Sucks though...they had an air conditioned drivers lounge. Oh well..I'd rather be moving. Only way I make money. I'm now at a rest stop in Louisiana.
I realized I haven't really kept up much with the blog. It's not that I've lost interest. It's just that the newness of being a trucker is gone. Along with a lot of the fear and anxiety. Not saying I have this shit figured out. But right now I'm just doing the job. Most of the writing I'd be doing would be non-trucking related. Lots of repetition with this company. Which I like. The day to day tasks have enough hiccups to keep me on my toes.
Earlier, I passed by a bad wreck involving a tractor trailer and a little compact car. I hope the driver lived. The car sure didnt. And the tractor looked in rough shape too. I'm not trying to act like I know exactly what happened and who's at fault. But the way it was all sitting, it looks like the truck had to slam on breaks. The road was wet and the tractor was facing one way while the trailer faced another. It was completely jack knifed. I wish people realized that these trucks take as long to slow down as they do to get up to speed. We can not stop on a dime. So when a little car pulls in front of us and then immediately slows down, there's very little we can do. I see people risking their lives daily. Scary stuff.
Anyway...today if my friend Steve's birthday. One of my best friends. We've been running buddies for almost 30 years. Pretty much since we each walked into 10th grade art class and would fuel each other's rebellious tendencies by including Kiss and Aerosmith in every piece we worked on. Haha. It drove our teacher crazy. I look forward to catching up with him and grabbing a beer or 6 when I can.
This weekend is also Mother's Day. Looks like a few phone calls from the road to a few of the best mommas I know.
*May 22nd*
San Antonio,TX . Flying J truck stop. Finished my day after running 638 miles. I been rolling hard these past 2 days. I drop and hook my trailer in the morning and get dispatched on a backhaul. Hopefully sooner rather than later. If I don't hear from dispatch after sitting empty for more than an hour, I'll call and bug 'em. I don't care. I need these wheels rolling. Its the only way I make money.
Anyway...yeah....so far so good on this job. I'm really enjoying it. I've got a good routine and I've learned a lot. It's really starting to gel. I'm convinced I wouldn't be this happy if I stayed with my previous employer. This place pays more, I hardly ever see my bosses, and I get to see my wife and home atleast once a week. Plus, I think with the environment I'm in now, I have learned more about being a good truck driver in the last 4 weeks than I did the whole time I was with my previous Dallas-based employer.
I keep in contact with a few of my driving school class mates. It looks like they are burning up the roads as well. I think back to when we were all in class together we were scared shitless. Today it's a completely different situation. Hell, I noticed that I even talk about trucking completely different now than when I first started. Now using a lot of the terminology and lingo only decipherable to other truckers. I guess it was bound to happen. I'm sure my old class mate's situations are also similar. I hope they stay safe and successful.
Today was a good day. I was listening to the Bruce Springsteen channel (on satellite radio) as I was rolling through Texas between Houston and San Antonio. Grassy fields, cattle, fence posts, and rusted out Chevrolets. Ok...there were no rusted out Chevys. But the rest of what I described is EXACTLY what a lot of Bruce Springsteen songs visually bring to mind. You know...AFTER the first 2 albums when he was writing from a Jersey point of view. I've had a few of those moments since I started this career. Makes me wish Bruce wrote a trucking song. I mean..he wrote a song about a wrestler. Surely he could compose a 3 and half minute masterpiece, celebrating the knight of the open road....as we each make our way down the highways and biways through the heartland.....from the dockside ports of Jersey to dustbowl farmers outside of L.A. I mean, look what I come up with in like 4 seconds off the top of my head.
Anyway, I'm going to attempt the seldom acheived mid day nap. Until next time......
