An Ode To The Trucker

My Uncle. Should be retiring but instead bought a new truck to keep bringing you your stuff.

You know that big truck you don't pay any attention to that just gets in your way? That truck is being driven by a human being who has probably been on the road for days, away from their family and friends, to bring you every single thing you use and consume in your life. Take a look around you right now. EVERY. SINGLE. THING. you see has been brought to you by a trucker. From the flooring in your home to the coffee in your cup, to your cup, to the paint on your walls. Every item you consume and use has been brought to you by a trucker.

Next time you get mad because a big truck is "in your way", try to put yourself in their shoes. That truck is probably in your way because some car won't get out of their way. People drive around all day in their little sports cars and pickup trucks whining and pissing and moaning about these truckers and how "rude" they are and how they are constantly in the way. Those trucks have no other choice but to be "in the way".

Those trucks are being driven by people taking time away from their families to be in your "way" so you can put food on the table for your family. They are making a choice to be out on the road, dealing with cars that see them as nothing more than a nuisance, to bring goods to retailers for those very people's consumption, all while being ostracized and blamed for everything. They are on time crunches and deadlines, but only have so many hours they are allowed to even be inside the truck before they must pull over and wait in some rest stop in the middle of nowhere, missing their kids, missing their spouses, with a trailer full of the stuff everyone needs. Truckers are under immense pressure daily. Trucking is only "easy" to the new generation of "aimers" who are only in it for a paycheck and don't have the slightest clue how to be a real trucker. For the true truckers; the skilled drivers and the ones who actually know what they are doing, trucking is one of the most difficult professions out there.

Truckers don't get vacations. They don't get holidays. They spend their days staring at the same grey road for hours on end. Constantly stressing about traffic and arriving at their destination on time. Getting fined for being 10 minutes late because some asshole in a car wouldn't get out of their way. Being told to be at a certain location at a very specific time only to be made to wait, sometimes for hours on end before getting unloaded. "Hurry up and wait" is how trucking goes. They deal with weather, road conditions, traffic and breaking down every single day of their lives. They are the "invisible" heroes of our every day lives and nobody gives a shit.

My entire life has been spent respecting the trucker. I move out of their way. I slow down and let them over when I see their blinker on and fifty cars before me have simply ignored them and kept going. I flash my lights twice saying "go ahead, buddy, I'm in no hurry". Nine times out of ten that trucker flashes his lights back at me and I know he's saying "thank you". I know that he's grateful that someone finally came along who understands what it's like to need to get a big rig over when nobody pays any attention. He's relieved because he was most likely moving over for a reason. He was moving over because someone was entering onto the interstate. He was moving over because someone was on the side of the road and he didn't want to go by too closely at 70 mph. Or, he was moving over to pass a slower moving vehicle because he's on a deadline and would like to get to his destination on time so he doesn't get fined, only to be made to wait.

It's so easy for people to complain about big trucks and the noise they make and the space they take up, but if you just stopped for a minute and thought about why they exist, maybe you wouldn't be so quick to judge. While Jo Blow is typing out his ignorant comment on social media about how much truckers "suck", he's giving zero thought to the fact that he wouldn't have a phone/computer/tablet/laptop to type that comment without the trucker. While Bitch Ass Sally is honking at that big truck trying to back into the retail store he's delivering goods to, she's giving zero thought to the fact that if it weren't for truckers, she wouldn't be sitting in that vehicle that a trucker delivered, in a rush to get to the store to buy stuff that a trucker delivered.

Yes, nowadays trucks are everywhere, but that's because so are people and people consume things. Those "things" need to get there somehow. They don't just magically appear on the shelves in your local Walmart. A trucker brought that. Next time you go shopping, look at everything in that store and try to remind yourself that a trucker brought that. Get out of his way when you see his blinker on.  Give him some room and wait patiently while he backs into that store. You're in a hurry? He is, too. Move over when you see one coming down the on ramp and give him room to enter on to the interstate so he can get where he needs to go and hopefully that week get back to see his family before he has to turn right back around and go out again.

While you are going to your 9-5, the trucker is spending weeks away from his home. While you are sleeping, the trucker is up at 2 am to get back on the road and get where he needs to go, hopefully with a little less stress and less cars that won't move out of his way. While you are at the store filling your cart with items that a trucker brought, that same trucker is stuck at a rest area or truck stop because he's out of hours for the day and can't drive anymore. His trailer might be empty, but he can't make it home without risking a big fine and possibly his livelihood if he chances that 100 miles to get there. While you're complaining about truckers going too fast, going too slow, being loud, being in the way, being rude, etc, that trucker is doing those things for a reason and most likely trying to avoid an accident because you weren't paying attention.

While my son-in-law is out there driving a big truck providing for his family and my daughter and grandson are missing him, you are spending time with yours. Think about that next time you're annoyed by a trucker.