KEN'S KORNER - AUGUST 2006

JUST ANOTHER DAY!
By Author, Educator and Big City Driver Ken Skaggs

My alarm clock went off at 4:00 in the morning. I wanted to get a jump on the traffic so I figured I’d get up early and try to get through Dallas before everyone else did. I stood up and scratched my head, looking around confused. How do you lose shoes in a truck? Then, I found them right where they should be. Now, why didn’t I think of that? I put my toothbrush and toothpaste in my pocket and grabbed my 24 oz. coffee mug. I’d need every ounce of it this morning.

Inside the truckstop, I splashed some cold water on my face and looked at myself in the mirror – man, I looked tired. Then I remembered my logbook and the mess it was in. I planned my creative “entries” as I brushed my teeth. This ten-hour sleep rule is still a struggle for me. The picture started getting clearer as I poured the coffee. Sixty-five cents later (this mug really pays for itself) I was balancing my logbook on the steering wheel, scratching out something possible, I think. A few sips later, I walked around the truck to make sure everything was still attached. Satisfied that it was, I was finally ready to roll. The sky was already beginning to light – it sure does get light out early this time of year. I looked at the clock and put one more line in my log (I can’t believe it took me an hour to do that). As I pulled out of the truckstop, I thought about how I wished that I had got to bed earlier last night.

I approached Dallas just a hair ahead of the rush, I thought. About half way through, everything slowed to a crawl for no apparent reason. Traffic was bumper to bumper for a few minutes when I realized I had to use the bathroom, and wasn’t about to find one any time soon. I forgot all about that when I saw the cause of the jam – I guess nobody ever seen a flat tire before. Shaking my head with disbelief, I shifted to high-range for the first time in twenty minutes. It was 6:00 and I was still ahead of schedule.

I arrived at my delivery just before they opened at 7:00. At 9:00 I realized it would be a while before they unloaded my trailer, so I stretched out on the bed. I was just getting comfortable and about to doze when someone knocked on my door and gave me my paperwork. It was 10:30 and I wished I could have slept for an hour. If only I had laid down as soon as I got docked. I punched in my empty call as I drove around looking for a good place to park for awhile (it usually takes an hour or two to get my next load dispatched) – maybe I’ll get that nap I need after all. Thirty minutes later, I found a nice mall and stretched out on the bunk.

Just as I was falling asleep, the phone jerked me back to reality. I counted on one hand the hours I really slept all night as I answered it. It was my wife. We only talked for ten minutes when she had to go. I haven’t seen her or the kids in four days and knowing it would be another four before I did, I just sat there for a few minutes daydreaming about last weekend, being in my backyard with some shish-kabobs on the grill, a few close friends and family over, the kids running around interrupting my train of thought, the hot sunshine, our relentless efforts to stay in the ever-moving shade and all the laughs.

I forgot I was tired when the Qualcomm went off. It was 11:30 and I had exactly thirty minutes to drive about fifty miles. I got there twenty minutes late and everybody was on lunch. At 1:30 I finally got into a dock to get loaded. I had to count my freight, so I stood on the dock for an hour and a half, as they brought one skid every five minutes. I waited ten more minutes for someone to type out my bills, then, finally, at 3:15 in the afternoon, I was sealed and looking at the map. It’s a four hundred mile run with an appointment first thing in the morning. Normally, I’d try to get there tonight, but I only had four hours left on my fourteen. It was a seven-hour drive. That would mean getting up at 3:00 in the morning. Oh well, at least I knew I’d be getting to sleep early.

Running hard to make good time, I did my best right up until my fourteen hours ran out, but still realized that I should have been much farther up the road than I was. I guess that run was a little more time-consuming than I thought it would be. About forty minutes later I stopped for the night. I stretched out on the bed and it felt great. I began to plan my next morning as I got comfortable. I’d have to get up at 3:00 to be on time. That only gave me seven hours of real sleep, but on my log I would have to make it look like ten somehow. Seven is good.

By now the sun had set and all I had eaten all day was a few sugared preservatives out of a vending machine, so I got up and went inside the Petro where I was parked. I ate, took a shower, played a few games and called home to check in. About that time, I realized it was 10:30. How did that happen? I rushed myself to bed, only to lie there thinking about the fact that I had to get up at 3:00. The clock kept ticking, as I did the math and realized I would only sleep about four hours. I was just about asleep when the Qualcomm went off again. It was my paycheck information, and it was a good one – four digits. I smiled, turned the volume on the Qualcomm all the way down and went to sleep, finally.

It was just a typical day of life out on the road, but it was a good one. I decided the next time I get home I’d take five days off instead of three. It sure is nice, being able to do that. Ah, the perks and freedoms of being a trucker. You can’t beat that!

Copyright © 2006 10-4 Magazine and Tenfourmagazine.com 
PO Box 7377 Huntington Beach, CA, 92615 tel. (714) 378-9990  fax (714) 962-8506