10-4 Magazine April 2024

The Veteran’s View: By Dennis Mitchell Spring is here – at least it’s started on the calendar. In the world of trucking, it’s official since MATS is now in our rear-view mirrors, and the truck show season is under way. I can confirm a sighting of Stephanie Haas and others photographing the rigs at the Kentucky Expo Center last week. Hopefully, some of you were able to attend the largest transportation related event of the year in Louisville, Kentucky. I know I did, and just for the record, I now have enough new ideas on how to change up my old ride to sink a battleship. While we were there, we saw some things, and I’m sure the ideas were pirated from my work bench. I wonder if Penny the Pooch has been selling me out to raise money for more doggy biscuits? I guess you can’t be too careful who you talk to! I saw a lot of old friends, and possibly made a few new ones, too. I took the time to check out the show trucks parked in the lot for competition while waiting to enter the convention building. I’m sure glad I didn’t have to compete with some of that high dollar iron. I’ve got a couple BOS (Best of Show) trophies from MATS from years gone by, back when most of us were “working” trucks. Back in those days we couldn’t conceive of trailering our creations to an event. Today, it’s becoming much more common than not. I can say with great certainty that some of us were accused of doing just that, and of having more than one truck that looked the same – one for competition and one for commerce. If there had only been that much money in trucking back then, most of us wouldn’t still be pushing the wheels of an old diesel up and down the road today. I do still enjoy the time I spend viewing the older trucks, those with some war wounds and imperfections, derived from time served. Standing next to a vehicle, I try to let it, the truck, tell its story. Listening to a driver relate the event always brings a smile to my face. Mostly, I can hear the passion in their voice, and maybe how they attacked the problem or what led up to the trouble. Sometimes it’s the humility of them realizing their own mistake – “do as I say not as I did” – might be the lesson. After close to 50 years behind the wheel, I can relate to almost every situation they describe. Yes, I’ve done some dumb stuff too, and some of it was downright stupid, and all too often it turned out to be dangerous, as well. Possible future drivers be warned: if you want a safe and sane life, than seek employment elsewhere. There may be truth in the songs people sing in our honor. “East bound and down, loaded up, and truckin” is one that springs into my mind. There are others too, like 30 Thousand Pounds of Bananas, and Six Days on the Road. Trucks, trains, and fast cars are the subject of folk lore, but in today’s bubble-wrapped society, I’m afraid we are losing the stories and the overall desire to push the limits, of both ourselves and our equipment. As I’m preparing to tune my old truck up for the summer months, it needs to be spit-shined from top to bottom, too. Here at the end of our road I’m the chief mechanic, the tire guy, and you guessed it, the wash attendant, too. I know I will need to do more dumb stuff if I want to stand tall with the Big Dogs at the local truck stop. It’s possible I’m the reason the township bought that new ambulance. I’ve seen it parked down at the end of my driveway a couple times. They seem to be more worried about me standing on an 8-foot ladder, buffing the paint on my roof, than I am! The saying “Go big or go home” is a common refrain in our industry. We use it to describe many aspects of our lives and our work duties. When 50 10-4 Magazine / April 2024 CUSTOMER SERVICE?