10-4 Magazine February 2024

48 10-4 Magazine / February 2024 of a healthy relationship. Barb and I often joke about the second wife, with my truck being that person. The fact we have found humor in the situation is a sign of wisdom and experience on my wife’s part. It takes a special person to except the hardships that come with this job. When a driver is absent from the home for weeks – and in some cases months – at a time, there are a lot of “Honey Do” things that don’t get done. Don’t misunderstand me, there have been times when she had no patience for my insistence on getting back to work or for neglecting my responsibilities at home. She may only be 5-foot 6-inches tall, but when she carries a 6-foot 2x4, she really gets her point across. Most of my driving career has been long haul OTR, but there have been times when I needed to change up to accommodate the family. Fortunately, there are opportunities for a person to move around from one company to another, as long as you don’t do it too often. I always enjoyed the home time when working locally, but I found the actual hours I worked were greater than when I was running long haul (go figure, right). This, too, can put a strain on the relationship. Someone once said, “When mom’s mad, ain’t no one happy, and when dad’s mad, he sleeps in the truck.” I’m not sure that’s the right answer, but I have heard my mother say, “It takes two to tango, so if you want to dance, listen for the music.” I started this whole thing thinking about father and son relationships and how they used to pass down the family heritage from one generation to the next. I was raised to be a farmer. Little did I know, due to economic times in the early 1970s, that dream would never be. I finished high school at a time when the prospect of employment was slim. Four years later, after my military experience, I returned home with a wife and all the responsibilities of a family. That’s where I dialed in my skills as a driver. I took to the road out of necessity – not because I was born to do it! All these years later, I can’t imagine my life any different. I think my destiny was set long before I realized how life would turn out. “Wagon Master” was my father-in-law’s handle. He saw the wonder lust in me and set my feet on the road to where I’ve been. That’s what I mean when I use the term “Generational Experience” – when your children, or just young people in general, see you do your life’s work. Just the time spent with them riding in the jump seat, watching you roll the gears, and listening to the stories of people you know and the places you have been, will help mold their opinion of your work. If more people took pride in the job they do and worried less about what others think of the job, there would be way more happy workers out there. There is a certain satisfaction in watching your children grow into the people they are to be, and knowing you showed them a slice of your life, even if you were not always there from day to day. One of my proudest days was the first time my son took the wheel as a licensed CDL holder running team with his old man. Then, when he left the yard on his first solo dispatch, loaded for the east coast. Then, still another milestone was when he became an owner operator in his own truck – a vehicle the two of us built together for him. After a short stint, he came to me and said, “Dad, this driver thing isn’t for me, it’s your life, and I want to go a different way.” Like I said, it’s not for everyone, but at least he has a vocation to fall back on should his dream not work out. In all walks of life and all careers, there are crossovers or life lessons, and places where experience will help you avoid the pitfalls of poor design. My son now uses his early experience as a driver to build better trucks and truck parts. As my trucking career winds down, he is still building his name, his style, and his brand. Even though I no longer go trucking with him, I can still spend a few weeks every year helping him build the trucks dreams are made of, for drivers who dream of the open road. Here’s to my family affair – it’s still trucking, and that’s all good, 10-4! n