10-4 Magazine January 2025

The Veteran’s View: By Dennis Mitchell Someone close the door... it’s time to put the past behind us! Joy, joy, joy, hope springs eternal, and all that jazz. This is a new year and therefore we have the opportunity to start over again. Some of you have made resolutions to change your presumed bad habits, but most of them will be forgotten in a short period of time. So, what’s different about this year that makes it stand out from all the others? Nothing. It’s not the year that makes the difference, it’s the time, our time in history, yours and mine. This is a time when anything is possible if you are willing to reach out and grasp the many opportunities now available. Most of our younger readers have heard of the “Golden Age of Television” or music, and there are many other good examples. Some of us are old enough to remember a few of those wonderful things and pine for their return. Most importantly, we wish for the return of pride, prosperity, and principals in our lives. The incoming president said in his acceptance speech on November 5th that America is entering a new age – a Golden Age of Prosperity. I don’t want to dwell on the election, but the people have spoken and spoken loudly. I am extremely proud of our truck drivers who took the time to vote. They made the choices that can and most likely will offer new and exciting opportunities in the future. We can now hope for a new direction of leadership in all those three letter agencies, who govern our industry, and therefore our lives. There are new expectations that the Chevron doctrine (you can look it up) will be overturned, and control will be returned to the courts, not dictated or administered by the agency that writes the regulations. That means some of those onerous and unpopular regulations imposed by the EPA and other agencies will get rolled back. Can we just say no and goodbye to the “new green energy deal”? That also includes the state of California and the CARB nonsense they have put upon so many of us. These things affect not just those of us who move goods across this great land, but also the people who used to manufacture them, as well. “Bring back the jobs!” This should be our new battle cry. No longer should our government be giving free money to people who don’t deserve it, haven’t earned it, or who wasted years of their lives attending “higher education institutions” and now can’t or won’t pay it back – especially when we have hard working individuals stretching their resources to cover the most basic of needs. Many of them are those of you who make their living with trucks and the many aspects of trucking. It’s time to focus on making this nation great again and prosperous again. That means rolling up our sleeves and getting back in the fight. Sure, a few of us might get punched in the nose or slapped in the face, but nothing worthwhile is gained without some sacrifice. This (trucking) has never been an easy job or even an overly generous one, but it is our job, and once again, we can make it great! Every month I read about young drivers wishing for the “Good Old Days” of trucking, or the “Old School” ways, and many think they can’t ever happen again. Are you among them? Are they really gone forever, or just missing in action? It’s a new year – let’s rejuvenate our energy, redirect our actions, and reach for the road map leading to that payday palace. Smokey the Bear says, “Only you can prevent forest fires,” but today, I want you to be the firemen and women who extinguish the dumpster fire of the last few years. There, I said it! We have been living through four years of the worst trials, tribulations and, 46 10-4 Magazine / January 2025 A GOLDEN AGE