10-4 Magazine October 2020

The Veteran’s View: By Dennis Mitchell Wow, what happened to summer? I don’t remember the end of spring, and now we are already getting trucks dressed for the upcoming snow season. Oh my goodness – did I just write that four-letter word? Say it isn’t so! It can’t be that time already. Shoot, we haven’t even had the election yet. Between a hard winter, then the Covid thing, riots, and then the hot weather and wildfires, we have had almost everything happen to us during this, the year of troubles. America has been through a lot, and I’m sure this year will go down in infamy as the year simply called 2020. Before I get too far into this month’s article, let’s take a minute to think about trucking. For those of you not familiar with the term, it translates to “the act of moving materials from one place to another while driving a motor vehicle.” This summer’s heat is fading fast in much of the north country, that includes most every place north of Interstate 10. In its place will soon be falling leaves, along with pumpkin spice flavored drinks. That also means more kids will be playing outdoors and in the streets. In case you forgot from last year, they again are not looking for or paying any attention to traffic. That’s where you drivers come into the picture. Remember, our number one job as truck drivers is to protect the motoring public. Sometimes that includes bikes, skateboards, and yes, those crazy joggers. I’m sure that’s why Jake brakes and straight pipes we’re invented – if for no other reason than to scare the bajebbers out of these darned fools. Maybe you drive a more sophisticated type of rig, possibly a euro-styled, sleek, swift, but deadly combination that has a train horn. Either way, you get the picture. At the appropriate time, when they are near to let’s say a water hazard or close to the edge of a ditch, lean over and rip that train horn! I’m not sure you can find this maneuver in the driver’s handbook, and I’m also sure 10-4 Magazine does not endorse it either, but hey, it’s what we all want to do to wake these fools up. School has been back in session for a good month now and we are beginning to see some buses back on the road. If you are not a regular two-lane runner (local streets and state highways) and you find yourself heading off into the toolies, be aware of these buses because kids will now be boarding and disembarking from these yellow behemoths. Early mornings can be most difficult, because children can be hard to see standing in the shadows and beside dark objects. I have had many encounters in the early morning when the sun distracts my view and the reflection from my hood leaves me temporarily blind for a few seconds. Afternoon delivery of these same young kids can create a different experience. They may not wait for traffic to clear before they dart out into the street. Please take extra care an exercise caution when following a school bus. Any of our avid 10-4 readers know I’m a biker, as well as a truck nut. When I’m not burning up the interstate dragging my reefer around or pulling wrenches on my equipment, I like to fire up the old big dog and eat some bugs. The darned things get stuck in my teeth, since I can’t stop smiling when I ride. It’s a biker thing. Now that the weather has cooled off a bit, more of my brothers and sisters are taking to the road for seasonal trips and color tours (fall leaf tours). In the upper Midwest, this is a very popular 62 10-4 Magazine / October 2020 DON’T CRY WOLF!