10-4 Magazine October 2021

The Veteran’s View: By Dennis Mitchell How many of you have been in the truckstop and seen another driver struggle to find a parking place or trying to back into a tight spot? What did you do? Did you just sit there and watch, or did you get out and help? My guess is that you got out your phone and took a video, hoping for something bad (funny) to happen, then made snide and unkind remarks on TikTok. I don’t know what possesses people to do that. I remember growing up on the farm in the 60s and 70s. My mother made us memorize “the golden rule” until it was as familiar as the scent of fresh baked bread. We savored that taste and associated it (the bread) with good times. If you’re not familiar with the golden rule, it goes like this: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. All these years later, I still think it’s a pretty good rule to live by. Any of us would want someone else to watch out for our stuff, but in times of need, are you the one that steps up and looks out for someone else? It may be raining and the wind is cold, but the driver backing in next to a truck two doors down is having difficulty – so why don’t you be the one to help? Yeah, I know, it’s not your truck, but what if it was? Wouldn’t you want someone to look out for your equipment? I don’t care whether you own the truck or not, if we don’t take the time to help each other out here, none of us will survive in this world for very long. When you act on the behalf of the other person you never know if the driver you save may become a friend for life. That driver you helped may go on to be the person that helps someone else who helps you back. Most people forget charity, but a charitable act can come at no cost to the giver and give great value to the person who receives it. Many of life’s simplest rewards are received by those who spend their time sprinkling tid-bits of goodwill wherever they go, not by taking from the joy of others. Wow! Now that I have got that off my chest, let’s see what else we can stir up this month. Now that summer is behind us and the short months of fall are here, what did we miss? Excuse me? What are you talking about? I’ve been doing my maintenance… well, sort of. Remember back in August when we were full into summer and the days were long and mostly hot, and our patience, for the most part, was short and quick to flair. I’m no exception to this – especially when something breaks or parts fail to live up to my expectations. It was about this time last year when I had a bearing fail on my steering axle and realized just how vulnerable we as drivers are to attending our own crash site. Thankfully, as things worked out, I didn’t crash, but I did need a wrecker to move the truck to a shop for repairs. Thanks to a Walmart driver who I had passed earlier, he noticed smoke and contacted me to let me know, saying, “Driver, you got troubles!” I am truly thankful for his intervention. Without his observation, I may not have been able to get stopped when I did. And trust me when I tell you, it was none too soon. By the time I was able to get my truck stopped, the outer bearing was completely gone and only the brake drum was keeping my front right tire and rim from departing the workforce. This stuff never happens when you can just pull over to the side of the road. No. I was on the downside of a hill, rolling onto a long bridge, of which I couldn’t stop. Little did I know at the time how severe the damage was. Two minutes later, I needed to sit down on the side of the road and pray! I am still thankful my truck and trailer (and myself) didn’t become part of the scenery over the side of the hill that day. Every time I cross that bridge, I give thanks to the trucking gods that I managed to stop, and offer up a prayer for that driver who alerted me of the impending danger. That old saying “what doesn’t kill us will make us stronger” may not be the best motto to live by. I kinda like my personal motto “maintenance early, maintenance often” better. Sometimes the time and money spent keeping your wheels turning can be the difference between turning a profit and turning over in the median. None of us are exempt from the dreaded breakdown. Shoot, we as drivers can’t even pick the time or the place it will happen. Even if we could, some of us would miss the appointment and still complain about our troubles. Nobody wants to crawl under their equipment when the blacktop is hot, but it has to be done if you don’t want to pay the wrecker company when your issue rears its ugly head on the road. I have noticed more trucks broke down this year than in years past. The 36 10-4 Magazine / October 2021 THE GOLDEN RULE