Where would we be without truckers? We do not even want to consider that idea. Just take a scan around your house, the room you are in, and what you are wearing. Yep, that came on an 18-wheeler to the store you bought it or to you directly. They keep us functioning, entertained, safe, eating, and sleeping…you name it.

They are the unsung heroes, right up there with the medical professionals. They delivered the medical supplies and medicines during this pandemic to hospitals even when the rest of us were so panic stricken to go anywhere. When we were afraid of leaving our houses, truckers were going everywhere where something was needed. They left families at home to ease this horrible burden for us while their loved ones feared they may be exposed to this monster. Like physicians and nurses, they brought help, security, relief to all.

Before this pandemic and now, they still ‘roll.’  They are still bringing food to groceries stores and restaurants, supplies to builders, or things we still need to survive this quarantine. I do not know about you, but my credit card needs a rest.  And each and every thing I bought was brought to my mail box or door by…a trucker.

There are two kinds of truckers. Over the road and local.  Some drive a daily route and go home each night…however late that may be.  Or they are gone for weeks at a time, going from one terminal to pick up a load and deliver it across country, to another state, or anywhere the supplies are destined.  They do not return home until deliveries have arrived. Their dedication to their profession is unmatched. That’s their job. To Deliver. And that means, like the mail,  through rain, sleet, snow, or hail.  But unlike the mail carrier, these drivers haul multi-ton loads through every kind of weather.

And it ain’t easy. Not with the traffic out there. You, like me, hate rush hour traffic and avoid it at all cost if possible. But they can’t. Time is money and the delivery must arrive on time. Sooo, they have to deal with all those ‘NASCAR, rude, inconsiderate drivers that haunt every road.  We know them. We try to avoid them. But not with their big rigs pulling these heavy loads. I am sure they have stories that would scare the ‘b’Jesus’ out of ya. Not to mention what else they see in these ‘four-wheeler.’

A few of these stories made their way into my book 18 WHEELER.  I had the story idea in my mind for a long time, but it was ‘Spike’ and Barb who put the meat on it. They made my story come to life. Many of their stories are in my book, like the one of the man wearing a tie and business shirt but no pants. Or the shenanigans going on in back seats, or the girls who ‘flash’ drivers as if it were Mardi Gras season.

Yet still, who forgets the joy of pumping an arm out of a car window only to hear the ‘honk honk’ of an 18-wheeler. My father called them ‘the princes of the road.” I think they are.

Be sure to sign up for my March promo for 18Wheeler and maybe win the  ‘trucker’ prizes. Check it out.

Here’s the contest entry page for 18 Wheeler: https://kingsumo.com/g/cdpyoh/18-wheeler

 

So, like our military vets, thank a trucker when you see him. And make way for him when you see one. He’s got a delivery to make to someone who needs something.

JF Ridgley

 

 

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