Over the Road

I'm on vacation every single day 'cause I love my occupation🎶

It happens often enough. At first I thought I just wasn’t speaking clearly, but now I’m beginning to think that most of the time people just aren’t really listening.

“What do you do?” Someone will ask me.

“I’m a writer, and a transporter.”

They’ll give a slight frown, “You ride horses?” Or, “You teleport?”

“Haha, no. A writer, like fiction and non-fiction. You know, books? That and I work my little truck on the road hauling trailers. I’m a hotshot, and I farm a little too.”

“You’re writing a book?” Or, “What’s a hotshot?” Is usually the next question. And since you-all are pretty familiar with what a book is— I’ll tell you a little bit about life ‘over the road’.

Dark Philosopher posted a Note a few days ago saying, “I want to live like a truck driver for a few days, where the road feels like home, you meet new people every day, go to new places for work, and create new memories with every trip.” Doesn’t that sound great?

The sad truth is though, that most truck drivers actually do very little of the things mentioned in that Note. My guess would be that 9 out of 10 drivers never see anything but interstate highways and truckstops. There just isn’t any time for anything else. They pick up a load— sometimes after waiting hours, then drive for 8 straight hours before a mandatory 30-minute break. Then they drive another 3 hours towards the loads destination, all hopefully without any detour, before they spend the next 10 hours parked at a truckstop. Once that 10 hours is up, their 24-hr clock is reset, giving them another 11 hours to drive. Rinse & Repeat for 7 days. Then you do get one mandatory day off, which is usually at a truckstop out in Nowhere’sville. But it wouldn’t matter if you happen’d to be in downtown Nashville, you’re too damn worn out to go do anything anyways.

So I have to be careful when I tell folks what I do. Because, I tend to make it sound really glamorous at times. Listening to me talking about it, combined with just a tiny bit of inner wanderlust, can be a very dangerous thing. More than one has attempted to follow my example, only to find out that life ‘over the road’ isn’t really for them after all.

But me, I love it! Not all the time, there are certainly days that I’d rather be at home with my sweetheart. There are lots of times when I’m tired of driving, even sick of the road. But there is also an adventurous aspect of being out ‘over the road’. I’ve found a nice little niche that works great for me.

The company I work for utilizes an online Load Board. Every RV or travel trailer that’s available, is listed along with the destination, weight, and pay. I just pick where I want to go and call my dispatcher, within minutes I’m assigned the load and on my way. As I’ve mentioned before, I visited every state that doesn’t lie north-east of New York. I’ve even driven to Anchorage, Alaska! It was an absolutely epic trip.

That reminds me about this guy named Sean, from Pittsburgh. I met him while on that trip. I was climbing Mount Sulfur at Banff National Park, in Alberta, Canada. When he figured out how I’d gotten there, and that I was actually being paid to make that trip, he flipped. He called a recruiter the next day! But, I don’t think it ever worked out.

Sometimes my sweetheart will even come along. She’s even been out to the Pacific Northwest with me. She’d always dreamed of going to Montana, so I took her. I picked up a unit bound for Oregon and we struck out. She spent almost two weeks out ‘over the road’ with me, until regretfully we decided that she should go ahead and fly home. It took me another four weeks to get home. Yup, that’s right. I was out ‘over the road’ for over six-weeks straight. Like I said, it ain’t for everybody. Almost all of those nights were spent in my truck too. I would only get a hotel every few days to, you know, just kinda chill-out a little bit.

How is it that I can get away with all this? It’s because I’m a Hotshot. I do my hauling with a pickup. I don’t even have a CDL. Like I said, I’ve found a nice little niche that works great for me. I’m not in a 40-ton semi-tractor trailer rig. I’m in a pickup with a camper that’s 30-ft max, or an RV, so I’m much more nimble than those trucks are. And as a pickup with only six-wheels, I’m not held to the same restrictions either. So while mind you, I’m not just joy riding around with these things; I am able to go downtown or into a park, where a normal truck driver is relegated to interstates and truckstops only. I also own my truck. And I'm pretty much on my own schedule, within reason of course. I do have to check-in daily.

So yeah, I do love it. Because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be doing it. I love the feel of the open road, and exploring new places. I hope to get up into Nova Scotia this year. I really enjoy sitting at a restaurant bar and chatting with locals over supper. Meeting new people is part of what makes travel so great.

But the thing is, if you were to hear me talk about Writing, you’ll see a passion light up when I mention that too! Hell, you might even decide to start writing. You wouldn’t be the first I’ve convinced to journal daily. And I enjoy farming. I was about to say it’s mostly driving, but heck, the tractor practically drives itself!

So the next time someone asks me, “What do you do?” I should probably just say–

🎶 Ay, ay, ayy, I'm on vacation

Every single day 'cause I love my occupation

Ay, ay, ayy, I'm on vacation

If you don't like your life, then

You should go and change it

Ay, ay, ayy, I'm on vacation

Every single day 'cause I love my occupation

Ay, ay, ayy, I'm on vacation

Every single day, every, every single day 🎶

Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

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