Thanks. I appreciate the euphemism. I always wanted to be somethin'.
In my mind, one of the unheralded and underappreciated professions is that of the trucker, the one who drives the big rig. It has to be a lonely job and one seemingly mundane, but one done well and proficiently.Whenever I drive through Dallas, putting my life on the line as we weave through detours and stuff around the I-30 & I-35 junctions and such, I'm repeatedly impressed with the eighteen-wheelers.
Cars will weave all over the road and as the road turns or winds will be prone to ooze over into my lane, etc. But the trucks manage to stay in their lanes.
Now, don't get me wrong. There a few places I dread being than being sandwiched between an 18-wheeler and a barricade/wall, but I've never had one come into my lane. I guess these folks are just professionals, but they haul all sorts of cag to keep this country going and they do so by having better mastery over their own vehicles than do the average humans with their tiny little vehicles.
On top of all that, what about how they can whip those things around when backing them up? Most folks can't back up in their own driveways, but these guys put the backdoor right on the loading dock, seemingly with ease.What can I say? I'm impressed. Those guys are really somethin'.
posted by GUNNY @ 11:11
5 comments
5 Comments:
I'll pay the complement forward to my old man, who is still driving a truck.
-KingPin
I'll pay the compliment forward to my old man, who is still driving a truck. I still recall some of the conversations (me listening) we after I managed to get trapped with a "little" live stock trailer around on our farm- he thought that was really somethin'. :)
-KingPin
Amen, pay it forward, brutha.
In fact, pay that compliment forward to another two truckers as well just for good measure.
Okay, had this song running around in my head since last night, so I have to share it to highlight its relationship to the post and to praise the workin' man (especially with Labor Day on the horizon).
From Alabama, 40 Hour Week ...
There are people in this country who work hard every day
Not for fame or fortune do they strive
But the fruits of their labor are worth more than their pay
And it's time a few of them were recognized
Hello Detroit auto workers,
let me thank you for your time
You work a forty hour week for a livin',
just to send it on down the line
Hello Pittsburgh steel mill workers,
let me thank you for your time
You work a forty hour week for a livin',
just to send it on down the line
This is for the one who swings the hammer,
driving home the nail
Or the one behind the counter,
ringing up the sale
Or the one who fights the fires,
the one who brings the mail
For everyone who works behind the scenes
You can see them every morning in the factories and the fields
In the city streets and the quiet country towns
Working together like spokes inside a wheel
They keep this country turning around
Hello Kansas wheat field farmer,
let me thank you for your time
You work a forty hour week for a livin',
just to send it on down the line
Hello West Virginia coal miner,
let me thank you for your time
You work a forty hour week for a livin',
just to send it on down the line
This is for the one who drives the big rig, up and down the road
Or the one out in the warehouse,
bringing in the load
Or the waitress, the mechanic,
the policeman on patrol
For everyone who works behind the scenes
With a spirit you can't replace with no machine
Hello America let me thank you for your time
. . .
Good stuff, eh?!
Here's a blast from the past that made trucking and CBs popular in the 70s...
Yeah, breaker one nine This here's the Rubber Duck You got a copy on me Pig Pen, c'mon
Uh, yeah, Ten-Four Pig Pen, fer sure, fer sure By golly it's clean clear to Flag Town, c'mon Yeah, its a big Ten-Four there Pig Pen Yeah, we definitely got the front door, good buddy Mercy sakes alive, looks like we've got us a convoy
It was the dark of the moon On the sixth of June And a Kenworth pullin' logs Cab over Pete with a reefer on And a Jimmy haulin' hogs We was headin' for bear On 'I-1-0 'Bout a mile out Shakey Town I says, Pig Pen this here's the Rubber Duck And I'm about to put the hammer down
'Cause we got a little 'ole convoy Rockin' through the night Yeah, we got a little 'ole convoy Ain't she a beautiful sight C'mon and join our Convoy Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way We gonna roll this truckin' convoy 'Cross the USA Convoy Convoy
Yeah, breaker Pig Pen this here's the Duck And uh, you wanna back off them hogs Uh, ten-four 'bout five mile or so Ten-Roger them hogs is gettin' intense up here
By the time we got into Tulsa Town We had eighty-five trucks in all But they's a road block up on the clover leaf And them bears was wall to wall Yeah, them smokies as thick as bugs on a bumper They even had a bear in the air I says, callin' all trucks This here's the Duck We about to go a huntin' bear
'Cause we got a little 'ole convoy Rockin' through the night Yeah, we got a great big convoy Ain't she a beautiful sight C'mon and join our Convoy Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way We gonna roll this truckin' convoy 'Cross the USA Convoy Convoy
Uh, you wanna give me a ten-nine on that Pig Pen Uh, negatory Pig Pen you're still too close Yeah, them hogs is startin' to close up my sinuses Mercy sakes, you'd better back off another ten
Well, we rolled up Innerstate fourty-four Like a rocket sled on rails We tore up all of our swindel sheets And left 'em settin' on the scales By the time we hit that Shy Town Them bears was a gettin' smart They'd brought up some reinforcements From the Illinois national guard There's armored cars and tanks and jeeps And rigs of every size Yeah, them chicken coops was full of bears And choppers filled the skies Well, we shot the line We went for broke With a thousand screamin' trucks And eleven long haired Friends of Jesus In a Chartreuse microbus
Yeah, Rubber Duck 'tis Sod Buster C'mon there Yeah, Ten-Four Sod Buster Listen, you wanna put that microbus In behind that suicide jockey Yeah, he's haulin' dynamite And he needs all the help he can get
Well, we laid a strip for the Jersey Shore Prepared to cross the line I could see the bridge was lined with bears But I didn't have a doggone dime I says, Pig Pen this here's the Rubber Duck We just ain't a gonna pay no toll So we crashed the gate doin' 98 I says let them truckers roll Ten-Four
'Cause we got a mighty convoy Rockin' through the night Yeah, we got a mighty convoy Ain't she a beautiful sight C'mon and join our Convoy Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way We gonna roll this truckin' convoy 'Cross the USA Convoy Convoy
Ah, Ten-Four Pig Pen what's you're Twenty Omaha Well, they oughtta know what to do With them hogs out there, fer sure Well, mercy sakes good buddy We gonna back on outta here So keep the bugs off yer glass And the bears off yer...tail We'll catch you on the flip flop This here's the Rubber Duck on the side We gone Bye, bye'
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