How a shed prepared me for life!

When I was growing up in Kent, Ohio we used to have the remains of what used to be a shed attached to the garage. The "Shed" or as I like to call it "Fort" faced Mr. Diamacone's back yard. Now this was the old guy in every neighborhood that all the kids were afraid of. We just knew that if a ball or Frisbee ever landed in his yard, it was gone forever. One time I got brave when it was dark and crept over the low hedge that separated our yard and got one of the Frisbees that landed over there. I was the neighborhood hero for a day anyways until everyone started making fun of me again because I was a dork, but that's another story!



Anyways, back to the shed. This shed was very small as sheds go. Hardly big enough to stand up in. The roof was mostly gone and the hole where a window used to be was empty. But I tried to fix it up anyways with junk I found in the shed. It was my Fort. I spent many hours playing in that thing, whether it was hot or cold. Even in the rain it offered some sort of protection. It was very small however, and if you were claustrophobic, there is no way you would want to spend any time in there.



Fast Forward 30+ years. I find myself living in pretty much the same size box. Oh the roof doesn't leak and there are windows, but it is still just about the same size, maybe even smaller. However, unlike my "fort", the government has a huge say on how I live in this box.

Some people say government regulation is a good thing, and some regulation is good, but as far as regulating my home when I am on the road I say nay nay!

My home while I am on the road is basically a metal box. It's kinda like living in a very small railroad car. Now I drive primarily days, so when I am trying to sleep at night it is cooler outside and the "Box" is not quite as hot. However, one night I finished my day in Yuma, Arizona. When I went to bed that night it was 105. When I woke up the next morning it was 95. Why is this a problem? Well in this particular case it was not. I ran my truck all night so I could keep the air conditioning running. If I had been in California though, government regulations would have told me to shut my truck off or receive a very hefty fine. After all, we chose this life style so we just have to deal with it, right? Weird thing though......in California, if you have a pet with you, you can idle your truck because you can't be cruel to animals! How messed up is that?

The same thing goes for the cold. A lot of companies have restrictions as well. Those companies expect us to be well rested and ready to put in a long, safe day, but don't expect us to be comfortable while we are getting that rest. I bet the people that make those rules wouldn't go home after a hard days work and turn off their air conditioning or heat would they?

More and more companies, and local and state governments are making regulations that don't make sense to an over the road driver. Idling the truck is just one of them. Recently the company I drive for informed is we can no longer use the Illinois toll system. When I questioned one of the guys at work that was in charge of this idea, he told me to look at a map. He said there were a lot of ways around the tolls that were just as quick. "Just look at it on the map" he said.
I didn't need to look at the map. I ran through Chicago twice a day at the time. Those "other routes" that he was talking about are all commercial areas. Sure, they are 4 lane roads, but they are full of stop lights, shopping centers and traffic. A trip that normally would have taken 5 and a half hours would quickly turn into an 8 hour odyssey. I guess my time as a driver doesn't mean anything, right?

I do not mean to rip on my employer. However, some of these regulations are made without talking to, or taking into consideration the truck driver. I guarantee the people in government who make these absurd idling regulations have never spent a night in a truck. I think before one of these regulations are put into place, the officials should spend a couple weeks in my "fort". No heat, no air conditioning, little air movement and oh yeah, for good measure, lets put a cattle truck next to them that has a full load on it.

Although, they should be used to the smell. They sure do shovel enough of whats inside that cattle truck!

Wonder Woman and her invisible Jet

Remember the show "Wonder Woman"? I always liked that show. The stories were well written, the acting was top notch, and the special effects were spectacular. OK, that is all a bunch of crapola. Let's face it, Linda Carter running around in a swimsuit........That's what "Wonder Woman" was all about.

Besides the swimsuit though, I always like her invisible jet. Remember that thing? She would jump in it and take off, flying all over the place and no-one could see her. Don't think about the fact that she wasn't invisible. After all, we needed to see the swimsuit, I'm just sayin.

Well last week, something happened that made me think about this invisible jet. NO, I was not looking at Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit edition. I was doing what I do every day. Driving.

Last week I got to take a break from my normal route and head south to Louisiana. Roberts and New Orleans to be exact. Most of the way down there, and most of the way back I had what we truck drivers like to call rain. Sometimes heavy, sometimes light, but always wet and always a nuisance.

I noticed something as I was driving along I-55 that I guess I noticed before but for some reason I felt I needed to share it with you. You see, there were more cars and trucks than I could count that were driving without their lights on. I can not understand this, especially in a busy interstate with lots of cars, buses, trucks and mist coming off of every one of them.

I know some people think that they don't need to turn their headlights on because it is daytime and it doesn't help them see any better, but the point is not to necessarily help you see the road better, it is to help other people see you!

See and be Seen. How many times have you heard that, and yet some people do not grasp the concept. In some states it is the law. In ALL states it is a good idea.

At one point there was a car that was riding beside me that I did not even know about. Now I check my mirrors regularly, so I know this was not a car that crept up on me. She was caught in the spray of my truck, with no lights on and I could not see her. Good thing I didn't need to change lanes.

And it's a good thing Wonder Woman wasn't flying around in her invisible jet or I may have run over that poor lady anyways.