Opening Blog

Hello! These are my ramblings/rantings about being a truck driver. By "truck," I mean an 18-wheel tractor-trailer (called a 'semi') by some. Now, those of you who don't know me may find this blog uninteresting or boring, but you might learn something, anyway! It's Sunday morning, and I woke up early (4:00am) like I usually do on my days off. Being the week before Thanksgiving, I have to work one day earlier this week, to be home by Thursday.
Let me start by telling you something about me: I'm 44 years old, married, with a teenage daughter. I love my family dearly, although being away from them for a couple days a week can sometimes be a blessing in disguise. I tend to get moody/ angry at home (I don't know why), and my wife and daughter can sense this, so, going out on the road can sometimes (not always)
be a reprieve from the tension of home life. Lots of issues going on, which I may or may not delve into in later chapters.
I've been a truck driver for almost five years, most of that time with the same company. I work for a large food distribution company, owned by one of the big pizza chains. That's as specific as I'm going to get about my employer, for obvious reasons. My job, basically, is to deliver products to the various company stores and franchises we work for. It is a physically-demanding and stressful job. Don't get me wrong; I respect drivers who go over-the-road for days and weeks on end (how they do it I don't know), but my job is a little more strenuous than just "bumping docks." The OTR driver, that's a different breed, you know? It's a lifestyle, really,
instead of just a "job." So, with all due deference to my brothers and sisters in this crazy line of work, let's just agree that we're different (not better or worse).
Driving a truck ,(or truck-driving as I like to refer to it) is not the romantic myth that some would portray it: On the open road, wind in your hair, sun on your face......is really just that, a myth. In reality, it is (and becoming moreso every day, it seems) a very dangerous profession.
Dealing with other dangerous drivers (you know who you are),severe weather and road conditions, time constraints, complicated mechanical systems on the truck & trailer, all put an enormous amount of stress on the driver, at least from my perspective. I'll expand upon some of these hazards in future postings, but for now, suffice to say, I'm really starting to want out....