Truck drivers are the backbone of America, and we haul everything you can think of. Anything from cars, meat, produce, military supplies and everything in between. After 30 plus years on that lonely interstate, I’ve hauled millions of dollars’ worth of freight and logged millions of miles as a professional OTR driver. It’s a rough profession and being mentally strong is key to being successful. Making good decisions and being aware of your surroundings are a must, too. Being in the bad part of town during the midnight hours unloading ribeye steaks can be risky (I’ll post about risks, later). Although there are weeks on the road without seeing home, family or friends; being safe and making it back to home base safe is the objective. My secret is to get enough rest to do the job and if tired, go to bed and do not even think about driving drowsy. It is not a difficult job, but it can be at times and if you make a mistake, it can be very unfriendly to your bank account or your freedom.

The best part of being a trucker is meeting different people from all over the world. Summertime is the best time because the vacationers are in a good mood and love to share their stories and want to hear my stories. Sometimes you will meet them via the CB radio or at a service plaza getting a bite to eat in the restaurant. The CB radio is the best channel of communication because there’s nothing like getting paid while having a good laugh or hearing a fantastic story. Truthfully, I wouldn’t trade my life for anything. Yes, there are challenging times (i.e., blizzards, tornadoes, irritable people…) but that makes the good times that much more enjoyable.

I remember back in ‘91, me and another trucker stopped at a small honky-tonk somewhere south of Pittsburgh and happened to crash a birthday bash. This gorgeous girl just turned 21 years old and was having her first legal adult beverages (that’s what she said) and of course we bought her several more, lol. Her and the family was kind and shared some birthday cake with us. Chocolate cake is my favorite! After dinner, a few drinks & some awesome cake, it was time for dancing. The b-day girl and I danced through at least 5 songs that the live band played (I slipped the band a Jackson for some Seger.). It was a fabulous night, and I didn’t want to leave. The lovely girl had the best birthday ever. Somethings you never forget.

Today (October 6, 2020) most of my career has gone by since my first day on the job (Valentine’s Day ’89) and it went by so fast. So many memories stored away i.e., 140,000+ pics and many hours of drive cam footage in my cloud account of every state, and many highways in America and Canadian provinces. I want to look back at them after I retire, and I tend to share some here and rotate them in and out every now and then when I update this site. Thanks for stopping by and visiting, maybe the next decade will bring more good times and more great pics or videos which I can share with you. You never know, maybe we will see each other out on the road, someday.

***Shout out to Trucker Josh and Teddie for sharing their own adventures on social media.***