The Struggles of Staring Through a Windshield

Hi and welcome to Episode 10 of Truckers Have Feelings. I was talking to a good friend of mine today and was telling him that I am finding it difficult to come up with more ideas of what to talk about on this show. It is funny how we over think things and don’t always see the obvious answers to our dilemmas which can be right in front of us. After a good conversation I was inspired to continue on and even though I am a day late on getting this episode out I figured out what to talk about in todays show. These truckers are being faced with so many obstacles while they are out on the road, not just physically but emotionally as well. These truckers are for the most part by themselves staring out through the windshield left to their own thoughts with no input or backup from someone else, or at a truck stop or in some parking lot down south waiting for their next load. All this while being in contact with their family back home who are relying on them to help maintain a certain lifestyle at home, providing for the necessities of life. At this moment the trucker is left to their own thoughts, wondering how they are going to meet the mortgage payment, put fuel in the truck to keep moving, after expenses of being out on the road wondering what will be left to contribute to the home base. Have you ever been out for a drive and start thinking about something that has been bothering you? If you have you know by the time the first thought hits and if you are by yourself, by the time you get to your destination, the original thought could by this time have you in a desperate emotional state of depression, anxiety or worse. Then you finally talk to your friend, spouse or family member about what you are thinking and you find it isn’t as bad as you originally thought. I have personally done this myself but not as a trucker. For the trucker they have a ton of time to think, by times they hear things way before we hear the same news on the TV. So my point is they have their own thoughts they battle, they have input from other truckers on the CB, in the Truck stops etc - it is no wonder there is a high rate of depression within the trucking industry. Here is a quick story to finish off todays episode - I had this trucker I dispatched, he was a good guy - always concerned about getting a decent revenue to his truck and earning enough to cover his expenses and hopefully have a bit left over for his home base. His wife would call me every Friday night and wonder what direction we were sending him over the weekend - most times he would be going South and a few times back East to his home base. One Friday before she called in he asked me to do him a favour and tell his wife that we were sending him south even though that particular day he was coming back East to his home base. Reluctantly I agreed and he came home and confirmed his thoughts which he had been having for quite some time …. He walked in on her cheating with a guy half his age. Luckily the situation didn’t go out of control as that was not who he was - he told her he needed to know so he could get it out of his head and now concentrate on trucking to make money as this had been plaguing him for quite some time. These situations happen more times than you would realize. Thank you for listening to this show, I will talk to you in the next episode - in the meantime if you have any stories to share or thoughts reach out and let me know so we can share your story with others. Take care …. over and out!