Thursday, December 15th, 2011
The other day, a friend of mine asked me if trucking was worth it. Given the relativity of this question, I responded to his query with a somewhat lengthy e-mail of my own. That being what it is, it gave me pause to consider that question for myself and my own life. Is it worth it? I suppose that it all depends on what you are willing to lose and what you will attempt to gain in the process.
The losses are fairly simple. You lose connection with your support network, more so now than ever. The National Transportation Safety Board is making it a punishable offense to use a hand held cell phone in all states now, with a fine of up to $2750. Wish I was kidding about that. The NTSB also recommends that states ban the use of any electronic device, including MP3 players, blue-tooth headsets and cell phones at large. Right on. Talking on the phone while driving is the same as driving with a blood alcohol content of (I believe) .07; essentially you are drunk. So communication is limited to when you are stopped, cutting into your time to rest and eat and take care of your personal needs.
You also lose your connection to your place. There are seasons, make no mistake, but they change so rapidly for a driver. In the course of a week, you can go from a snow storm to a dry 80 degrees. Spring loses all meaning when you drive south then back north a number of times. Summer just becomes a rainy mess all over the place. Winter just means that it snows sometimes, but it can still be green elsewhere. This really messed with my head for the first year or so of driving. the connection with your “home” should you choose to keep one (instead of living out of the truck) becomes intermittent at best, with a scant 4 days to enjoy the place you love and work so hard to maintain. Your bed becomes a distant memory, your significant other, a voice on the phone of a series of letters in a chat window.
Some of the gains are more obvious than others. Money is the first one, so long as you earn it faster than you spend it. Having very few expenses helps quite a lot. Time to yourself is another plus if you are tired of having a micro managing boss over your shoulder. You get work related support that you need to complete the task. Seeing the country is a perk if you're into that. I'm doing my best to travel as many miles of all the U.S. interstates as I can, and I've got a few from start to finish; I-80, I-90, I-81, I-5, I-86 (which doesn't really count in my eyes), I-85, I-20, I-10, I-40, I-94, I-25, I-8, I-84, I-76 (both bits), I-68, I-71, I-30, I-44, I-65, I-87.... wow. There aren't many that I have missed. Good gravy. So yeah, travel.
Then there are the perks that YOU bring to the party. You are free to live as you choose within the confines of your truck and company policies. For example, I am teaching myself banjo between driving shifts. I have also challenged myself to not spend a single dime during this run in Canada; I am building my integrity. You are in control of who you are free from direct outside influence. You may talk with people from time to time, but ultimately they are so removed from the day to day experience that you can make your own choices.
Perhaps the hardest lesson of them all, but perhaps the most valuable, is that you have to keep your own company. This is emphasized by the fairly simple yet repetitive nature of the task. There is fairly little to distract you, save any music you may bring. You learn to become your own source of emotional support. There's nobody else around, so you kinda have to. Granted, I know plenty of drivers who look for sympathy with their plight and whine and look for approval from others, but there will always be people who don;t want to be responsible for their lives. Responsibility for self is one of the big things this job teaches you if you haven't already learned it.
Now, back to that banjo :)
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