Our daughter was
married on St. Patrick's Day and she certainly had the luck of the
Irish on her side. We enjoyed record breaking temperatures, sunny
days and everything came off without a hitch. Our house was filled
with joyful merrymaking from morning till night for the better part
of a week. It was beautiful, now a memory that will be one of the
highlights of my life.
On the last Tuesday of
March my day ended at the TA truck stop in Hudson, Wisconsin. It was
my fourth day back on the road after the high of my holiday and I
felt mentally drained and at an emotional low. The solitude of the
trucking life that I enjoy seemed, on this day, more like solitary
confinement. I was missing the simple pleasure of a morning coffee
with my wife and an afternoon walk with my grandson.The greatest job
hazard we face as truck drivers is the free time our mind has to play
with as we travel down the road. When our minds latch on to thoughts
of family times that we all pass up on on a daily basis, we're in
trouble. After squeezing my truck into one of the remaining parking
spaces at the Hudson truck stop I found my mind had squeezed itself
into a tight space of its own.
Looking for a
distraction I grabbed the April edition of the Truck News that was
sitting on my passenger seat untouched since I picked it up in
Thunder Bay two days before. As always I turned first to the
editorial page to get a take on our industry from James and Lou.
James Menzies was was
asking if we have seen the end of the trucking tycoon. The fact the
industry is moving towards consolidation of ownership by large
companies as a result of the financial stresses of the day is
something I don't find comforting. I'm reminded of a quote from the
Dalai Lama, “We need money to live, but we don't need to live for
money”. I'm not aware of any of these big companies today that
don't live for money. James noted that so many trucking companies
today were built on the same foundation of “one guy with a truck, a
vision and a truckload of ambition”. I work for one of those guys
and his family. Like me, he doesn't live for money either.
Lou Smyrlis tackled the
issue of obesity and driver health asking the question, “Does it
make sense to continue ignoring this issue when the answer is so
simple?” The topic of health and wellness is close to my heart and
I have written much in this space about the great strides I have made
improving my own health over the past decade. Lou's commentary
reminded me that today was one of my 'run days' and I needed to get
off my butt and get out of the truck. A workout always improves my
outlook on life and helps to pull me out of the doldrums.
These reflections
reminded me that I am blessed with a loving wife and family, I work
for a group of people that embody the same family values as myself, I
have come to grips with the challenges drivers face when it comes to
making healthy lifestyle choices on the road, and my profession
provides me with ample money with which to live in comfort and
provide for my family. You would think this is a recipe that brings a
great deal of ease into my daily life yet I seem to be experiencing
increasing amounts of anxiety and frustration each time I head out on
the road. After much soul searching I can only attribute this feeling
to the lack of balance I face each day.
You only need to look
at one of the hot topics facing the trucking industry today to
understand what I'm talking about. Many trucking organizations (and
drivers) advocate extending available driving time, or to put it
another way, allow flexibility in the rules to allow more hours of
driving per week. Really? How does extending my work week make it
easier for me to spend time with my family? How does extending my
work week make it easier for me to care for my own health and well
being? How does extending my work week reduce the stress and anxiety
in my daily life. The answer, on all counts is, it doesn't.
The beauty of this
industry in the past was that it always put people first. As
consolidation of ownership moves forward the focus has shifted to the
bottom line. As long as we are forced to do more with less the daily
frustration and anxiety will continue to build and the issues of the
day will remain unresolved. Our personal and work lives are out of
balance.
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