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 Thanks...for being missed.
As I write this, I am in a truck stop in Altoona, IA. I love visiting with drivers. I just spent ½ hour visiting with a team that runs to the west coast and back….. 5 on and 5 off, day-after-day. What a grind, but they sure were happy. They took great pride in providing on time, safe deliveries. Neither of them had a wife or children, but I’m sure somebody misses them. This was the third time in two weeks they had the time to sit down together and share a meal. Their only complaint was that they were being routed in to pick up a brand new tractor. They wanted to keep their existing one.
A man stopped by to inquire about student training at ATS. He was recently separated from his wife and had moved to Des Moines from Sioux Falls in search of work. I doubt being an over-the-road driver will save his marriage, but it’s “something he always wanted to try”. I gave him some options, wished him my best and gave him my business card.
Another driver stopped to just talk for while. He’s been a driver for 17 years. His children are nearly grown and wife works at a Wal-Mart store in their hometown. He is an over-the-road driver, and each day he is missed by his family and friends.
These are just a few stories of the many drivers who have a very important job to do. Besides providing income for their families, they deliver freight across the country, make thousands of decisions every day that keep me and the motoring public safe, work various hours of the day and night dealing with all kinds of cold, hot and wet weather. They eat in truck stops, sleep in their truck, shower when they can, not get much exercise and see their families every few weeks. The work they do keeps this country functioning, and without them, our world would come to a screeching halt.
To all of my old friends in trucking and the new ones I have yet to meet…. Thank you for everything you have done for my family and me. Your sacrifices have not gone un-noticed or unappreciated! I wish everyone understood how much truck drivers do for our nation!
Take care and be safe!
Oscar Kleman, VP Recruiting, Anderson Trucking Service, Inc.
"Rolling Along" presents thoughts from a member of the ATS Management Team.
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