Life on the Road – Trucking News Blog

I’m so excited. Welcome to Life on the Road theatre. Come on in – there are plenty of seats. Plenty of room for all. Did you get some popcorn? Some Crunchabunch? Cherry Coke? Yes, we have nachos and cheese.

Now what we’re gonna show ya’ll here at Life on the Road theatre is what I, your humble Executive Producer,  considers the best depiction of the state of the trucking industry, the life of the trucker, the role of government and the DOT and the wives and moms who wait at home for as much as well, 70 days – holding down the home front – waiting for their men to come home. There is NO film out there that best shows what its like, has been like and continues to be like. Life on the Road is the only blog, web site or media source in trucking that has discovered it.

First you’ll need some brief information before you watch this. Nothing too political or religious. Don’t switch the channel so to speak to some other blog. Just listen and follow me a sec. In this video, you’re going to see four good ‘ole boys with badges. They’re not the bad guys. Ignore the badges. In fact, I don’t want you to think of them as a cops at all. I want you to pretend that they’re us, you – we – truckers. Truckers past, present and future. Truckers of all kind, company, owner/ops, local, OTR, box, flat bedders, reefer drivers, car carriers and all the rest. Got it – there us. OK? Good.

Now think of the other guy in this film as representing our government, the DOT. He represents all our Congress people. He is management. He is the ATA. He is everyone that tells us what to do, how to live our lives, imposes all those unfunded mandates upon us and more. And finally, the two females in the film are those wives and moms I mentioned earlier, who sit and home (as much as 70  days or more) and wait for their men to come home.

Alright, enjoy and I’ll have some more comments at the end. Hey you over there, turn off that damn cell phone. You can smoke if you want, just not near me.

Hey! Why are u still reading? You’re supposed to go to the film. No cheating. Now stop and click on the link to see the film.

OK, now let’s all gather around. Did you get the point? That no matter what drivers always wants something – they certainly deserve a lot more, far more than they “getting” right now. The four in the film are unusual in that they are asking in a group. You know how hard it is t0 get any consensus among drivers. But what happens when they ask?

The professor, portrayed by Robert Preston, plays a short tune and the “drivers”, forget what they’re their for and go singing on their merry way, no better off. That is how drivers have been treated and how they react to the way they’re treated since the truck was invented. And, it is a damn shame. And sorry to say, that it’s because truck drivers are sheep – cattle – nice hard working generally decent people who just want to be left al0ne and earn a decent safe living. But they march to that tune that time in memorial always distracts them from the real issues and taking the appropriate action to achieve their goals. And organizations like OOIDA are no help.

And our other two characters, the women, pining away, staying at home taking care of everything under sun, raising the kids, paying the bills, etc. looking for any love and recognition, just like in the past, now in the present and what will be certainly in the future. These are the women married to truckers. Never enough money available – perhaps just enough to repair the roof on the double wide. Dresses from Wal-Mart, food bought with coupons from Piggly Wiggly. Perhaps food stamps?  Maybe the AC works in the car – maybe not. OK, I’ve depressed you enough. You get the point. But, just like their men out on the road, these women also follow the “tune” not having the knowledge, money or power to effect change.

So, what do you think. Will this ever change? Wayne Weisser and I have “traded” blog pieces  on the state of trucking and I think we’re pretty much in agreement -  like it or leave it. He leaning toward IT – informati0n and computer technology and me toward putting my toes in the water and my tush in the sand on Cozumel. Yeah right, dream on.

PS/I promise to get you some more “exciting” videos in later LOTR theatre presentations. NASCAR races and truck crashes. Wild stampeding elephants. Killer sharks and exploding laptops.