Good Stuff! Trucks Bring It!

When you open that Christmas present on Christmas morning, or when you drink that eggnog, or slice into that Christmas ham, or fill up your gas tank on your way to grandma's house, I want you to think about something. Where did all this come from? Not where was the oil refined, or the ham cured, or the present made. I want you to think about how it got to you.

Trucks brought it. Or more specifically, a truck driver brought it.

When oil comes from overseas and is refined into gasoline or home heating oil, a truck brought that gas from the refinery to the service station. When the farmer sent those goods to be processed or the processing plant sent it to the store, a truck brought it. When electronics manufacturers get all the various parts into their plant and then send them to Circuit City or Walmart, a truck brought it.

Without trucks and their drivers moving freight all over the country from raw materials to the finished product, there would be no Christmas, no eggnog or ham, no visit to grandma's house. Ships and trains can only move things from one general area of the country to another. Its up to trucks to get things from New England to Texas, from Carson City to Wilmington Delaware.

And what is the life of a truck driver? Over the road drivers spend weeks on the road, moving freight so you can enjoy even the most basic of luxuries, even necessities. They get home a few days, and then they are back out on the road. They see their families only an average of 50 to 60 days a year with their families.

While you come home each night (or morning, depending on your work shifts), have dinner, watch television and go to bed, a truck driver is surrounded by work 24 hours a day. They live in their trucks. They eat in their trucks. They watch television, read a book or maybe play video games in their trucks.