Piercing the Gloom
Few things add color to a vocabulary like attempting to leap over a puddle of grayish gooey mud and landing ankle-deep smack in the mess. Still fewer things exercise one's patience like attempting to close a large trailer door in strong winds and driving rain, only to have a great gust suddenly sweep the door back and nearly knock you on your tea set in the aforementioned icky stuff. And if that doesn't challenge a proper temperament, the knowledge that conditions will only get worse during the impending trip to New Jersey should take a wrecking ball to any chance of a positive attitude and yet, ...and yet here I was in stellar spirits. Clearly, I wasn't thinking straight. But that's not entirely unusual either.
It was on a pure whim, having left the warehouse and driving north on I-81 toward Bristol, that I decided to test the strength of the truck's speakers by putting on some Ted Nugent. While Uncle Ted let loose with unbridled, rib-cracking power chords, I marveled at the panorama to the west. The weather had been miserable. A dank cover of gray had seemingly enveloped the sky and invaded the very air right down to the ground. But at that moment it was as if the gray sky had been one large overhead jigsaw puzzle and chunks of it were suddenly separating, revealing shafts of orange and pink bursting from behind the clouds and piercing the gloom. More than that,...this warm light turned the clouds into jigsaw shaped silhouettes that formed a curvy frame for the light itself. My spirits went into overdrive.
Yes, the forecast called for strong winds and a deluge of rain in New Jersey at about the time I would arrive. What else is new. Yes, the four hour delay in loading the trailer meant that I my trip plan was shot, and not only would I not be able to make it to my planned location that night, but I would encounter great difficulty finding a parking place at such a late hour. “Them's the breaks,” as they say. It's not what happens to you in life, but rather how you react to it that counts. Approaching 50, it occurs to me that if I can just master the things within my control, the rest will sort itself out. On that evening, the hassles, headaches, and stresses of life over the road seemed to fade into the background, as I allowed myself to revel in the reality of my station in life as a guy whose office is America itself. How cool is that! I had been privileged to spend a month with my Dad on the road. He's my friend and my idol. And as enjoyable as that was, here I was again, basking in tranquil solitude, soaking in God's handiwork over the Smoky Mountains, listening to quintessential American music, all while taking a load of beans to New Jersey. For my money, there was no better place to be at that moment, a moment to savor and remember always. Bad news abounds, and we address it head-on at Ricochet. But from time to time, it's not altogether a bad or frivolous thing to live in the moment.
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Comments :
Jun '10
Re: Piercing the Gloom
I think you just got a glimpse of what I call the eternal present.
Jun '10
Re: Piercing the Gloom
Oh, the above is not a reference to Obama's voting record.
Re: Piercing the Gloom
nice
Nov '10
Re: Piercing the Gloom
Dave, I love reading about your trucking adventures across America. It's like reading Steinbeck ... sadly without the dog ... but gladly with a different political point of view.
Re: Piercing the Gloom
Thanks very much, Linda. I got into the job because it seemed like something that other people enjoyed, and I couldn't come up with a good reason why I shouldn't enjoy it too. I feel lucky to see the country, and luckier still to pass along the experiences to the good people here.
Nov '10
Re: Piercing the Gloom
Dave Carter
Thanks very much, Linda. I got into the job because it seemed like something that other people enjoyed, and I couldn't come up with a good reason why I shouldn't enjoy it too. I feel lucky to see the country, and luckier still to pass along the experiences to the good people here. · Feb 26 at 9:06pm
My husband and I drove across America from Seattle to Ontario and back again ten years in a row and I can't wait to do it again. What an education the road gives ... history, geography and even some psychology ...
Oct '10
Re: Piercing the Gloom
Reading such posts makes me want to become a trucker. Anyone who can inspire readers in such a way is indeed a fine writer.
Re: Piercing the Gloom
Linda, you are so right about the psychology. You're beating me to the punch here...but I have a post on that topic that I'm working on. Stay tuned...
Re: Piercing the Gloom
Until you fall in the mud puddle... Or until you have been sitting at the shipper for four hours and desperately have to visit the restroom, only to see a sign that says, "No restrooms. Don't even ask." I'm not making that part up, Mike. Still overall, I enjoy the job.
Jan '11
Re: Piercing the Gloom
Love the attitude and optimism. This made my day. By the way, my profile picture is not used as a representation of how I feel; it's just that I lack the maturity to express myself and send a message the way that you've just done it above.
Re: Piercing the Gloom
I have given further thought to your load of baked beans. My suspicion is that they are to be put in storage so that, over the course of the next year, Gail Collins and the editorial board at The New York Times have food for thought.
Re: Piercing the Gloom
Yes, Professor,...plus they will have the added advantage of being able to prove wrong anyone who says that they don't know beans about any given topic.
Re: Piercing the Gloom
Glad you liked it Lowcountry Joe. My next assignment is to drive an extremely heavy load through Mass. This will test the optimism....
May '10
Re: Piercing the Gloom
Thanks again Dave for reminding us to stop and smell the roses. Just this week I commented to a fellow worker how blessed we were to be born in America. Yeah we have lots of probs but we live in America. Agree with Mike LaRoche, make me want to be an long haul trucker. Keep safe and don't let those doors win.
Jun '10
Re: Piercing the Gloom
WHEN I heard the learn’d astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;
Till rising and gliding out, I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
— Walt Whitman
Edited on Feb 27, 2011 at 11:07amSep '10
Re: Piercing the Gloom
What day was that, Dave? I saw a spectacular sunset Thursday, Feb. 24th, I think it was, while driving in Wichita.
Reminds of the time when I was working at the psych unit of Hadley Hosp. in Hays, KS. (I was taking pre-Pharmacy classes at Ft. Hays State University there at the time). I had taken a van load of patients to see a movie and after it was over, we all headed for the van. It was late afternoon, and the sun was setting. It was one of most gorgeous sunsets I have ever seen. Henry, one of the most beloved patients (who really didn't belong on the psych ward) stopped, and said simply, "That's a beautiful sunset." We all just stood there for awhile, enjoying that sunset.
I don't remember what movie we saw, but I'll always remember that moment.
Jun '10
Re: Piercing the Gloom
When I was young and in my prime,
I left my home in Caroline.
Now all I do is sit and pine, for all those folks I left behind.