Murphy's World

Can't keep a good man down

Dear Murphy,

Well, this is my Murphy story. It happened the second week after I finished training. I came back to my Fontana, CA terminal and was told to move to another truck, so I moved all my belongings to the new vehicle. I was given a load with stops in San Francisco and Reno, NV.

On my way to take I-5, the truck died on I-10 in rush-hour traffic. Because of construction, there was no shoulder on the road. I finally got it started and pulled over, only to have it die again.

I called the company and they sent a mechanic. He unplugged something, and I made it back to the terminal where I was given yet another truck, my third of the day. By the time I was ready to go it was 10:30 p.m.

I told them that I was not going it to make to my appointments on time. They told me to make it to my first stop and drop the trailer at the Lathrop terminal, and someone else would take it from there. Of course, I got lost in San Francisco.

When I finally reached Lathrop, they told me that they wouldn’t take the load because it was “hot.” I told them that I was going to bed, and they could do whatever they wanted with that load. I hadn’t eaten anything in 24 hours, but I was so tired, I just hit the bed.

And Murphy was still following me. After driving all night, I had forgotten to turn the headlights off. When I woke up, the truck was dead again. That was how I was welcomed to trucking.

I am now an owner-operator, and I am hoping to retire as a trucker.

Oscar Conde

Huntington Park, CA

Dear Oscar,

Let's see. You were on the job for about a week when everything went in the dumper. The company made you play musical chairs with a bunch of trucks. One of them broke down. You got way behind schedule, you got lost, and you ended up with a “hot” load that no one would take off your hands. For good measure, you finished the day so tired you forgot to turn off the lights, and the truck didn’t start the next day.

You know what we love the most about truck drivers? This business can knock down them a million times, but they just keeping picking themselves up off the ground. My favorite line in your story is the last: “I am now an owner-operator, and I am hoping to retire as a trucker.” That says it all.

Regards,

Murphy and Lucky Dog