So here we are, headed down Interstate 65 from Birmingham on our way to Florida’s Gulf Coast for a few days of Fourth of July holiday fun in the hot – and I do mean HOT! – summer sun. My son’s in the back seat watching “21 Jump Street” on his portable DVD player, while my wife and I are jamming to Shinedown’s latest CD. I’m in the passenger seat with my iPhone checking for any traffic delays ahead, while my wife is reading billboards looking for a good place to grab a quick lunch.
I’ve already lost count of all of the distractions I just described. I only can imagine how difficult it must be for truck drivers to devote all of their concentration on the road and not gaze at signs for tasty buffets, answer a ringing phone or a text from dispatch, check out the cool-looking sports car that just cut them off, etc. It’s a testimony to their professionalism and training that they’re able to keep their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel as well as they do, despite the endless bombardment of things along the way that might cause them to divert their gaze.
And in traffic like what my family is enduring right now, it’s even more impressive that a CDL holder can maneuver a gargantuan tractor-trailer through a maze of reckless cars and pickups speeding impatiently to the beach – and do it safely without a hitch.
So on a week where we light up the fireworks and celebrate everything American, don’t forget to remember the truckers who probably are working through the holiday to bring us all the goods that make this country the best in the world. Salute!
