September 2024
As an Over The Road (OTR) Truck Driver, I'm out on the road for two months at a time. The truck is my mini RV, an efficiency apartment you could say... but not always as efficient as one would hope, but it comes with the job. It becomes your kitchen, bedroom and office. Showers and laundry are available just about anywhere and once you get to know the ropes, you get to know where the good clean facilities are and at what time of day to find availability (no wait time). I have two refrigerator/freezers, a microwave, dinette table, keurig coffee maker, computer, TV, vacuum, and plenty of storage space. All movies and shows can be streamed from an iphone to the TV.
I generally shop at Walmarts because there's lots of room for parking. Not all Walmarts are truck friendly but with the help of apps and a GPS it's easy to find the ones that not only allow truck parking, but overnight parking as well. This works well with all large department stores such as Lowes and Best Buys. You never know when you need to upgrade something for the truck so finding available parking for a quick stop over is necessary.
One day while making deliveries, I needed some accessories for the truck. Some stuff is hard to find on the road and a lot of stores don't sell what you need. I found a Best Buy where I could get some electronic add-ons and a Home Depot so I could add shelving. The Home Depot offered plenty of parking space and the Best Buy was directly behind it. I decided to go into the Best Buy first but I noticed a small barrier wall that separated the two stores. The wall was about 3 foot tall and the ground was a little soggy from the night before.
Back in the day, a 3 foot leap was nothing more than a hop. You can always remember some of the stunts you pulled off during your limber days, but somehow forget that you're not as agile as you were 20 years ago. I didn't think twice about it as I made my graceful flight towards what I was hoping to be a safe landing. My feet decided to abandon me while my left arm came to my rescue breaking my fall as I gracefully slipped into a bed of mud.
I was now covered in mud from my shirt, pants and boots. I thought, "well the hard part is over, time to do some shopping." Normally when you go into a store and not familiar with where anything is, you have to hunt someone down and ask questions. This time was a little different. I looked like some derelict wandering around looking for a hand out, not someone you want in your store roaming around aimlessly. Upon entering the store I am greeted by someone who's soul purpose is to welcome people and ask if they need assistance. I'm not quite sure what might have been going through her mind but she seemed a bit suspicious of my motives and I couldn't really blame her.
I looked like a paratrooper that just landed in a mud wrestling competition. Before she could say anything another employee came over, probably backup just in case he needed to use a taser to neutralize whatever surprises that were lurking. I'm generally very conscientious about my appearance, but not wanting to take too long getting back on the road I decided to just get in and out of the store without delay. I looked like a paratrooper that just landed in a mud wrestling competition. Before she could say anything another employee came over, probably backup just in case he needed to use a taser to neutralize whatever surprises that were lurking.
I'm generally very conscientious about my appearance, but not wanting to take too long getting back on the road I decided to just get in and out of the store without delay. I smiled at the girl and asked for the item I was looking for, that's when another employee came over to assist. I followed behind the helpful man as I tried to pose a little more grace than I did when I pretended to have the ability to be nimble like jack jumping over a candle stick... I'm so glad this didn't involve fire. Philippians 4:13 , where Paul declares, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” SPLAT.
So I go back to the truck to change into something that wouldn't attract anymore attention. As I'm changing clothes I am asking myself, "how did mud get IN my underwear, under my socks and inside my boots?" Next stop, showers.
