Trucker Warren, From The Begining

Today, something totally unexpected happened to me. I drove thru the night last night because I sat all day and picked up at 11:00pm. I was going to stay at the TA in Denver but decided it would be better to get out of the city as to avoid traffic. If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you know how I dislike driving at night. Well, the road was wide open and for the most part straight. It was the first time I actually enjoyed driving at night. The plan was to make it to Wood River, NE. around 6am and take a 4 hour nap, then on to Des Moines, Iowa where I would take a full nights rest.
The problem started about an hour after I left Wood River. All of a sudden I hit the wall (mentally, not physically). I have only been at home for 12hrs in the last 3 months and was due for some home time on the 10th. They gave me a run to Pittsburgh, PA. on the 8th which is the opposite direction of home. Next thing I know, this wave of emotion just runs over me making me think bad things were happening at home, feeling like I was a prisoner in this truck, second guessing my career choice, wondering if I ever might get home, to name a few. I felt like I needed to get out of the truck RIGHT NOW!!!!
I started calling some friends and talking to them to try to help get me thru it. I called the Trucker Doc (Sheryl Youngblood) and she spent a couple of hours, on and off, with me on the phone trying to help me get a grip on myself. I miss my wife and a phone is no substitute for being there. So I called my DM (driver manager) and told him I was hitting the wall, he said "what wall, what do you mean”. I told him that I really needed to get home for a few days as the walls of this truck are closing in on me. So now he is working out a way to swap my load with another to get me to Cali.
The two things I need right now are lots of rest and some time away from the truck at home to recharge my batteries. It was strange how all of a sudden that happened when just hours before I was feeling fine and happy. In fact, I have been really enjoying myself this whole time, dreaming of where I would go next and who I might meet, wondering what the next challenge might be, then BAM, like a ton of bricks.

Have you had experiences like this? Tell me about them by clicking on the comment button below or by emailing me at:
warrentrucker@yahoo.com

Category: General