Survey Says!

          I’ve given plenty of reasons why I love driving for Freymiller, but the cynic in me can’t help but wonder sometimes if you think I only say them because I’m paid to say them.  That really isn’t the case, honest. 

To show that I’m not just bloviating, I decided to ask a few friends what their favorite thing is about working here.  Their experience ranges from 1-17 years.  I found their answers interesting and wanted to share them with you.

                                         

Kirk: “Being part of the family, they treat their drivers like family and always have.”

Mike: “The compassion they’ve shown me through two major illnesses and the illness and death of a family member.  They didn’t hound me about when I was coming back to work, they just told me to go take care of what I needed to take care of.”

Steve: “Freymiller is big enough to be recognized, but still small enough that I don’t feel like just another number, the family atmosphere.”

Charlie: “Most companies advertise an open-door policy, but they really have one.”

Davina: “I love the fact that when they give me a job to do, they trust me to get it done.  They’re not breathing down my neck all the time.”

          None of my friends said anything I have not personally experienced.  I want to publicly thank them for their willingness to help me with this.  Really, that was a tough question… I’m not sure I would be able to nail down just one thing about working here as an absolute favorite.

I Hate Cell Phone Chargers

          When I bought my new phone in August, I had to buy new charging cords because my new phone is a “USB-C.”  I guess whoever decides what charging port will go into a phone decided that since most Android users probably have at least 10 Micro-USB cords it was time to change.

          I bought a new charger (plug) because it had a second USB port.  It died before I went on vacation a month later.

                  

          Remember the good old days when cell phone chargers lasted longer than air fresheners?  Me, too.  Oh, how I miss the days when the cords were hard-wired into the plugs.  Just the phrase “USB port” is enough to trigger a bout of Tourette’s in me.

          I heard a quote several years ago. “Build ‘em cheap, sell ‘em cheap, sell ‘em often.”  I tried searching but couldn’t find out who said it, but I’m convinced that is the marketing strategy of the companies that produce cell phone chargers.

          With the bouncing of the truck, I can’t seem to get one that lasts more than three or four months before the USB cord can’t make a solid connection.  I feel like captive consumer.  Living without a cell phone charger isn’t a viable option, but I feel like all there is available to buy is crap.

          Am I the only one who feels this way?

My Heavy Heart

One of my unstated goals for this blog was for it to be different from most of whatever else you expose yourself to online.  I wanted it to be lighthearted, even when I’m covering serious subjects.  I wanted it to be someplace you can get away from all the crap that goes on in the world… even for just a few minutes.

I’ve purposely not weighed in on world events because of this.  I figure the last thing you want is one more idiot, standing on a soap box, blabbering on about politics, religion, the NFL, and e-log mandates (among other things) so I opted not to do that.

I was in Winslow, AZ on an 8-hour break when Stephen Paddock changed the world forever by opening fire on the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas at 10:05 local time Sunday night.

I don’t watch or listen to much news.  I turned the news off years ago because I was becoming addicted to it.  I decided that if something truly important happened I would hear about it, but I couldn’t function with a steady stream of negativity so I just shut it off.

After seeing more than a dozen posts on Facebook… ”Pray for Vegas,” I finally asked someone what was going on in Vegas.

I have nothing to add to the conversation that you haven’t already heard.  I’m sitting here thinking the same thing I thought after Jonesboro, Columbine, 9/11, Ft. Hood, Orlando, San Bernardino, etc, etc.

I just don’t understand.  I pray you have peace today.  I pray you see something that gives you hope for humanity today.  I pray you find and take advantage of an opportunity to make the world a better place today.

What's On Your Facebook Page?

          On my 40^th birthday, I created my Facebook page.  We’ve had a volatile relationship, at best.  Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it.  I love the fact that I can connect with friends and family that I don’t get to see often and get to keep up with what’s going on in their lives.  I hate seeing people airing their personal problems or posting something vague and cryptic, then getting offended when asked about it.

          The year I was home, working on a home-based business, the woman training me cautioned me about what I post on Facebook.  She told me that people who are interested with working with me will go check out my Facebook page to check ME out.  Social media has been a real game changer.  What used to be private is now public because we’ve willingly made it so.

          I have seen and heard of cases where people have lost their jobs because of what they have posted on various social media outlets.  Several messages have come out from the Safety department reminding us that they are watching.  I know it sounds very “big-brother-ish,” but it’s just the way of the world we live in.  I don’t care what your settings say.   There is no privacy on the Internet.

          I regularly remind trainees to “pay attention to what you’re doing.”  We   have to do the same thing with our online presence.  Our online presence has consequences.  I guess this goes back to what I’ve said in other posts… be mindful.  Be intentional.  We can’t go through life like a bull in a China shop, crashing around into things and expect that nothing bad is ever going to happen.

Yay Vacation!

While you’ve all been slaving away this past week, I’ve been eating like a pig, drinking like a fish and getting sunburned.  Woohoo!  Yay vacation!

I’m a creature of habit.  This year I took the same cruise I took last year, just on a different ship.  I also took a friend this year.  Originally there were supposed to be six of us, but life happens and in the end, there were only two.  It was still good.

When was the last time you took a vacation?  I was talking to another friend who told me “one of these days, I’m going to get on a cruise ship.”  If you’ve ever said something similar, I would encourage you to take the “someday/one of these days” out of it and get to planning.

It’s been my experience that when someone says “someday, I’m going to…” they might as well replace the “someday” with “never.”  “Never, I’m going to…”  When we say “someday,” our goals remain nothing more than an abstract idea, but when we attach details (timeline, location, etc) they take on a life of their own and we’re more likely to see them come to pass.

So where are you going on your next vacation?

Off the Beaten Path

          I really love it when I get to get off the beaten path and go through the small towns.  Today was one of those days.  I went from Lawton to Elk City (OK) and there is no interstate connecting the two.

          To me, Smalltown America is still Real America.  There are still store fronts and brick roads, old theatres and diners.  I love seeing how the small towns decorate for various holidays. 

          The stretches between the small towns are dotted with farms or ranches.  I can’t seem to go fifty miles without finding an abandoned, run down farm that I imagine in its former glory and think about how cool it would be to buy and restore.

          I’m always glad to get “back to the big road,” where I can make better time, but it’s still nice to be able to get out on the smaller roads, slow down a bit and see what there is to see.  

People Are People

                I was walking into the TA in Barstow Saturday night when a gentleman sitting on the curb - with what I assume was all his worldly possessions in a backpack - asked me for a cigarette.  I was on my way to work out, so I didn’t have any with me and told him that.  When I came back from working out he was gone, but when I came out from my shower he was back.  I deposited my shower bag in the truck, grabbed my smokes and went over to him.

                I sat on the curb with him for about 30 minutes just having a normal conversation.  His name was Jacob and he had hitch-hiked from Oklahoma to California with a plan of doing construction work down in San Diego.  He’d been talking to someone on the internet and was told he would have work if he got there.  He told me that this was the 4^th time he had crossed the country hitch-hiking and told me of some of the more interesting things that have happened to him in his travels.  I asked him if he’d ever considered writing a collection of these stories and getting them published.  We talked about our kids, work, my upcoming vacation and our faith.  (He is a Christian, too.)  I gave him the rest of my pack of cigarettes and bought him a shower with loyalty points and then I had to get to bed.

                If you’re a Christian, you’ll understand what I mean when I say, “I felt like God wanted me to just go sit and talk with him.”  It was the type of normal conversation I’ve probably had 100 times with various friends.  He never asked me for anything but a cigarette.  I never felt unsafe; we were out in public in a well-lit area.

                I’ve thought about that conversation a few times over the past week.  There was nothing profound said, and probably nothing particularly important.  I didn’t do anything great.  I just had a conversation with a stranger.  What was important to me was just following my instincts and doing what I felt I was supposed to do.  I’ve also been thinking about some things that have been going on around the country that show us to be horribly divided; i.e. the Charlottesville riots a few weeks ago.  But, also the images coming from Texas of people coming together to help random strangers after Hurricane Harvey.

                It costs nothing to be nice to someone, but taking the time to do so changes the world… even if it only changes the world for that one person.