A driver plans his day, knowing that the are rules to be followed from start to finish. In my case where I can pick my loads, and the basis of picking loads is to have another preplanned, knowing how work in the timing of delivering one and picking up the next is part of having an edge to more income. But one thing never planned on is the breakdown. I spent the beginning of August 2013 with a ruptured oil line, that if not seen could have caused a fire. While a day and a half lost, I looked over the engine and noticed the belts were worn, and a hose may need replacing. So what caused August to end the way it began, with yet another day and a half breakdown, it wasn’t without knowing its potential. That hose did break, and it also gave me time to notice an air suspension needing replacing on the trailer I was towing (in a sense, it wouldn’t have been noticed right away).  Of course, with a laundry list of repairs at one time, you know those belts are getting replaced too!

      It seems to be a part of life and business, knowing that you should have a plan to put monies aside for truck breakdowns, the planned maintenance, and sometimes the unexpected damage (windshield and alike). In that mix, well, there is money to be made. The truck reaching seven years old, and with +780,000 miles, it still is worthwhile since this is just part of running a big truck across country. It takes time and patience to feel like your not out here doing the loads, just to have money to fix the truck to do more loads. And, at times, and knowing that there is an unplanned time for an engine overhaul, it takes time to pass before you don’t feel like the engine rebuilt is happening on a day to day basis. I start hearing that Johnny Cash song, “One Piece At A Time”. Trucking and the business of trucking always has the sole proprietor thinking. The day you spend or invest in one thing may be the day you could have saved that money for another. It is a high risk, high stakes, and expensive profession. And still, I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else today.

      It seems that the old saying of when it rains it pours always leaves you also wondering if that other shoe would drop. Imagine, I set up my day to roll six and a half hours, and be ready to pick up the next load the next day, four states away. The breakdown not only made me lose the opportunity of a healthy settlement this week, but that rainy day fund (an I/C General Account) is now being used. Twenty cents a mile is placed to the side simply for days like this. The only menacing issue remains the lost income, and the late delivery of the load I currently possess. I do not plan for this, and so remarking August as the hardest month so far is only a short term memory of not remembering the last time it rained. So, why a day and a half? Well, it turned out, I had it happen on the day the parts store would be closed. Not a Sunday, but the first day of Football season, near Columbia, South Carolina, where the USC was playing UNC. They only two things guaranteed was that I would be here over night, and one of the Carolina’s would win the game. Everything else was in the air. Oh, and it so happened, the heat Index was estimated at 104°.  I couldn’t have planned this! Thankfully, I was able to be near a truck stop, a fast food place, and there was ice cream! The night did cool down, after it rained….and it did pour too.

      I awoke this morning, making the best of my time, and the parts finally came, to include those belts. It will still be two to four hours before rolling, but it will roll again. The late load needs to be scheduled, and then, back to the routine, of finding that next preplanned load. Knowing my maintenance, the next interruption should simply be an oil change, and a fuel filter change. Then, comes planning for the winter season…and Fall season hasn’t even arrived.

      I keep trying to remember that this is a lifestyle where anything could happen, and being anywhere may be unplanned. It is supposed to be an adventure. And, since the only way of getting ahead is to keep that truck moving, a rainy day needs to become a day of opportunity and exploration. Of course, my first thought was to go and see the game. Tickets sold out <sigh>. Still, it was a thought. I can still remember when first starting out with a CDL, times like this would be moments of anxiety, and feelings of being marooned was the first real emotions. It took time, and more breakdowns, to get to where I am now. Don’t get me wrong, I do not look forward to being broke down; this costs more money in the end. But, over time, the idea of this being the only way I make time to just explore means I have come a long way, and found the true enjoyment of being in a place not expected or planned. Home is where I hang my hat, for as long as I keep in mind, I am only passing through, and I have no neighbors here. Grant it, there still is some insecurities that still make me numb, but that falls along the lines of this issue being unplanned.

      So, there is always that concept of putting my energies in my other projects, and even that still takes time to make fall into place. And, with a coffee and  a Danish to my side,   I feel so comfortable on an old outdoor picnic bench and focusing on my website. Even feeling comfortable with a computer in public took time, before I was able to just stay focused on my thoughts, and without my surrounds being the distraction to another completed Blog. I am looking at a lost income of roughly $600.00, with about the same in repairs. And still, the thought is now just a part of life, and there was time to write. I still have a long way to go, since this article is about the breakdown, but even if it is a method of release, it is a far cry from the beginnings when I used to sit and simply contemplate the situation I was in.

      So, even when it rains, I think I am one day closer to just knowing that this is life, and it is truly just another day in paradise.