Freckles and I took a couple of short loads through Iowa, Nebraska and to Los Angeles, California. Then we got our first long run from Compton, California to Miami, Florida. Compton was stressful as it was very tight turns, and honestly, I was concerned for our safety going in.

Every movie I remember seeing about gangs while I was growing up seemed to be filmed in Compton. The media portrayed the place to be like a war zone all the time. Well, we saw no gangs, no violence, and went into a secure facility to get our trailer.

These were “dry van loads” we were hauling then. That just means that the trailer was not refrigerated and a box 53′ long and 13′ 6″ tall. Two doors on the back that shut and met in the middle on the back of the trailer. The door was sealed at the handle, and we rarely saw what was in there. All we had to do was disconnect from our empty trailer and connect to a now loaded and sealed trailer.

We drove to Miami for the better part of three days. We got to South Florida and the entire road system seemed to be under construction. Many of these roads were toll roads, and you had to have a Sun Pass (prepaid toll sticker in the windshield) to take them, no cash option. Well, we were getting more than a little stressed and just started taking those roads because we couldn’t seem to find another way in. I don’t know whatever happened concerning our toll bill, I never heard anything about it. We were also running on very little sleep as we were both worried about the other and constantly getting up to check on each other.

Interesting phenomenon–I would lay down and just as I fell asleep, I would hear Freckles yell my name. I would get up and stagger up front only to have her say she didn’t call me. It was so real, I was positive she did, was I going crazy? Eventually we ran into Willie and Elvira and I was telling them about this. They both busted out laughing and I said, “Wasn’t funny I couldn’t get any damn sleep!” Well, turns out, the exact same thing was happening to them. Willie would go to sleep, Elvira would yell his name… but not really. This happened regularly for over a month. Weird, but we were all very worried about each other and makes sense, I guess.

We got to the receiver and had to park in the middle median of the road out front, and wait for a truck that was backing into a dock blocking the entrance. This yard was very tight. If there was room, there was a trailer or something in it. I sat there and watched a man with an older model truck, which at the time I assumed meant experienced, try to back in between two trailers for 45 solid minutes. Two warehouse employees finally came out and helped him get it in there. I wanted to help but had to stay with my truck, a requirement of this receiver. Watching this and knowing my dock provided even less room was absolutely terrifying and my apprehension about trying to back this trailer in grew and grew.

When he was into the dock they waved me in, and disappeared. I pulled in, set up my truck and trailer at about a 45 degree angle to the hole (space between the two trailers) I couldn’t see very well so I put it in park and went to a get a better view of the dock and trailers on either side. I hoped this would serve to relax me and boost my confidence, I was wrong. I believe in order to get that trailer in there, with my trailer doors open, I would have about 5 or 6 inches on either side. There are defining moments in men and women’s lives and careers. I knew this was mine in trucking. I decided that if it took that man 45 minutes it might take me an hour and a half, but I’m damn sure going to fit in there. You see, if it was ok to bump into other trailers and trucks, no worries! But of course I knew I had to get it in between those trailers and against the dock without hitting anything.

Freckles got out to watch and make sure I didn’t hit anything. Both of us so tired, so, so tired. I literally backed that truck in there first try and bumped the dock, put it in park,disconnected from that trailer in about 10 minutes. As it was about 2am we connected to an empty trailer and went straight to a side road shoulder and slept like dead people. But only after giggling a bit about the look on the other drivers face and receiver for pulling up and backing into that tiny hole like we had been doing this all our lives. It was luck, I knew it, Freckles knew it, but they didn’t know it, and I wasn’t telling them.

I definitely learned a lot on that run. I learned that there is no, “I’m not going to try that” or “I don’t want to do that” after you commit to delivering a load. It has to be done, and we are the idiots who promised it. We, as a team, realized we are going to have to put the danger element in the back of our mind so we can function. It is easier said than done, and we are still working on it to this day.