We walked the lot full of available trucks as we looked at a list provided to us. They were all beautiful, but we saw a ten speed black Freightliner with teal graphics, and it was love at first sight. However, it was not on the list. So we kept walking and eventually talked about the possibility that it was available, and it wouldn’t hurt to ask. We did and it was in fact available, it just hadn’t been detailed from the last driver yet. It had 1 1/2 years left on the standard 3 year lease, and we were given the option to complete the time on that lease. Perfect! We could take the year and a half to decide if this was what we really wanted to do. We did all the paperwork stuff, and it was ours to drive.

When I was growing up, there was a show called Knight Rider. David Hasselhoff drove a sports car around that talked to him. We have a GPS that talks to us while we drive around. The boy in me instantly decided my truck was talking to me. I got tired of saying GPS and just started calling it Gypsy. That evolved into calling our truck Gypsy, and that’s how Gypsy was born.

The thing about GPS is that it is foolish to rely only on its accuracy for a number of reasons. Construction zones, detours, glitches, and so on. We have an atlas that we use to get the overall route. Then we get directions either by requesting them from our onboard computer, or calling the customer. Then I take the address and punch it into my phone search engine which usually brings up a street view. I can then take that and, more or less, perform a virtual drive down that street and look for truck entrances, and any potential problems. If we are heading to a major city, all of these steps are vital. The atlas also provides laws in different states about axle weights and lengths, and they vary a lot sometimes. I use the atlas less and less now because we have been to many, many places, and I know from experience.

Basic knowledge about the sun rising in the East and setting in the West, what all road signs mean, and bridge heights are crucial. I have learned that even-numbered interstates run East and West, whereas odd numbered interstates run North and South. Two-digit interstates are long and most span many states. Triple-digit even-numbered interstates are bypasses or run through a major city, like 285 around Atlanta or 465 around Indianapolis. Triple-digit odd-numbered interstates end into a major city. Exit numbers are mile markers in most states and start with smaller numbers and progress to bigger numbers as you drive West to East. Exit/Mile Marker signs go from smaller numbers to larger numbers from South to North. Weight limit signs and no truck signs get you big citations if you ignore them AND get caught.

Through it all Gypsy is there, and she gets on to me as much, or more, as any other woman in my life. She knows the speed limits and yells at me if I somehow manage to be over the posted speed limit. Sometimes I have to turn her off because I need to freestyle my way through Queens, New York, and I can’t hear myself pray.