THE TRUCKER

The truck driver was going down a steep grade, his mind locked on the road ahead, as this was one of the deadliest grades in the country. It was about 3:30 A. M. on a Friday night, and, that could mean little traffic or tons of it. As it happened, so far it had been pretty quite up here in the mountains of Colorado...

He was tired, but, not so tired that he needed to pull over, still, he figured when he cleared this grade, he would find a truck stop, grab a bite to eat, and, then crash for a few hours. He had plenty of time to make his payload...

It took almost 2 hours to clear that damned grade. It was one of least favorites. He dreaded it in the mid of winter, for it was often closed, or snow covered, or icy. He had survived this far, but, many before him had not, and, he was not looking forward to an early demise...

About a quarter hour later, he pulled his Peterbilt up to Red Canyon Trucker's Paradise. It was quite the truck stop. It was like 4 city blocks squared, with a nice restaurant, a shower house, a truck wash, and, even had rooms for lent. The staff was real friendly and well, he just liked it here; he stopped every time he was out this way...

Pulling in and finding a spot near the window where he could watch his rig pleased him. He put her in park with the parking lights on, and, jumped out of the rig. He would clean up later, right now he was hungry and tired of being couped up. As he entered the restaurant one of the truckers bid him hello. He waved and sat down in his favorite booth, about 3 away from the door.

He liked watching people come and go, and, the booth was warm, cozy, and, he could see his rig, which he liked looking at. It was a beauty. The paint was of the finest quality with 3 shades of blue, black and chrome detailing. He had pure stainless stacks and running boards which gleamed like diamonds in the night. He had a sleeper big enough for two, which was fully loaded, had TV with cable, a cooler built in, and, central air/heat, with a full down mattress and fine bedding, with lots of pillows, as well as dimmer lights, 3 to be exact. He had spent a lot of time and money to make his rig beautiful and efficient, for he spent most of his life on the road...

More to come in the next post...