Thanks to the truckers

IN recent days, the hysteria caused by the Wuhan flu has prompted state and loco officials to act. Many of their decisions are based in fear and lack careful study.
One such case is the decision by Pennsylvania to close turnpike service plazas. No big deal?
Let's start with a little song by Merle Haggard shall we?


Didja listen? "The white line is the life line to the nation." We depend on the truckers. Nearly everything you buy gets transported by a trucker. Yes, many things get hauled in from the coast by freight train, but it still takes two thumbs up to get it from the rail yard to the market.
Claude Akins and Frank Converse weren't real truckers. The excitement portrayed in their show back in the 70's is not the life of our teamsters. For the teamsters, it is long hours of boredom interspersed with moments of stupidity in the form of a motorist who thinks 50,000 pounds of cargo can stop on a dime or fit through a six foot gap. Then of course, there are other factors to consider, weather, construction delays, rush hour traffic in urban areas, mechanical problems, the list is long.
Years back some one came up with the notion of just in time delivery. On the front side, it seems like a great idea. Less warehouse space, fresher product. That demands that the trucks run on time. Right now, as mass panic is replacing reality, things are getting to be in short supply.
The men and women getting windshield time don't get to go home at 5:30. That truck is their home most of the time. They depend on the truck stops for their living. Good food, hot showers, a place to rest relax and not be bothered by jibber jabber. Close them, and what do they do?
Now, to top it off, folks are acting like the truckers are vectors for the China syndrome. In a way that is good. the odds are more likely that the guy in the warehouse has it than the trucker who has been isolated in his rig all week getting the goods to market. That will help keep the trucker safe. The facts are though that many of those truckers would like a little social interaction. Maybe not too much, Trucking isn't the life for social butterflies. No one wants to be an outcast either though.
I just want to say thank you to all the folks driving the rigs and keeping us supplied. You are kinda like lug nuts, nobody thinks about you, but we aren't going anywhere without you.