Are you doing what you love to do? Is this trucking life something you stumbled into, or is it something you always knew you were born to do? Undoubtedly, if it is something you’ve been passionate about, then you’ve certainly run into the cynics in your life who have offered their unsolicited and ignorant advice from a distorted higher ground. This poem is for those of you who have been offered well-intentioned but ill-advised cynicism, from various people, as they attempt to dissuade you from your dream of hitting the road behind the wheel of a glorious big rig. There is certainly a rough road ahead in this profession. Maybe several rough roads. But should a rough road be enough to convince you to turn away from your dreams? Nah! Those of us who have the diesel fuel coursing through our veins simply expect the rough roads and meet the challenges with the ambition we were born with. The cynics will probably never really understand the appeal to chase this kind of dream. Well, so what? Their comments and critiques are like mile-markers… we just keep blowing past them and putting them behind us as we chase that dream we’re after.
TO THE CYNICS
By Trevor Hardwick
The first thing they say, I did wrong,
Was to fall in love with trucks.
They told me it would lead nowhere,
And the lifestyle sort of sucks.
But I paid no mind, and I gave my heart,
To the rhythm of the wheel.
I let that fuel roll through my veins,
And I sure love how it feels.
The next thing they say, I did wrong,
Was to chase those highway lines.
They said I’d miss that family life,
And you can’t get back those times.
And I could not hear, what they cautioned me,
But I heard that highway whine.
I hit that slab with my right foot down,
And I made a life that’s mine.
Another thing they say, I did wrong,
Was to purchase my own rig.
They’d say I might as well buy a stone,
For the grave I’m bound to dig.
But their words fell flat, as they left their lips,
And I laid my money down.
I signed that line for that dream of mine,
Now I’m more than one way bound.
They said what I should, or I shouldn’t do,
I guess they think they know best.
I just offer thanks and I fuel my tanks,
And I realize I’ve been blessed.
Now that they see, that I’m doing well,
They say I must’ve caught some break.
I just plug my ears and I grab more gears,
And I’ll keep doing what it takes!