{"id":24789,"date":"2019-07-03T21:44:14","date_gmt":"2019-07-04T01:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/?p=24789"},"modified":"2019-07-03T21:44:14","modified_gmt":"2019-07-04T01:44:14","slug":"the-waiting-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/2019\/07\/poetry-in-motion\/the-waiting-game\/","title":{"rendered":"The Waiting Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey there, everyone! I just got back from an excellent weekend at the ATHS National Convention and Antique Truck Show in Reno. That was a huge gathering of trucks! I got to meet friends I\u2019ve known for years, and made some new friends, too. I even got to meet Greg Evigan from the BJ and the Bear TV show! And there were some drivers there whom I\u2019ve idolized over the years, ever since I was a kid. It was a great show, and now my wife and I are considering flying out to the next one, being held in Springfield, Illinois next year. Anyway, this poem has nothing whatsoever to do with that. Rather, this poem is something I think most of us can relate to, regardless of what part of the trucking industry you\u2019re in. It\u2019s that frustration you get when you\u2019re feeling rushed to get somewhere, and then when you get there, the product isn\u2019t even ready. It happens a lot when you haul produce. A common complaint among reefer drivers is that they\u2019ve been waiting for a load that hasn\u2019t even been picked out of the ground yet, but I\u2019m sure each and every branch of trucking has their own version of that same dilemma. I call this poem \u201cHurry up and Wait\u201d for obvious reasons. Thanks to our contributor Dennis Mitchell, a card-carrying member of the \u201cHurry Up and Wait\u201d club, for the picture below of his \u201cwaiting for a load to get ready\u201d setup. Enjoy!<\/p>\n

\"JulyPoemPic\"<\/a>HURRY UP AND WAIT<\/strong>
\n By Trevor Hardwick<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was sitting \u2018round the truck stop,
\nWhen I finally got the call.
\nDispatch found a load of spuds,
\nThey needed me to haul.<\/p>\n

\u201cDriver, this one\u2019s got to go,
\nYou simply can\u2019t be late!
\nDeadhead on your own dime,
\nYour appointments set for eight.\u201d<\/p>\n

So somewhere there\u2019s a load of spuds,
\nThat I\u2019m supposed to take.
\nBut first, they\u2019ve got to stage the load,
\nWhen they get back from break.<\/p>\n

Before all that can happen, though,
\nThe taters must be boxed.
\nWhile folks with bigger checks than mine,
\nJust stand there watching clocks.<\/p>\n

Prior to all this standing around,
\nThe spuds must pass a test.
\nTo quality-insure these taters,
\nAre nothing but the best.<\/p>\n

But first they have to take a bath,
\nSo, someone, may assert.
\nThat these-here golden russet spuds,
\nAre free and clear of dirt.<\/p>\n

But none of this can happen,
\nUntil they pick \u2018em from the ground.
\nWhich won\u2019t be anytime soon,
\nWith all these pickers standing around.<\/p>\n

Maybe they\u2019re just standing there,
\nTo watch the taters grow.
\nBut first you\u2019ve gotta plant the seeds,
\nAnd wait for rain, you know.<\/p>\n

But tater seeds don\u2019t ship themselves,
\nThey get here on a truck.
\nAnd that guy\u2019s running late, because,
\nHe\u2019s broken down, or stuck.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in this dusty lot,
\nMy E.L.D. is cooked.
\nI\u2019ve checked-in at the window,
\nFor this load, my dispatch booked.<\/p>\n

By now it\u2019s nearly 3:00 pm,
\nMy appointment was at eight.
\nAnd so it goes, with produce loads…
\nIt\u2019s always, hurry up and wait!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hey there, everyone! I just got back from an excellent weekend at the ATHS National Convention and Antique Truck Show in Reno. That was a huge gathering of trucks! I got to meet friends I\u2019ve known for years, and made some new friends, too. I even got to meet Greg Evigan from the BJ and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":24790,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-24789","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-poetry-in-motion"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24789"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24792,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24789\/revisions\/24792"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}