{"id":40461,"date":"2023-09-01T20:17:55","date_gmt":"2023-09-02T00:17:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/?p=40461"},"modified":"2023-09-02T12:09:09","modified_gmt":"2023-09-02T16:09:09","slug":"my-trucking-influences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/2023\/09\/poetry-in-motion\/my-trucking-influences\/","title":{"rendered":"My Trucking Influences"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s been said that we are all a product of our environment.  Or, that it takes a village to raise someone.  Of course, these claims refer to the concept that someone isn\u2019t necessarily born with a predisposed or pre-determined course in life.  Generally speaking, we tend to chart our career paths based on what we know, what influences we are exposed to, and what we enjoy.  That\u2019s perhaps why many of us who have a passion for driving trucks derived that passion from being exposed to this way of life and influenced by someone we admire.  Clearly, this isn\u2019t always the case, but for the purposes of this month\u2019s poem, this concept applies comfortably.  This poem is somewhat like a conversation, or an interview, between two people.  One person is inquiring about the influences, experiences, and motivations of a life-long truck-nut (like me).  Perhaps I\u2019m a product of my environment… But I don\u2019t know if it took a village to raise me… It very well could have been something else… I think the road probably raised me!<\/p>

THE ROAD THAT RAISED ME
By Trevor Hardwick<\/strong><\/p>

\u201cWhat\u2019s that thing that makes you tick?
What has made you, you?
What inspires you to do,
That thing you like to do?\u201d<\/p>

If you\u2019re speaking of my crazy ways,
It\u2019s semi-trucks to blame.
I\u2019ve always loved those big ol\u2019 trucks,
And I\u2019m crazy just the same.<\/p>

\u201cBut what has caused that distant look,
You carry in your eyes?
The one that makes it seem as though,
You\u2019re staring at the skies.\u201d<\/p>

It\u2019s thoughts of chicken lights and chrome,
Blazing trails into the night.
That captivate and take me there,
Whenever they\u2019re in sight.<\/p>

\u201cSo, if you love these trucks so much,
You must have seen it all.
Does anything surprise you, still,
While out there on your haul?\u201d<\/p>

I\u2019m not surprised by very much,
But I\u2019m certainly amazed.
By the lack of pride and passion,
That I\u2019m noticing these days.<\/p>

\u201cAre you welcomed, or rejected,
In the places you have been?
Is there any kind of praise,
For the line of work you\u2019re in?\u201d<\/p>

When I\u2019m rolling into town, somewhere,
I\u2019m mostly passing through.
And my friends and family offer praise,
For the kind of work I do.<\/p>

\u201cOne more thing, before you go\u2026
Just how would you describe.
The motivation that you have,
To climb up there and drive?\u201d<\/p>

It\u2019s the big ol\u2019 semi-trucks that crazed me,
The chicken lights and chrome that glazed me.
A bit more pride would sure amaze me,
And my friends and family that praise me.<\/p>

It\u2019s haulin\u2019 goods that sort-of pays me,
And darn-near everything delays me.
But anytime something dismays me,
I head out on the road that raised me!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been said that we are all a product of our environment.  Or, that it takes a village to raise someone.  Of course, these claims refer to the concept that someone isn\u2019t necessarily born with a predisposed or pre-determined course in life.  Generally speaking, we tend to chart our career paths based on what we<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":40463,"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-40461","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\/40461","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=40461"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40718,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40461\/revisions\/40718"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}