{"id":46682,"date":"2025-04-01T19:03:24","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T23:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/?p=46682"},"modified":"2025-04-02T21:36:39","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T01:36:39","slug":"pre-trip-at-the-pump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/2025\/04\/poetry-in-motion\/pre-trip-at-the-pump\/","title":{"rendered":"Pre-Trip At The Pump"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>

We all know how important a thorough pre-trip inspection is. Or at least we all SHOULD know this. Not only is it a safe and wise practice to perform, but it\u2019s also a legal obligation as a professional commercial driver. I\u2019m not here to tell you the formalities of how to perform your pre-trip or how long it should take to properly complete one, that\u2019s not what I do here. I write trucking-related poems and, sometimes, I like to spin a little ridiculousness and humor into the poems. I like to make people laugh, and I enjoy hearing the feedback out on the road when other drivers tell me their thoughts about something I\u2019ve written. Most commonly, people seem to enjoy reading something they can relate to\u2026 something that brings back memories\u2026 or something that makes them laugh. So, this poem is just a humorous portrayal of something I think we have all seen \u2013 the inconsiderate driver who will park on the fuel island to take care of business that is NOT fueling, while other drivers wait in line for the pumps. In this case, the driver carelessly shops in the store, uses the restroom, and plays on his phone. Then, he meanders out to his truck that is parked on the fuel island and proceeds to perform a pathetic version of a pre-trip inspection while being fully aware of a driver waiting in line. Do your pre-trip, folks, as it\u2019s crucially important, but don\u2019t be this guy\u2026<\/p>

THE PRE-TRIP
By Trevor Hardwick<\/strong><\/p>

Just about the time,
That the sun comes up.
I\u2019ll be reaching for my favorite,
Dirty coffee cup.<\/p>

I\u2019ll walk inside,
Splash some water on my face.
And order something funky,
From the hot food case.<\/p>

I\u2019ll fill that cup,
With the stuff they made last night.
It ain\u2019t that bad,
So, I\u2019m guessing it\u2019s alright.<\/p>

Then I head to the counter,
With a couple dollar bills.
I hand it to the lady,
Who\u2019s been standing at the till.<\/p>

I walk outside,
To the place I parked my mule.
Otherwise known,
As the island where you fuel.<\/p>

I noticed there\u2019s a driver,
Who\u2019s been waiting there in line.
So, I wave at him by raising up,
That coffee cup of mine.<\/p>

I open up the door,
Toss my groceries on the bed.
Fire up the truck,
As if to pull it up ahead.<\/p>

First I have to empty out,
These bags of trucker-trash.
Squeegee all the windows,
And hose down all the glass.<\/p>

I put the hose away,
And grab my tire-thumpin\u2019 bat.
Walk around and smack the treads,
To make sure nothing\u2019s flat.<\/p>

The other driver\u2019s barking,
But I can\u2019t hear what he said.
As I slowly climb up in the cab,
And roll the truck ahead.<\/p>

He hollered out a sacred name,
And laid upon his horn.
And asked me if just yesterday,
Was the day that I was born.<\/p>

I pulled ahead and set my brakes,
And let the engine run.
I wandered back inside,
Because my \u201cpre-trip\u201d wasn\u2019t done.<\/p>

I need to wander, aimlessly,
While scrolling on my phone.
And kill a few more minutes,
With a visit to the throne.<\/p>

Once I wrap things up,
And all the paperwork\u2019s complete.
I\u2019ll head back to the truck,
And then I\u2019ll finally hit the street.<\/p>

That concludes the process,
And no matter what you say.
I always do my pre-trip like this,
Each and every day.<\/p>

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all know how important a thorough pre-trip inspection is. Or at least we all SHOULD know this. Not only is it a safe and wise practice to perform, but it\u2019s also a legal obligation as a professional commercial driver. I\u2019m not here to tell you the formalities of how to perform your pre-trip or<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":46683,"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-46682","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\/46682","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=46682"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46685,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46682\/revisions\/46685"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}