Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/614640
10 www.FlatbedTruckingJobs.com January 2016 out about nine feet from the truck, so we spent the rest of the trip home wondering what the heck the giant exploding light in the sky was. Given current world climates, things got a little scary for a minute, as I al- lowed myself to think about just how close we were to a tank facility, and what exactly it would take to light the sky up like that. George saw it and assured me it came from the sky, not the ground, which really didn't make me feel better because that had to mean it was either Turdjerkistan war planes or aliens. (Welcome to my mind, where I'd like to thank my imagination for not letting us have nice things, like shooting stars or fi reworks, and going directly to "code red" and aliens.) We heard on the news later that the fl ash of light was a meteor — apparently there was more than one, and they were whop- pers, so I guess we weren't actually alien- abducted or fi red upon by the Turds, but head on a swivel, people. You never know when either could happen. The antenna got fi xed before George left again, as fi rst snow of the season has fi nally touched the Dearborn chassis run, and he wasn't about to go without having a good, working CB. I stayed home for a hair ap- pointment on the fi rst snow run, and I ain't too cocky to say I'm happy as hell to have missed it. I hate snow traffi c — it's terrify- ing to me, so I sat at the house and worried about him for 48 hours. The fi rst phone call was reassuring, though, as I could hear the CB chatter in the background, loud and proud. "CB sounds good, babe. Good job fi x- ing it." "Yeah, I don't know, but I think I'm getting out pretty good, I know I got stuff coming in from miles away, I think I heard someone speaking in tongues a minute ago, but it could have just been one of the Canadian guys." "You got fi re in the wire, hunh?" "Copy that." Let them truckers roll, 10-4. And please, if you don't have a CB, think about get- ting one, and if you get one, use it for the tool it's meant to be used as, not your own personal radio show about whatever nonsense you care to spew. It's one thing to write funny stories and tell fi lthy lies at the counter, but the CB is a safety tool, and that's what it should be used for. Be safe out there. WISDOM & WISECRACKS "Take me to your Peterbilt." Wendy Parker rides with her husband, George Parker, an owner-operator who pulls dry van. She chronicles their ad- ventures and her observations from the shotgun position in her blog and at their website, www.thegeorgeandwendyshow.com