About a year ago I was returning from a meeting and stopped at a rest area. Usually I go to the truck side as I like to speak with drivers coming in and out. I like to just thank them for what they do and if they have time to chat just ask them questions about their job. On this day I noticed a driver at the picnic table weeping. I went to talk to him and could tell he was very upset. He had a delivery that day about 3 miles from the rest area and because of a major accident he didn’t get there in time to get unloaded. He wasn’t crying about that but rather because he had missed the birth of his first child. It was one of those things that was no one’s fault except maybe whoever caused the accident. His dispatcher was aware of the baby coming and had done everything he could to make sure the driver was there for the birth of his child. But no one knows when the water is going to break. This driver loved his job and his company and could have done what a lot of guys do and just took the truck and headed home. Maybe the company should have just told him to do that but instead he waited until the next day and went to the hospital to meet his son. This is a tough job! Driver’s miss baseball games, dance recitals, banquets and date nights. The strain of the job breaks up marriages and causes drivers to miss so much. But someone has to do the the job. In my mind these drivers should be treated like veterans, policemen, firemen and EMTs. Not because they save lives so much as they sacrifice to make sure we get our stuff. Food and other products get to us by these drivers. If you see a driver you should thank them for what they do everyday!