Fuel for Thought
Goodbye Old Friend
Sometime back in the 1990’s, maybe 1993, I can’t really remember exactly. but I picked up a companion at a truckstop somewhere. I know it was at a truckstop, but I can’t remember which one or where. It doesn’t really matter anyway. Little did I know at the time how much I would come to rely so much on what has become a big part of my trucking career. I can honestly say I owe some of my success to this companion that I decided to pick up so many years ago, just on a whim.
Not always the quietest of trucking companions (which is exactly why I decided all those years ago to give ‘er a try). Generally would be the loudest when I was trying to sleep, but still I could not let go. About six or eight years into our relationship, I thought it was over. Luckily, it was just a small oversight on my part and once reconciled, we were rolling down the road again. That is not to say it never happened again, but about every 6-8 years, I would again fail to uphold my part, but as before, once reconciled, we were good to go. We got along great most of the time. We each did our part to keep everything running smoothly.
As you can imagine, after all those years together, it was very difficult to say goodbye, but my long-time companion has finally been laid to rest. I knew something was wrong that evening, I was requesting that I should be awakened in about 7 hours and all I got in return was a blank stare. No indication that my request was even acknowledged. There would be no more reconciliation. My companion had expired. We had a good run. About 30 years on the road together.
I just couldn’t see how I would go about my travels alone after such a long time with my old companion.
It took a few days to get a replacement. It was a rough few days, but I must soldier on and continue my journeys. I’m not sure if I really like my new companion as much as my old one, I’m still getting used to the change. The truck doesn’t look the same, with my new rider looking so different. Oh, they act just the same, but, boy oh boy, can this new one scream. Maybe even louder than the previous one.
I’m sure over time I will come to appreciate this new companion as much as I did the old one.
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Rest in peace “The Screaming Meanie Timer”(T.S.M.T.), you served me well for decades. You made sure I didn’t sleep through the alarm so I didn’t miss my appointments.
You would have to be dead to sleep through the ear splitting shrieks this little alarm makes. You might snooze with a normal alarm clock’s buzzer or beeping, but this little thing probably awoke drivers in neighboring trucks parked next to me at the truck stops.
Luckily, Amazon had your replacement, so no over priced truck stop searching was needed. I’m not used to the new color yet, but I will in time, as long as this new one serves me as well as the older model did. And yes, I put in a fresh 9V battery, so it should be good to go for years to come before I have to reconcile that issue since the battery seemed to last for 6-8 years in the old one.
See you down the road,
Greg