Fuel for Thought
Lucky You...
Today I had a nice long trip, picking up in Cincinnati, and delivering in Philadelphia. When I arrived for the pickup, there was no one on the loading dock, and no receptionist at the front desk. A call to dispatch resulted in someone from the IT department coming down to meet me at the front desk, carrying a small case I was to deliver. It was small enough that it could easily have been mailed, or even sent regular FedEx, but it was important enough that they wanted it 'hand delivered', and scheduled it well ahead of time. As I was filling out the paperwork, I assured him that I would be delivering it to Philadelphia myself by 7:30pm to which I heard a muttered "Lucky You".
Thinking I was hearing sarcasm, I looked up quickly, only to see the look in his eyes. He meant it. He then went on to let me know how he would love to do something like that, that it sounded fun. Here was this guy, in a job many folks would LOVE to have. IT for a MAJOR company, probably excellent benefits, stock options, etc... and he had envy for the dude living in a van LOL. As quickly as the shock passed, I realized, he was me.... a few years ago. I worked for a fortune 500 company, did the desk thing, dressed up every day, tapped away at that computer all day.. and went nuts. I kept a window open to Expediters Online and daydreamed about telling my boss "SEE YA" LOL...
As it happened, my Fortune 500 company relocated to Pennsylvania, and I was left with the option to move there, or find another job. Well, I took my little bit of retirement I had built up and left. I worked for my brother for a while selling cars, then made the jump back on the road again.. and here I am!
Talking to that guy today reminded me that I don't have to do this job, I 'get to'. I wanted to do it, and now I am. Will I always do it? Dunno... my life seems to be changing a lot as I've mentioned the last couple of weeks... I'm thinking about continueing my education.. but that could be done online mostly. Who knows, but for now... this is where I'm supposed to be... and it's kind of neat knowing that a guy who would be envied by many people for his job.... for just a minute... envied ME!
Dale is a solo van owner operator for FedEx Custom Critical, and can be reached with comments at [email protected], or by using the comments section below.