A Trucker Brought It
I've been hearing a lot of people talking about the importance of going to college, making jobs that do not require a degree sound 'beneath' them, sound like they are undesirable and only for those who are not 'smart enough' to make it in the world. Many speak with disdain when they say 'Oh, you are a truck driver?'.
Are these people THAT stupid? Seriously.... Everything they wear, eat, drink, live in, drive, etc comes to them courtesy of a TRUCKER. The schools they go to were built by construction crews, materials were brought in by truckers, their books, clothing, cell phones, briefcases, laptops, desktops, desks, suits blah blah blah were only available via those darn truckers. How do they think the gas (or green fuel for that matter) got to the fuel station? How do they think the bottled Evian and granola bar they purchased made it onto the shop shelves? Honestly, it drives me insane.
I've had conversations with people lately where they have talked about how important it is that we get our children to ALL go to college. How important it is to get a degree. Okay, so let's say all our children did that. Everyone went to college and got a more desirable important degree.... who is going to work in the grocery store? Who is going to stock the shelves? Who is going to transport the goods there in the first place? Who is going to carry the grain to various processing plants to eventually bring us a loaf of bread? Who is going to work in the gas station? The restaurants we like to eat at? Who is going to prepare the food? Who is going to SUPPLY the food? Who's going to pick up our weekly trash and recycling? Who is going to build our new dream home?
It drives me crazy that so many think that college and university education is the only way to go. And many do not seem to realize how many courses truckers have to take on a regular basis, especially depending on what they are hauling. My boyfriend has at least 4 courses to do this year, and he did about 5 last year. Safety, H2S gas, Rules and Regulations, First Aid, and so on. It seems never-ending. They have no idea how fast my boyfriend can make a complicated mathematical conversion in his head to ensure he is carrying the correct weight, mixture, transferred evenly and safely on the axles, percentage of fluids, etc. Yet, I hear people sigh or see their eyes betray their thoughts when I talk about his work.
The fact is, even if he is only 'hauling water' out to a drilling rig, the rig would not be functional without it. If that happened everywhere, our gas stations would start to run dry. Where will you fill up your vehicle if truckers weren't around to bring the products to you for your convenience? Where would your hybrid car even come from if a trucker didn't load them up and transport to the dealership? Honestly, it's aggravating how many 'smart' people are actually completely out of touch with reality. Not all of course, I said some, and you know who you are.
I've been hearing a lot of people talking about the importance of going to college, making jobs that do not require a degree sound 'beneath' them, sound like they are undesirable and only for those who are not 'smart enough' to make it in the world. Many speak with disdain when they say 'Oh, you are a truck driver?'.
Are these people THAT stupid? Seriously.... Everything they wear, eat, drink, live in, drive, etc comes to them courtesy of a TRUCKER. The schools they go to were built by construction crews, materials were brought in by truckers, their books, clothing, cell phones, briefcases, laptops, desktops, desks, suits blah blah blah were only available via those darn truckers. How do they think the gas (or green fuel for that matter) got to the fuel station? How do they think the bottled Evian and granola bar they purchased made it onto the shop shelves? Honestly, it drives me insane.
I've had conversations with people lately where they have talked about how important it is that we get our children to ALL go to college. How important it is to get a degree. Okay, so let's say all our children did that. Everyone went to college and got a more desirable important degree.... who is going to work in the grocery store? Who is going to stock the shelves? Who is going to transport the goods there in the first place? Who is going to carry the grain to various processing plants to eventually bring us a loaf of bread? Who is going to work in the gas station? The restaurants we like to eat at? Who is going to prepare the food? Who is going to SUPPLY the food? Who's going to pick up our weekly trash and recycling? Who is going to build our new dream home?
It drives me crazy that so many think that college and university education is the only way to go. And many do not seem to realize how many courses truckers have to take on a regular basis, especially depending on what they are hauling. My boyfriend has at least 4 courses to do this year, and he did about 5 last year. Safety, H2S gas, Rules and Regulations, First Aid, and so on. It seems never-ending. They have no idea how fast my boyfriend can make a complicated mathematical conversion in his head to ensure he is carrying the correct weight, mixture, transferred evenly and safely on the axles, percentage of fluids, etc. Yet, I hear people sigh or see their eyes betray their thoughts when I talk about his work.
The fact is, even if he is only 'hauling water' out to a drilling rig, the rig would not be functional without it. If that happened everywhere, our gas stations would start to run dry. Where will you fill up your vehicle if truckers weren't around to bring the products to you for your convenience? Where would your hybrid car even come from if a trucker didn't load them up and transport to the dealership? Honestly, it's aggravating how many 'smart' people are actually completely out of touch with reality. Not all of course, I said some, and you know who you are.
Kez - you are completely right.. as a lawyer, I often remark on how many lawyers manage to get through two university degrees and are completely stupid - and how I truly learn every day from long and short haul truckers, from farmers, from ranchers.. for everyone who takes their jobs seriously, there is a certain art in what they do, regardless of the task.. I am amazed by people who build houses, who fix cars.. as I'm a total clueless with fixing things..
ReplyDeleteMaybe that's part of my non-Liberal leanings.. I hate people who think a degree or some reading makes them feel superior to everyone else..
I value pretty much any job that contributes to society in one way or another. I have always had good marks in school, over 90 in all my recent college courses (mainly child psychology and creative writing), but still open the hood of a car and go blank. DUHHHHHHH. I value my SO who is a 'dumb trucker' (his words lol), because he can come along and take the door off, replace the broken automatic side mirror, hook it all back up properly, fix the radiator, drain the oil and clean the filters... all while I am standing there completely dense about the whole affair lol. Everyone has their own forte.
ReplyDeleteYes there are some who 'could amount to more' and do not have the drive to continue - there are those who could work a better job to get themselves out of debt/poverty but choose not to out of laziness, but most people are not like that.
If myself and my former coworkers decided to hit the books and get a degree, who would have worked in the grocery store those 4 years? Who would have worked in the gas station like I did awhile back? Who would have built the home I live in right now and any others I have lived in in the past?
It just drives me bonkers when people stand in their gorgeous massive homes, throwing a dinner party, and peering down their noses at those less fortunate - without seeming to realize their palace would not be framed around them if some dumb guy with a hammer had not been hired to help build it. I've heard people in the past boast about which architect designed their home and how much the plans cost to draw up --- but forgetting that the architect is nothing without the labour force who actually makes his vision come to life - the truckers, the factory workers, the woodsmen, the hammer dude and the nail guy, the drywaller, the tile-grouter..... and on it goes. All have to work together to actually make an idea come to life. ALL.
But many supposedly intelligent souls completely dismiss that from their thoughts and continue to speak with disdain of the very people who helped them get to where they are right now.
..something I've said to my kids, "success" doesn't mean making more money.. it means doing something that gives your life satisfaction. That could be working at a grocery store (I put in 5 years at Safeway myself).. or it could be being a doctor.. but if you're just making money, and hating what you do, I would say you've "succeeded".
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend did pretty well in school, probably could have done better if he showed up more often LOL, but it has never been his wish to be a 'suit and briefcase' guy. Never. He loved working in the trades in high school, building a car, lawnmower, etc and he went on to work in those kinds of fields. He actually did pipe lining for 14 years because it seemed like a money-maker at the time but he HATED it and feels like he wasted all those years just trying to make a buck, while it drove him insane. So he got into trucking and enjoys it.
ReplyDeleteI went to college for a year right out of high school and realized I hated it, and had changed my mind about what I 'wanted to be when I grew up'. Eventually I ended up volunteering at a playschool and that led to 14 years of working with young children. I loved it! I did not make gobs of money to throw around, but I didn't have ulcers from hating my job and did not take my 'bad day' out on the family because I didn't really have bad days. I loved my job.
Now I am focusing on raising 3 kids and am trying to decide what I might want to do once the youngest is in school. I want to go back to school, but if I do come out with a degree eventually, that doesn't make me better in any way than my boyfriend who does not have a college education. We would not have this roof over our heads right now if it wasn't for him and his non-degree job. Could we have a bigger house if he had a degree?? Maybe (though never a guarantee) - but would he be happy, content, and relaxed when he came home? Highly doubtful.
He would also look hilarious in a suit because that's just not the way he is LOL.