Wichita, KS

I spend a lot of time with truckers. I've become fluent in brake tap signals. I know how to pull into the diesel only lanes without getting glared at. Though I don't have a subscription, I am familiar with the newspaper printing of 18-Wheeler Singles, and in turn, which rest stops to avoid. I've taken a few cues from my road brethren, but I think it's time to step it up a notch. I think I've clocked my miles. I've earned it.


Observation number one;
Many truckers have a nice little slogan on the back of their cab. It's not anything you'd pay much attention to unless they were driving without a load behind them- that's the moment when their true self is revealed.

"Road Bandit." "Nothin' But Trouble." "Jesus is my passenger." "Peace Be the Journey".

Alright, to be fair, that last one is merely a result of watching Cool Runnings twice recently. But you get the idea. It's time for my own slogan, my own choice statement to define my journey. Something with pop, with edge. Something defining to really let them know what this van can handle.

Observation number two;

There is a growing number of drivers who, by personal choice or company insistence, have a sticker on the lower portion of their driver's side mirror. Sometimes it's a picture, usually a cartoon. Sometimes a silhouette of a well endowed woman with an impossibly thin waist. But the phrases always intrigue me.

"Hangin' in there." "Get 'em" "Create safety" "Home soon"

More often than the defining badge, these usually are more personal, more emotional. Each glance into the mirror a reminder. I suppose if one really wanted to put forth the effort they could create some sort of rotational template- maybe a reminder as to what state they're heading towards. Or a silent to do list. Or a friendly reminder of a loved one's birthday perhaps. Or maybe just that cartoon drawing of the grumpy old woman in greeting cards just saying, "Who Farted?"

Time to start thinking. But if this is anything like seeking out an inspirational phrase for my Road ID, it might be a while.