# 38 ~ Leah

What got you into the trucks in the first place? Family members who are drivers or the constant need to travel? Leah

Thanks Leah, for the question. I think my submergence in the trucking industry was more of a dare. I am the first and only driver in my family. It does suit me very well, as I have never felt that I really belong in one particular place and the privilege of seeing our great Nation first hand, is not something I would have been able to accomplish had I not jumped into trucking.

Aside from the typical teenage jobs, my first job was at a lumber mill. Starting at the bottom, I stacked lumber, operated a reman saw, drove a forklift, loaded trucks, and finally worked my way into an inside, salaried position. I was the shipping/receiving clerk. During this stint, I became friends with many of our regular truck drivers. There was a little dissension among the ranks, as my immediate supervisor felt he was above his position. He had married into the family owned lumber yard. He treated the drivers with contempt and disdain and even put them in jeopardy by falsifying scale weights in order to ship heavy loads. I, on the other hand, did all I could to make sure everything was accurate and treated these drivers with respect. My supervisor resented me and the attention I received from the company for my efforts. He in turn began to sabotage my work, claiming I was mishandling the business end and sending out bad loads. He would literally attach my name and reputation to his misdeeds. So, we were to be separated. I was offered another position that would have placed me in a back room at a desk, and although it was supposed to be a step ahead, I felt it was an insult to me personally, that he be left in charge of the trucks.

So, I submitted my resignation. I then walked outside and asked. "Who wants to teach me to drive?"

During the final two weeks of my employment, I was quizzed by the previous supervisor as to what my next career move might be. I told him I was going to learn to drive the Big Rigs.

The best part of this story was I actually learned to drive while hauling loads of lumber out of that very lumber mill, using their own company trucks...something they were completely unaware of at the time..

...and six months later when the head honcho called to beg my return, I politely declined his offer. I would have been given the supervisor position with a major increase in salary, but I still felt insulted by their choice to remove me from that arena to begin with. So, when asked why I refused the offer, I simply stated that I was in San Diego, California and my office view couldn't be better!

Within the next year, that particular lumber mill closed its doors for good. Something about embezzling. So, it looks like I made the right decision at that time, because had I returned, I would have lost my job within a year.

Ask me anything