Driving jobs have become few and far between.
I am anxious to work so I can save enough to get off the road, but my finances have become a series of peaks and valleys.
I work very hard for what I earn, and I try to hang onto every penny.
Last week, I was driving from Birmingham to Orlando, and I stopped on Sunday
night at a Truck Stop just outside Tallahassee.
I hopped out of the car and started to gas it up, deep in thought about how late
I would be arriving in Orlando.
Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me. "Evening!"
I turned and saw a scraggly-looking man striding towards me, and my
heart sunk.
From my experience, he'd want something, and I just wasn't in the mood.
"Good evening," I replied as politely as possible.
"I have had one hell of a day. My girlfriend Carol drove us here from Panama City Beach, we were on the way to Jacksonville for a little vacation. We stopped here for gas this afternoon, and I went in to use the bathroom. But when I came out, she was driving away! And she had another guy in the car with her! And I think it was my cousin Timmy!"
"What was your cousin doing here?"
"Yes, exactly, that's just what I was wondering. How did it just so happen that Timmy was here at this particular Truck Stop at just the right time? It all smells of a conspiracy to me. But if you could just give me some money to help me get home, I'd surely appreciate it."
I sighed, but then remembered that I had a whole lot of change in my pocket weighing me down. Lots of pennies, dimes, nickels, and a few quarters. So I dug into my pocket and pulled out all the change, then poured it into his cupped hands. He stared down at the money, then looked up at me with disappointment in his eyes. "I don't think this will get me back to Panama City."
I try to help my fellow man, and this is the thanks I get?
Oh well, in my heart I feel I did the right thing... whether his story was true, or another tall tale told to me by a penniless drifter.
Such is the life of a driving fool.
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