Just take a look at that cast: Swayze, Randy Travis with a beard, and Meat Loaf. Anyway, you see something like that on television, and you just know you're going to learn something, and this fine 1998 primer on the grim realities of the trucking business does not disappoint. Here are the important things I learned, from watching about twenty minutes of the film out of the corner of my eye with the sound off:1. "The only way to stay alive is to keep moving." Good advice, especially if you're a shark, and also if there are bad guys chasing you, which seems to happen with alarming frequency to the trucker played by Swayze. I was aware that truckers are able to drive for far longer stretches of time than mere mortals, but I never realized it's because they have to keep moving to stay alive. Y'know, lest they be caught by the bad guys that are apparently chasing them.
2. At any given moment, a big rig might careen out of control on a mountain road, slam into an extra-large mobile home conveniently blocking the road, flip over, and explode. Or careen out of control on a mountain road and slam through a country gas station and explode. Or careen out of control on a mountain road in an elaborate pas de deux with another big rig and explode:
3. Truckers need to be ever vigilant, because machine gun-toting thugs on motorcycles could be trying to shoot them or shoot out their tires at any time.
I know. It's a terrifying thought.4. And, finally, if you're driving down a mountain road, and you see a truck coming the other way, and the driver looks alarmed because he's either careening out of control or machine gun-toting thugs on motorcycles are chasing him, pull off on to the shoulder and let him pass, that way you don't wind up careening out of control and exploding yourself. You'll be glad you did.
Now, in putting together this post, I learned a couple of other valuable things about being a trucker, as portrayed in Black Dog:
-You don't look at the cargo and you don't question the route.
-You just might be haunted by an apparition known as the Black Dog, which apparently "plagues truckers stretched beyond their mental and physical limits," according to the Official Patrick Swayze International Fan Club website, an important resource for truckers. I would think that constantly worrying about careening out of control on mountain roads and exploding, or being chased by machine gun-toting thugs on motorcycles, or just plain keeping moving so you can stay alive, would be enough to cause anyone to be haunted by the Black Dog. Is it selfish to be glad I'm not a trucker?
Anyway, if you haven't seen Black Dog, you should, because it will give you a new appreciation for what truckers go through when they drive on mountain roads.
10-4.
-EB
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3 comments:
Uh.....Yep
That's great advice, as far as it goes, but it doesn't cover every situation. What if I'm driving UP a mountain road, and I see a truck coming the other way, and the driver looks alarmed because either he's careening out of control or machine gun-toting thugs on motorcycles are chasing him? Should I pull off on to the shoulder and let him pass? I mean, I don't want to don't wind up careening out of control and exploding myself, but I also don't want to get stuck behind a semi chugging slowly uphill.
What should I do?
Jim -
Thanks for your question. I think you have two choices in a situation like this:
1) Take the risk of careening out of control and exploding as you pull off on the shoulder to let the out-of-control trucker pass. You might not careen out of control yourself. But then again you might, hence the risk.
2) Take the risk of seeking out the sequel to "Black Dog", which by all rights should be about what happens when you're driving UP mountain roads instead of DOWN them, as in original "Black Dog," and see what lessons it offers. The risk here, of course, is a Swayze overdose, so you have to ask yourself, are you man enough for that much Swayze? Your answer will dictate your course of action.
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