Dangerous Profession

I now realize how true it is that as an adminstrative assistant, the most dangerous part of my job, was actually getting to work in my car. I've been amazed at how many accidents we've witnessed or driven past in the few months we've been sitting in this big rig. Last Thursday, just outside of Flagstaff, AZ, where the wind was blowing fiercely, we witnessed a construction site trailer (not much weight involved) being pulled by a semi truck, just blow over. When we drove past, the wheels were still turning on the trailer. The truck was heavy enough not to have followed suit and the trailer wasn't heavy enough to pull the truck over with it, either.

Today we were stopped on I-40 in New Mexico for about an hour. The reason we discovered as we drove past it was a car had gone through the guardrail and rolled down an enbankment, killing the driver. I'm not sure why the police did this but they just left his body on the road, without covering him with anything. The image will remain with me for a very long time, I think. 

This is a dangerous profession. Last year at Watkins-Shepard, they had three "suicides by semi" where a car ran head-on into one of their semis. One semi driver died because of this, all of the suicide drivers succeeded in their destruction quest. It doesn't seem fair to be used as a tool for their means to their end. 

Falling asleep at the wheel is the most prevalent reason for accidents. This is what I worry about. It only takes one day of having trouble sleeping and you don't have the opportunity to make up the sleep. Falling asleep behind your computer is one thing, which I've done before as an admin, but if you fall asleep behind the wheel of these creatures you may not get a chance for a "do over."

Shannon and I are doing better at sleeping while the other is driving, but it is still hard, and I think it always will be. There are some roads we drive on where the entire cab feels like it is going to shake apart and trying to sleep during those times I've found to be almost impossible. I like to think that we have a special kind of protection, though. I have an image in my head of several angels riding on top of our rig, hanging on to the sides, and maybe there is room for one inside the cab who help us keep it all together. I'm not saying that we shouldn't do all we can to be professional drivers, but I do believe that as children of God, just as human parents try to do whatever they can to protect their children, God will keep us safe as we drive the 20,000 plus miles each month, at least until our number of days on earth has been fulfilled, and we join Him in heaven. What a day that will be.