You will probably not be pleased with me, and this isn't something that I truly want to do, but I have decided that there is no choice.  "A Driver's Journal" is going to have to become a "Pay to Read" affair and I hope you'll let me take a moment of your time to explain.

I enjoy writing the journal and I especially like the great feedback I receive.  The problem, however, is that it requires a great deal of time.  As the circumstances in my life have changed, it has become necessary for me to decide a few priorities.  I have much less free time now than I have had over the past two years of journal-keeping.  The journal has suffered due to my decreased time and it really has come down to a choice between quitting it or making my time pay for itself. 

I will not get rich from a "Pay to Read" journal and may in fact lose many of my faithful readers, and this possibility really does bother me very much.  Again, I don't feel that I have a choice. 

For those of you wondering what 2003-2004 will be about, I must say that they will be similar to the past, but in many other ways, they will be radically different.  In mid 2003 I experienced a job layoff and began to work for what I would call a "renegade" carrier.  My time with this carrier was spent running the South and Southwest primarily, with a little Florida thrown in.  Whereas I used to drive for a company with thousands of trucks; the new carrier had only twelve.  Many of the things written during this period of employment may shock you and show you a side of the industry that I haven't really spoken of much.  I am going to advise you to read these pages before allowing your children to read them.  I am going to be very honest - brutally so.  I am going to admit to things that no driver in their right mind admits to in a public situation such as this... I am going to make CRASH and PATT want to file a lawsuit.  I'm not proud of myself, nor of what I have written about this period of my trucking life, but I think you and everyone who shares the roads deserves to know a bit more about this industry and the people in it.  At the same time, I hope to show you the human being behind it all and the motivations that fuel our actions.

In 2004 I again experienced the scary feeling of being without employment... but not for long.  The newest job stays much closer to home, but it is unlike anything I've done to date.  I'm going to write all about this and I will then stop the journal.  I don't believe I will be over the road enough anymore to have enough to write about.  Should that change in the future, you'll be the first to know.

In closing, I am sorry to join the ranks of Internet "Pay to Whatever," but..... I think after reading the next couple of months, you will understand better. 

If you are not interested in continuing with me I thank you for having ridden with me this long.  Have a great day and as always, drive safe out there.

To pay for 2003-2004 (and all pages created later), please go to the Journal Home Page.