When he's not posting those great trucking stories...

[MiddleFingerMom]

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...I know what Tobin is doing on the Intertubes.
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[Tobin S.]

1. It's probably the only reason some truckers have computers

I actually used to haul trucks like that. I worked for a drive-away company that delivered trucks to customers. They'd hook up 3 or 4 of them piggy-back style and I'd drive them that way to dealerships and trucking companies. It was the most difficult job I've ever had because not only did you have to drive the trucks to the customer, you had to un-deck them, too, which involved a lot of tools, dirt, and sweat. We had to un-deck those trucks outside and I didn't stick around long enough to do it in the winter. Just the thought of it made me quit.

I was down your way one time just outside of Pheonix un-decking trucks when it was 109 degrees. I was out there for 3 hours and drank 2 gallons of water, but I still became dangerously dehydrated. On the way back to the hotel I started cramping up. By the time I got to my room, I could barely move. Every muscle in my body felt like they cramped up. I cranked up the a/c, drank another gallon of water, and took a cold shower. I probably should have gone to the hospital, but I had to be a tough guy, I guess. I kept drinking water and my body eventually loosened up. I still had cramps occasionally through the night, and was I very sore in the morning. It was one of the most miserable experiences in my life.

[MiddleFingerMom]

2. One summer at college, I got a job on the stupid end of a shovel...

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...digging and leveling the dirt the backhoes had loosened for a sewage line
in a new development.
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GREAT boss!!! Great crew!!!
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But by lunchtime of my first day on the job, my arms were cramping so bad, I
couldn't grip my shovel, despite having drunk an ocean of water.
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My boss called me over and gave me the best advice I had on that job -- it's
the best I can give to you if you ever get stuck with manual labor in the sun
again.
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Gatorade. That's it. Gatorade.
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I (and you) cramped up because we were hemorrhaging potassium out in our sweat.
Water has no effect on that -- but Gatorade helps replenish it.
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A miracle drug, for sure.
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