Neil GorsuchSupreme Court confirmation hearings for nominee Neil Gorsuch are under way.  And as he faces scrutiny by U.S. lawmakers, truck driver Alphonse Maddin is shedding light on the Neil Gorsuch decision that he just cannot shake. Abovethelaw.com wrote about the case recently, highlighting Gorsuch’s decision making:

The Tenth Circuit decided a case called TransAm Trucking v. Dept. of Labor. The case talked about how Maddin broke down on a freezing Illinois road, at night, out of gas.

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‘The frozen trucker’ Alphonse Maddin

He called TransAm. They told him to wait with his load.

He found that the brakes had frozen. The cab of the truck was unheated. He called TransAm again, who told him to wait again. Hours passed. He called TransAm again, explaining that he had symptoms that sound a lot like the early onset of hypothermia. TransAm told him, according to court records, “to either drag the trailer with its frozen brakes or stay where he was.”

After three hours in the cold, Maddin unhitched the trailer and went in search of gas. Eventually, the trailer was secured, and Maddin was fired for violating orders.

Maddin sued, and an arbitrator ruled that his termination was illegal under laws that protect employees from being compelled to operate vehicles in unsafe conditions. Appeals ensued, and the Tenth Circuit sided with Maddin, 2 – 1.

The one dissenter was Neil Gorsuch. In his opinion, Gorsuch wrote:

“It might be fair to ask whether TransAm’s decision was a wise or kind one. But it’s not our job to answer questions like that. Our only task is to decide whether the decision was an illegal one. The Department of Labor says that TransAm violated federal law, in particular 49 U.S.C. § 31105(a)(1)(B). But that statute only forbids employers from firing employees who “refuse to operate a vehicle” out of safety concerns.

“And, of course, nothing like that happened here. The trucker in this case wasn’t fired for refusing to operate his vehicle…. The trucker was fired only after he declined the statutorily protected option (refuse to operate) and chose instead to operate his vehicle in a manner he thought wise but his employer did not. And there’s simply no law anyone has pointed us to giving employees the right to operate their vehicles in ways their employers forbid.”

When describing Gorsuch’s dissent recently, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said: “According to [Maddin’s] recollection, it was 14 degrees below. So cold, but not as cold as your dissent, Judge Gorsuch.”

What would you have done in Maddin’s position, drivers? Join our community here and share your thoughts.

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Although Drive My Way is relatively new to the trucking world, there’s one team member so immersed in the business she is considered an institution.

She’s Jamey Wozniak, Drive My Way’s chief matchmaker. If you are a driver or employer who has worked with Drive My Way, chances are you have crossed Wozniak’s path. Simply put, she personifies the brand.

“I am passionate about Drive My Way,” Wozniak says. “Probably because I’ve been with the company since the very beginning. I’ve been part of the problem solving and seen our progress. It’s amazing to see how much we have grown already.”

Making the Match

Jamey working with a driver

As Drive My Way’s chief matchmaker, Wozniak communicates with truck drivers and helps them clarify what they seek in a CDL trucking job. Wozniak’s conversational style puts drivers at ease. It helps that Wozniak truly enjoys what she does.

“Helping someone succeed always makes me feel great,” Wozniak says. “I help drivers work the system a little bit. I give them the tools and show them that you get out of it what you put into it. I’ve been here long enough that I can help drivers maximize their benefit.”

In addition, on the employer side, Wozniak serves as Drive My Way’s account manager. In that role, she helps onboard employers, enabling them to match with drivers and hire them through Drive My Way. Also, Wozniak revels in sharing with employers tips and tricks that help them use Drive My Way’s application to their full advantage.

“As a former employer myself, I respect what they do and how they do it, because I’ve been there,” Wozniak adds.

An Accomplished Businessperson

Drive My Way matchmakerAs the owner of Joe’s Hitch and Trailer, a company that designed and installed custom trailer hitches and truck accessories for the outdoor market, Wozniak nearly doubled the company’s business, to $1.5 million.

“Joe’s was really my baby, the place where I evolved as a business owner,” Wozniak says. “I had my own radio show. Several newspapers and magazines featured me. Overall, I represented the brand.”

Being written about in the local press was a testament to her demonstrated leadership within the industry and as a female entrepreneur. “Overall, I was a woman in a man’s world, and I realized I could do it,” Wozniak says.

The Woman She Is Today

Currently, Wozniak still serves as a woman in a man’s world, but this time it’s trucking. Her direct, friendly personality serves her well at Drive My Way, just as it did at Joe’s. A graduate of automotive school, Wozniak has an affinity for fast cars. She’s a roll-up-your-sleeves, get-down-to-business type of gal who gets her point across with a smile on her face.

Wozniak draws as much from her entrepreneurial success as she does from her background in human resources and recruiting. A former recruiter and human resources generalist at Sony and Helene Curtis, Wozniak also worked her way up to VP of HR for Schindler Elevator. Her HR experience now plays an essential role when Wozniak communicates with recruiters. “Traditional HR and recruiting processes are so cumbersome and time consuming,” says Wozniak. “It’s easy to see what a game changer Drive My Way’s technology is by comparison. Educating recruiters on how our technology can save them time and money is one of my favorite aspects of my job.”

Overall, when Wozniak puts her mind to something, there’s nothing she cannot do. “I’ve been with Drive My Way since the beginning. So, it’s in my heart, it’s part of me,” she says. “I look forward to seeing where we go from here.”

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truck driver photographerThis summer, longtime truck driver Steve Shepherd will take to North America’s roads for the umpteenth time. But he’ll do so in a very different way than he ever has before.

This time, the company driver for Industrial Maintenance and Service Corporation in Richmond, Va., will be taking a leave of absence from his CDL trucking job to do something far more special.

A before-and-after shot of the school bus Steve Shepherd and Maryann Sloan converted to an RV

He’ll be living his dream.

Six months ago, Shepherd and his girlfriend, Maryann Sloan, bought a 2002 school bus. They converted it to an RV and drive it all over North America for several months.

Then, from Canada’s Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia in the East to California and Alaska in the West, Shepherd and Sloan will blanket the continent, savoring its beauty from behind the wheel and through Shepherd’s lens.

Photography Will Bring Their Journey to Life

For Shepherd not only is a veteran truck driver of 27 years. He also is a talented photographer who loves taking pictures from the road. He and Sloan keep a travel blog throughout their trip and shoot photos they plan to publish in a coffee table book at the trip’s end.

With stops that include Niagara Falls, Montreal, Memphis, New Mexico, Texas and myriad places in between, Shepherd and Sloan plan to explore as many national parks as they can.

“Good Lord, just talking about it makes Maryann and I excited about the adventures that lie before us,” Shepherd says.

In addtion, Shepherd is an avid outdoorsman who embraces the opportunity to pass through rural America as part of his CDL driver job. Something about old barns and farm buildings captivates him most of all. Overall, he loves the lines, the shadows he sees in them.

“There are so many barns and farm buildings,” he marvels. “And so many of them are abandoned. I always wonder what the story is behind them.”

The Advent of Technology

When he’s on the road for his CDL driver job, it’s easy and safe for Shepherd to take photos. That’s because his Olympus camera works by voice command. He simply mounts it to a GoPro stand and he’s off and running.

“You can aim it in any direction you want,” he says. “All I have to do is say ‘shoot’ and I’m taking pictures.”

Shepherd has liked photography for 15 years, but he never pursued it until a few years ago, when technology had advanced enough to lower the price of cameras.

“Nowadays you can buy a high-quality camera with only a small financial burden,” Shepherd says. “With the apps that are out there, editing your photography is so much easier, too.”

Shepherd’s favorite app is Olympus Image Share. It lets him edit, share and organize his photos by date and location. He’s also a big fan of Instagram, where he has more than 600 followers.

Inspiration Point

While Shepherd is moved by barns, nature and the ephemeral light of dawn and dusk, he’s also inspired by those who take note of his talent.

“Getting a response from people, being able to share my photography, it inspires me to do more with it,” Shepherd says. “Out here on the road, I see so much stuff that I know people won’t have an opportunity to see. It’s easy to capture it all with a camera and share with others a visual experience as opposed to a verbal experience.”

On a more personal level, Shepherd says Sloan, his girlfriend of nearly three years, first inspired him to take photos. So when Shepherd takes a photo he likes, she is the first person he shares it with.

“She’s the one who bought my camera for me. She’s the one who was inspired by the pictures I take and said, ‘You really need to do something with this.’ So she’s a lot of my motivation.”

The two will be inspired all the more this summer when they board their RV for the adventure of a lifetime.

Because out on the road, “you just never know what’s going to be around the corner,” Shepherd says.

Have you had a life-changing adventure on the road? We’d love to hear about it. Connect with us here and share your story for a chance to be featured on Drive My Way.

For more on notable truck driving photographers, see our Sharpshooters series featuring the photos of Tempie Davie, LeRoy Baxter, Robert Moody and Morgan Countryman.

All photos by Steve Shepherd

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Editor’s note: This is the second installment in our Trucking As a Treatment Series about depression among truck drivers.

 For some people, life seems to be an uphill battle.

Aron Borzyskowski (pronounced Boar-za-cow-ski) is one of them. No matter how hard he tries, he simply can’t escape life’s challenges.

“The stupidest things happen to me and I can’t figure out why,” says Borzyskowski, a 12-year flatbedder for UPS Freight.

“For example, I had a 15-year-old girl run out in front of my truck and commit suicide. I’m that one in a million person who it happens to. I know I didn’t do anything to cause that, but I’m still working on closure, you could say.”

That was two years ago. Borzyskowski has battled depression ever since then. While moving on has at times been a struggle for him, Borzyskowski refuses to dwell on his depression, instead finding ways to relish the new promise each dawn brings.

How He Turns It Around

When he’s having a bad day, Borzyskowski simply commits to getting through it. “I get up the next day and have at it again,” he says. “As long as I get up, I’m halfway there.”

At other times, he loses himself in upbeat films and music, savoring the distraction.

But there’s one thing that lifts his spirits more reliably than anything—practicing kindness to others.

“Making people laugh is a big thing for me,” says Borzyskowski, who has 1.8 million safe miles to his name. “I’m always trying to make people laugh. You gotta laugh at yourself every once in a while, too. I also take that extra second to say ‘You’re welcome’ to people. I’ll hold the door or help someone who needs help carrying something to their truck. It always makes me feel better.”

truck driver depressionRecently Borzyskowski even stopped to check on another driver who drove into a ditch.

“His lights were on, his wipers were on, so I stopped,” Borzyskowski says. “If I was in that situation, I would like someone to stop. I don’t understand why people don’t stop. We need to look after our fellow human beings.”

On hard days, things as simple as sharing a smile, honking his horn for a kid waving in a car, or carrying someone’s groceries fill Borzyskowski with joy that carries him through the day. He hopes others who suffer from depression can learn from his example and work to stay positive in the moment by practicing kindness.

“There is a solution for everything,” he asserts. “You can hash out family problems. You can rectify a bad day just by being kind to a stranger. When life kicks you, sometimes all you can do is get up and kick it right back.”

Borzyskowski, who is married with four kids, also reminds himself of his obligation to his family.

“You may be the world in somebody else’s eyes, and that’s where things really matter,” he says. “It could be a child, it could be a dog. But when you’re having a bad day, you have to remember that your life matters to someone.”

Check out the first story in our Trucking as a Treatment Series to learn how trucking itself has brought drivers out of their depression.

Life isn’t always easy. It’s how you respond to the hard times that sets you apart. Are you a driver who has committed to rising above life’s challenges? Connect with us here and tell us about it for the chance to be featured on Drive My Way.

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Thirty years ago there were a handful of lady drivers in this male-centric industry. Those tough and determined ladies paved the way through their own blood, sweat and tears for the thousands of lady drivers out on the roads today. Still, it is fair to say that the truck driving industry is very much a man’s world. Even with more women drivers going over-the-road year after year, men still make up the largest demographic of drivers.

Our lady drivers should be celebrated every day for the fantastic work they do in this often challenging and many times lonesome career.

But today I want to recognize and celebrate another group of ladies: the ladies who support their trucker.

The ones who stay at home raising the kids, working a 9-to-5 job, paying bills and all the while eagerly awaiting the return of the trucker they love so much. The ladies who give up their home life to live in a 72-inch box for months at a time to be with their trucker.

The ones who cook and clean both at home and in the truck, wash clothes at home and at truck stops, and the ones with that shower bag on hand, ready to run into a truck stop shower whenever the constantly ticking clock allows. No more soaking in a hot bath. No more stretching out on a large bed. This is life on the road.

The ladies who support their trucker are more valuable than diamonds, and tougher than diamonds, too. It can be a lonely, heart-tiring time sitting at home waiting for the sound of that diesel engine to pull up or longing to hear from the one you love when they are hundreds or even thousands of miles away.

Many moons ago I was a military wife. While the men were out to sea or abroad, the women held the proverbial camp back home. The trucker wife is the same.

They say that behind every good, hard-working man is a strong woman.

While the driver is busy planning routes and dealing with brokers, dispatchers, shippers and receivers, the ladies help by keeping an eye on the weather. They keep up with the news in case there is trouble in an upcoming city.

In addition, they remind their trucker to sleep, eat, shower, drink enough water, take his medicine and get out and walk. They take care of the bills at home, the kids and the house. While he is busy working (and make no mistake, it is no small task to drive a truck) the ladies are busy getting things done that need doing every day.

These ladies are mom, grandmother, wife, chef, maid, secretary, navigator, organizer, planner, nurse, commander, lover, companion, comedian, employee, boss, chauffeur, teacher, inspector, seamstress, therapist and much more. On any given day they wear multiple hats, sometimes at the same time. These are the ladies who sacrifice themselves so that their driver is healthy, clean, full and safe. Only then, when everything else is taken care of, do these women seek to indulge themselves, if they have the energy.

We don’t deny the men who take care of their truck driving ladies deserve credit, too.

But today, it is about recognizing the love and dedication of the women who support their truck driver. These are the ladies behind the scene, whose everyday tasks often are taken for granted. I want you all to know, we see you, and we appreciate all you do.

Sierra Sugar is a blogger who rides along with her fiance, truck driver Allen Wilcher. Follow her blog, Sweet Life of Sierra Sugar, or catch her on Twitter here.

March is Women’s History Month. Drive My Way is proud to highlight women in the trucking industry who inspire and lead by their example. Join our community here to get these and all of Drive My Way’s stories in your newsfeed.

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Trucking as a Treatment

According to The Road Blog, depression impacts 15 to 20 percent of professional truck drivers. That rate is much higher than the national average for depression in general (about 6 percent).

With the high rate of depression among people with CDL trucking jobs, Drive My Way decided to explore the issue more deeply and get to the heart of what helps truck drivers overcome their depression. Here, we highlight two truck drivers who found that trucking itself cured their depression.

treatmentBrian Sparks wanted out in the worst possible way.

Not out of his relationship (he already was out of that). No, he wanted out of life. He worked in a factory, had just endured an ugly divorce, was struggling to raise his son and felt like he wasn’t doing enough for anyone.

He lost custody of his son to his ex-wife and later got booted from his apartment. That’s when “I went off the deep end a bit,” he recalls. “It seemed like there was a stretch where I was losing everything around me. I didn’t feel like sticking around.”

With his back against the wall, Sparks was at a crossroads. He had to make a decision. He thought of his dad, who worked as a truck driver. “I remembered the pride he took in his job,” Sparks says. “So I obtained my CDL and started driving.”

Turning Point

It was a decision that changed Sparks’ life.

In the factory, Sparks was working 12-hour days and missing visitations with his son, who lives about six hours away from him. When he began driving for DST, LLC one year ago, however, he noticed a marked change in himself. For once, he felt empowered.

“DST definitely boosted me up,” Sparks says. Sparks rose quickly in his job, which spurred him on all the more. Today, he not only drives for DST, he also interviews drivers whom DST is considering hiring.

“I’m the one who comes in and tells them how it is,” he says. “I go above and beyond in my job. I like to help people. My manager sees I have a desire to do the job and represent the company in a positive manner. I’m solving problems and using common sense. My opinion matters. It’s built up my sense of self worth. It’s made me feel important.”

The empowerment Sparks has gleaned from his CDL trucking job has buoyed his relationships. He and his ex-wife are great friends now as they work together to raise their son. And his son looks up to him. Sparks says it’s all because his outlook has changed. “I notice a big difference in myself,” he says. “A lot of it was my own attitude, I have to admit.”

Samantha Rohweder, an expedited dry van team driver, also says driving empowered her to overcome her depression.

Until she landed her high paying trucking job, Rohweder’s life had been racked by financial hardship and bad credit. It put her in a hole for years and thrust her into the depths of despair that for a time drove her to turn to alcohol and drugs.

But Rohweder began to notice positive, lasting change about a year into her CDL trucking job. Bit by bit, she was able to start repairing her credit. As the cloud of financial hardship lifted, she started to see that she was actually happy.

Having a high paying trucking job turned Rohweder’s life around so much that she no longer needs to take antidepressants.

Every aspect of her life has improved, actually. “After six years on the road, I’m still eager to face the day,” she says. “I don’t drink alcohol anymore. No thoughts of illicit drug use. I have better relations with my kids. I’m now engaged to an awesome man and am just an all-around happier person. And because trucking is not the same old daily grind, I don’t get bored.”

For a long time, Rohweder, mom to three grown kids, didn’t have a relationship with her oldest daughter due to her depression. Today, however, the two have a normal parent-child relationship and share in life’s special moments.

“It was the freedom and confidence of driving that empowered me to change,” she says.

Sometimes truck driving is so much more than just a job. For more great content on how trucking jobs change lives, follow us on Facebook here.

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Does your back ache from sitting in the driver’s seat too long? Before it gets worse and you have to take time off to fix it, consider the advice of Matt D’Aquino of the Healthy Trucker blog.

Take advantage of the breaks in your day to complete some stretches and exercise. It will eliminate back pain and save money and time in the future. Plus, no equipment is required.

1. Place your hips behind your back and lean backwards.

Hold this for up to 10 seconds, and repeat 5 times to decompress spinal fluid that can build up.

2. Repeat the position but go forward.

This can help your hamstrings too.

3. Place your left hand on your left leg, and your right hand upwards.

Then, stretch your hand down as far as it can to relieve some of the muscles around the torso. Repeat on the other side. Do each set five times.

4. Place your hands on a flat surface shoulder-width apart.

Then, bring each knee toward the opposite side as high as it can go. Doing as many as possible can relieve and strengthen the gluten and surrounding areas.

We hope these back exercises will keep you on the road pain-free.

Do you have a favorite tip to share about how you stay pain free? Want to continue to get health tips to make your life better? Follow Drive My Way on social media here.

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For one trucking couple, love rules the road

Valerie and David Lopez are a team at work and in life. The team drivers are owner operators leased to Roadrunner Transportation, and they know a thing or two about love. After all, they’ve been married for 25 years.

The Lopezes started teaming just one year ago. David has had a CDL trucking job for 10 years. Valerie worked for Los Angeles County for 23 years and put in time as a stay-at-home mom before joining David in the ranks of those with CDL trucking jobs.

“I love teaming,” Valerie says today. “Our kids are grown, so there was no need for me to stay at home anymore.”

For one couple, love rules the road.

The Lopezes at their wedding 25 years ago

Life on the road together has solidified Valerie and David’s bond. “We have a different connection now,” Valerie says. “Our relationship is 100 percent better. Before, David would be on the road and I would be home worried about him. The separation between us while he was on the road added to the stress.”

Before teaming with David, Valerie rode along with him for one year to get a taste of the trucking life.

It gave her an opportunity to see and understand what he experienced on the job. Trying to find parking, getting sick on the road, witnessing horrible accidents, it all opened Valerie’s eyes and brought the Lopezes closer together.

“We’re growing together all the time,” David says. “Valerie makes me laugh. We get to see each other and do things together now that we weren’t able to do before. Everything about working together is great.”

When they have the chance, the Lopezes take the time to go for walks, try their luck at a nearby casino, explore natural attractions and do whatever they can to keep the spark alive. Sharing experiences is part of what makes trucking together special for them.

“I’m not out here to work, work, work,” David says. “I’m out here to make the best of it, enjoy it and at the same time pay the bills.”

For one trucking couple, love rules the roadTeaming together has worked out well financially for the Lopezes and improved their communication at the same time.

“I love it out here,” Valerie says. “The time you get to spend alone and talk without background noise makes a big difference. With team driving, you don’t have time to argue. Seeing accidents out here on the road is another eye opener. Life can change in a minute. You don’t want to waste time arguing. You just want to enjoy the moment.”

After Valerie tired of sleeping alone every day while David was driving, the Lopezes made a conscious effort to make sure their sleep schedules overlapped for at least four hours every day. It was a simple change that has made a lasting difference in their marriage.

Between them, the Lopezes have three kids, ages 24 to 31.

The couple met at a Los Angeles house party when they were 19 years old. They were married three years later. Marriage hasn’t always been easy, but it has been worthwhile.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Valerie says of teaming with David. “I don’t know if it’s because we’ve been with each other so many years, but it works. If you make it work, it will work.”

Love manifests itself in various ways. Join our social community here for more inspiring content.

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Driver Clyde Bishop, left, assists with the delivery of the Vince Lombardi Trophy to Houston, Texas, with two-time Super Bowl winner Vince Wilfork.
(Michael Stravato/AP Images for FedEx)

FedEx driver Clyde Bishop has a connection to the Super Bowl that most drivers only dream of. The longtime truck driver, a 16-year veteran of FedEx, hails from Houston, Texas. This year he had the very special honor of delivering the Vince Lombardi Trophy to Houston before Super Bowl LI is played there this weekend.

For Bishop, driving the Vince Lombardi Trophy into his hometown was the experience of a lifetime.

After all, it’s not just any trophy. The iconic sterling silver award is handcrafted by artisans at Tiffany & Co. It received special treatment worthy of champions along its route from NFL headquarters in New York to the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, where it will be on display until Super Bowl Sunday.

Throughout its journey to Houston, the Lombardi Trophy remained under tight security.

A high-tech sensor tracked its journey and monitored temperature, humidity and light to show if the package opened before arriving in Houston.

Two-time Super Bowl winner Vince Wilfork delivers the Vince Lombardi Trophy via FedEx to the NFL Experience in Houston on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017.
(Michael Stravato/AP Images for FedEx)

Helping Bishop make the final delivery of the trophy into Houston was none other than two-time Super Bowl champ and current Houston Texans nose tackle Vince Wilfork, who signed for the Lombardi Trophy and held it above his head like a champ (see a great video of the delivery here).

While Wilfork won his rings with the New England Patriots, his heart lies in Houston now.

“FedEx proudly delivered the iconic Vince Lombardi Trophy to the Super Bowl for the last 17 years,” said Patrick Fitzgerald, senior vice president, Integrated Marketing and Communications for FedEx.

“There are more than 400,000 FedEx team members working to connect people and businesses around the world, and we’re excited to continue this 17-year tradition of delivering the Lombardi Trophy to football fans before the big game.”

Is there a special journey your CDL trucking job has taken you on? Connect with us here to share your experience.

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petsmartcharities.orgAfter seven years, truck driver Karyn Marshall decided she refused to make the long journeys alone. Knowing depression affects truckers, Marshall stayed one step ahead of her mental health.

Her company, Amistad Freight Service Inc., actually encouraged pets.

So, Marshall began to look into pet adoption.

She went to PetSmart but wasn’t allowed to adopt the black cat who caught her attention. The staff learned she intended to travel with the cat in her truck and voiced concern.

Marshall told PetSmart in a later interview, “I was heartbroken… I’ve had many adopted cats throughout my life. But because my home was a truck, it wasn’t considered to be a good one. That really hurt.”

Luckily, PetSmart referred her to another adoption partner called Safe House Animal Rescue.

The shelter worked together to find the perfect cat for Marshall. They introduced her to Snickers and petsmartcharities.orgthe two shared an instant connection.

Snickers was pampered immediately by Marshall as she bought him a new bed, carrier, toys and food. She said he fit right into the truck from the moment he walked in.

Not long after, Snickers gained a friend when Marshall and a few other truckers came across an abandoned litter of kittens at a California truck stop.

Each of them took one or two and Marshall came back with two kittens which she named, Pebbles and BamBam.

Pebbles found another home with one of Marshall’s friends, but BamBam stuck around, soon becoming best friends with Snickers. “The only life he knows is in that truck,” Karyn said to PetsMart. “And he loves it. He’s like a little kid – very active, and all over that truck all the time.”

As they say, opposites attract and the two cats became quick friends. BamBam’s activeness was a balance to Snicker’s mellow nature.

petsmartcharities.orgThe addition of the two cats in Marshall’s life have added stability, relaxation and a portable alarm clock, since BamBam is an early bird.

“He’s the alarm clock,” said Marshall. “You do not go past 7 a.m. Eastern time — no matter what time zone you’re in – without feeding BamBam. He’ll meow, nibble my fingers, bite my nose – anything to get my attention.”

Marshall encourages all truck drivers to adopt a pet for the road, as long as their employer allows them.

She says both of her feline friends have enriched her life completely. Though she’s not against dogs, she asserts that cats make the best trucker pets, no constant stops for bathroom breaks.

“They’re quiet, they don’t bark and they want to be with you, they couldn’t care less about what’s going on outside. They want to be loved on and worshipped like they feel they are worthy of,” Marshall states.

Do you bring your pet on the road? Share a picture with us and follow us on Facebook to see how your fellow drivers live life on the road. 

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