You see it. You feel it. You know it.
Those three simple sentences are going to do the most heavy lifting in this post. They apply equally to three distinct but interconnected observations I made while covering the National Truck Driving Championships in Indianapolis last week. "Seeing," "feeling," and "knowing" explain the NTDC's stages of competition, the personal experiences of my colleague Tarrah Garis, and finally, a bigger thought I had about what it means to be transformed by a moment.
But first things first.
Congratulations to all the winners at NTDC. RadioNemo had a great time broadcasting the event, and it continues to remain one of the highlights of an always busy travel schedule. Special thanks have to go to our ATA friends Jessica, Virginia, Jeremy, and Chris who made sure our ringside seat had everything it needed. None of it would have been possible without the ongoing generosity of our friends at Drivers Legal Plan, JobsInTrucks, and United Axle.
And, of course, FedEx's Jackie Reed should feel proud of that championship trophy he received. As the event's overall winner, the Mississippi native earned his win against some of the best drivers in the industry.
From the perspective of this blog, writing about the event from a news angle doesn't make much sense. Numerous capable reporters, including friend of RadioNemo Eugene Mulero of Transport Topics, provided excellent coverage.
If you want a real deep dive into the skillful particulars or the joyful camaraderie of the three-day-contest, there's a place for that as well. Eugene and Podwheels' Greg Thompson having an ongoing podcast that covers the personalities, logistics, and plain ol' fun that bring the NTDC to life. You should check out this Q&A led by previous champion Roland Bolduc, if only to get a sense of why the competitors keep coming back.
The set-up of the NTDC is simple. It's about safety. No one in the competition can have had an accident over the course of the year, whether they are at fault or not. And if you get in an accident between the time you win state and the nationals, you are out. Over 400 state champions from around the country compete in nine categories. With the overall champion essentially determined by the highest score.
That score is totaled from three separate trials: a diagnostic test where you have to see what is wrong with a truck, a driving test where you have to feel your way around an obstacle course, and a written test where you have to know the rules of the road. The driver's ability to see, feel, and know their way around a truck is what creates a finalist, determines a champion, and, most importantly, translates into hundreds of million safe driving miles. In my interview with ATA President Chris Spear, he estimated the number of accident-free-miles at the event to be well over 600 million. That would get you to Mars and back.
It's a raucous, high-stakes affair, and it makes quite an impression on a first time attendee.
And that brings me to my colleague and associate producer Tarrah Garis.
Tarrah has been a terrific addition to RadioNemo. Personable, organized, and punctual, she has made our location broadcasts extremely polished while not losing the sense of chaotic fun both our listeners and guests have come to expect. She helps create the illusion that we are making it up as we go along when, in fact, the map is always within reach.
She is always up for a discussion of how to improve workflow, wakes up every morning to listen to the show while knocking out her to-do list, and views travel as an ongoing opportunity for adventure rather than a chore. She follows the information, learns a lot from our guests, and enjoys many of our callers. But what most delights her about the job is the freedom we have given her to create content. "Trucking Tunes Tuesday," "Semi-Short Stories," and those recap reels of our travels are all born out of her initiative. You can find it all on our YouTube channel, which she created as well.
The only thing remaining to get her completely hooked on trucking was seeing in person the passion the drivers have for their jobs.
NTDC took care of that. It happened before my very eyes.
It began the moment we walked in the convention center. The size of the venue, the comportment of the drivers, and the cow bells and whistles of the crowd almost overwhelmed her senses. It was only her aforementioned professionalism that stopped her from losing focus. Once the interviews began, I could see her growing admiration for not only the resumes but also the enthusiasm of the men and women who pulled up a chair behind our mics.
During our interview with Walmart drivers Antoine Sadler and Anthony Tirone, I found myself deeply moved by the pride each took in the other in being named a Road Team Captain. It was obvious that their friend's achievement was of equal importance and made their own honor seem more special. You could tell they believed they had done it together.
I looked over at Tarrah who was smiling with her head shaking. Speechless.
I knew, so I asked. "You get it, don't you?"
All she could say was, "I do."
Tarrah saw. She felt. She understood. And I think I understand a little better as well.
At its heart, this post is about the first encounters that transform us. By their very nature, first encounters can only happen once. A lot of people think I am crazy for enjoying YouTube channels where content creators react to movies they are watching for the first time. To be honest, I thought it was evidence of my insanity as well. But Tarrah's time at NTDC clarified my enjoyment of those videos and tied it back into that idea of "seeing, feeling, and knowing." Recognition of a striking moment gives way to an emotional reaction to that moment, and that combination is what propels us to attempt to understand, to know, what exactly it was that happened in that moment.
You'll never jump as much watching Ben Gardner's head pop out of the hole in his boat in "Jaws" as you will the first time you see it. The Beesleys will never again taste a peach cobbler like the first one they ever made together. George W. Bush will never again go to a backyard Texas BBQ where he doesn't know who Laura Lane Welch is. For those who know Lindsay Lawler, ask her about the moment she got the call that there was a baby girl waiting for a new home. Those moments can never be replicated, but they also will never be forgotten.
I think we hold our own ephemeral moments so close, because we feel they changed us for the better. We hope they changed us into our best selves. I know I will never stop as hard in my tracks as I did in the parking lot the night after my first spin class with Clare Marie. Our legs were shaking so badly, we were holding hands to stabilize each other. It was ridiculous, and we couldn't stop laughing. It was then, in all that joy, I looked at her and knew we'd be married.
That feeling is never going to happen again. But I hold on to it. I will always cherish it, and I will continue to nourish it. Most importantly, I will use that memory to understand what is happening when the next "first time" comes around.
In the meantime, I think we look for it in others. So, when we see someone else experience that "first time," if we open our hearts and are not cynical about what we see, we get to share in it as well.
I hope Jackie Reed really saw his championship trophy. I hope he felt bonds of friendship between himself and the folks cheering him from the crowd. I hope he understood enough in that moment to hold onto that triumphant feeling as long as he could. Because I can promise you, it was already a fading echo by the time those millions upon millions of miles of safety rolled back onto the road.
God, I love trucking.