Harvest always comes with many twists and turns, ups and downs, and many long showers after a long, hot day.
Of the many jobs that come around this time of year, the wheat truck driver knows all too well the importance of that long shower. If you have ever been curious about what one person thinks about after 14+ hours in one truck with no air conditioning, in the middle of wheat fields, waiting on that combine to fill up...
Well, let me give you a little idea.
1. Coffee
Maybe I should have packed a to go second breakfast... (Five minutes into sitting in the truck).
2. These seats need more squish to them.
A second sports bra is absolutely essential as well...As you fly through the air when the truck goes over the smallest bump.
4. Don't kill it, Don't kill it... Oh lord, there are people watching me...DON'T KILL IT!
By kill I mean most wheat trucks are manual, not automatic...
3. Should I approach the combine now, or should I wait until it's just about to overflow...
Playing with fire here. If I go now then that'll pressure the combine driver to unload, but what if it's too soon? If I wait, then maybe we'll get done with this field sooner... Or it overflows and wastes wheat.
4. Wow, I should not have waited...
As you replay the phone call with a seriously angry combine driver over and over in your head...
5. We need to invest in air conditioning!
Seriously so hot and sticky and the little pieces of straw are itchy!
6. Man, I complain a lot...I should really be grateful, right?
It could always be worse... At least I get to drive to and from the elevator every 15 minutes or so... That hot air coming through the windows is always so inviting and nice.
7. Look at that combine driver... all nice and cool in that AC...
They suck.
8. I should take up reading books or writing out my legacy during these waits...
But writing in this heat is too much work. Reading books are a great way to pass the time though!
9. I should really test out that fire extinguisher just in case.
Fires during summer often start in fields from the truck's engine sparking after the driver starts the truck or really it can start from the wind rubbing the straw together. So if a fire starts while I'm on the job I'd rather not do nothing. So our phones MUST be charged in case of emergencies, and everything needs to be up to date. Fires start easily and spread very quickly. Just in case you were curious.
10. I hate when the PTO gets stuck!
The PTO is the lever you pull up at the grain elevator in order to dump the truck...And when you have to admit you're weak and need some assistance because you are tired of hearing the five trucks behind you at the elevator honk at you...it kills any ego you might have had an hour ago.
11. I'm so glad no one can hear me sing at the top of my lungs or hear the very personal and epic conversations I have with myself...
Oh...Is this just me? Whoops...
Harvest is the pride of many farmers and small communities. It's the ultimate gamble for farmers as the majority of their family income comes from this final product. So God bless the harvest and keep the workers safe.
"For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God." - Hebrews 6:7 (ESV)
