What’s good out there?

Liquid Trucking.

Welcome to another episode of the Liquid Trucking podcast.

Episode 20 actually.

And uh that’s a,

that’s,

that’s not a milestone that I’m going to blow the party horns for or uh pat myself on the back for it,

but it is a milestone all the same.

And uh you know,

we’ll blow it out when we get to say 50 episodes.

When we’re rolling up on 50 episodes.

You bet your ass,

I’m gonna be having a party in the studio,

but I want to congratulate you on 20 great episodes because without all the great people that have come on this podcast drivers and staff included,

we would not have nearly the amount of success that we have garnered with this podcast.

So,

thank you to every one of you out there that clicks,

listen,

every single week or downloads,

every week goes back and checks out the old episodes.

I’ve been getting texts from drive out there.

I know that you guys are listening and I really appreciate it.

Uh We,

we do it for you.

So I certainly hope that it’s entertaining if there’s something that you want to hear about or maybe you want to be on the show and haven’t come on yet.

Uh,

shoot us an email at podcast at Liquid trucking.com and we will make sure to either get you on the show or listen to what you have to say about what you want to hear about and see if we can do an episode about it.

Uh,

as I said,

it’s all about you.

So you might as well reach out to me.

Uh There’s also a lot of drivers out there that have my personal cellphone number.

So if you run across one of them,

make sure and get my number from them and then you can just text or call me.

I’m totally good with that.

Uh I’m just not gonna put it out here on the airwaves because I got some weird ex-girlfriends out there hanging around uh in the Pacific Northwest.

And it’s weird,

man.

They,

they’re like moss,

like they’ll go away for months and months at a time,

but they creep back up in the weirdest times and if you’re not ready for them with that uh tub of powder,

it’s ugly.

So gonna keep the phone number off of the airwaves,

but it’s easily accessible to everyone at liquid if you need it,

just ask any one of the people that’s been on the show and they will hook you up with it.

What are we talking about today?

Well,

I told you a couple of weeks ago when we did the worst of the worst episode that we were going to marry it up with a best of the best episode.

And that episode is here.

I’m talking only to drivers today and we’re going to get some of the best of the best according to them,

that might be the best roads to drive on.

That might be the best truck stop,

the best food.

Uh,

you know what,

the best four,

we maybe there’s some kind ones out there.

Uh The best places to drive in the best scenery.

Any of this stuff is fair game.

In fact,

I told one driver that I’m gonna talk to a little bit later here on this episode.

If it’s a positive thing about any aspect of your job,

let’s talk about it.

So,

here we are.

It’s the best of the best episode,

episode 20 of the Liquid Trucking Podcast.

Let’s kick it off and get a driver on the horn.

Welcome to the Gold Standard of Podcast for the gold standard of Drivers.

This is the Liquid Trucking Podcast with your host,

Marcus Bridges.

It’s been a little bit since we had our next guest on the podcast last time and I’m super excited to have him back because it’s always a fantastic interview.

Please welcome Liquid Driver,

Alex Shevchuk back to the show,

Alex.

How you doing out there,

man?

Hey,

not too bad,

Marcus,

how about yourself?

I’m doing great,

man.

You make my day bright,

sending me all these awesome pictures.

You send me recipes uh of great food that you make out there on the road.

And I know that right off the bat here for our best of the best segment uh on this podcast episode,

you have a great kind of heartwarming story to tell me about your daughter.

And you’ve sent me a couple pictures of her.

She is just that,

that smile man could warm up an entire room.

Talk to me about what you’ve been going through with your daughter and how liquid’s been helping out.

Yeah,

she actually diagnosed them uh with uh the attack,

a nerve system and attack.

Um basically know that respond on uh uh moving her feet so she could have been in that cripple soon as my dispatch,

um I was working in the um time dispatch.

Notice it f pull up the little page created helping us out and soon as my dispatch noticed it,

uh a on fon he posted on the company website and all the employees,

whoever they are,

they’ve been uh working hard and as we are on the road,

they pitch in,

they help us out.

It was a battle for us because she could have been ad cripple,

but with Liquid Truck and been involved in it,

it,

it was totally made a big difference for our family.

And uh I’m sharing this story and at the same time,

I’m really thankful for my bosses,

my employee,

um like,

um,

you know,

coworkers.

So I’m kind of breaking down a little bit,

but um I’m really grateful to have a whole team together to help us out through the difficulty times.

So I really appreciate it.

It would,

it would,

it would took every one of them to help us out and we uh been struggle with the bills a little bit big bill coming up and with this,

she cover quick.

They let uh,

uh,

special dogs in there and then you see,

you see the picture that was our dog.

They even allow our dog.

She’s a training K nine.

She’s um,

a recover quick within a year and she’s still doing uh some little therapies there and there.

But,

um,

it was a difficult time but with Liquid Truck and everything is possible.

Wow,

what just well said there,

I gotta say that first and,

and I just,

this is such an amazing story to hear and first time I’m hearing it right now,

you know,

other than you,

you’ve given me a little bit of context before we came on Alex and I’m starting to well up a little bit.

I mean,

uh,

how cool is it that this company comes through and helps you out?

And this wasn’t something that you were passing the hat around and asking for you.

You were relying on your family and your friends and your,

your network to help you out and liquid got a hold of it,

posted it out there and the entire company pitched in and helped you guys out.

I I think that that definitely qualifies for our best of the best segment here.

Uh What a phenomenal company to work for and what a phenomenal group of people that you’re surrounded by Alex.

It’s,

it’s awesome.

And then another little story behind uh is you see um officer taking that picture uh with um again,

my girl already recovered standing on her feet and Jonathan smiling police vehicle and this story behind it and it took another turn around.

Family was going to pick up ant from Washington and Nina’s mom,

sister,

they were traveling down deep in Texas.

So they went there and they got broke down.

So overflow,

uh one of them gasket uh flow on the alternator and alternator got shot.

So in the middle of nowhere,

no rescue insurance will not gonna even go.

Both of them.

AAA Allstate will not gonna go and rescue the vehicle.

So I didn’t hesitate.

My wife kinda didn’t want to do it,

but I called the officer to locate the location.

Uh police uh police officer and I said my wife and kids got stranded and broke down waiting for a recovery vehicle.

So they sent one of them rescued.

This specific officer was um with the lights to make sure they’re safe because a lot of oil trucks moving in that road and that’s a business road.

So he goes,

uh,

he called me back directly and he goes,

uh,

th this is your family.

I go,

yes.

And two kids on the board.

He goes,

uh,

uh,

uh,

you work in somebody else.

I go,

yeah,

I’m working for liquid trucking.

He goes,

uh,

do you know Adam Fenton?

He goes,

uh,

you too far away.

There’s nothing you can do.

He took the family,

he actually,

uh,

booked in two nights hotel and provide them everything is possible because they know liquid trucking behind it and they just,

I,

I was just,

you know,

I,

I cannot appreciate liquid trucking.

How many people they know and how people willing to do because liquid trucking um spread the good,

good things on the road,

they help other people and then now like officer even turn around,

they know somebody in the office and help uh my family be too far away.

I was in Colorado at that time.

It was a,

it was a great story behind it.

So that’s an amazing story and you know,

this just goes to show you and,

and obviously we,

we always talk about how much we love Liquid on this podcast.

Uh for good reason,

but I think there’s more to it here when you think about it.

If you do good things for good people and you support your people,

you support your network,

you do whatever you can for him,

you bend over backwards for them,

they will bend over backwards for you in return.

And I think that’s kind of what you’re seeing here.

This officer,

uh,

what a fantastic person.

You know,

I,

if you could car,

uh,

carbon copy that gentleman and,

and copy him onto every police officer in this country,

uh,

it would be one heck of a safe place and it would be a happy one as well.

And so,

uh,

you know,

that,

that’s amazing hats off to that police officer out there in Texas,

helping out your family,

getting them someplace safe,

getting them off that busy road.

Uh,

in the middle of the night,

I’m sure I saw the picture was taken at night.

So I’m assuming it was dark out there and,

you know,

that’s scary.

That’s something you’ve dealt with before as a trucker.

But your two young kids and your wife probably hadn’t been through that before.

Yeah,

they didn’t want me to call then.

I was like,

no,

uh,

Mexican cartel going around.

Uh,

we better call for backup.

So that was a good decision to make.

So that’s awesome,

Alex.

Well,

thank you for sharing those two great stories with us.

And,

uh,

please give everyone here at the podcast absolute best to your daughter as she continues her recovery,

uh,

seeing her,

you know,

you,

you sent me a couple of pictures of her in the wheel chair and with the dog and everything and then seeing her standing there uh you know,

smiling as big as she was.

That’s,

that’s just great.

I get to see that kind of uh her recovery play out and pictures that you sent me.

And uh I’m just so happy for you guys,

man.

You’re,

you’re a great dude.

I’ve had so much fun talking to you on this podcast over the episodes that you’ve been on.

And,

uh it seems like every single time I get you on,

you’ve got an even better story for me,

Alex.

And,

uh,

II,

I just hope things keep going as well for you as they have been because you work for a great company and you clearly value that.

Yes,

sir.

And,

uh,

yeah,

II,

I didn’t feel good on,

on this time.

Get out on the trip.

I just dropped some medications to keep rolling cause I know how important to get to other people.

We deliver alcohol this time.

So Colorado needs it and,

um,

I’m on it even though I don’t feel good,

I grab the medications and I keep rolling for a liquid chucking.

Good,

good.

Well,

I hope that you can also,

uh,

get over whatever’s got you feeling under the weather.

You got a little bit of that seasonal stuff,

a little cold or something like that.

Yeah,

it’s even worse.

It’s,

uh,

probably some,

uh,

some kind of,

um,

four or five days thing going on.

And I,

I took,

um,

I took a lemon shot is,

uh,

what’s really best for,

for the truck as you squeeze one lemon,

you take it one shot and actually,

uh running through the night and the fever in the morning,

I’m ready to go with no fever.

So it’s,

it’s a lemon shot is,

is really a friend for the trucking.

It sounds like it.

I bet it’s just a little bit tough to get down.

Like II,

I feel like a shot of lemon juice is something you give one of your buddies on a $3 bet to see if they’ll actually drink it.

That I’ve got it.

It was like two o’clock in the morning and I,

I got it and then come back in the morning,

I had no fever so it worked perfect.

That’s all,

that’s all the proof we need.

Alex.

Well,

that’s great,

man.

Uh,

you know,

here on our best of the best,

uh,

today,

I’m gonna ask everybody this question.

And so before I let you go,

I wanna make sure we get your answer to this out of all the places you’ve been.

And this includes both here in the United States and anywhere overseas.

Tell me about your absolute favorite place to drive.

Ok.

Favorite place to drive.

It would be,

uh,

one place I can be,

end up to be every weekend and every road trip is,

um,

Utah.

And the specific one is,

uh,

called,

uh,

it’s right by,

um,

it’s one of the hot springs by Ogden Utah.

We have been with family soaking in minerals,

salt,

salt and minerals.

I’ve been through um surgery on my knee,

so we recovered there and that’s the best place ever.

Um,

Honeywell Utah is what it called.

Honeywell Utah.

So,

you’re,

you’re saying I gotta get down to Utah because actually,

you know,

my boss lives in Ogden Utah and he’s gonna hear this and he’s gonna know that I’m coming down there to get in the hot springs at some point in time because,

uh,

if you’ve never been in a hot spring before,

it’s a crazy experience.

And,

uh,

it is really good for recovery.

I assume that helped with your knee,

knee surgery recovery,

didn’t it?

Yeah,

but a lot of salt and mineral and a lot of people get,

uh feeling bad better and I even uh share the news with my bosses.

I was like,

you gotta make it there,

you gotta get better.

And if you got,

you know,

spend time with family,

that’s the best place mountain air and uh uh a good uh environment and a lot of salt and mineral water.

So,

so you get out of that water feeling good,

you slam back a shot of lemon juice and you get right back on the road,

right?

Alex.

Yes,

sir.

Awesome man.

Well,

hey,

uh,

from all of us here at the Liquid Trucking Podcast,

I hope that you uh feel better very soon.

And,

uh,

well,

like I said,

continued great thoughts to your daughter uh for making a full recovery and continuing down that road,

Alex.

It’s always a pleasure to have you here on the podcast,

my friend.

Uh You keep the shiny side up and stay safe out there and we’ll be in touch with you very soon.

Ok.

Thanks Marcus.

Appreciate it next up here on the Liquid Trucking Podcast.

I’ve got yet another liquid driver coming on to talk about the best of the best.

Please welcome back to the show,

Tony Brown.

Tony.

How are you doing out there,

man?

I’m doing pretty good.

How are you doing today?

I’m doing great.

Other than just uh I was,

I just looked up our text chat here to uh grab some information out of it and I saw all the pictures of all the phenomenal food you’ve been cooking and now I’m hungry again.

So,

uh keep sending those things along,

man.

Would you make like a stuffed burger and pasta the other night?

Yeah,

I just did some uh spiral pasta that my wife had made.

I boiled some of that my little electric skillet and then I took a £1 ground beef burger and then I finally tic some mushrooms and some red bell pepper and then some shredded cheese.

Uh I saute the bell peppers and the mushrooms together.

Even took some shrimp that I had diced it up and saute that with the peppers and mushrooms and a little bit and a real light coat of uh olive oil just to keep them from uh scoring to the skillet.

And then threw in some uh Creole seasoning as well with some smoked chives,

onion powder,

some garlic powder.

And then once those were done sauteed and softened up.

I threw those in a bowl with the hamburger patty.

And then I have some uh food grade gloves,

latex gloves,

threw those on.

Um I also threw in some shredded cheese.

I think I already said that.

But uh,

and then took some oyster crackers because I realized I had saved up some club crackers that I had and wound up to eat,

snacking on them until they were gone.

And I was like,

all right,

dumbass.

You needed those as a binder.

Well,

I realized I still had a couple of little packages of oyster crackers.

So I just smashed those up and threw those in as used as a binder to help hold everything together.

Uh Because if you’ve ever made a meat loaf or anything,

you gotta have something to when you,

when just doing a burger.

Yeah,

that’s fine.

But when you start adding other stuff,

it’ll fall apart on you.

So I threw those in,

just got my hands in there.

Got it all mixed up.

Made the patty the way I wanted it,

threw it on my Foreman grill,

then finished up the,

the noodles,

threw those in the bowl set the uh patty down right at the center of those noodles,

took a little bit of brown gravy that I had uh put that on there.

And yeah,

I fell asleep about 30 minutes after I finished eating,

dude.

It looked so good.

I mean,

it was,

it looked so good.

It,

it,

it,

it blew my mind when I created that.

I was like,

yeah,

that is definitely something I wanna share.

Uh something I’m gonna be making a K I’ve got a couple of other ideas for some like stuffed burgers.

So that’s all,

there’ll be more to come.

Awesome.

Well,

keep sending them my way.

I love seeing it and you actually touched on something here.

I’m gonna,

I’m gonna set off our best of the best conversation by saying for me and I know that this is simple,

but a best of the best road trip snack for me is Club Crackers with just some sliced cheese and maybe like a cut up apple or something like that to go along with it.

I could eat that for seven hours non so I could eat it every meal of the day and not get sick of it.

And I know that that’s like I obviously come from the Lunchables generation because Cheese and Crackers is a meal for me,

you know.

Right.

Right.

Yeah.

No,

I hear you.

Yeah.

Go to snack for me is a lot.

People don’t like them but I love uh sardines.

And mustard pop.

Oh,

with,

with whole grain wheat crackers?

That doesn’t sound bad.

I never thought I would like sardines and mustard sauce until somebody forced me to try them one day.

And it’s,

it’s,

it’s been sold way worse than what it is.

Let’s just put it that way.

Oh,

absolutely.

Another one that’ll blow,

blows people’s minds.

It’s not one that you can really eat while driving,

but just to sit down and snack,

cottage cheese and pepperoni.

Oh,

yeah,

absolutely.

And you know,

it gives you a little bit of a lasagna feel like you kind of get the,

the,

the breath of lasagna in there you get,

because you get that salty,

spicy.

So you get a little mixture and just two little simple things,

especially if you get that cup that like cup shaped pepperoni.

You know,

I just take them,

fold them up like a little,

almost like a taco and you kind of scoop it.

That’s great.

Well,

look,

we can talk snacks all day.

Clearly.

This is,

uh it’s amazing,

man.

And this is only,

we’re only scratching the surface of your culinary exploits here.

So,

uh when we,

when we do our next food on the road episode,

which will be coming around the bend before too long,

we’re gonna get you back on,

share some recipes because uh every single one that you’ve sent me,

man,

I’ve told you,

toss some of that out the window when you’re creeping down I,

five in my neck of the woods.

I’ll go find it in the ditch and still eat it.

I tell you what.

Yeah.

Like those,

uh,

those pork chops that I did those pork steaks.

Oh,

I,

I blew my mind with those.

I’m,

I’m a,

I’m a creative individual when it comes to cooking.

I love to cook.

That’s my passion.

It’s not my,

uh,

trade,

but it is my passion.

I actually turned down a full right scholarship to the Southern Culinary Arts Institute for the Military.

Really.

Instead,

instead I joined the military and I had a full scholarship to go do what I do.

I love.

Instead I,

my other love was turning wrenches on diesel and I went to the military for 21 years turning wrenches.

But I never lost my passion for cooking.

And did they ever let you in the cut in the kitchen at the military?

So you could uh feed some of these guys with your talents?

I actually assisted with some of our quote unquote cooks um loosely defined but yeah,

loosely defined.

I,

you know,

I,

I helped them out a little bit.

Uh when I had the opportunity I threw some uh threw some magic at them how to,

how to kind of doctor it up a little bit because most of the stuff you know,

that they,

we were given it,

it’s all prepackage stuff they gotta go from,

from a book and it’s like,

let me,

let me,

let me throw something at you here and yeah,

we,

we’d have fun with it.

I’d help them out and I,

I let them have all the credit for it.

It wasn’t for me.

It was,

there you go.

It was just for your stomach and later on.

Right.

It made,

it made,

it made military dining a little more palatable.

There you go.

Perfect Dan.

That’s great.

Well,

I’ve got to ask you now,

since we’ve got the food stuff out of the way you,

uh,

texted me a funny situ a situation that you witnessed here the other day and this isn’t necessarily,

uh,

it won’t qualify as the best of the best when you’re talking about the human behavior involved.

But in terms of entertainment,

this has got to be one of the best of the best.

So tell me what happened over a parking spot the other day.

Ok.

So Saturday evening I pull into getting ready.

I’m gonna,

I tried to,

I was getting to the love in Barstow,

California.

Uh,

parking’s not horrible there.

If you get there at the right time,

it’s not bad,

but I was getting around 4 45 5 o’clock.

So traffic was going on a Saturday.

So trucks are gonna start shutting down.

I’m trying to get in there so I can shut down do my 34 and as I pull in and any of the other drivers listening that have been to that loves.

Know exactly what I’m talking about.

You know,

the way this loves is set up,

you pull in and you’re directed right at the Fuel Island.

Well,

I make a hard left because there’s some parking right there that faces those fuel islands and a little further to the left of that.

Is there the speed go,

which is their maintenance and tire shop.

And then I,

and then I swing back.

right.

I’m lined up,

there’s one parking spot in that rope right along the,

uh,

I want to say the eastern side of the speed to facing the island.

I’m in a perfect line straight back into this spot.

Well,

as I go to put it in reverse and start the back towards that spot,

I’m watching,

I see another truck come around the corner of the speed coat and like they’re trying to come around to the fuel island.

So I’m gonna wait for him to come around behind me before I back in.

Well,

as I’m waiting another truck,

all of a sudden is on my right side,

stuck lined up right next to me.

I’m like,

ok,

what’s this guy doing?

And before I know it,

he’s throwing it in reverse and trying to back into that spot that I’m trying to get into,

he’s trying to beat me.

He’s trying to beat me into this spot and he’s not,

he’s not lined up right though.

Correct,

because you’re lined up perfect for it.

So he’s got to be like kind of weaseling in behind you get.

Yeah,

exactly.

He was gonna try to cut it and then come back around and cut me off to get into that spot.

But then he has to turn around and get back on his brakes because that other truck like I went,

that I was waiting on is now in his field of view and he can’t get into that spot.

So I’m sitting there thinking,

ok,

I’m gonna get this spot because as soon as this trailer clears me,

I’ve still got a clear shot and he has to now wait for this truck to finish clearing it right.

As soon as that trailer clears,

I start to back up and I see another driver that was in the truck that would have been to my right once I backed into that spot,

come running from behind that trailer and up between our trucks because as I start backing up the other one on the right,

he starts backing up as well and his head set on beating me into that spot.

Well,

this other driver comes running up and starts smashing on this driver’s door just beating on it,

telling him to stop,

stop,

stop.

And so he stops and I,

and the guy that ran up is kind of waving at me and pointing at me to keep going,

just go back in.

That’s nice of him.

Well,

so I backed on in as these guys are now out of the truck and yelling at each other and about to start swinging.

Well,

when I got back in,

I noticed the truck that I backed in next to was the exact same company as the one that was trying to cut me off.

No.

So they’re infighting.

Now,

this is a company on company fight.

They,

they are fellow drivers.

And the reason the one,

the one that,

uh,

was trying to beat me into that spot was so mad is because the guy had beat on the side of his door so hard,

he left a dent in his door.

Now,

mind you mind you,

I couldn’t understand anything.

They were yelling at each other because they were speaking in a language that I don’t speak.

So I could only imagine what was being said and I thought I should have started recording.

I really wanted.

Oh,

I should have,

I should have so bad.

I can’t believe he left a dent and the other guy’s gonna get out.

He wants to leave a dent in that driver’s head for denting his truck.

I’m sure,

I’m sure.

So did they ever come and talk to you after this was all said and done?

Because one of them helped you out.

Yes.

So the one that helped me out,

I got out of the,

I had gotten out of the truck and the other one,

the one that had walked up and stopped.

The other truck comes walking over to me.

He goes,

I want to apologize to you because we don’t do that trick in this company.

Wow,

that’s mighty why,

what he said,

what he was doing was wrong.

He goes and I apologize.

He goes,

you were clearly there.

First,

I saw it.

He goes and I don’t like that guy anyway.

Yeah,

we can tell.

Well,

that’s awesome that he’s out there looking out for,

uh,

who’s doing the right thing and hopefully,

uh,

that company runs a little bit smoother for having a driver like that around.

Yeah,

the,

the company,

it’s not one that I’m familiar with seeing,

I,

I’ve only seen a couple of their trucks.

It’s sheema Chee ma.

Ok.

Well,

they,

so they got some drivers out there doing the right thing though.

I,

you know,

hats off to that dude.

Yeah,

that was,

that was a pretty wild start to the weekend that night.

I can imagine some good entertainment.

Some of the best of the best,

the type that you can only get at a loves.

Right.

Yeah.

And if I could have been quick enough,

I,

I would have recorded it but I was,

I was more focused on getting in,

getting the clock shut down because I was shutting down with about 10 minutes left.

Oh,

yeah.

So you don’t want to have to go find another spot.

Yeah,

that’s great,

man.

Well,

I’m glad you got your spot.

I’m glad that one guy helped out.

I’m sorry for the guy that has a dent in his door.

But at the same time,

uh,

what do they say?

Screw around and find out?

Right.

I mean,

that’s you.

Yep.

You never know who do it.

It’s great.

Yeah,

the one with the one with the dent in the door,

he,

he,

he left,

I,

we never,

I never saw him again.

I don’t know where he found another parking spot somewhere,

but I never saw him again.

Yeah.

Well,

good riddance.

Uh,

he,

he went and stole another spot from somebody else.

So at least it wasn’t you.

Yeah,

probably.

Well,

Tony,

before we run out of time here and thank you for telling us that story.

Uh,

by the way,

but I,

I’ve been asking everybody this question kind of like I did last time where I asked you,

you know,

uh,

the drivers that came on the worst of the worst episode.

I asked them,

what’s the worst model of four wheeler that runs around out there?

Who,

who are you constantly seeing drive?

Like an idiot?

But I want to spin this one way more positive.

What is your favorite place to drive in?

And this can be because the traffic’s light because you love the scenery because you love the weather.

It’s just a place that you end up in the United States that you’re just happy to be there.

You have a spot like that.

Oh,

I absolutely do.

And I’ve been trying to convince my wife because it’s only a couple of hours from where we live in Oklahoma over on the,

uh,

Missouri and Arkansas side of Oklahoma.

It’s I 49 between Neosho,

Missouri and Little Rock.

Arkansas.

Ok.

And,

and what do you like about it?

It’s,

it’s just a beautiful scenery.

You’ve got,

like,

driving up and down the mountains and kind of windy roads.

Some,

you’re,

you go across these bridges and you’re looking down into these valleys that you’re like,

ok,

if we come off this bridge,

it’s a long way down.

But during the spring and fall it is just some of the most beautiful scenery in this,

this one section of the interstate.

Um,

I actually want to say it’s between Bentonville and Little Rock.

It’s more on the Arkansas side,

but it doesn’t matter if you’re going north or south through there.

It’s,

I’ve,

I’ve taken my daughters with me out on the road during the summer had taken that interstate and they,

they love it as well.

They’re kind of scared of the heights.

But,

you know,

looking out the window and seeing,

looking off the side of those bridges,

they’re,

it,

it’s breathtaking.

I’m,

I’m one for nature and scenic views and that’s probably one of,

I guess,

and it’s just a small stretch but it’s,

it,

it captivates me every time I go through there.

Oh,

man,

I know that your wife knows how well you eat on the road.

So it can’t be that hard to convince her.

Right.

You whip her up a gourmet meal.

Show her some of the prettiest scenery in the States.

Like,

that’s got to be a pretty good offer.

Yeah,

she,

she gets,

uh,

car sick.

So,

if she gets in the rig with me,

she’s going on one little trip with me and it was just a little,

one day.

I just needed to go drop a trailer in Joplin and then head back home.

So she got in the truck with me.

We went up there and did that.

She spent most of the time in the sleeper.

The sleep,

I can imagine,

man.

I have some friends that get really bad car sickness.

In fact,

I have one friend that if she’s not driving,

she can’t be riding in a car.

Like,

it’s,

it’s that bad for her.

She has to be driving or else she’s instantly sick.

It’s terrible.

My wife’s not that bad,

you know,

because like even when I get home I’ll,

you know,

spend 23 weeks out on the road,

go home,

we’ll go somewhere and I’m the one that’s had to drive anywhere we go.

She prefers that I drive.

She just likes it better when I drive.

Well,

maybe you’re good at it or something.

Yeah.

She,

her exact words are,

you’re the professional you’re driving.

Yeah,

that’s your cross to bear,

man.

You’ll never get rid of that.

Yeah,

but no,

in a,

in a car,

she’s fine,

but in the truck,

especially with a loaded tanker.

Yeah,

that one,

that one kind of unnerved her a little bit.

She was,

she was,

she was feeling a little squeamish.

Yeah,

I can imagine,

man.

I can’t say that I wouldn’t myself with all that extra motion and,

uh,

just the nerves come along with traveling with that much weight on your back.

I,

I could see it but uh you know,

I,

I can tell you this,

she’ll eat well.

That’s so whatever she loses from being sick,

you’ll replenish it with a great meal.

Oh,

yeah,

she,

she knows that and she’s a hell of a cook herself.

So there’s stuff that she makes sure there’s stuff that she makes that I won’t even attempt to correct or make myself like when it comes to lasagna.

No,

I am.

I’m not even a,

I make the cowboy lasagna but when it comes to a traditional lasagna,

you,

I,

you won’t find anything better than what she makes at home.

Many,

I’ve,

I’ve tried,

I’m a lasagna connoisseur and when it comes down to it and it’s not just,

you know,

kissing ass here and saving face.

It’s,

my wife makes a lasagna.

It’s,

it’s top notch.

There you go along with,

along with her cream cheese jalapeno stuffed meat loaf.

Oh God,

man,

I am.

I gotta go get something to eat Tony.

We’re,

we’re out of time,

but I am peckish as well,

man.

I need some food.

So well.

Listen.

As always my friend,

it’s always great to have you on this show and,

uh,

keep sending me the pictures.

I love getting them.

It’s great to talk to you.

Please stay safe out there and,

uh,

we’ll get you back on very soon.

Ok,

Tony.

Oh,

absolutely.

And I loved it.

I enjoy this.

I enjoy doing this.

This podcast is amazing.

Awesome,

man.

Well,

you guys make it amazing.

It would be real boring if I was just talking to myself.

So,

uh,

we appreciate the time greatly and we’ll be back on with you soon.

All right.

Alrighty.

Next up here on our best of the best episode is Liquid Driver,

Matt mckellar.

It’s been a few minutes since we’ve had you on Matt.

How are you doing out there?

Uh Doing OK.

Good to,

good to be back here with you Marcus.

I’m doing very good,

man because this is a fun episode for me to do Matt.

If you want my honest opinion,

this has been one of my favorites just because talking about things that everybody thinks are the best of the best.

Never really gets old and everybody has a different opinion on it and it’s all positive.

So,

you know what things are good in my neighborhood today?

My friend,

that’s good to hear when I say best of the best and it pertains to your job.

Matt,

what type of things come to mind?

Well,

first and foremost,

I’m just coming off of two trips out to California and back and I love those long runs and it just kind of reminded me there’s a lot of places out west that I like,

but Utah in particular is just beautiful.

The mountains,

the snow,

the red rocks,

you know.

Um,

heck,

even the people are polite,

they’ll still cut you off but they invariably use their turn signals.

So I,

I appreciate that quite a lot.

So indicate that they’re going to cut you off,

but they still do it.

Yeah,

you get a little forewarning that they’re gonna give you a close shave on your nose there.

So I’ll take it over.

No warning at all for sure.

I actually saw in the Liquid Drivers Lounge,

Facebook page that you had just come off of a 2500 mile run.

That must be the one out to California.

I assume that was one of them.

I was out to Utah and California and then I looked back to Missouri and then I went back out there again,

picked up some alcohol and Fresno and delivered it all the way to South Carolina.

So that was the 2500 mile run.

A long run with a lot of alcohol.

Yeah,

dude,

that sounds crazy.

That’s like that’s point to point.

I mean,

South Carolina is on the East coast Fresno’s on the west coast.

Like,

that’s as far as you can go unless you end up in Seattle and need to be in Miami.

Yeah,

pretty much in neither case did I see the ocean.

Both places were just shy of the ocean.

But,

uh,

yeah,

pretty much coast to coast.

That’s crazy,

man.

Well,

I think it’s interesting.

You’re not the first driver to tell me on this very episode that Utah is kind of like hollowed ground when it comes to scenery for driving around.

And based on what I’ve seen,

I’ve never actually driven around Utah.

I’ve flown in there many times.

Uh,

I did,

I guess my senior trip,

we went down to Salt Lake City from Oregon,

but I will be honest with you,

I slept on the bus and tried to flirt with girls the whole time.

So,

um,

that was,

you know,

I never got to see it,

but what I’ve looked at since then after hearing you drivers talk about how much you like it out there.

I’ve looked up pictures and road footage and stuff and man,

I don’t know how you stay focused on the road with all that scenery to look at.

It’s gorgeous as a truck driver.

One of the good things for me is I just live on the truck.

I don’t have a house or an apartment or even a car.

I got rid of all that stuff to save money and I just stay out and,

and,

uh,

make my money,

but I have plans in the future to get some kind of or something like that.

So,

all of these long,

uh,

loads are kind of scouting missions.

I keep my eyes open for different parts of the country,

you know,

that I might want to end up in sometime in the future,

you know,

for sure.

And a guy like you that likes to take a nice nature walk or a hike.

I don’t think there’s,

I mean,

look,

I’ll advocate for my state,

the great state of Oregon all day for that type of stuff.

But from what I’ve heard,

it doesn’t sound like there’s too many better places for that type of thing than Utah,

Colorado,

kind of that rocky mountain area in my mind,

have snow on top.

So places like that,

my interest for sure.

You know,

I’m glad to hear you say that Matt because there’s been many times,

not necessarily on this podcast,

but many times in my life where,

uh somebody will,

I actually saw a news clip the other day and a guy was pointing,

he was in Tennessee and he was pointing off in the distance to like a cellphone tower on the top of what I would consider a moderately sized hill.

And he said that’s that cellphone tower over there on top of that mountain.

And my first thought was that ain’t a mountain because where I come from,

uh that is a hill that’s a rolling hill.

We’ll just walk up and over that thing.

A mountain takes gear to get up and across.

I agree with you.

Right.

Right.

Like,

maybe 100 million years ago,

um,

the Appalachians were,

were proper mountains but they’ve eroded away,

you know?

And,

uh,

I,

I guess it’s all relative,

you know.

But compared to the grandeur of,

of a mountain with snow on top,

there’s nothing quite like it in my book.

There’s really not,

I think it gives you that feeling,

especially when you’re standing down on like a 70 degree day,

you’re standing down looking up at mountains that have snow on the top of them.

It really kind of gives you a bit of perspective for how much different things are up there than what they are where you’re standing.

Right.

Right.

Gives you a sense of scale and all of that,

even after Utah,

I drove through northern Nevada and it was pretty hot and deserty and dry in Nevada,

but still at the mountains,

there was snow on top.

So you realize if I was standing up there right now,

it’d be quite a different situation,

weather wise,

temperature wise.

Absolutely.

Now,

uh I’ll just go ahead and kind of continue down the path we’re already on here.

We’ve talked before this podcast that one of the things like I just mentioned that you like to do is get out and go for a hike uh,

you know,

you like to stay out on the road.

Talk to me about the best hike that you’ve been on when you’ve been out on the road.

Where’s it at?

What did you see?

Let’s see.

I think off the top of my head here so nature stuff can be a little bit hard to get to.

I think I mentioned a previous episode.

There’s like a river.

Um,

that’s in Low Moor,

Virginia.

That’s pretty cool.

Another good hike I did was while I was training actually with my first company,

we were down like in the Panhandle of Florida and there was like a proper nature reserve across the freeway from the truck stop.

And,

uh,

I got out there and did probably a good five mile hike amongst the palm trees and it was,

you know,

pretty wilderness,

like,

actually away from the car and truck noises and things like that.

So,

those were a couple of pretty good ones for sure.

Do you start to get worried being down in Florida about the gators?

Because I see gators.

Like,

I see videos of gators walking on,

like pristine golf courses and crossing highways.

Like you’re getting out into the actual,

what could be considered the wilderness of Florida.

Were you worried about anything like that?

I feel like a lot of stuff can kill you down there.

Well,

I guess I’ve done a lot of hiking in Bear country and mountain lion country.

So I’m a little bit used to trying to be predator aware and I figure if I see an alligator it’s just the chance to try out my zigzag running to get away from them.

You know,

that’s,

that’s how you’re supposed to get away from them.

Supposedly they can run pretty quick in a straight line but they can’t turn very quick.

So if you run in a zigzag you can,

uh,

get away from them.

Well,

thank you.

I did not know that until today and I guess there’s actually another way that you can get away from them and that’s never go to Florida.

Um,

well,

if you do it may save your life to practice your zigzag.

It’s a good workout too,

you know,

I’m sure it is.

I’m sure it is.

Especially if you get caught up in a swamp or something like that.

Uh,

it’s great.

So,

uh,

what other things come to your mind,

Matt?

We’re talking best of the best.

Are there any,

like,

food hotspots or anything like that that you just can’t wait to get to out there or is there a truck stop that you really enjoy pulling in at,

or,

or maybe it’s not a truck stop.

Maybe it’s just a destination that do you like to take a 10 or a 34 at anything like that?

Well,

probably some of the best places.

And maybe this ties in a little bit with the hiking too is,

uh,

there’s a rest area.

It’s,

it’s in Utah but getting close to the Colorado border on I 70.

Um,

so it’s kind of near Moab Utah,

kind of in that area.

And there’s a rest area that you can park trucks at.

And I parked there one night and I went,

it’s kind of more like scrambling around the rocks and like,

than a proper,

like hike where you’re putting on mileage,

but it overlooks this canyon and it’s just gorgeous.

I mean,

it’s a place I would very happily camp and I was just there with my truck.

I made some food and brought it out to the picnic table and just sat there taking in the vista.

So,

you know,

certain truck stops I like for different reasons,

but a lot of times being out here we’re around a lot of hustle and bustle and chemical plants and industrialization that getting to a nice rest area with that with a lot of nature on view is pretty great.

Yeah.

And,

and it sounds like because you make your own food in the truck.

A lot of times it sounds like you don’t necessarily need the amenities of a truck stop,

especially if you’re at a,

a rest area that’s got a shower facility.

You can,

uh,

stay out of those big,

heavily populated and heavily trafficked areas and be out someplace a little nicer.

It sounds like you kind of prefer that over the,

uh,

truck stop.

Right.

In the middle of the metro.

Yeah,

unlike a lot of the guys on the podcast,

I’m not much of a cook.

Um,

I just make some basic things so I grab a hot meal when I can from a truck stop.

But if I,

maybe I,

I grab something quick when I was fueling or something and then that evening that leaves me free to stay someplace more remote and I just warm up some soup or make some brats on my George Foreman grill,

you know,

just keep it simple kind of thing.

Um,

and,

uh,

yeah,

depending on what I’m looking for,

there’s a lot of days that,

that quiet is to my liking,

you know?

Right.

Right.

Especially because I know you like to read as well.

So get out there where it’s a little bit quieter probably helps you focus a little bit.

Yeah.

Yeah,

for sure.

For sure.

Although I have to,

I do a lot of listening to audio books during the day.

I need to be a little better about sitting and reading in the evening.

I tend to either if there’s someplace interesting to walk around,

I do that or I kick back and watch a little TV,

you know,

in the truck.

So,

something about that helps me relax.

Yeah.

II,

I,

and I don’t blame you at all.

I think my mind would be melted if it was me out there in your position.

Matt.

So,

uh,

you know,

what I say,

do whatever the hell makes you relax.

Uh Regardless of what that is,

if that’s staring at the ceiling and contemplating your life choices,

fine with me,

just get some relaxation in there.

Uh That’s,

that’s great,

man.

So you,

you mentioned some of the guys we’ve had on the podcast,

they make some what I would consider like gourmet food in the cabs of their trucks.

I,

you know,

I had Tony Brown on here earlier and he walked me through,

he likes sauteed onions and mushrooms and peppers and stuffed them in burger and then made him a,

a patty and his wife had made him all this homemade pasta that he boiled up and put some brown gravy on.

I told him next time you’re on I five.

Anywhere close to Eugene Oregon,

throw a doggy bag out the window because I will come get it.

I can’t believe what some of these guys can do in their trucks from a,

a culinary standpoint.

It blows my mind.

Yeah,

it’s impressive.

Now,

I don’t really have those skills nor do I really wanna spend my time because you really,

once you park,

you have just like an hour or two and you should be getting to bed if you’re gonna get any reasonable amount of sleep.

So that’s not really like how I want to spend my time.

Plus,

since I’m out on the road all the time,

like I don’t,

it’s not like I have a home that I get to every weekend.

So resupplying with fresh groceries is pretty cheap,

challenging.

Um So that kind of limits me.

So what I need to do is park next to these guys and then mooch off of them.

There you go.

That’s my plan going forward.

You know,

it’ll save me time,

it’ll save me shopping and I don’t have to worry about my poor culinary skills,

you know.

There you go.

That sounds like a great idea.

And it sounds like too a lot of these guys are real generous,

so they probably hook you up.

Uh,

you know,

maybe you buy him a Coke or something like that and,

uh,

maybe you get to eat like a king for a night.

You never know,

share him one of my cans of,

uh,

you know,

dried soup or a fish,

a pouch of tuna or something like that.

Seems like a fair trade to me.

Truck driver sushi right there.

It sounds like,

you know.

Right.

Right.

That’s what I’m gonna call it from now on.

So,

Matt,

I gotta ask how long ago did you kind of,

uh,

part with all of the worldly possessions of somebody that has a house that isn’t on wheels and start to just live out of your truck.

Well,

pretty much right away when I went into trucking like 2.5 years ago.

Um,

I broke my lease on my apartment and I haven’t paid rent or a mortgage since then I kept my car for a little while.

Um,

but it would be park someplace for like four months at a time.

And then when I got back to my car,

like,

since it had been idle,

like the mice had shoot through the wires and stuff.

So I was having to pay to fix things,

you know.

And so finally I’m like,

why,

why am I even keeping this thing?

So I sold my car about six months into trucking.

So I haven’t had a car payment for about two years now as well.

And I tell you,

it’s great.

It really helps me to put the money away and not having to pay that out every month.

You know,

it sounds like it,

it,

it really does.

And I’ve talked to you enough to note you’re a happy guy.

You don’t,

you’re not banging your head against the wall every day out there.

So,

obviously it’s worked out and you like it.

How,

how hard was the transition when you first knew that?

Like,

I don’t have a lease anymore?

This is my home.

Was that hard to get used to or was that something you just kind of took to because you were excited about it.

Yeah,

to be honest,

it was really liberating.

Um It was a lot of stress off my shoulders.

Um You know,

I just started feeling better right away.

I love,

you know,

being nomadic and not knowing where I’m gonna end up next and seeing different places.

And so,

you know,

I’ve got some possessions with me here in my truck and this is where I sleep most nights.

So that gives me a sense of reliability and home and that’s enough for me.

And the fact that my home gets to move around is pretty cool in my book.

So it was like,

no transition at all.

Really?

That’s really cool,

man.

You make the perfect truck driver then.

I mean,

that’s like you couldn’t have found a better career because you probably almost never know where you’re gonna end up next until you get that paperwork in your hand.

Yeah.

And sometimes even when you think something changes,

you know,

so you think you’re on this load and then that load changes,

as I always say,

truck driving is a super weird,

unique job.

And so for the right person,

it really fits for the wrong person,

it would be very difficult.

I think that’s why there’s a lot of turnover in the job,

but,

you know,

trucking in general,

but for the right person it’s,

it’s a great fit and,

uh,

I’m able to like,

I’m putting away a lot of money towards retirement,

uh,

paying off student loans that I have from other careers.

Um,

so there’s also a piece of mind that comes from that financial piece that a large percentage of,

of my paycheck I can just use the things that I wanna do with it rather than obligatory bills,

you know.

Sure you’re gonna be.

So you’re gonna move back down to Florida once it’s retirement time,

get the deck shoes,

get the white shorts,

get yourself a Cadillac.

You sound like you’re gonna have plenty of money put away for a great retirement.

You golf or anything like that,

you fish,

what are you gonna do when you retire?

You know.

Um,

I,

but for some version of what I do now,

only with more of my time,

I like to hike and I like to read and getting all my books out of storage will be nice.

So I’ll,

I’ll amend what I said earlier.

That was the one part of my,

uh,

transition to trucking and being homeless.

That was a little bit difficult.

I have about 2000 books.

Um,

and I specialize a lot of them are on like 19th century American history,

like the exploration of the West and all that kind of stuff.

Native American issues.

And it is pretty tough for me to have all those books boxed away and inaccessible to me.

So that will be one thing I look forward to is getting a place with like some nice shelf space that I can get my library back up and going out of those 2000 books.

Matt,

how many have you read?

I probably read about half of them.

Um,

and,

uh,

you know,

I love to collect books,

of course.

So I see things of interest and I grab them even if I haven’t gotten to them.

And then I worked at a public library for 15 years.

So I read a lot of books from the library,

of course too.

So,

yeah.

Well,

I have not read 1000 books in my lifetime.

Uh,

guaranteed.

And if I have,

they’re like,

you know,

they’re Jack Carr novels and Brad Thorn novels about,

uh,

you know,

a superhuman spy that goes out and saves the world.

So it’s to each their own.

But I commend you for that man.

You,

that having that many books in your possession is one thing but having read through half of them,

hell of a job,

dude.

I,

I don’t know what else to say.

It’s great work.

Well,

thank you.

Thank you.

And on to the sticking with the theme of Best of the best.

That’s another best for me.

Um,

favorite parts of this job is just,

you know,

there’s sometimes we’re really busy dealing with a complicated unload or,

you know,

um,

a wash out or something like that.

But all things being considered a lot of our time,

we have some discretion over.

And so I listen to a lot of books and I read way more now than I did when I was a librarian.

Um,

and that to me is wonderful.

Like life is short and to be able to spend a greater percentage of my time listening to the things that catch my interest,

um,

is just great and depending on the length of the book I get through at least a book or two a week out here.

Um,

you know,

where’s my other job before?

You know,

you’re doing a job and,

you know,

you’ve got a manager who’s looking at you and,

you know,

you gotta look busy and you can’t just like bust out your book and you know,

or tune out and put it in an audio book.

So I definitely,

that is one of the best things about this job for me.

That’s awesome.

Well,

listen,

I’ve been asking the same question to every driver at the end of the,

their interview,

but you kinda answered it off the top.

The question was,

what’s your absolute favorite place to drive?

You let us know that you love the scenery out there in Utah and,

and uh you know that area.

So I’m just gonna leave the floor wide open to you.

Is there anything you want to say to your fellow drivers?

Anything you wanna say to anybody,

you know,

family or friends that might be listening or any message that you have?

Uh the floor is yours.

Just go ahead and take it before I let you go.

Yeah,

just give a shout out to my uh girlfriend Lynn and to my daughter Eleanor and uh despite my nomadic ways,

uh you both give me a good reason to,

uh,

stop wandering once in a while and pop back into civilization.

So,

appreciate that a lot.

That’s awesome.

Matt.

Well,

I bet they’re excited to see you the next time you get to,

uh,

to spend some time with them and thank you very much for taking some time out of your day to spend it with us here on the podcast.

We really appreciate it.

Yeah,

for sure.

Always good to be here and talk with you,

Marcus.

Be safe out there,

Matt.

We’ll get you back on soon.

Ok?

Sounds good.

I’ve got Liquid Driver Drew Hearn on the line joining me next for our best of the best episode and I saved this one for last because I just happen to know that Drew has a best of the best story.

That is gonna be one of the best of the best.

If you really know what I’m talking about,

Drew,

thank you so much for being here,

man.

Yeah,

no problem.

Good to be here,

Marcus.

Hey,

you’re always welcome.

And you told me uh a while back.

I can’t remember if we were texting or,

or we were talking on the phone,

but you just said,

hey,

make sure to remind me to tell you about the time we saved a town.

And I was like,

what the hell are you talking about?

You’re a truck driver.

I mean,

you save them every day by bringing them the stuff that they need,

but this sounded a little bit more involved.

What’s the story?

It was a few months back.

Uh,

it was during our,

the week of our,

uh,

company party that we had and it was on a Friday.

I was probably about an hour and a half outside of Joplin,

Missouri.

And I was supposed to just go to Joplin drop the trailer that I was connected to hook up to another one and then I was going up somewhere can just pick up a lo so I had just finished a 10 hour and I started heading up to Joplin and I’m pretty sure I get a phone call,

right?

And it’s James my dispatcher.

And he said,

hey,

when you get there,

I need you to take a 10,

another 10 hour break.

I’m like,

what are you talking about,

man?

I,

I just woke up,

I got a cup of coffee in me.

I’m cruising,

you know,

like,

but,

and then he tells me that there’s a emergency load that needs to be done and it has to be delivered on Saturday early.

And I’m the only guy around that area that can get to that,

that can get that load and get it up there.

So I’m like,

all right,

cool.

Well,

one of our other drivers,

I can’t remember his name.

He picked up this load of chemical that they put into water supplies for towns and,

you know,

it helps purify the water or do whatever,

you know.

So it’s drinkable and he,

he picked it up just outside of Houston,

Texas.

He didn’t have enough hours to make it up to be able to deliver it on this Saturday.

So James,

hook me up with his phone number.

Got a hold of the guy.

Hey,

where are you gonna meet me?

He’s like I can make it all the way up to Joplin.

I’ll get there,

you know,

and it’ll be late.

It’ll be later tonight,

you know,

but I’ll get there.

Ok,

cool.

So I take my 2nd 10 hour break,

you know,

and I’m already wide awake,

so I stay up for a couple of hours,

you know,

watch some Netflix or whatever and then take a couple hour nap and I’m,

I wake up and I’m sitting there and I’m like,

man,

this guy hasn’t called,

haven’t texted nothing.

Well,

I get a hold of him.

He is running behind,

he ran into the Dallas Fort Worth traffic and he’s not be,

make it the job.

I’m like,

man,

so I’m like,

all right,

that’s cool.

Where are you gonna make it to?

I’ll meet you there.

Well,

he makes it to about Wagoner Oklahoma.

So I’m like,

ok,

it’s about a two hour drive from where I’m at.

So I start heading back down towards Waggoner,

Oklahoma and it’s late.

It’s,

it’s probably like nineish 930 at night.

I get down there and he,

when I was on the phone with him.

He told me I’ll be up when you get here,

just,

you know,

knock on my door and I’ll,

I’ll get up,

you know,

or whatever.

I was like,

ok,

cool.

Well,

I get there,

he’s asleep.

I’m like,

oh man,

this is,

I’m gonna pop this guy’s hood,

I’m gonna take that spare key.

I’m gonna hook this trailer while he’s passed out of his truck.

I don’t care,

you know,

I just did all this to get this trailer up there.

So,

you know,

it’s happening one way or another.

Well,

he wakes up and he pulls his truck out from underneath me from underneath his trailer and I back up under the trailer and I take off man and I’m booking down the road and,

you know,

it was just a real cool experience,

you know,

I’m chasing the moonlight,

you know,

and it kind of,

you know,

I ain’t got the long nose peas,

you know,

but it kind of kind of just put you in that mindset of like the old school outlaw truckers,

you know,

chasing the moonlight,

new flaws,

you know,

you’re at night.

So I start cruising up to where I gotta go and um,

it’s hard to stay awake when you’re driving all freaking night and you know,

you only got a couple of hours napping because you know,

you’re trying to,

you know,

you just woke up and they’re like,

ok,

take another 10 hour break and,

you know,

you can’t.

But so,

you know,

I’m cruising,

man.

I got,

I got Zeppelin on the radio blast and I got the window down,

you know,

and trying to do anything just to keep my attention at its peak,

you know,

and,

and it’s about seven,

about seven o’clock in the morning on Saturday.

And I get there and the guy where I was delivering to,

he’s like,

man,

thank you so much for doing this.

We were in a dire emergency.

He’s like,

it was either you show up today with this chemical or we’re,

we’re gonna have to shut off the whole,

the whole water supply to the town.

And,

oh yeah,

they,

they ran out of the chemical and they couldn’t,

they couldn’t produce any more uh water to the town without it,

you know,

because it would be unsafe,

right?

And so he’s like,

if this,

if you didn’t come here,

man,

I would have been out out of water and,

you know,

it just,

it just kind of made me feel real good,

you know,

because,

you know,

it’s,

uh,

it’s kind of like one of those things,

you know,

truckers don’t really get,

you know,

the gratitude,

you know,

because it’s all behind the scenes,

kind of,

you know,

people think,

you know,

we’re just in their way and everything,

but really,

I mean,

we’re saving pounds,

man,

you’re saving water supplies,

man.

That deserves a round of applause.

And I’m getting it.

I got an applause button for things like this and I’m playing it.

That is amazing.

You saved the town’s water supply.

Like,

that’s not something that really,

anybody can say.

How,

I mean,

have you ever met another guy that s single-handedly saved the town’s water supply?

I certainly,

I haven’t,

we don’t live in the 18 hundreds.

No,

I haven’t met one yet.

I’m still waiting,

you know?

And what was really like,

what,

what made it,

you know,

just go over the top was,

is that Saturday was our,

uh,

company party,

you know,

and I didn’t think I was gonna be able to make it,

you know,

because that was my weekend out.

Well,

we’re so close.

I was so close to Blacksmith,

you know,

I,

I was able to make it there.

My wife was able to come down and two of my kids came down,

you know,

to hang out at this party and James,

Nick Meyer,

Dave W Bo Hanky.

Even Josh Schmidt,

right when they saw me,

they’re like,

hey,

man,

good job on that run.

I mean,

that,

you know,

glad we can rely on you for stuff like that,

you know.

And I am,

I,

you know,

like the go to guy for stuff like that.

Probably not,

you know,

I mean,

I,

I’ve worked really hard and everything but I’m glad that,

you know,

and it was an emergency,

you know,

James or whoever it was that decided for me to do,

it was all like,

hey,

you know,

we got Drew here,

we know we can rely on him,

we know he’s gonna get it done.

So we’re putting him on it and,

you know,

that just makes you feel real good about,

you know,

what you’re already doing.

You know,

it makes you feel like what you’re doing is right.

So,

you know,

I,

I really appreciate that from,

you know,

the guys in the office and everything and,

you know,

that goes back to like the small town,

family owned business kind of thing that they’re running,

you know,

they know my name,

they know who I am.

They didn’t have to walk and be like,

oh,

hey,

are you Drew or what?

No,

they,

they know who I am and you know,

they all said,

hey,

man,

you know,

good job on that run and everything,

you know,

and James took me upstairs to the dispatch room.

I,

they will give me,

uh,

you know,

the Cerveza,

you know,

because it was,

it was,

you know,

there was no alcohol,

you know,

the company wasn’t providing no beers or anything for the party.

It’s kind of like a Byob thing and he was like,

come on up here,

we’ll get you a beer,

you know,

and I’m like,

all right,

cool,

you know,

so,

I mean,

it,

it really felt good to be able to do that,

you know.

So it must have,

it must have felt like Christmas.

I mean,

save the town’s water supply.

You get that a,

uh,

Adelle from the town.

Then you get back and all of the heavy hitters from the office stop by and give you a handshake and,

and pat on the back.

Then you get to see your family,

then you get free beer.

I mean,

does this story get any better?

Like what else happens?

Somebody hand you a check for 10 grand.

Hey,

you.

Well,

I mean,

II,

I would have taken it if they were told.

No.

Hey,

all right,

no problem.

You can’t,

you,

you don’t,

you don’t even have to ask,

man.

Just hand it over.

Well,

that’s an awesome story,

dude.

Thank you so much for sharing that with us because I,

I think it absolutely qualifies for our best of the best criteria here and,

and I do wanna ask you just kind of a,

an open ended question here when we talk about best of the best.

Obviously,

nothing competes with that story.

But when you think about the best of the best,

the things that you really enjoy about your job with liquid Trucking,

what comes to mind,

you know,

just that if,

if anything happens at like a moment’s notice with the family,

uh I’m able to just make one phone call and it’s no issue whatsoever.

We’re,

we’re gonna get you home.

Uh you know,

right now and it make sure that you’re there for whatever it is that you need.

You know,

when my wife gave birth to my youngest son,

I was able en route to go pick up a loan and it was late at night and made one phone call.

And I told,

you know,

James,

I’m like,

hey,

she’s going into labor.

I got to take her to the hospital.

I’m like 2.5 hours away from home and I just fluted a U turn and went straight home.

I ran over my hours and everything.

I didn’t care and it was no issue whatsoever.

James just straight up,

go home,

get there,

you know,

let he is updated on what’s going on and it,

it was no issue whatsoever.

So that’s like,

that’s one thing that is really,

really good about Liquid is,

you know,

they are very family orientated and it’s very hard to find that in a company.

Yeah,

I,

I agree with you,

man and I hear horror stories about it not being found in other companies every single day in my research about the,

the trucking.

And you’re right,

there’s very uh very few companies out there that look at you like you’re a person rather than just a number.

And uh I’m always happy to hear stories about Liquid coming through on this podcast because I know that they do for a lot of you guys or for all of you guys.

And uh I,

I love that we get to actually,

you know,

talk about that because there’s,

there’s two sides of that.

It’s like you talk about kind of,

you know,

trucking can be a thankless job from time to time.

I’d be willing to bet that taking care of your employees as well as what liquid does can be.

Uh,

a thankless job from time to time.

And I’m happy to uh extend the thanks all around on this podcast.

I feel like that’s one of the reasons we do it.

Oh,

yeah,

and real quick,

I just wanted to throw this in.

I’m on a mission,

man because when I was younger,

my grandpa always told me,

you know,

thank your truck drivers.

They’re the ones that keep America moving,

you know,

and it’s,

it’s died off over the years and I’m on a mission to bring it back.

I really am,

man.

I,

I tell my wife,

you know,

I tell my kids,

any,

anyone I meet,

you know,

um,

that this is a truck driver,

you know,

I’m always telling them,

hey,

man,

you know,

just take a truck driver,

you know,

they’re,

they’re the hidden heroes,

you know,

they give up everything to make your life what it is and,

but it,

it,

it needs to come back.

It really does and I’m working on it,

man.

I mean,

I,

I might be doing it by myself but someone’s got to do it and I’ll,

I’ll take that job.

Hey,

man,

I’ll drive to the devil’s house with you.

All right,

I’ll fight that fight right alongside you because I’ve often said,

uh,

in passing conversation and to people that I talk to in my personal life,

I feel like,

you know,

I’m a giant football fan and I use football to kind of bring things into perspective a lot of times and you guys are the offensive linemen of the country.

If it wasn’t for you,

none of our stars out there get to do anything that they get to do.

No fancy running back,

gets to dance in the end zone like an idiot.

It all starts with you guys.

And if you guys aren’t out there running,

we’re shut down as a country.

And so it’s,

uh it’s,

it’s something I will join you in that effort.

I,

I feel like I kind of already have,

but I like to rubber stamp it and make it official.

So I’m with you,

dude.

II I anything you need from me to help spread that message.

Uh,

other than this podcast because of course,

this is always gonna be around.

Uh I’m happy to help because,

uh you,

you said you said a lot right there and I think that that’s amazing that going all the way back to your grandfather telling you,

hey,

this is how it is and you’ve kept that with you for your entire adult life.

That’s pretty cool.

Oh,

yeah,

definitely.

And it ain’t going nowhere either,

man.

E even if somewhere down the future and I’m not driving a truck anymore,

I’m still gonna keep the same mindset,

you know,

I mean,

you just gotta have to,

you know,

be standing out there at the truck stop with a case of Mountain Dew,

just handing them out to every driver that wants one,

right?

Just thanks for your service.

That’s right,

man.

We’ll get some out do.

Ok?

It was Code Red Live Wire Original.

You getting one man?

Well,

Drew,

I got one more question for you.

I’ve been asking every driver in this episode before I let you go.

What is your absolute favorite place to drive in the Continental Us?

Oh,

man,

you,

um,

for scenery wise,

you know,

and just how beautiful it is.

Montana hands down.

Ok.

It is just a whole nother landscape up there.

You know,

it’s,

you know,

if,

if you’re a Christian man,

it,

it is God’s country for you and it,

it is just so beautiful there and I hope one day I can actually get up there when I’m not working and just go exploring around.

I’ll,

I’ll,

I’ll walk out in the middle of nowhere.

I don’t care and get lost for a week,

you know.

Well,

I mean,

technically you can’t get,

if you don’t have a destination,

you can’t get lost.

There you go,

go out there and I’ll,

I’ll find a destination somewhere so I can get lost.

Uh,

that sounds great,

man.

Well,

I,

I totally agree with you.

You know,

I think there might be something to that.

Montana,

uh,

that love that you have.

It’s like,

not only is it some of the most beautiful scenery but there’s nobody out there.

You got the road to yourself,

man.

Oh,

yeah,

you do.

And,

uh,

it can be hectic in winter.

I mean,

because it is so isolated but if you can get out there in the winter in some nice weather,

you’ll,

you won’t see anything else like it.

You really?

Well,

I mean,

Montana is just downright beautiful.

Well,

Drew,

it’s always a pleasure to have you on,

man.

You’ve come on this podcast a lot.

You knock it out of the park for us every single time.

Thank you so much for sharing the story today and uh hanging out with me for a few minutes.

Oh,

yeah,

for sure.

I appreciate it.

Marcus Liquid Trucking.

You guys absolutely knocked it out of the park once again.

That’s gonna wrap up episode 20.

The best of the best episode,

huge shout outs going out to Alex Shevchuk,

Drew Hearn Tony Brown and Matt mckellar for jumping on here and joining me talking about all of their favorite things.

Uh when it comes to being a truck driver for liquid trucking and you know,

some of the stuff that warms my heart like that,

that story that Alex told,

I have not had very many times on this podcast,

maybe one or two at this point where I’m starting to feel the emotions well up in my throat.

You’re getting a lump in the throat,

you’re starting to feel the eyes well up a little bit.

That was a great story and that was not the only great story,

but what Alex said there that I think is so important that I want to really highlight in this episode especially is that there are a lot of good things that come from being a driver for liquid trucking.

The company is,

uh,

out there to take care of its drivers.

And I think that you can tell that when you listen to some of these drivers talk about all the great things about their job.

Is it a hard job?

Absolutely.

Does it really wear you down from time to time?

Oh,

yeah,

unpredictable.

Uh,

I think that would be a really good way to describe it.

But you’re sitting here listening to drivers,

come on this show and talk about it with a smile on their face and that means that the company they work for,

takes care of them and,

uh,

hats off to liquid trucking for that,

hats off to all you drivers for spinning it the way that you are,

you guys are out there every day dealing with jerk four wheelers.

And,

uh,

you know,

sometimes you got angry people out there that you have to deal with being at a truck stop over a parking space or any manner of things.

So listen,

you guys make this podcast what it is and today was another fantastic example of that.

So keep it coming again.

If there’s something you want to hear,

if you wanna be on the podcast,

it’s really easy.

Shoot us an email podcast at Liquid trucking.com and uh we will get it and we will read it and take it in under advisement and definitely get you on the show.

If that’s what you would like,

that’s all the time we have for today again.

Thank you for clicking,

subscribe.

It helps us out greatly,

uh leave some comments on those Facebook posts when you see them.

I will definitely get back to you and uh yeah,

we’re gonna come back and do this again next week.

So get ready for it.

Keep the shiny side up and the dirty side down.

I’ll see you around the bend.

Thanks for tuning in and being the gold standard of drivers on the road.

Be sure to like and subscribe to the channel and tune in next week for another episode of the Liquid Trucking Podcast.