Fuel for Thought

Pink is for Boo Beez

"Pink it's my new obsession
Pink it's not even a question
Pink on the lips of your lover, 'cause
Pink is the love you discover
Pink as the bing on your cherry
Pink cause you are so very
Pink it's the color of passion
'Cause today it just goes with the fashion..."

It's October.  My favorite time of year.  This is why God created truck drivers.  Because only the driver gets to go all over the country and see all the pretty changing colors.  This is the time of year where every leaf gets to be its own beautiful flower.  Just look out your windshield at the reds, the coppers, the oranges, the golds, the ochres, the yellows, and the pinks....

Pinks?

Why yes.  Don't you know that with all the October festivities, the splattered witches on the fronts of trucks, mammoth creepy spiders that surely drank some of the ninja turtles radioactive goo, and rackety old skeletons wandering loose from somebody's closet, it's also time to check those Boo Beez!  That's right, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  

No groaning from the men folk out there.  You can help too!  There, I thought that might bring a smile.  But seriously, and this is a serious matter drivers, because whether it is breast cancer or some other form of cancer, we all have been touched by it in one form or another.  Either us personally, or a close loved one or friend.  Ladies, you should do your part with a regular monthly self exam.  Sure you've all heard the mantra ad nauseum.  "It's time to check the boo beez." In that monotonous voice, like the commercial "It's time to make the donuts.  Donuts?  Did someone say donuts?  Oh string!  Wait!  What?  Oh, right, October.  Fall, colors, pink.  Pink!  Yes Ladies, it's a good habit to keep.  Once a month on your own.  The a little squishy squishy once a year.  Keep 'em checked.  Keep 'em healthy.

Recently, I had the pleasure to attend the Great American Truck show in Dallas, Texas.  There were expediters there, but not as many as I had hoped for.  Next year hopefully there will be more.  Why?  GATS is not just a truck show, it is also a health fair and show.  Unlike other trucking shows, GATS is developing into a show that is more about the driver, expediters included, than just recruiting and companies.  

The Health Pavilion was a first this year at GATS, was sponsored by Landstar Fit for the Road.  This entire area featured health related vendors, as well as many health screenings, all of them free, from blood sugar testing, blood pressure, and bone marrow testing which is now just a simple swab of the mouth.  There were also more advanced tests such as blood panels testing cholesterol and liver functions, as well and urine screening for kidney functions.  For you regular blood donors, there was also a private area for you to donate.  There was a stage set up with speakers, fitness shows, and cooking demos featuring the Roadpro 12volt appliances and of course Chef Tom Kyrk and is often wacky personalities but delicious (personally sampled so I can attest to their yumminess) recipes.  

Now back to the all important color pink.  Ladies, thanks to the tireless efforts from Rick Ash, the Trucking Solutions Group, and the St. Christopher's Fund, there were even free mammogram screenings a mobile mammogram unit brought over from, and performed by Baylor University Hospital medical staff.  My personal experience with them exceeded expectations as they were all extremely professional and respectful of privacy.  It was my first ever mammogram, so yes I was scared of the squish.  You've all heard about it.  Many of you have already experienced it.  Now I can personally tell you from my experience it really wasn't all that painful.  Uncomfortable in an awkward kind of way perhaps, but not painful.  The tech I had that day helped easy my anxiety by taking to me and being professional the entire time.  The mobile unit was hospital clean. It was equipped with two private changing rooms each having locked doors from the inside.  No men allowed.  

All of this, the health pavilion, screenings, demos, and mammograms, was put together for drivers who have a difficult time obtaining regular medical screenings due to the nature of life on the road, and who have little to no insurance.  Privacy and HIPPA were respected and upheld.  All screening results were given directly to the driver.  Speaking of results, even though I am not a driver, I am the spouse of one, so I was able to get a mammogram as well at no charge, and I got a clean bill of Boo Beez health!  I get to keep all my records as a reference point.  Next year, and the year after, when I get my screenings done at GATS I can track my health.  

Our Expediters Expo is a perfect show for our niche in the trucking industry.  Of course because it is a smaller show than the huge trucking shows, it is more intimate and fun.  Fun?  More like a complete blast!  If you are reading this and haven't been to the Expo yet, I highly recommend you attend the next one.  Our Expediters Expo caters to expediting specifically, so all the irrelevant extra is left out, it makes it informative and personal.  

But I think some of the extra is fun to see sometimes, especially for those of us who are in a big truck.  And there is always lots of that extra stuff to see and do at the regular truck shows, GATS is no exception.  Or rather, GATS is a big exception in that this truck show has so much extra, in some ways, and less in others.  If there is there one "THE truck show you don't want to miss", the Great American Truck Show, would be it.  It has more for the drivers, but it is smaller in size than MATS, a bigger bang for your buck, so to speak.  Plus, this is the only show that has the added benefit of giving you the ability to do a little health maintenance, something good for yourself.  You take care of your truck, so take care of yourself.  

And take care of those Boo Beez!  Because Steven Tyler sang it best, "Pink is the color of passion."

~Sierra Sugar