Spirit of the road : the life of an American trucker ... and his cat

Spirit of the Road: The Life of an American Trucker...and his cat embarks on a one-year journey across the United States in an eighteen-wheeler. It runs the gambit from a wide-eyed rookie in Commercial Driving school to the eventual embracing of a new lifestyle at a dusty little truck stop in Crab Orchard, Tennessee. Having made the transition to trucking after spending 20 years in television broadcasting, the author sets a comical tone from the very first chapter in a fish-out-of-water story. However, the dangers and challenges of life in a big truck are very real, and the book takes on a more somber tone to describe this aspect of road life. The reader is also introduced to little-known, funny, or unusual historical facts about some of the places visited while they are along for the ride. The objective of this book is to give the reader an entertaining, yet candid, picture of the life of a long haul trucker with a little slice of Americana on the side. This book always keeps the reader in mind, and strives to both inform and entertain. Another unique feature is the inclusion of a traveling cat in the story. The comical and, sometimes, poignant adventures of Kitty are interwoven throughout the book and promises to hold appeal for pet lovers. The trucking lifestyle has been depicted in various television series and movies and, as with any job that holds a degree of adventure and danger, it sparks the interest of the general public. The life of the American trucker still holds a bit of the rugged explorers lifestyle. The trucker is usually far from home and uncertain what lies around the next bend. Curiosity about the unknown is an attractive feature to the general reader. Spirit of the Road: The Life of an American Trucker is a book that touches into a cornerstone of a lifestyle that few people know about, but that hides a passionate group that bears further study, namely, truck drivers. ** About the Author Rick L. Huffman began a broadcasting career in 1985 as a part-time disc-jockey. Soon making the transition to television, Rick was involved in every aspect of production over a 20 year span, which eventually led him to New York. Fed up with high-strung bosses, Rick totally changed gears in 2005 and started driving an 18-wheeler across the country for the next five years. After making a career change to trucking, it did not take long to see that a story of this unique lifestyle waited to be told. He began taking daily notes on the adventures of road life, intent on telling a story of a passionate group of whom little is known by the general public, namely, truckers. Huffman is a veteran of the United States Navy where he served aboard a nuclear fast-attack submarine during the cold war era. Huffman is a native of Huntsville, Alabama, but currently resides in El Paso, Texas. A long-haul trucker and his cat embark on a one-year journey across the United States in an eighteen-wheeler. Having made the transition to trucking after spending 20 years in television broadcasting, the author includes stories about Commercial Driving school; hygiene on the road; and the eventual embracing of a new lifestyle at a dusty little truck stop in Crab Orchard, Tennessee. The reader is also introduced to little-known, funny, or unusual historical facts about some of the places they visit along the way