I like Thanksgiving a lot.  I like Thanksgiving for the food, the time off to relax, getting to cook the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and so on.  I like Thanksgiving mostly because it isn’t as commercial as some other holidays.  Thanksgiving doesn’t focus on spending money on people, getting gifts; rather, it focuses on people spending quality time with other people and relaxing.  One of my best friends I‘ve known since 5th grade, Ivory Griffin, came down to IL from his college home in Detroit, MI to spend Thanksgiving with Amanda and I for the second year in a row.  Since I had to head down to Nashville, IL for the two days following Thanksgiving, he also got the chance to experience life as a Monster Trucker for a couple days.  I’m not sure if he’s fully recovered yet, but he had fun nevertheless.

The title of this week’s blog really sums up how I feel in regards to Thanksgiving.  I’m grateful for my friends and family, my job, and all the wonderful things I have and the experience (good and bad) that I’ve been through.  I know, I know; everyone says things like that, but we’ve all have moments where it really hits us how grateful we should be for all that we have.

That being said, after a really great and relaxing Thanksgiving, which included (in addition to the great food) some Gran Turismo 4, a couple DVD’s, and some hilarious videos off the internet, it was time to get right back to business Friday morning.  Tim and Mat headed out in the primary Raminator hauler, Mark and June took to the merchandise hauler, while Ivory and I rounded out the convoy in the Raminator R/T semi.  The early morn drive to Nashville is a relatively short one, at just about three hours, so that would mean a quick trip down and back, thankfully.  While I’m being thankful for all this stuff, I should also show some thanks to the Holzauer Auto & Truck Sales people for hooking us up with not only lots of room to work with, but for the hot food on Saturday and the hot coffee both days.  Much respect for the coffee!
 

Heading to Nashville!  (Illinois, that is...)

To help put some holiday cheer in the masses, Ivory and I took some time Friday morning to fix the R/T up with some Christmas decorations.  Just some simple stuff on the big roll cage in the bed, like tinsel and candy-cane colored beads.  I figured a big truck deserved a big stocking, so Raminator got its own 2 1/2ft tall stocking that we hung off of the truck.  Kids were definitely getting a kick out of it. Mat, Ivory, and I had a pretty good time hanging out, despite the cold.  I even managed to run my new Team Losi Mini-LST hard enough to break a tie-rod end.  Oh, the things you’ll do when your friends are around, right?

Ivory and I goofin' off on Friday afternoon.  The cold messes with your brain honestly.

The R/T hoping for lots of oil and some new spark plugs in its stocking.

Speaking of friends, fellow Monster Blogger Chris Kaelin stopped by Saturday and hung out with us for most of the day, and got some great shots of Mark’s car crush (check ‘em out in the fan photo gallery).  While you are cruising through Chris’ pics, you’ll notice he managed to get a couple pictures of me on the job without breaking his camera.  I’m sporting my warm-yet-oversized Raminator coat, which makes me look like I hit the turkey and pumpkin pie a little too heavy.  I’m going to have a talk with Chris about his candid photography (don’t worry, I won’t hurt him).

Mark’s car crush went off without a hitch despite the arctic-like weather, and after a few more rides we were able to get everything loaded up and get on the road before it got dark.  Enjoy the pics!!

On the way home, I learned that Sirius radio is the best invention to ever hit the trucking industry.  We listened to everything from Rush’s “2112” to Jay-Z/Beyonce’s “Crazy In Love”.  Tunes always make the time go faster, and it seemed like we were home in record time.  The road trip was just beginning for my buddy however, as he had to hit the road back to Detroit later that evening.
 

Front Page newspaper shot from the Centralia Sentinel!!

I’m definitely looking forward to the week ahead, as I (finally) turn 21 on Friday.  That means I’ve got great news for you!  I just saved a ton (not that much) of money on my car insurance!  Also, I’ll now be able drive semi transporters alone out of state, as well as enjoy a drink responsibly from time to time (those don’t go hand in hand, by the way).  All that, plus the final ride truck gig of the year in northern Kentucky.

I sincerely hope all of you out there reading this had a great Thanksgiving, and found the time you spent with those around you to be truly worthwhile.  That being said, my thanks to you once again for reading.  Until next time.

- KD
 

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