Arkansas Trucking Association

Up Front- Where's Waldo?

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

In the colorful pages of the Where’s Waldo picture books, the fun is supposed to be spotting the title character’s striped shirt, coke bottle glasses and red stocking cap. The challenge is the distracting scenes around him. Waldo always gets lost among the other loud people and patterns on the page. He’s never social distancing. He’s always in a bustling crowd. That’s why you feel a little proud when you finally find him.

If you’ve seen any of the news coverage of recent legislative session in Arkansas, there were a lot of distracting and controversial headlines. You might have been discouraged from finding what you were looking for by some of the loud people and patterns there too!

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The Last Word

Trust, Faith and Germ-X

By Weston Mars

Everyone’s pandemic experience has been unique and isolating. We’ve been able to watch each other go through it online or post on social media, but I don’t think people understood my job driving a truck before COVID-19. It’s a harder picture to paint now, after everything.

It feels like a lifetime ago, but it was probably around December of 2019 when I first started hearing blips about some bug going around thousands of miles away. It didn’t seem like a major threat.

I didn’t realize how wrong I was.

I was driving for FedEx during the busy holiday season with no cases reported in the U.S. so I didn’t take notice until much later. By March, we started classifying what was and wasn’t “essential” because we had to move food, water and medical supplies first.

I was on long haul, driving from center to center, and some facilities weren’t allowing drivers to come inside. What I remember about that time was how truck driving became an even lonelier and quieter career than it already was. Without access to break rooms or anywhere to mingle with other drivers, I was on the phone with friends, coworkers and people I knew from other companies guessing what might come next. We knew that our job was going to stay important because in disasters, moving freight is always necessary, but the fear of getting sick was new.

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Up Front- A little birdie told me

Shannon Newton
President, ATA

Birds are supposed to be skilled at predicting the weather and enduring the elements.

Science says it’s something about barometric pressure and how the winged creatures have a sense for that sort of thing. Some birds binge eat to fatten up before a storm. Some build better nests to shelter them through it. And some bypass the ordeal entirely and fly south for the season. What birds have yet to master or learn through evolution… is the concept of glass. 

On Feb. 16, the ground was covered with half a foot of snow, and another round was in the forecast. On my way out of Target, I noticed a baby bird trapped in purgatory between the two sets of automatic doors. My arms were draped with shopping bags carrying the essential supplies (puzzles and candy) for surviving the coming snow days. I was bundled up in my parka and mask, kicking my legs to trigger the exterior doors to open and flapping my arms to shoo the bird outside. 

The poor thing was clearly traumatized and exhausted from flapping and flinging itself into what looked like blue skies on the other side of the glass. I scared it from one side to another and then back before it just gave up.

Finally, the bird was left with no other option than to give in to whatever came next. I was afraid it might flutter or bite me out of fear, but the bird was forced to trust me to pick it up and carry it outside to freezing freedom.

If it’s hard to picture me as the eccentric lady attempting to save baby animals in the Target vestibule, thank goodness. But unusual circumstances can push us to take on unfamiliar roles.

Local meteorologist Todd Yakobian said this is a rare weather event, the kind you tell your grandkids about; five years’ worth of snow in three days. We are all navigating unfamiliar territory: Snowmageddon 2021, a global pandemic, a volatile market, K-shaped recoveries, and social challenges we may have never confronted before. 

In life, in business, how many times do we pursue what we think are blue skies, using the same tactics that have always worked to no avail?  How hard must we try to do it our way? How scared of failure or demise must we be before we allow an unfamiliar influence to show us a different way? To deliver us to a place where we can be successful?

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but if your pipes are frozen, your business is stalling or your political strategy is deadlocked, recognize who’s around to support you. Someone is likely willing to show you a different way.

I’ve got much respect for the confused fowl that clutched my palm through the entry way. There’s wisdom in admitting when you’ve hit the glass too many times and accepting help to the other side.

The Last Word

Doing hard things

By Rep. David Ray

On Feb. 4th, I presented my first bill on the House floor. As a freshman legislator, and especially as one of the youngest members of the House, I was nervous. I was also nervous for another reason: I wasn’t sure my bill would actually pass.

My bill, HB 1368, would require special elections to be held on one of two standardized dates that are consistent and predictable from year to year. The reason I ran this bill is simple: it's not fair to voters to hold elections on random and unpredictable dates, especially elections that raise their taxes. It’s one of the reasons we have high taxes compared to neighboring states. But this happens all the time.

This may not sound controversial, but I assure you it is in certain quarters—there are many groups with a vested interest in preserving the status quo. The Arkansas Municipal League and many school superintendents didn’t like the bill. They argued it would restrict local control and make it difficult to pass local projects such as school improvements or funding for libraries.

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