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Show "The Sleeper" V ' Minx. x- - by Geri Taylor There are facts, lessons, and very important information left out of the Truck Driver's handbook that I believe should be included. For instance, there are no references to lot lizards, bear bait, gators, Smokey Bears or chicken coops, let alone how to alter life-long sleeping patterns pat-terns that will keep a driver safe, ticket free and awake at the appropriate ap-propriate times. Fortunately I had a very good instructor who always had my best interests at heart - and didn't want me to lose my paycheck. I soon found out why truckers truck-ers smoke, eat sunflower seeds and drink coffee by the jug-full - it seems to be the only way to stay awake! But alas! I didn't smoke, drink coffee, nor could I tolerate spitting seed hulls into my hand every two or three seconds. (And I sure wasn't going to spit them on the floor!) I had to come up with an alter- bed. 1-15 south of Nephi and the reservation roads between Page, Arizona and Flagstaff were particularly bad areas and being in the bed could be hazardous haz-ardous to ones health. Which brings me to a regulation I never did embrace. The back wall had brackets about 3 feet from the bed, but I didn't bother asking what they were for because my philosophy philoso-phy was: if it looks irrelevant, ignore it. Several months after af-ter taking to the road, and after af-ter a particularly bumpy ride, Rodger informed me of the requirement to secure oneself on the bed in a moving semi with a net - thus the brackets. I located the mesh covering, calculated it's likely proximity to my prone body, and flatly rejected re-jected its use on the hypothesis that physical confinement in an already small space would lead to claustrophobia and other mental problems which are not good for truck drivers or the public in general. Call me eccentric, ec-centric, and even call me a law breaker, but there was no way I was going to sleep in a mesh prison. Rodger pointed out how it could save a life if the truck rolled and it was designed for our protection, but when I asked why he didn't use it, he looked me straight in the eye and said, "Are you crazy? I'd go nuts if I were pinned down like that". Case closed - and I would be willing to bet there are thousands thou-sands of unused nets stuffed in corners and under beds of trucks all over the country. I decided to take my chances and opted for not rolling the truck and learn how to hang tenaciously to the bed. Back to my original problem prob-lem of staying awake. During Dur-ing the six months we drove for EA Miller, our destinations were always within a 15 to 20 hour drive time, which normally didn't cause us problems. The roads were good and I found the movement of the truck very calming - except when Rodger hit the rumble strip. I was surprised sur-prised at how quickly I adapted to the disruption of a normal life, in more ways than one, and began wondering why all the stimulants were presumably necessary to keep a rig on the road. I should have knocked on wood. nate method of staying awake at 3 a.m. (or anytime for that matter). mat-ter). I clearly remember the first time I was expected to sleep in the middle of the day. At the end of my turn, Rodger took the wheel and I sat in the passenger seat, looking forward to watching watch-ing the beautiful California scenery. He patiently suggested suggest-ed I get some sleep because he would only be driving five hours and it would be my turn again. I have no idea why it didn't dawn on me that I needed to sleep, but my protests of not being able to slumber in the daytime fell on ' deaf ears. The bed was a slightly oversized over-sized twin with a tolerable mattress mat-tress and a pull-down bunk that held blankets, coats and things too big to fit anywhere else. Two full length, heavy vinyl curtains with Velcro strips, hung on either ei-ther side of the truck behind the seats, and when closed created a room of total darkness. The air conditioning was on year-round when we slept, and we used a down quilt to keep us warm. In order to get the most beneficial rest, I had to prepare as if I were going to bed at night, sleeping clothes and all. I shut the curtains, prepared my bed, turned off the light and snuggled snug-gled into the comforter, willing myself to sleep, even though I wasn't tired. I remember thinking think-ing how insane this was and wondering if I would ever get the hang of it. I was used to power naps of not more than 20 minutes if I felt groggy, but to sleep five hours and expect to be bright eyed and bushy tailed at the end was more than my mind could conceive. An interesting phenomenon phenom-enon took place as I attempted to relax and pretend it was night - the gentle movement of the truck actually lulled me to sleep and before I knew it, I was out. I had literally been rocked to sleep. That was California , where the roads are generally in good condition and the freeways are fairly open during the night. It didn't take long to know where the killer stretches were and how to maximize sleeping time before being bounced out of |