00:04 But he also one thing he told me that that’s stayed with me all these years. He said 90% of truck driving is common sense and confidence. He said use the common sense the good Lord gave you and have confidence in yourself. He said the other 10% the rest of them people out there and you can’t do nothing about them. You just got to keep an eye on.

00:27 Welcome to Six-Figure Trucker, the podcast where we share advice on how to be successful in trucking and have fun while doing so. We’ll share stories, news, and advice on how to earn six figures in trucking. And we’ll speak to guys and gals that are already doing so. Let’s get to the show. Hello everyone and welcome to the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. And those of you who have checked in with us each week, you know, this is an area, a venue, if you will, where we elevate and celebrate the driver. They’re not always viewed in the most favorable light by the public at large. But we’re here to change that and let you hear the perspective of the drivers themselves, the men and women that move the trucks, that move the freight that have so much to do with the economy of this country. We’ve got a very special guest with us this evening, a gentleman by the name of Merl Jones. He joins us now and I talked to him earlier before we started recording. Merl is on the road now. Merl, tell us where you are.

01:28 I am in Jefferson, Georgia.

01:30 Jefferson, Georgia. And where did you come from?

01:34 I started this trip in Morrisville, North Carolina.

01:38 What’s the final destination?

01:39 Richland, Mississippi, which is a suburb of Jackson, Mississippi.

01:42 So, you’re not too far from delivery.

01:45 About 400 miles.

01:46 That’s going to be tomorrow.

01:47 Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

01:48 Gotcha. Now, what do you normally do when you take a break? Kind of walk us through your break.

01:53 Well, I’m at number one, get out, walk around a little bit, go inside, get me something to eat if it’s that time. If not, just get me a cup of coffee and relax a little while.

02:03 Important to stretch the knees out.

02:05 That’s right. If you get on up in age, you got to keep a little blood pumping in them knees.

02:10 Have you found any tricks to make that happen?

02:13 Walking, squatting, doing what you got to do. Walking the main thing. Of course, right now it’s so hot, you know, it’s you got to wait till the evening or do it in the morning.

02:23 Gotcha. Here’s an odd question for you. What kind of shoes do you wear when you’re driving?

02:27 I wear lace up boots. I mean, well, they’re just ankle boots, but I they’re actually Goodyear. They’re cuz they’re and lace up to support the ankles and two they’re weather resistant. So, if it happen to be raining, my feet stay dry. And also it makes it through security in the airports without because I grew up wearing kebab boots but they have a steel shaft in them or shank whatever you want to call it. And they make the security bells go off even if though you do have TSA free check. So my wife bought me these and it turned out to be a mushing.

03:05 Gotcha. Because the cowboy boots I made the mistake before. I was flying out west. We were going out to Denver on a business trip. I said, you know, I’m going to Colorado. I got to wear the cowboy boots. So, I put them on. I didn’t think about pulling them off, putting them back on. Once you go through security, that’s, you know, you’re backing up the line, people behind you, and you’re trying to put these boots on. You know, putting on cowboy boots is not the quickest thing in the world.

03:30 Yeah. Well, I mean, they’re of course I’ve worn them all my life growing up in Jackson, Louisiana, but they’re you got to have the right boot and plus but you know, you don’t want to myself, you don’t want to inconvenience the other people, you know. Exactly. I mean, if you’ve got a good pair of boots that are well worn, they’ll slide off and on pretty easily. Now, I was talking to— Now, you’re listening to Merl Jones here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. Merl’s one of our drivers here. And he was recommended by his dispatcher, Megan Wlaw. Megan speaks very highly of you and she wasn’t completely sure to 100% but do you have a package set up as far as for you fly a lot. Do you fly a lot?

04:15 Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I fly after every trip. I don’t carry a tow car. I mean sometimes like today or last night I got to Ron Oak and then I grabbed a Rick car and drove three hours down to North Carolina.

04:28 I gotcha. Gotcha. But most of the time you fly. Yes, sir.

04:32 How do you manage that as far as timing, coordination, and expenses?

04:37 Well, you know, I’m at an age where, and this might sound wrong, but I don’t have to work as hard as I used to. Kids are grown. Now we’re in the grandbab’s age. And I pre-planned. Everything’s about pre-planning now. You know, when I leave the house, I’m going to there’s not a set amount of time I’m going to be gone, but I try to balance. You know, you call Megan, my dispatcher. I look at her more as a travel agent. You know, I look at the board, see what I’m interested in. I call her and we do our best to make it work for each other. And then there’s times that they’ve got loads that need to go. And, you know, I’m because, and here’s my philosophy, the way I was raised. You know, everything in life, every aspect of your life, whether it be your job, your marriage, your home life, whatever, you get out of it what you put into it. And with that being said, in my opinion, as my wife has taught me to say we’re all links in the chain and we’re only as strongly as the weakest link.

05:41 So, you know, she helps me out like my wife’s uncle passed away a couple weeks and I really need to get home. So, as soon as I dropped that, I was gone. You know, she helps me out. I help her out. But here’s the point. I work for Norton, but at the same time, I am Norton—

05:57 Right?

05:57 You know, being a link in that chain. We’re only as good as the chain. And you know, I look at it as like there’s signs on the side of this truck say Nort transportation. Well, then that means I’m a rolling billboard. How I drive, you know, you have this people cut people off, whatever. The attitude I get out of here with, you know, that’s all important—

06:16 Because, you know, I just told country boy raised in the country and, you know, you got to have integrity like they taught in boot camp, do the right thing right when ain’t nobody looking.

06:25 Then you don’t have ever have to worry about what I might have done wrong. And you know, it at the end of the day, I represent Norton. Norton represents me. The other dude, I don’t know, somewhere else in a Norton truck. If he walked into a customer or whatever, if he’s looking all flat, you know, I don’t know about all this, you know, maybe I don’t I need to look somewhere else. Or you may be somewhere in a truck stop and they see you get out of a Norton truck. It might be a bosses over there at work has 20 trucks that need to be moved. Well, if I’m looking right, truck’s looking right, I’m professional in my action. Hey, I might need to check with them. Somebody can move my truck.

07:05 You’re absolutely right.

07:06 It’s all about, you know, it’s like I said that, you know, once you accept the job, we’re not just working for Norton, we are Norton.

07:15 That’s absolutely right. The way you put that, you’re a walking billboard. And some of those examples you laid out there are things that could happen. I mean, you know, there may be business opportunities out there at a truck stop, you know, with one company that’s got, like you said, 20 trucks to move and they see a driver such as yourself who acts professionally keeps himself in a, you know, good demeanor, isn’t, you know, isn’t a rough guy with other people, isn’t grumpy, and all that kind of stuff. You know, people notice those things—

07:43 Right? Like I said, and it’s all about you get out of it what you put into it. You know the old saying back when you and I were growing up it’s do unto others you had them do unto you. Well one step further than that I do unto others whether you know it’s from a older person to a woman to whoever. I don’t just hold the door for the older person anybody because you don’t know how what that person’s going through that day that may just be the worst day in their life. They don’t know anybody exists. Wow. Did y’all see that Norton guy? He stood there and held the door for that lady. You know, it’s all about doing what’s right.

08:17 That’s a great philosophy there. You know, that’s a good point you were talking about. Wanted to expand a little bit about it. Doesn’t have anything you necessarily to do with driveaway trucking, but opening the door for someone and you don’t know, you said it best. You don’t know what that person’s been through in their life or in that—

08:34 Or what they’re going through at that day—

08:36 At that moment in that day of their life. And you can make a difference not even thinking with such a small gesture as opening a door.

08:46 Well, I you know I kind of look at life this way. You know I was raised up as a Christian and two it’s just a point of you know it takes two seconds to say it. You know what I mean? And like I said they may be having the worst day of their life think they don’t matter. They don’t exist, but everybody matters. And at the same time, like going back to what I said before, as a representative of Norton, well, people notice, you know, people know, they see your attitude. They see how you live, you know. Of course, I’m old country boy. I got, you know, crease, blue jeans, all whatever. My wife takes good care of me. But, you know, it’s all in attitude. Like I said, you get out of life what you put into it. You’re listening to Merl Jones here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. Merl is sharing some of his philosophy, his practices, what is his beliefs, his integrity that he carries out on the road.

09:48 And in the first few minutes, about first 10 minutes we talked to us, if you were listening closely, he said boot camp. So I’m assuming you’ve been through boot camp—

09:58 The National Guard. Yes, sir. That was a lifetime ago.

10:02 That was my next question. When and where?

10:05 I was in Louisiana and I went to boot camp at Fort McLaren, Alabama. Like many of them are closed down and gone now. But I end up matching up my knee and got out on a medical. But it’s still, you know, it wasn’t much different than growing up under a having a minister for a father. You know what I mean? Only thing got me in trouble in boot camp was saying yes sir, no sir. I did quite a few push-ups because that’s the way I was raised.

10:30 It was an extension of your father, I guess.

10:33 Right. Right. Right. Right.

10:34 Now, what time frame was this when you were in boot camp?

10:38 Mostly I’m 60 now. Yeah. In the early 90s.

10:46 Okay.

10:46 I was 30 years old.

10:48 Now, this was early 90s. We had the Persian Gulf War going on—

10:52 Right? And my son who my oldest son who went to Afghanistan twice and the Lord brought him home thankfully but he said one time and this is going to sound bad. Dad, you got he said you got out this at the wrong time. I said well I don’t know about that. You know it might have been the right time cuz I might have went over there and not come back and he wouldn’t have been here.

11:12 Yeah, I get what you’re saying. I get what you’re saying. So I’m assuming a country boy from Louisiana. Military service also must mean a lot to you.

11:23 Oh yes, sir. And you know, well, as we talked about earlier, you know, I’ve been on the road 39 years. The world has changed. And even more than that, a lot of stuff that went all went was going on in the world wasn’t in trucking. But in the last, say, decade, some of that junk out there has made its way into trucking. And it all comes back to what we were talking about earlier. It’s all about what attitude you portray.

11:46 39 years on the road.

11:48 That’s right. When I drove I may I drove local a couple for a couple of the companies in ‘ 81, but I actually went on the road in 1984. Good Lord kept his hand on me a long time.

11:59 And you’ve kept your hand on the wheel.

12:01 Oh yes, sir.

12:02 For a day or two.

12:04 Take us through those 39 years, how you started and how you got to driveaway. But take us through each progression there. Just kind of take us down the road. Well, I when I used to ride. Well, you know, you got that uncle. Well, he was I say uncle, he wasn’t actually blood kin. You got some kin people that aren’t bloodkin. You know, some people in your what you consider family. And I rode with him when I was a teenager. And then when I turned 18, I got a chauffer’s license in Louisiana and I hauled drilling pipe and oil field mud. That was just get my foot in the door. And then I got ready to go on the road or, you know, decided, hey, I’m going to go on the road. And nobody would give you a job because you didn’t know road experience, you know, road experience without a job. Anyway, so I end up going to trucking school in 1984 just to get some get my foot in the door. And old mountain truck lines, they were called the running rabbit back then. They were out of shreport, Lincoln, Texas. Not the blue trucks you see now. They were red back then.

13:05 But anyway, and so I went on the road and I woke up one day, this going to sound kind of crazy. I woke up one day and I’ll never forget this when I my first trip on the road I got on the on ramp at Hope, Arkansas where on I-30 coming I went up out of ports and when I got on the ramp I got flush and I thought, “Okay, big boy, you said you can have it. Let’s see.” And 39 years later, I’m still here. But one day I woke up in Connecticut at a 76 truck stop before daylight. I had to go get my load off. And I just looked around. I thought, you know, I don’t know a living soul in this place. I’ll never see anybody I know. And I had friends that were running California back every trip. So that’s what I end up doing for a lot of years. And progressed on, you know, try to live a death with that. The only thing I haven’t hauled is cows and a tanker. The tanker deals only because my mama made me promise when I was the I’m the baby that I wouldn’t go a tanker and I never have. But other than that, I pretty much hauled it.

14:04 Wow, that’s impressive.

14:05 And then I did 36 years in a rig and this I came to work out here in 2020. I was one of the few that I got co it like took me out and I was in the hospital for 11 days. I got out on June the 16th and I was on option till the last day of October and I didn’t they didn’t clear me to go back to work till the following May. So I came out on the road in May or June of 21. So I’ve been this my second year.

14:35 Gotcha. Now you’re talking about co I mean I know some people personally that went through that. Hopefully, it’s behind us, not revving back up, but you’re a living witness to the fact that it can certainly do well, you know, obviously death and a lot of damage between here and there.

14:52 Yeah. And I you know, I’ve got lung issues because of it. But, you know, I’m not 100% but I’m 100% better what I was. And in fact, a lady that I had known all of my life, her son was my age, and we grew up together. She passed away in the room right next door to me. And you know, it was a tough thing. But you know, once again, the good Lord spared me and here I am.

15:10 Now, I wanted to ask you about you started your career moving drilling pipe in an oil field. What was that like a muddy field? What was that like driving the drilling—

15:21 Right? And yeah, and it was work. I mean, not really. You know, work’s work. You got to work. You know, the Bible says if you don’t work, you don’t eat. But the drilling fight was the easy part. But the drilling mud was the hard part cuz sometimes you had to lug them stacks off of that truck up to the doghouse or wherever they were putting them. But yeah, it was flip sliding away quite a bit.

15:45 I was How long did you do that—

15:47 Between the two? Maybe a year, you know, not long cuz then I started hauling groceries. Yay.

15:55 That was definitely—

15:56 That’s work.

15:57 I was going to say that’s a lot different than working in an oil field there.

16:00 Yeah—

16:00 You were a young man. Obviously you were a young man when you started. What did you learn along the way from the oil field to today that has kept you straight?

16:11 Well, of course everything from me starts with my belief in Jesus Christ. But on the road it’s number one you never one thing I liked about it and I still to this day is you never know everything. You know, you might do something the same way for 10 years. Yeah. Just a say backing in a hole or whatever. You might do it the same way for 10 years and then today you see it differently and think, “Wow, what didn’t I think about that before?” So, it’s a neverending learning process. And my uncle will there again. My uncle told me that what he taught me how to drive was people think act like they know it all or you need to stay away from that get you hurt. But he also one thing he told me that stayed with me all these years. He said 90% of truck driving is common sense and confidence. He said, use the common sense the good Lord gave you and have confidence in yourself. He said, the other 10%, the rest of them people out there, and you can’t do nothing about them. You just got to keep an eye on them. And I’ve kind of, you know, kept that in mind all these years.

17:12 I love that. 90% of truck driving is common sense and—

17:16 Common sense and confidence, right? You know my, as my dad would say, can’t never, so never say can’t. You know, and I can do it. I may it may take me longer. I may do a different you, but I’ll get the job done.

17:29 What kind of sticky situations have you been in on the road? I’m sure 39 years you’ve seen some stuff.

17:35 Oh, some stuff you don’t want to see and some stuff. Oh, I’ve had some good times and then, you know, of course, you’ve been in just first thing popped to my head, I was unloading in Oakland, California, and the place was closed and you been kind of shitties. For me. I’d go in there at night and I pulled up behind the place where I’m going to unload in this little alley and I close my, you know, do my curtains and that’s my thing and somebody knocked on the door and I kind of peakedked out there a little bit and it was a man in a suit but he had a roller bag suitcase behind him.

18:09 He was holding. So I thought and then but something just told me to answer and so I rode the window down. I said yes sir. He said young man if you’re going to park here he said no matter what don’t open the door. He said, ‘ Don’t come out of them curtains. He said, ‘Till morning.’ He said, I He said, ‘I was a chemistry professor and I got off on drugs and I’ve lived a bad life. He said, but people die down here every night. He said, you go in that truck, locked them in doors, keep them curtains closed, and don’t come out till daylight. And I thought, wow. But he cared enough to, you know, stay in Texas on the truck, you know. And I’ve seen a lot of stuff bad stuff happen, but I’ve seen good, too. I mean 1987, one of the highlights of my extracurricular activities was I unloaded a half load of chickens in Las Vegas on Saturday, I believe it was, and my other half went to San Francisco on Monday. And as I was, of course, this is back before satellite radio, telephone, that kind of stuff, you know, back in the old days, old school people.

19:11 We had a telephone and a truck stop and we had random magnoli. We didn’t have these things chosen where to go and all that stuff—

19:17 You know, you had to plan your trip out. But anyway, I was going into San Francisco and I heard the Giants were playing the Padres’s. No, Candlestick Park. Buddy, I took my truck to where I was going, got me a taxi and went to Candlestick Park and watch the Giants play the Padres.

19:30 That had to be a lot of fun.

19:31 Oh yeah. In ‘ 89, I watched, of course, being in Louisiana, the Saints play the Falcons in Atlanta. I’ve been to Kansas City Royal Stadium. I’ve been to the Blues Festival up in Portland. And I’ve been a lot of stuff, you know, because at the same time, you’re trying to make a living and take care of your family, you know, you take care of your own and—

19:49 Might as well enjoy the ride—

19:51 Right? Truck is part of your life. It’s not your whole life.

19:54 Mhm.

19:55 You know, and now it’s at 60 years old and all these years later, it’s against a mean, you know, and every little dollar doesn’t matter. And if I need to go home and stay home a week, that’s fine.

20:05 But back up a little bit to Megan. I’ve been in, like I said, I’ve been in this game a long time and I call her my travel I pick at her, call her my travel agent, you know, but dispatch. Yes. But, I can without hesitation say she’s as good or better. Yeah, I’d say as good as any dispatcher I’ve ever had in 49 years because you’re not just a number to her. You know, it’s kind of excuse me, kind of a personal relationship, I guess you’d say. You know, what’s going on in your world matters, you know, and there again, it’s back to the link in the chain. You know, if I’m not happy, not doing good, I’m not producing and you know, we’re all trying to keep this boat going. Only thing about Norton, I wish we carried like big tour buses or maybe some of them big motor home or stuff like that. But one thing I enjoy about my job is I always have a diff a choice of what kind of vehicle I’m driving.

21:04 Well, I did see when I was doing my research on Murrell Jones, you’re a Class A driver. You’ve driven forever basically there. If we do see some RVs, some you know, some of these custom coaches come down the line. I’ll let Megan know about it.

21:20 Yeah. I mean, I have, you know, every endorsement. The only thing I can’t I used to say I could drive anything with wheels, but then I realized airplane has wheels, so no, I can’t do that. But you know it’s all a day. It’s just another day at the office is the way I look at every day. First I thank the good Lord for not forgetting to wake me up and second I can call Miss Jones tell her I love it one more time.

21:43 That’s a good advice to live by right there. You’re listening to Merl Jones here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. Merl telling us some of his stories on the road there. What 39 years 1984 is that?

21:55 Yeah. Yeah. If somebody were to ask you, Merl, what one thing sticks out the most in your mind in almost four decades on the road, what was there an incident? Was there an accident? Was there an event? Was there one thing that just pops to your mind when you think of a 40-year career?

22:15 Well, I two things. You’re away from your family, but you make a choice. And two, you see a lot of carnage out here. And you know, things are going to happen. The odds are against you. And knock on wood, I’ve only had one real wreck in all them years. It wasn’t my fault. The law ruled it. Not my fault. It was the other man’s fault. But anyway, I that was years and years ago. But it’s all about choices. Everything. Just like, you know, I said earlier, you know, it’s all everything in your life, you get out of what you put into it, you know. And you see these guys run up on the back end of a car, you know, these big I drove 100 mph trucks and all that. Yeah, it’s whatever you think you are. But I always try to keep in mind, you know, cuz they run up there and be, you know, 100 ft from this car trying to trying to make them get out of the way. And I always thought that what if that was my family or my mom or my dad or whatever, you know, would I like that? And so you just try to think of others. And the number one ideal is, you know, this is going to probably sound odd to a lot of people out there, but I’ve been on the road 39 years.

23:23 I’ve never put a set of change on a truck. Don’t know how and never will. If it’s bad enough for change, that’s bad enough for me to stop. Now, that’s my personal opinion. I got a lot of buddies that do it and that’s fine. But I don’t need a dollar that bad. And you know, I’m a blessed man and I understand that. But well, just today I saw right coming out of Charlotte, there was a tanker went off in the woods over there. And that’s my fear number one, I don’t want to take your family out—

23:47 Right?

23:47 You know what I mean? And you know, just like my wife and I, we end the night on a good note because odds are I and like old Merl Hagen said, dial on the highway and ride away like old Highline Pole. You know, stuff’s going to happen. But I just do my best and pray to the good Lord gets me back to my family one more time. You were talking about you’ve driven just about everything with wheels minus an airplane and a tanker truck, but that was because your mother didn’t want you to drive a tanker. Was it because of the— Was there some fear there with the tankers and what could happen?

24:22 Right. The explosion cuz we had a guy that from a neighboring town that a tanker blew up on him and it burned him bad. Now he’s still alive, but it burned him up pretty well. And that for the fear of God and her. And you know when all else in life fails, all you got, this is how my dad raised his voice. When all else in life fails, all you have left is your name, your word, and your face. And if nothing they’re not worth anything, nothing you got’s worth anything. And I gave my mom my word. And as crazy as that is, I’m 50 years old. I’m still standing by it.

24:53 Well, there you go. Being 60 years old, 39 years on the road, hands on the wheel, sitting in the cab, how much longer do you see yourself doing it?

25:03 You know, it’s funny. My wife just asked me that and I said, “Well,” and she said, “I know. As long as you can crawl up in something, you going somewhere.” Now, I don’t work 12 months a year anymore, but in some small part, you know, a lot of people in society, you know, like they don’t give truckers room and we, you know, I could sit and name all that stuff off, but it’s just part of the game. But, you know, we’re doing our part to keep the country moving. And, you know, it’s kind of like I was thinking the other day, you know, farmers and truck drivers run on diesel. When we can’t afford it and the farmers can’t afford it, how people going to eat?

25:36 Very good point. You know, cuz it keeps going up and away. They’re going to pass some price down. You and I, you know, we go go pay whatever it rings up. But I know a lot of people that can’t do that. You know, they’re not as fortunate or as blessed as we are. And, you know, I’m concerned about that. But I just try to do my little part. You know, like you always say we don’t move the freight, but we move the trucks that move the freight.

25:58 This is true.

25:58 You know, there again, that there again, that saying within itself confirms what I say about we’re all links in the chain. You’re listening to Merl Jones here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. And if you’re just catching up with us, Merl has been on the road for 39 years and he has a lot of good sound, solid country boy wisdom. Some good philosophy to that he adheres to things that he goes by. And Merl, you talked about it and touched on it. Faith is an important thing to you.

26:35 Yes, sir. Now, Megan kind of let me in there a little bit. Do you take some time behind the pulpit?

26:43 No, I was kind of I thought, you know, I was ready to get in it and I probably should have been, but I’m a little bit shy. It’s kind of funny. I can talk to you or oneonone or anybody and never meet a stranger, but to get up in front of some folks and all that. And my wife’s just the opposite. She’s a little bit more shy oneonone, but she can get up in front of 300 teachers and give a talk or whatever with no problem.

27:10 Mhm.

27:10 But no, sir, I never, you know, I give my testimony cuz sometimes, but not as far as— No, I can’t never say never, but it’s just I never been brave enough.

27:21 I gotcha. Not a preacher, but a follower.

27:24 Well, and you know, and I learned too that you don’t have to stand behind the pull pit and wear suit and tie to be a minister. Can be, you know, in other words, and this may not be good for this, but I’ll say it like I think it. You know, if you ask 95% of the people out there, are you a Christian? Yeah, I’m a Christian. But are you really? I’m standing over here watching you over there. Is the life you’re leading showing me, hey, there’s something about that guy? Or is it just— And my wife told me, don’t talk about politics or religion, but I can’t help it. But you know what I’m saying? It’s how you treat others that plays, you know, what your personal belief is and your personal belief system. You know, I feel like I live a life of that I’m we’re blessed and we’re blessed to bless others and if it’s that not nothing but holding the door open for whoever.

28:12 Well, speaking of blessings, 60 years old, 39 on the road, what kind of blessings do you like to see come your way as far as vacation? This is going to sound kind of corny, but anywhere that long as I’m with my wife, I’ve been to several places in 2013. And this kind of backs up for a little bit. And my dad passed 8 n 10 August the 9th, 2010. All but one night I had stayed in the hospital within 50 days.

28:40 Oh, wow.

28:40 Cuz I’m the baby and that’s my pops. You know, nothing covered before family. And one of the things he asked me, and this is kind of whatever, you might want to cut this part out, but one thing he asked me one night, he said, “Baby, you awake?” And I said, “Yes, sir, I am.” And he said, “I want you to do me a favor.” I said, “Yeah, what’s that?” “Anything, you know, I’m here.” And he said, “Your mama always wanted to travel. I never really had the means. You do take her travel.” And I said, “Okay, papa, I will.” He said, “No, son. I want your word.” Because like I said earlier, he raised us our name, our word, and our face. If they’re not worth nothing, nothing, you guys worth anything. And so I said yes sir. And so in 2013 and not toot my own horn but just talking about traveling. I to I asked my mom where she wanted to go. And from Mother’s Day 2013 we were in the gondola in Venice Italy. And we went to Germany Italy, Switzerland, England and France. And in 2014 her second choice was Hawaii. And we did three islands in Hawaii. Thank God we’re not over there right now. And everybody needs to pray for them folks. But I travel a little bit. But nowadays, you know, as I get older, all the way life, I’m good.

29:44 It don’t matter. It can just I took a few days off here just a few weeks ago and we went and got a cabin on the White River up in Arkansas. Just sit there and watch the water run for a few days.

29:54 That’s an incredible trip. You were able to take your mother on those trips plural. Yes, sir. Those were in Clar. That’s something she’ll remember for the rest of her life.

30:02 And so will I. That’s what I told her. I was making memories. Number one, I’d been a man of my word to my father. And number two, I was making memories that that I will cherish the rest of my life because like I said, in 2013, we were in a gondola in Venice. In 2014, we were in a helicopter in Hawaii looking at where they were filming where they had filmed Jurassic Park.

30:21 I went to the White River about five years ago to go trout fishing. Now, were you fishing or just sightseeing?

30:28 No, I my took my in-laws and I told them when we were we didn’t do anything. We just sat there in that cabin for 4 days, just a long weekend and watched the me and my watch them both go out in the morning and they’d come back in the evening. But I told him, I said, “No, we’re going up here to do nothing.” And if you want to go, that’s great. Come on. If not, I said, “We’re not going up here to do no bunch of whatever.” We were in a little small town. I can’t think of the name of it now, but it was up there on the White River and you know, two or three restaurants in town and that’s it. There was nothing. Mhm.

31:01 And cuz I told him, well, you know, we took put everything in the back of that King Ranch fort and took our groceries and everything up there and sat for a few days doing nothing because down time as I get older, downtime’s more important. You know, I enjoy going places and you know, my wife’s birthday is December 30th. So, a lot of times we do Christmas Eve with my in-laws in Louisiana. We do Christmas Day with my mother in Texas and my brother and then 26 we’ll get on an airplane, go somewhere. And so for her birthday and you know kind of ended there but the older I get the downtime and you know I’ve missed a lot being on the road all these years and this may sound a little odd the older I get the smaller my circle gets.

31:46 Mhm.

31:46 You know instead of having you know looking at I read this the other day and it made so much sense to me. Instead of a 100 pennies is in a dollar, instead of a hundred friends, I’d rather have four quarters, four real friends, you know, cuz I kind of think if you have five real true friends in your life, not acquaintances, but true friends that you could call at 3:00 in the morning, they’d make something happen if you needed them—

32:08 Then you’ve been blessed.

32:09 That’s a good way. You know what I mean? Good way to look at it. Good way to look at it. Now, you were talking about downtime. It means more to more to you as you’ve gotten older. But you’re right. You’re still 60 years old, still getting in the cab of those trucks each and every day, driving down the road. Wanted to ask you about your choice to fly. Is that because you want more downtime? Or what’s your thinking on flying?

32:38 I Well, and you know, I’ve been to a few place, been here a couple times, white, stuff like that. But as far as my job, from the time I leave the house and go to Monroe, Louisiana to the airport and go to work, every second is spent doing what I got to do to get back to my wife. You know what I mean? And if I drop one off, well, you know just say I dropped one off in Ron Oak yesterday. Well, they may have one in California that really needs to be moved. You know, we got a customer in the bind. Well, I’ll get on a plane, go to California, and, you know, and everybody does their own. And you know, certain people need a certain amount of money, and I understand all that, but I don’t want to drive in between vehicles. And this is by choice. And like I said earlier, life’s all about choices. I don’t drive two or three, 400 miles in between trucks. Number one, it comes down to me. What’s my time worth?

33:30 Exactly. You know, and there again, if I could spend an extra$100, $200, whatever, or whatever the plane ticket costs, you know, to get me to the next one and get them three or four trucks done so I can get home to that lady in Franklin Parish, Louisiana. That’s what it’s all about for me. From the moment I leave, it’s all about till I see that W Louisiana sign again.

33:50 I got you. Now, do you get flight benefits because you fly so much?

33:54 Oh, yes, sir. I mean, well, just like last year, man, was it last year? I won’t tell you a lie. Last Mariss or it wasn’t this past in 2022 my wife and I flew to Fort Lauderdale Florida first time we’d ever did a 10day cruise and went to Half Moon Bay Bahamas I think it was Aruba Caro Carso something like that Panama Canal finished up in Costa Rica but flying from Louisiana to Fort Lauderdale and back cost me $44—

34:26 That’s hard to beat—

34:27 Yeah cuz because the frequent fly frequent higher miles.

34:30 Absolutely.

34:30 And you know, now I get upgrades. You know, probably I’d say seven out of the last 10 times I’ve flown I’ve got upgraded to first class and don’t have to pay for any bags. You know, you learn to work the system just like the other guy you talk to from North Carolina. He has a system that works and that works for him and that’s great. But you know, I’m a little older and he’s doing the game and that’s great and he sound like he got it down paying. If not, you know, maybe do some thinking listening to him, but I just rather get on that bird and get to the house.

35:03 I gotta you’re listening to Merl Jones here on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. Merl lives in Louisiana. Now, I got to ask you know, Louisiana is quite the state for outdoorsmen and outdoors women. I mean, a lot of sport hunting, fishing goes on there. Is that something you get into?

35:22 Yes, sir. I didn’t for years and years and years. In there. Again, I’ve been kind of a workaholic and even now when I work, I work hard, but then I’m going to the house. But, I started a few years ago. My father-in-law got me into deer hunting and I’ve killed a few. And, but I don’t kill them for fun. I mean, I do for fun. That’s not true. But I kill them to put them in my freezer, you know. And, they ain’t nothing bad. I mean, you know, now let’s understand, everybody says, “Oh, you’re from Louisiana. You’re cinjun.” No, that’s not quite right. Occasion or salary down basically south of I-10 or 190 down there. Anything north, we’re just kind of a weed over from Texas. But ain’t nothing better than some backstrap there and some gravy over a bit of rice. Yeah, we you know with a little maybe a little ochre and tomato to go along with it. Yeah, we good. Black eyed peas.

36:16 I hear you. I Merl Jones—

36:18 Talking about that makes it sound like it’s time to go to the house. You’re making me hungry now, man.

36:23 Right.

36:24 Merl Jones, tell us some great stories here. Now, you’d mentioned back in the day you took in a couple of ball games because you went through some cities right when the games were happening. Now, are you a LSU Tigers fan, Saints fan? Who gets your allegian?

36:41 Yeah. Well, of course LSU. And my wife wouldn’t talk to me if I wasn’t. We generally try to go to at least one LSU ball game a year cuz you know I’ve been to ball games all over but there’s something about the real true Dez Valley. You know yeah Clemson says they are but we were wrong before they were but yeah there’s something about a ball game there. And I have like I said we got to go to at least one LSU ball game. Now my wife is all about that. She can tell you where them boys went to college and all that kind of stuff know me. You know, I listen to it on the road or if happen to be in a motel, but yeah, like I said, she really enjoys it. So, I try to take her at least one or maybe I should say she takes me to at least one game a year—

37:23 You know, cuz it’s all about putting that smile on that lady’s face.

37:26 Now, I know what you mean about Tiger Stadium. I’ve been down there twice myself. It’s un it’s unlike any other atmosphere as far as they get loud, they get rowdy—

37:37 Right? You can go up there and watch them coming down the hill going to the thing, you know, and all that. In fact, I guess I can say this a couple years ago, you know, it’s hard to buy somebody for Christmas that have what they want or goes and gets it. So, I was blessed to have the right people in my life and I got a LSU football autograph by Coach O for my wife for Christmas.

38:00 Right. I’m sure that put a smile on her face.

38:02 Oh, of course. Of course. You know, and she can she’s a little more input than I am, but you know, LSU. Yeah, I’ll do that. And this year, I think I’m going to fly up to Cincinnati so she can see Joe Burrow and try to get him to sign that same football.

38:20 That’d be cool. They were there together Burrow and Oron there. Give me another—

38:25 Yeah, we went down there and seen them.

38:26 Give me another Go Tigers in your best at Orzeron.

38:30 Go Tigers.

38:31 That’s pretty good.

38:31 I can tell you a funny story about that, too. I was sitting in Seattle in the airport waiting for my flight and the plane come in that I was going to get on and the people were coming off and I was just sitting there doing my little thing and here come a little oriental lady you know all 4’4 of her you know 75 soaking wet she had on with a jacket but underneath her blazer I could see a LSU jersey you know shirt and I didn’t say a word and when she got right by me I did that go Tigers and she freaked out, dude. She said, ” oh, you must be in.” I said, “Yes, ma’am. Sure am.” She said, “Yeah, I can hear it in your voice in the mound.”

39:11 That’s awesome. Let’s I want to steer it back to the road here. We were kind of veering off. That’s quite all right, though.

39:18 All right.

39:18 What’s your favorite run as far as what parts of the country do you like to go to or do you do does it matter to you? Well, in the right time of the year, I like to go up in the northwest and just like couple three weeks ago, I was up there and when I woke up in Montana, it was 49 degrees and it’s 100 down here, but it was 49 up there. And during the day, it was in the 60s and I was riding down the road with my window down, my arm on the window. I told my wife I was going to deliver in Seattle and right there at Seattle and I was telling her, “Man, it’s so nice.” She said, “Well, you better enjoy it cuz I was flying home the next day.” And that’s when her uncle had passed and she said cuz there’s 110 here. So but the some of the prettiest is up there and also I mean that that drive across 90 is beautiful and all up in there but when you’re going out of Denver and you go out through the Eisenhower tunnel and when you get on out there a little ways where the interstates go on top of each other we go through that mountain is really beautiful too.

40:18 Up through the Rockies there.

40:19 Yeah. Up there on 70.

40:21 Mhm. Now, when you were talking about 90, that comes across the Dakotas that way. Is that right?

40:25 Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I’ve been to 30th up there, but I did in a truck. I didn’t go. I stopped at the Harley shop. Bought me a B of mine a Harley shirt that says Third is Harley cuz I wasn’t going up there with all them other people. I—

40:39 Got— What about places that doesn’t really blow your skirt up or a place you doesn’t that you don’t really want to go? Chicago and New York has always been my pet peeves and I don’t go unless you know she Megan said look I’m kind of in B we really need this truck to go I would figure out how to do it but in the last and I’m no rocket scientist but you know I do have a fairly intelligence and in the last few years it’s become Atlanta Georgia which I’m f to go through now because in this you know it really got on me and a lot of these new guys aren’t going to even know what I’m talking about when Barbara Walter talked about them steer wheel holders. What does she know? You know, and but think about Atlanta. When you go into Atlanta, you have to stay in the right two lanes or you get a ticket.

41:27 Mhm.

41:28 Okay. Now, here now, logic tells me if you’re in the right two lanes, you’re interacting with everybody that’s getting on and off that interstate.

41:36 True.

41:36 Therefore, the var the variables are big that something probably can happen. Now, why would it not make more sense for them to put the trucks that that are not getting off in the left two lanes so they’re not having to interact with all these people getting on trying to get home trying to get to grandma’s house or whatever what I call part-time drivers and then stay over there make them stay in the left lane or left two or three lanes and then when it’s close to their exit scoot over that way they’re not interacting with everybody but you know on that and you got to go around the bypass 285 one crew up in the evening and that’s going to add two hours to your or in the morning if you one, two hours to your trip cuz that’s the only way you can go.

42:14 Yeah, the traffic’s horrendous in Atlanta and widely known and well known. Now what’s the best major city for you where the traffic does flow nicely and you haven’t had problems in it in a major city?

42:28 Well, of course, crap is going to be at the morning and the evening. It’s going to be tough other places, but if you know what you’re doing, you know, as my dad used to say, if you’re worth your salt, you know when to and when not to. But I think Phoenix is a good spot. You know, of course, there tells how old I am. I can remember when I started going out west in ‘ 85. I tend out there. You just had to get out go down in town in Phoenix, get back up on the other side. But they have it, you know, between those highways. Albuquerque is another good place. You know, you can and they’re not major cities, but they’re not like New York or LA or whatever, but those two are pretty good. You know, you can roll right on through if you know what you’re doing. Really comes down again to choices. Like I said earlier, it’s all about choices. What I always say, it’s just another day at the office. You know, you got to line it out, right?

43:19 Gotcha. Now, speaking of choices, you’ve been doing this for 39 years. Have you had any other jobs besides driving or has this been pretty much all you’ve done?

43:29 Well, I’d say for the most part is all I’ve done. You know, I’ve done a lot of this, you know, a lot of that. Did a little welding way back when, you know, but I spent my life holding a stairwell.

43:44 That’s what that leads me to my next question. Who better to answer the question about people who may come across this podcast listening to it and then may be thinking about moving into driveaway trucking. From a KG veteran, 39 years with a steering wheel in his hands, what would your advice be to those people or what would some of your answers be to questions they may have? Well, depend on where you’re at in life, you know, as far as your family and all that, you know, and I think especially being country fellow. Well, it’s really anybody, not just country fell, you know, you always the you strive because you want your family to have a good life and most of the time you want them to have a better life than you did. But, you know, it for me it’s at the end of the day, does the end justify the means? You know what I mean? And you know, I missed a lot of like my daughter danced and all that and I didn’t get to see much of that. You know, I didn’t see a lot of softball, but you know, you’re you miss a lot of stuff with your kids and all that, but if you’re like me later on in life and your kids are grown, now you’re in the grand stage.

44:46 But you know, there who was that guy? The guy from Arkansas did a song years ago that said, “Peter, build a truck for a man to drive. It’s a pretty good living, but sometimes it ain’t no life.” Well, you know, you just have to keep in mind that trucking is a part of your life, not your whole life. You know, it takes just like military, it takes somebody when you say thank you for your service. It’s not just that one in the uniform, but it’s that spouse that’s raising them kids while they’re gone. Same here. It’s not just a truck driver. It’s the wife or the husband or whoever’s raising kids at the house while they’re gone. You know, they’re the yard mower, they’re the plumber, they’re the clothes washer, they’re everything—

45:24 Right? So you got to like I said to the end justify the means you know you got to it’s not just about you discuss it with your spouse because at the end of the day for myself it’s about I make sure my wife knows above all else second to God she’s what I value most in my life not trucks not whatever.

45:44 What would you say as far as in driveaway? What’s your favorite part of driveaway? Well, number one, you always drive something different. And number two, you don’t go into Walmart with 8:00 appointment. It takes you eight hours to get out of there. You know, you there again, it’s your choice. You know, you make you talk to your customers. And two, that’s one thing I try to do. Even though everything’s kind of planned out, I talk to my customers. Seemed like when I rolling today, I already talked to the man in Jackson, let him know about what time I’m going to be there, which as me and my wife discuss all the time, trucking thought exact size. I tell you what I think. If it doesn’t happen like that, it’s because something unforeseen happened. You know, a bad wreck, I had a blow tire, whatever. But number one, keep, you know, I keep my customers informed of what I’m doing. And you know I’ve seen and that’s why I said it’s about the attitude. You know drivers acting like they’re doing somebody a favor. No. Whoever hired us to move this truck doing us the favor.

46:45 They’re keeping our chain moving.

46:47 Absolutely. And trust me, they appreciate you take customers certainly appreciate drivers that stay in touch with them. Let them know when that ETA is winding down and when you guys will be there. They certainly appreciate that. And speaking of appreciation, Merl Jones, we appreciate you and being on the podcast with us and running for Norton Transport. Last question I had wasn’t really a question. Just wanted to leave it open to you. Anything you want to say you want to impart with us before we sign off here?

47:16 Well, I would just and I guess this is okay. I would just simply say everybody be careful out there. Do what you got to do to get home with your family. May the good Lord cover you with traveling mercies till you get home every day. Remember, it’s all about today. There’s a reason your rearview mirror is smaller than your windshield. Keep looking behind, you’re going to miss something’s out in front of you.

47:37 Merl Jones right there on the Six-Figure Trucker brought to you by Norton Transport. Merl, we certainly appreciate you and your time and the stories you’ve shared with us. They were fun to hear. Fun to hear. Merl Jones, thank you very much.

47:48 All right. You be blessed. Hey, I appreciate you.

47:53 Six-Figure Trucker is brought to you by Norton Transport. Norton Transport is a driveaway trucking company that customers can rely on. It offers excellent independent contract driving opportunities to professional, courteous, and qualified drivers that can provide the kind of service we deliver. If you’re interested in learning more about Norton or just want to subscribe to the show, check out Six-FigureTrucker.com. That’s Six-FigureTrucker.com.