When I think back on 2020, the pandemic obviously looms large.
Sheltered in place. Schools closed. Sports seasons canceled. Paper products and food shortages, and this unshakeable feeling of "what the hell is going on?" It was a weird time.
[Related: Trucker bathroom access bill reintroduced]
I didn't hate all of it, and I suspect very few of you did either. I got to spend more time with my kids because none of us could go anywhere. We dusted off a Wii that we hadn't touched in years. My then-16 year old daughter and I re-discovered our love of Mario Kart racing and we passed that competitive fire down to my then-9 year old daughter. She preferred, however, the more simple pleasures: Super Mario Brothers on the original Nintendo.
But not all family time was quality time. We took a vacation to the beach, a roughly 3 hour and 30 minute trip from our home. We make this same drive every year and we have places we stop along the way, generally to grab a drink, get gas and/or use the bathroom. In 2020, none of that was a guarantee.
I'd planned for most of this, but I was not was prepared for what lie ahead. Fast food places had closed their dining rooms and locked their doors. Many gas stations were pay at the pump. If you could go inside, the bathrooms were most often off limits to the public. State-operated welcome centers and rest areas were closed. If you had to go to the bathroom on the road, you were – for the most part – you-know-what out of luck.
Imagine being a truck driver and facing this routinely as part of your job, pre- or post-pandemic. This isn't breaking news to most of us, but that was a new feeling for many – and it's demoralizing.
