Bless The Hands

The national flower in full bloom

The past year has been something else. The driving over the road experience was different from the previous time my husband & I drove over the road. For me, it was kind of like seeing an old friend & then remembering why I stopped talking to them. The roads were the same…road work is a constant across the country, but they never seem to finish. I loved seeing the much beloved scenery I was missing, but unfortunately ran into some personal problems I won’t go into.

Bear with me in this post. I’ve been thinking about writing this for some time now. Probably since July 2025 when this event happened. To be honest, I’m not sure how to start it.

I grew up in a semi-religious family. There was a lot of strife regarding church attendance that I’m not going to get into today. Probably never because I guard my spiritual beliefs like a binge eater guards their stash from discovery.

Saying grace before a meal wasn’t expected every time in our household. I remember it mostly from church dinners, family reunions, or when visiting more devoted relatives. One common thread in many of those pre-meal prayers was and is: “Lord, bless the
hands that prepared this meal.” Sometimes the conversation afterward would steer in the direction of just how far the blessing was to stretch; were we asking for blessings for just the cooks, or all the hands it took to even get it into the cook’s hands? I remember some prayers including the farmers, etc. Last July, I had an experience that showed me how short-sighted some of those prayers really were.

One of the hardest parts of driving over the road is the changing of time zones. Hubby and I drove on a 12hr schedule, switching at 2am and 2pm Eastern time. Ish. There’s always a chance we’d have to stop earlier, or switch at a shipper/customer, or later because of any manner of delays and conditions. On the east coast, it can be hard to find a parking spot at 2am and Hubby would either have to keep driving to the next truck stop or we’d have to switch in the fuel island. I also like to take my medications at certain times, so I’d keep my cellphone time set on Eastern. It made sense since that was the time zone we switched according to.

This thought-provoking event took place in California, so even though we were supposed to be there at 8am Pacific it was 11am Eastern. So it was mid-morning for my shift, but actual early morning as I was drawing near to the destination. There was still some lingering light fog.

I knew we were heading to some kind of berry distribution center. I didn’t think too much about it. It wasn’t the first time picking up berries in general, although it was the first time for this location. The other place I’d picked up at before had a different layout, a slightly more urban setting. The staging area for trucks wasn’t even at the warehouse, but down the road and around the block.

This place was a more rural setting. I lost count of how many strawberry fields I passed on my way. It was quite pretty. The early morning light, the thin low fog giving it an almost ethereal feel. Field after field. It was one of the few times I felt at peace with my job.

A blurry photo I took 
after pick up and
Justin took overdriving

Shortly before I made the turn for the warehouse, I noticed the field hands. They stood out in the morning light. Their clothing was colorful in a most pleasing way. They were too far for me to see details of their faces, but I could see they were darker skinned than I am. There was at least one woman, and some shorter ones that could have been youths. It struck me: it was early and here they were hard at work picking strawberries. By hand. Do you know how low strawberry plants grow? That some physically demanding work no matter how old a person is.

I remember picking tomatoes once for a local farm stand when I was growing up. I’m not sure how old I was, somewhere in my teens. I remember some of my siblings being there, and a friend from our youth group. We had no adult supervision like this group of workers did, and we probably should have been better supervised. I don’t know who threw the first tomato, but at some point – tomatoes flew. I hope they were only rotten or damaged tomatoes that we used, that’s what we told the adults who saw us when they asked about it later that day, but it’s been so long I honestly don’t know if that was the truth or if we lied to cover ourselves. I’d like to think we were being honest. Regardless, we never picked in her fields again. We were young and just being kids without supervision; I may have been the oldest, but I often rebelled at having to be the one left in charge of my siblings. We also had many things going on in our homelife that not many were aware of, and sometimes we just wanted to have fun. We weren’t always wise in our timing.

I thought about this comparison for the rest of the morning, and every time since when I see something on Facebook about Immigrants ‘taking our jobs’ and how some places are having trouble finding anyone to pick in their fields recently. Now, I know nothing about the workers I saw. I don’t know if they’re Americans, Immigrants – legal or illegal, or even Indigenous persons. The warehouse workers I interacted with had an accent that make me suspect they were of Mexican descent, no matter what their “legal” status is. And I know they were handpicking strawberries at an hour of the day I prefer being in bed. I know where those berries were heading, and it wasn’t a local farmstand. We drove those berries across states, across time zones, to an Aldi distribution center. After, I think it is safe to assume that they ended up on Adli stores shelves.

Now this might sound weird, but I’ve never once given any thought as to how strawberries end up on the grocery store shelves. I never once thought that they might have been handpicked by workers. There might be some places where they are harvested by machine, but typically the preferred method is handpicking since machines can’t tell the difference between ripe and still ripening fruit, and can also damage them. Because of this, from my brief research, strawberries picked by machines are used mostly for jams and jellies.

I was struck with deep gratitude for those workers. I love strawberries, but I would not want to pick them commercially. Maybe when I was younger, I would have been willing to but given I have one knee that is bone on bone, I’m not even sure I could physically do the job. I am grateful for the strawberry pickers who gave me a product to haul, enabling me to also have a job. I am grateful for them picking food for me to eat later.

I think some people in our country live in a bubble and do not appreciate workers of this type half as much as they should. I think they have a narrow view of the world in general. I wish they could see the world, at least the Unites States, through my perspective. I have driven or ridden through 46 or 47 of the 48 continental states (I’m not 100% sure about Rhode Island). One thing I’ve learned is we are far more alike than we are different. I could drive through a small town in Nebraska and if I didn’t know where I was at, I’d have thought I was still in Pennsylvania even though there aren’t mountains. I have seen people in all states that I would swear were related to someone I knew from back home. I’ve lost track of how many people I’ve run into in my travels that know where I’m from or someone who lives there too.

We are all connected. From the fieldhand who picks the strawberry to the warehouse workers who load the berries onto refrigerated trailers for truckers to drive to another warehouse for workers to send them to stores where yet another person shelves them for shoppers to buy. For you to buy and either eat yourself, or to prepare them for others. Perhaps in a fruit salad, or a strawberry shortcake.

A fruit salad I made at some time

We need each other. For this cycle of products, this cycle of sustenance, this cycle of survival, this cycle of life.

The next time you have a strawberry, I hope you think of the worker who picked them. I hope you are grateful for them and their hard work. You won’t know them, but they are someone of value and great worth regardless of the color of their skin or their citizenship status. Even if you’re allergic to strawberries and can’t eat them, I hope you can still be grateful for people who are an integral part of our nation.

I’m not going to lie, I’m a little afraid to share this. Immigrants, legal or not, are a hot topic right now and I worry about vitriol from both strangers and friends. I’m sure there are many pieces to this that I don’t understand, not because I’m stupid but because my education has been limited. But I stand behind what I’ve written, based on my experiences. I too have value and worth, as does my perspective.

Until next time, I bid you adieu!

©Robin Janney

Long Time No Hear!

Hello there!

Long time no hear! I'm not even going to check the date of my last post.

Okay, okay…I looked.

And – Oh my, it's been that long? And really, it hasn't even been a year since my last post. Still, I guess time flies when you're not looking.

I can't say the usual ‘time flies when you're having fun’ because it's hardly been all fun this year. Mr. Janney and I did our job switch and tried our hand at being a lease/owner operator. It wasn't an epic failure, because we learned lots. It will be a while before we try it again, for many reasons I won't address at this time.

Mt Ranier

I did get to see the Rockies again, and the St. Louis Arch. Spent a bit of time on the West Coast. California and Washington. Got a better picture of Mt. Rainier than I did the first time we did over the road work. Still not as good as the one I took of Mt. Shasta, but a decent enough picture. It was amazing to see it as I drove to that particular Shipper, especially when I realized I was getting closer than I ever had before!

We almost got to see the Pacific ocean. There was a sliver of blue through the trees that might have been the ocean, but it was a short patch, and we were going just fast enough that we really couldn't say for certain.

It was a valuable experience and had things at the end gone differently, I'd probably still be out there. Mr. Janney has a problem with following distance and the truck's cameras dinged him one too many times. He was politely invited to quit. I'm not sure I agree with how the company handled the situation, as there was some miscommunication over a previous safety ding (the company doesn’t like you exceeding their personal speed limit even if you’re still in the legally posted limit). I drove Solo for about a month or just over.

We almost lost our home. Still on the verge of losing the Nissan Rogue that was supposedly a birthday present a few years back.

Oh, and I almost died last summer.

No, I'm not being overly dramatic by saying that. Only mildly dramatic. Do I tell that story now, or make it a post of its own? It would be a little mean to mention it and not elaborate. Even though I am quite clearly still alive to tell the tale.

Well, to make a long story short, I was unable to get my weekly diabetic shot. And the longer I was off, the higher my blood sugar climbed. I may have been able to compensate by becoming stricter with my diet, but there were quite a few days where I was eating 0 carbs and my sugar wasn’t going low enough. It finally did though, and once I was able to get my medication again it all smoothed out.

However, I am in that ‘no health insurance’ place again for a little bit. The new insurance should kick in at the beginning of March, but I don’t know exactly when I’ll be able to get the shot. It’s a miracle drug as far as I’m concerned. More about that another time.

Let me know if you want the longer story and I’ll make it into a separate blog post. For now, I think I am going to sign off. I’ll edit this post, pray I get all the typos, then post. Ever since I began journaling back in January, I’ve had ideas for blogging and I’ve finally decided to make the leap. I have a literal list made up! Mr. Janney did say he wants to see me get back into writing, and journaling & blogging is a good step in that direction.

Until next time, I bid you adieu!

Robin Janney

x

No Time Like the Present

Every time I think about writing a new post, I either get distracted or discouraged. Part of me is like: why bother? Another part of me is like: why not? While these two sides of me is arguing, there is a third side sitting there eating popcorn wondering who's going to win. My internal monologue can get quite hectic sometimes.

Who am I kidding? Most of the time my internal monologue is hectic!

Today, so far, the "Why not?" side is in the lead. We'll see how long that lasts.

Thankfully, the most interesting thing that has happened to me personally recently has been a rodent getting into the electrical works of my dishwasher. Little jerk got some wires and a drainage hose. After some ado, we finally got it fixed and it's working again. It was down quite a few days though and I buggered up my bad knee by trying to wash dishes by hand. I know, it's really kind of a first world problem to be complaining about, given the state of America right now, but we all cope with this shit any way we know how. And really, pain is an equalizer for any world.

Whatever rodent is haunting the house has also been causing Pete some anxiety just by existing. I say haunting because I haven't seen the thing, I just know it's there. It also has been raiding the pantry, which is on the opposite side of the room from the dishwasher. It got a chunk of vanilla candy melt I had leftover from Christmas, and an old ramen noodle pack. I hope it chokes.

Mr. Janney and I are taking a break from driving while we switch companies. I'm trying to catch up on everything I couldn't get done while working 50 to 60 hours a week. I'm also taking time to just relax because I was burnt out. I still feel burnt out, but it's beginning to ease. I've probably picked the worst time ever to be switching jobs again, but there's no time like the present. Besides, is there ever a really good time to try something new?

I'm hoping to get out past the Mississippi River again and see the Rockies before summer's end. Fingers crossed! For now, I've got to resume the search for this years taxes. I'd like to get them paid before we take off and it might take me that long to find them. It's just a little slip of paper, but so far I've concluded it's not on my desk soooo I've got to switch my search to the kitchen table. Wish me luck!

A Little Bit of Everything and Nothing

I've decided to keep on blogging. I don't know how often I'll be posting and I'm not going to try to set any kind of schedule at this point.

And just like any other time I sit down to write anything, my mind is as blank as the screen or paper in front of me.

Am I afraid to write what I'm thinking? Afraid of judgement? Afraid I'm writing into a void? Afraid I'm not writing into a void and someone is actually there?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

I'm also tired in a way that has nothing to do with wanting to take a nap. Life is a barely bearable routine at the moment. Up too early with no way of knowing if the dispatch in my text messages is 100% accurate, and no matter where I'll be going the scenery remains the same...if I can see anything beyond the early morning darkness. And no guarantee that the work day will end before my bedtime.

I have managed to write a few poems recently, so there is that much. I'm not sure what to do with them. I haven't posted on my poetry blog in years and it seems pointless to start back up there. I've thought about compiling some into a book and publishing them, but that's as far as it's gotten.

That's enough for now.

Here's the last poem I wrote, for your reading pleasure.

Happy New Year 2025

 Here we are, almost at the beginning of another new year.

The calendar page flips and that's about all. Depending on how you view the seasons, we're either at the start of winter or in mid-winter. Regardless it's cold and often snowy here in Northeast PA.

I checked the last blog I posted and it was near the end of 2022. So two years have passed since I've given you a peak into my life. Not much has changed. I don't have a head cold like I did in that post, although I have recently gotten over a sinus infection. Those are always fun; this one lasted about two weeks.

Hubby and I are still driving truck, still local. The pay is good, the hours long, the scenery unchanging. Granted, at 3am all scenery is too dark to see! I miss seeing the Rockies though.

Pete's second favorite hobby
is napping in my lap

We did get a new dog in January of 2023. He is a little turd that we love dearly even when he is demanding that the tennis ball be thrown down the hallway, which is quite often. When we're not doing that, we're sitting in my recliner pictured to the right.

I also don't have to share the laptop anymore. We were able to get Mr. Janney his own for gaming. I'm still not used to that change in things, but here I am typing on a new keyboard he got me for Christmas seeing if I can't remember how this is done.

How does one string words together anyway?

One after another.

I have been working on poetry here and there over the past few weeks. A friend recommended that I install a voice-to-text app on my phone for when I'm driving and it has helped me get those old gears grinding again. I usually drive with my phone mounted on the dash so I can keep the map on even though I know where I'm going. The map usually gives me a few minutes notice about slowdowns ahead and accidents. It also has a setting that allows me to control whatever I am listening to, whether it is an audiobook or music. And it allows me to see who's calling in the middle of all that.

I am looking at a preview of this post and it shows font changed that shouldn't be there and it's so discouraging. Why is this so hard dear BlogSpot? Just because I added a picture?

Not going to lie, I don't know if I'm going to keep up on this blog. Not because I don't want to really. Just because I'm not sure what the point is. Of any of it right now. With all the various social medias, is this even worth doing anymore? I don't know.

I guess we'll just see what the new year brings.

Kiss and Tell?

 I'm not usually one to kiss and tell - but my husband kissed me and now I have his cold. Share and share alike I guess. Going to keep taking time off to rest.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving tomorrow.

Short and Sweet

Just a short post today.

I took my mom out this afternoon. Picked up the fudge I ordered from a friend through Facebook, then we picked up our Walmart orders. After fueling the car up, I swung into Dunkin's for hot coco and a donut (maybe 2). Then got us both home before it started snowing.

Now I have to go get back to laundry. Yay.