The Sleep Blogger
The truck driver, his cargo and a punchline
The Sleep Blogger loves his job, profoundly and sincerely. Why? Because occasionally he reads two news articles back to back, and understands that there is a certain unmistakable order in the universe. Today was one of those days.
The first thing he read was an article from ABC News on a study that sought to determine whether caffeine can actually perk you up. The article started this way:
We’ve long known that sleep-deprived workers can be a hazard to themselves and to productive work days. Many nodding off at the job consistently reach for a popular solution — a cup of coffee, or perhaps an energy drink.
Remember that last sentence as we move on. The very next story the Sleep Blogger read was about a Canadian truck driver who came to the attention of police in Wisconsin after driving erratically through the rural countryside. When officers finally succeeded in stopping the truck, the driver had difficulty communicating and was uncooperative. The policemen eventually figured out the problem, according to the Associated Press:
[The driver] said he had driven 16 straight hours to get to Minnesota and had left that state Thursday for Canada.
He got gas in Oakdale, about 50 miles west of the Minnesota border, then got on the wrong road. He said he thought he was going east but was confused when detectives told him he was going west.
You guessed it: He was sleep-deprived and befuddled. The driver obviously could have used a pick-me-up.
There’s more. The driver’s behavior was so bizarre that police feared he may have been harboring explosives in the truck, so they searched the vehicle. What did they discover?
Wait for it. Wait for it. Wait for it …
They found only pallets of energy drinks in the trailer.
(Rimshot) Hey, you’ve been a great crowd. We’re here twice-weekly, and remember to tip your servers. Uh, bloggers.