JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jim Edmonson has spent the last 35 years traveling Florida's interstates in a big rig. He says the last two have been the most challenging and rewarding.
"I really enjoy it," Edmonson told First Coast News. "I really love it with a passion."
As a truck driver, there was no putting on the brakes during the pandemic.
However, recently, he's doing more idling than he'd like sitting at ports waiting for your good and services to be delivered.
"That time that I spend sitting and waiting is not going to go away," Edmonson explained. "There is a lot of frustration at the ports for that reason."
He shared a picture of a Walmart Distribution Center with more than 30 trailers waiting to be unloaded. He also kept a copy of a receipt which showed it took two weeks for a delivery of hospital beds to make it from Chicago to Orlando.
"Their docks where they unload at was full so I actually had to go to a different location at the VA and unload them in a parking lot," Edmonson described.
He's working six day weeks to make sure there are no broken or missing links in the supply chain, but says delivery times could be improved if more people consider a career as a truck driver.
It would take a load off of him if others pitched in to help.
"America needs you," he urged. "It's a great opportunity to see the world and be a part of something."