Let's Thank Our Truckers

When my boyfriend and I met he wasn’t going out on the road. Instead, he was focusing on the profession for which he put himself through school many years ago. He paid for his schooling by driving a truck at night.

When I learned this about him I was amazed. I thought, “This guy went to school during the day and then drove a truck at night to make a living and pay for his education? Wow.” My admiration for him grew.

Over a year after he and I met he decided to start going back out on the road. He missed driving a truck. I heard a lot of his stories about the days he drove. I could tell from these stories that being a trucker was something he enjoyed. He has a lot of great stories – enough to keep this blog going for years. :-)

I was supportive. I knew I’d miss him when he was gone. But, what I didn’t know was how well he’d stay in touch with me while he was on the road. He calls me often. We exchange text messages. He sends me photos of things he sees while he’s on the road.

It’s very nice how he stays in communication with me when he’s gone. I tell him how much I appreciate that he does. I try and focus on making our conversations pleasant for him. I figure, “He likes driving and being on the road. So, why not add to his enjoyment with nice phone conversations?” Beside, I also figure he’s more likely to keep calling me if the experience is nice when he does.

I went out on the road with my boyfriend for 15 days recently. I’ll be posting a little bit about each day of the trip over the next few weeks. But, before I do, I want to share a few photos my boyfriend took and sent to me the other day when he was on the road. So, keep in mind that he sent these two photos to me after he and I returned from being on the road together:

Wow! When I saw these photos I didn’t know what to think. I wasn’t even sure what I was looking at, except a truck that was obviously smashed. I couldn’t tell which end was the front and which end was the rear. Sure, a lot of the disorientation has to do with my ignorance about trucks – well, tractors in this case – but, no one can discount the magnitude of what must have happened to cause a huge tractor like this one to be demolished.

When my boyfriend returned home and we had a chance to look at the photos together, I asked him to clarify for me what I was seeing. When he explained to me how the front of the tractor was pushed back, exposing the engine, I just couldn’t believe it. He pointed out that the chances of the driver having survived the accident were probably slim.

Then it hit me. Ugh. Driving a truck can be dangerous. Many of us have heard about the recent Wal-Mart driver incident.

But, I also realized that I was glad I had spent 15 days on the road with my boyfriend before I saw these photos.

Why?

Because, I saw many actions that my boyfriend took while driving that were safety-oriented. I witnessed many precautions he took in the name of being safe. He is not reckless at all. I felt safe in the truck while my boyfriend was driving. My respect for him increased while I watched him working, in his element, making sound decisions, being professional about his work on the road.

While I was on the road with him, I saw many truckers driving safely. It’s a demanding, tough job. It’ a job that keeps our commerce going. It’s a job that takes truckers away from their families for long periods of time.
It’s also a job that, at times, our truckers are at risk, no matter how conscientious they are in terms of what they are doing while on the road.

So, let’s all thank our truckers for all that they do and the sacrifices they make.

Words Are Important

I know I can speak for my boyfriend when I say (well, write, in this case) that neither he not I want to upset anyone or rub anyone the wrong way.

It’s just that my boyfriend has an excellent command of the English language. Because he does, my boyfriend tends to read billboards and signs differently compared to most people I know. As a result, I look at things differently. He opens my eyes a bit more – and even makes me laugh.

So, please don’t get offended by what I’m about to write because I suspect I might ruffle some feathers.

I’ll further buffer what I’m about to write with how my boyfriend and I both completely understand how a lot of people (for example: my mom, brother and sisters) regard their pets as members of their family. This post is not intended, in any way, to discount this.

This post is about how the meaning of words is important. Language is important. How we say words, the way we write words, the words we use – it’s all communication and it’s important. Okay, I’m a writer. Of course I think words are important.

But, my boyfriend is not a writer and he is even more adamant about how important words are, especially the meaning of words. It’s not just my boyfriend who makes this stand. I know a lot of people who are not writers who consider how people use words to be important.

In this spirit …

My boyfriend is on the road. I was talking to him on the phone the other day.

He said, “I read a billboard this morning with ‘Dogs are children too’ written on it.”
I started laughing. “Really? I asked.
“Yes,” he replied.

Dog lovers out there no offense. But, this is too much of a stretch.

By definition a child is:
a person between birth and full growth;
a boy or girl;
a human fetus;
a baby or infant;
a son or daughter.

My boyfriend continued.

”You wouldn’t say to someone ‘I’d like you to meet my daughter’ and then bring out your dog …”

Okay, I started laughing again.

Seriously, though, is it okay to point out how such a statement diminishes our language and what we’re communicating about to one another?

I think it is. That’s why I am making this post at the risk of possibly upsetting people.

Then my boyfriend said something that really hit home.

“The relationship a person has with his child is a very special relationship.”

I thought, “Oh. This is important to him.”

My boyfriend has two daughters.
He’s a great Dad. It’s one of the many things I love about him.
He takes his role as a father seriously.
I’d say that, for him, his relationships with his daughters are the most important relationships he has.

Truckers and Robo Calls

My boyfriend receives what he calls ‘robo calls’ every day. When he’s home, he ignores these calls. However, when he’s on the road, rather than complain about the telemarketing calls he gets, he has a little bit of fun with them.

I spoke with him today.

“My daily robo call came in this morning,” he told me.
“Really? How did that go?” I asked.
“Well, since I had the time, I talked to the guy for a while.”
“You did? That’s so nice of you.”
“I don’t know about that,” he chuckled. “I could really only understand about two thirds of what he was saying because his accent was so thick. You know me, if I can’t understand the person on the other end of the phone, instead of getting annoyed and frustrated, I prefer to talk another time.”
“Yes, I know,” I said, smiling.
“But, I knew I’d be driving for another 5 hours and it didn’t matter if I understood him or not. So, I decided to go with the call and see what happened.”
“What happened?” I asked. I knew this was going to funny.
“Ha, when he asked me where I lived I gave him the address 12554 5th Ave.”
“A fake address,” I commented.
“Well, yeah. The guy asked me how to spell ‘fifth’ and I told him ‘like the number five.”
I laughed.
“Then he asked me if I owned the place. I said ‘no.’

The robo call guy said, “In order to be eligible for this promotion you have to be a homeowner.”
“Oh. Well, I own a house at another address. My girlfriend pays the utilities at the 5th Ave address. My wife lives in the house and I pay for the utilities.”
“Okay, then. You’re eligible. When can we set-up an appointment to have one of our representative meet with you?”
“Any night of the week after 7:30.”
“How about Friday at 7:00pm.”
“No. Any night after 7:30pm because that’s when I’ll kick my wife out of the house for awhile.”

At this point I’m laughing so hard my ribs are starting to ache. Not only does my boyfriend not live in a place on 5th Ave, but he surely wouldn’t be kicking his wife out of the house in which she lived simply so he could meet with someone he heard about from a telemarketing call!

The called continued.

“You’re wife has to be present when you meet with the representative.”
“No, she doesn’t. I don’t want her there. Oh, I’m getting another call. Can you hold?”
“Yes.”

At which point my boyfriend told me, “It was you calling and so here we are.”