Crazy Things This Truckers Wife Has Done
The Things We Do For Love (or out of stupidity)
You must understand we were still newlyweds at the time, and the thought of Terry being gone for the weekend was devastating to me, so when dispatch called at 7:30 Friday night, I burst into tears. The company he was with at the time did not have a rider program, so my going along was out of the question. Or was it?
My car at the time was in decent shape, so the solution was obvious (?)! I would follow him. Now I was a city girl, I hadn’t driven until I was 25, and had never used a CB in my life. Of course he had his monster CB for the truck, and I had this little “emergency radio” that plugged into the cigarette lighter. He tought me all the signals, how to flash my lights, how to ride in the center of a bunch of trucks, all that good stuff. We headed off to Louisiana.
I was afraid I would sound foolish on the CB, so we rode in silence most of the way. I was not prepared for what life on the road was like. In the course of the next two days, I watched in awe as Terry backed that truck into alleys I was afraid to back into with my car! I watched him manhandle refrigerators and rolls of carpet off the truck unassisted at 2 in the morning.
We went to one little store deep in the bayou where the only person there was a little old man who had to be 100 who insisted on helping unload. It reminded me of a Tim Conway sketch from the old Carol Burnette show. I finally got so frustrated I got out of the car and helped unload myself.
It was on this trip that I realized how hard life is for a trucker. It is a trip I am glad I made.
I eventually loosened up and spoke on the CB. When the other truckers realized I was tagging along behind Terry they made sure I didn’t get cut off and didn’t get lost. I felt like I had guardian angels all around me! I even got to ride in a real live convoy!
Today I sit at home with the 3 children. The days of me traveling with him have been put on hold for a while. He has long since moved on to other companies, and the one he is with now does allow family to ride, so when the time comes I can actually ride with him instead of behind, but that time is in the future. Or is it?!
He called me at work and asked if I would like to meet him later that night in Conroe TX, which is just north of Houston. It was only a five hour trip, so I figured why not? We made arrangements to meet around midnight at a motel off the interstate. I figured if I left around 6:00 I could get there and get checked in in plenty of time. Perfect plan. What could possibly go wrong?
Around 5:30 I threw some things in the car and headed up the street to the convenience store on the corner. I had to have supplies for the trip. I couldn't possibly make that trip without a stash of candy bars! As I surveyed the candy rack, I heard a crash. I looked up to see a car heading through the plate glass window and headed straight towards me! I remember not being able to stop screaming.
I was shook up. I mean really shook up. My legs were barely holding me up and my hands wouldn't be still. Now I had a problem. There was no way to reach Terry. I had to make the trip. I got in the car and headed south. I must have driven 10 miles under the speed limit the entire way. I couldn't stop crying. I wanted to just pull over and say the heck with the whole thing.
I finally reached Conroe and found the motel. By now it was after midnight. Terry hadn't checked in yet. Now I was sure I was in the wrong place. You see, at the time I had only been with him a couple of years, and still thought when he gave me a time it was regular peoples time. I now have learned that truckers run on a time clock all their own. I checked in anyway and spent the next two hours running out to the street every time a truck pulled in. (This was a regular stop for a lot of truckers) I got a lot of strange looks, and it took a while for me to realize that they must have thought I was a "working" girl. Never mind the fact that I was obviously pregnant.
Terry finally arrived some time after 2 AM. I collapsed into tears when I finally recognized his truck pulling into the lot. When I tried to tell him what happened, I got hysterical and started laughing so hard he thought it was no big deal. It wasn't until after we got home and he spoke to the store manager that he realized what had actually happened and how hard it had been for me to make that trip.
Our daughter was born in November of that year. She was absolutely beautiful. Of course there were all the jokes about her coming out looking like a car after what happened.
A Day in the Life of This Truckers Wife
Gifts My Husband Has Brought Me
A Truckers Wife's Guide to Home Repair and Maintenance
Poems I Have Written for My Trucker Husband
© 1997 hlofawmn@aol.com
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