A lot of “stuff” going on. That Walcott “jamboree” I wrote about is in full swing. The “truckageddon” out in Los Angeles on the 405 is about to commence and “our” politicians are still arguing (debating?) over how to handle the deficit. Last night, sadly, my wife and I had to put our 17 year old Terri-poo asleep. It’s strange without him around. I think I keep seeing him. Our other dog is a terrible blue funk. Henry, you are so missed – rest in peace.
I met a former truck driver who just came in from the cold, I mean, in from the road and does not intend to go back. We talked in the manly-man barbershop I go to for a trim. Not that it matters, but the guy is huge – well over 6 feet and probably pushing 400+ pounds. Obviously, looking at him, I’m concerned about his health. He was huffing and puffing pretty good in that tight barber chair.
So the deal is that he was an owner operator hauling juice (reefer) out of Florida to places in and around Iowa – then hauling frozen beef back. He did this for the longest time and was “home” often. At the same time, he was taking care, so to speak, of an elderly woman, whose family never visited her. He would go shopping for her, prepare meals in advance and make sure her laundry was up to date and her apartment clean. This driver, long since divorced, has no family of his own, so this “relationship” was a practical fit.
She had daughters that every so often would “show up” at her door, trying to “squeeze” money out of her. One of them is in prison up in Tennessee for trying to cash some of her checks that the daughter stole. The rest of the family sounds equally as sleazy and any contact basically has broken down to a phone call or holiday card here and there. The old woman has her social security and whatever money was left to her by her husband of 50 years. But, as with many of us, things were tight.
Well, this driver was OTR when got the call that his “friend” had passed. He was on his way back to Florida to make the funeral arrangements. He gave all her clothes and furniture away to the Salvation Army, boxed up a few of her personal things and got back to work. He tried calling her family, but they didn’t care. 6-8 weeks passed. He got the call from a lawyer in the afternoon when he was unloading. Apparently, there was a small will. He was asked, if, when he was back in town, to please stop by the office so “matters” could be settled, as her “real” family was not mentioned.
The driver put it out of his mind and got down the the business of trucking. He made several trips back and forth between Tampa Bay and his various stops in Iowa, almost forgetting about the lawyer entirely. He was just glad he had helped the woman in her last remaining years and she died in peace. In fact, it wasn’t far from this same barber shop, when the driver, on his home-time, got another call from the lawyer to please stop by his office. This was the Thursday prior to the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
It was only a few miles to the office. The air conditioning in his old pick-up quit long ago and he was glad to get out of the sun for a while. The lawyer introduced himself and directed the driver into his large office. Both of them, it turns out, were Florida "home-boy’s” born and raised in the Sunshine State and Gators through and through. He wasn’t that far off from retirement and was almost as large as the driver. Both spoke the “language” and to an outsider listening in on the conversation, they wouldn’t have understood a word.
With the small talk and “cordialities” over – they could have talked about the tarpon over bourbon for hours – the lawyer took out the old tattered and stained will. He put on his reading glasses and told the driver that this elderly woman was so appreciative of his help, support and kindness over the years. What he read was more of a letter to a friend than a last will and testament. That’s what this was all about. The lawyer stood up and shook the hand of the driver and thanked him for stopping by.
But there was also a check attached to the document by an old paper clip. It was certified and made out to the driver. The lawyer said that he’d almost forgotten about it and apologized. It had been a long day and he was just about to leave on vacation for the long weekend. The driver signed a receipt and was handed the check – in the amount of $475,000.
So, I asked, is that you’re new Cadillac out front? Sure is, the driver replied, I just picked it up. His last day OTR was July 4th. He moved into his new condo at a place called “Top Of The World” on the other side of town. Do you miss the road, I asked. Not a bit, said he, not a bit.
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