July 31, 2010
The other day we stopped at a TA truck stop for dinner. As I was gazing out of the windows of the restaurant I noticed that a semi was parked in front across the car parking area. There was a large group of people with handmade banners, balloons and hats, and gave the impression that there was some kind of celebration going on. I also noticed that in the restaurant there was an area cordoned off with balloons and banners and the look of festivities ahead.
Back to the crowd my inquiring eyes went, and a van from a care center had pulled up. There was someone sitting in the cab of the truck that seemed to be the focus of attention. There was cheering and hugging, which seems to be a natural output of celebrations, and then it looked like they were trying to get the passenger out of the cab of the truck.
Of course, I didn’t go up to anyone and ask them what was going on, so I used my best imagination as the crowd moved en-masse into the restaurant. There in the middle of the group was ushered a wheelchair whose occupant was a very old woman, donned with a baseball cap with a truck logo on the brim. Right behind her was a young girl holding a die cast model of a semi truck wrapped in blue ribbon.
This is how I saw it: She was probably a resident of the care center. It was her birthday. Maybe she was turning 80 or 90. Maybe even 100. She looked pretty old. Like a lot of old people, (I know this because I’m looking at the downside of the hill) they think about what last thing they would like to do before they leave this earth. Maybe it’s going sky diving, or maybe it’s, “I’ve always wanted to ride in a big truck.”
I know, that doesn’t seem like a very exciting thing for some, but maybe it was for her. Maybe her husband used to drive a truck and she missed those days, or maybe it was just something she always wanted to do. And today was the day.
If that was what happened, I wonder if she liked it. She did seem a bit frazzled. I know that the first time I crawled on one, it was very intimidating.
I thought about the simplicity of it, and how the awesomeness of the early days of driving one of these big rigs has long gone. It’s a job and it’s an oversized car, and most of the time there’s nothing real special about it. To think that someone would want to take a ride in a big truck for their birthday seemed kind of neat.
Now, I know that when I turn 90, going for a ride in a semi will not be on my list, but I can tell you that going sky diving won’t be either.