Tag Archives: truckers

10/28/21

This Trucker Learned a Lesson That Stuck

This Trucker Learned:

 “There Are Far Worse Things Than Going to School”

He was only 17. They’d thrown him out of school for his accidental burning of the woods right next to the school. Oh, he didn’t mean it. He’d just ducked out a side door of the school to sneak a smoke break with his buddy, Joe Grover. When he finished the butt, he flicked it off. It landed on dry kindling. That’s how the fire in the woods started.

The worst part? The school (Joe T. Robinson in Little Rock, Arkansas) was named in honor of a relative. Now, he’d dishonored the family.

At first, he thought “Being thrown out isn’t so bad. I’ll get a job and earn some money.”

And so, the next day he started working for a roofing company. The boss had him high up, on a hot roof, in 120 degree heat of a summer day. His job? Spreading the hot tar that made the roof shingles stick. He was breathing in the fumes and sweating so much he thought he’d pass out.

“Argh…Ugh…Phewie…” he said, all day long, pushing the long broom handle up on the roof, moving the black resin, to even it out.

The tar stuck to his fingers and clothes. Try as he might, he couldn’t remove it.

When some days were too hot to work, the crew went up on the roof at night, to work under spotlights.

It was dangerous, sticky work.

He realized only later that his roofing job was much harder than any school day.

***This trucker, Paul Wesley Gates, would go back to school, years later, and earn his GED and an Associates Degree in college. But he had to learn the hard way.

***To buy “Grandpa and the Truck” books for kids, go to colleenkellymellor.com (an Amazon  link is provided).

 **To get future posts on “Grandpa and the Truck,” please sign on  to this website.

03/21/21

 How We Began Writing the Grandpa and the Truck Stories

Well, you can blame our becoming storytellers about big rig drivers on our youngest (at the time) grandchild—Finn, who was 4 or 5. We’d given him a toy big rig and he was on the floor, pushing the truck, making it appear as if someone was driving it. Suddenly, he held up his hand, holding an imaginary CB and began talking to other truckers who might be up ahead on the imaginary highway, saying: “Breaker…breaker..19…Any smokies up ahead, on the superslab?”

He was asking if any “smokies” (police) were on the “superslab” (highway) which suggests his trucker might have been going a tad faster than he was supposed to.

Hearing him told me that my youngest grandchild had listened to the stories I’d told him of Grandpa’s truck-driving years and he’d even memorized some of the special language truckers use when talking to each other.

In that moment, I decided to write my husband’s more remarkable adventures: being caught on an ice-slicked Maine steep incline with another big rig hurtling down at him, one whose trailer had swung sideways, threatening to take out Grandpa’s big rig…and Grandpa. Or the time Grandpa felt Jesus was his co-pilot, when he miraculously awoke to find his big rig had taken an exit, crossed through a busy intersection and climbed an entrance ramp, all, safely, and before he knew what happened. Then there was the time he was caught up in the Woodstock craziness, when approximately 400,000 converged on a dairy farm in upstate New York, to hear their favorite singers. He was stuck there for 3 days, unable to move, due to traffic congestion. What’d he do to pass the time? Helped another trucker buddy give away his cargo of watermelons, in a Biblical loaves and fishes kind of way.

Or the West Virginia story, when he climbed a mountain road in coal mining territory, a road that got increasingly more narrow. He had to think fast that time, to enable a unique delivery.

In our stories, I’ve written about truckers’ passion for their trucks…how they pretty them up, give them names, etc.

I allow Grandpa’s readers to see the vast country of America through the eyes of a long-haul trucker who traveled every single state, but one (do you know which one state you can’t drive a big rig to?), in his big rig. Geography figures big in our stories.

Each story has a moral or lesson that’s important for little ones, one borne out by our trucker’s experience. We weave together nature (ice storms, hurricanes), historical events, geography (no GPS here!).

Finally, Grandpa is a patriot; he loves America; he even served many years in the Navy and Army National Guard, protecting our land, while still trucking. He used his considerable trucking skills in other lands, too, building airports, schools, hospitals, because a trucker is never “just a trucker.”

So, we invite you and your little ones to begin the journey with 2 of our first Grandpa and the Truck stories (Book 1 and 2). They’re on the Amazon website, along with reviews.

“Breaker…breaker…1-9. Come along on our journey through America.”

Buy Book 1

Buy Book 2

 

10/13/20

How We Began Writing Trucker Stories for Kids

Nobody had one it (before us)!  But didn’t start out, telling these trucker stories. They grew out of my grandsons’ fascination with their Grandpa’s trucker lifestyle. When I (their grandmother) noted their reaction, I began to write his stories. They’re about his trucker adventures as he rode the highways of America for 30 years, in every state but Hawaii. So, get the word out for friends–all of you who’ve signed on for updates and any new who wish to hear the exciting tales. We had a little bump in the road (my health), but like good truckers everywhere, we’ve fixed the engine and we’re up and running again. B

So, buckle up–It’s about to get exciting.

(Picture above is of our youngest of 5 grandsons, little Seamus O’Connell.)

 

10/3/20

Grandpa and the Truck Rap…..

 boysThree little kids (2 boys…one girl), with crazy hats?, colorful sunglasses (on one?), leaning against trees in their backyard, or on a playground, rap to following: They ham it up, putting on “surprise” face (“was surprised”) or make steering motions for line “That he manned the big rigs.” Imagine their other effects, too, as they rap to the following…..

 

Asked Grampy what he did

For his money-earning  gig

Was surprised when he told us

That he manned the big rigs.

 

In his truck, “Proud Mary”

Sitting high on his seat,

Went to every state but one…

Oh, that job was sweet….

 

****(Cut away to one boy saying)………”Except for when it wasn’t”

 

Saw a 6-car pileup

Off a California highway

Following  a “smokie”

On a super-foggy day

 

Partner Ralph found out

Just how dangerous it can get

In the foothills of Virginia

When bloodhounds aren’t pets.

 

In Biloxi, Mississippi

Grandpa stopped for shrimp ‘n grits

But his motel lost its roof

When the hurr-i-cane hit.

 

Rhody’s “Girl Truckers” proves

Men and women are the same

They should do the jobs they want to

Never ones based on their names.

 

Soon… Grandpa will tell

Of the time he got stuck

On a New York State highway

Two whole days in his truck

 

(One child says:  “They called it ‘Woodstock.’ “)

 

Then, there’s West Virginia

When he climbed that mountain road

In coal-mining region

With a full household load.

 

(Little girl says:  “To bring a little girl her toys.”)

 

His stories teach geography

In a way that’s really cool

They tell us other things, too…

Not always taught in school…

 

Grammy says they’re ‘wholesome’ (Other little boy shrugs “What’s that?”)

Their lessons are a must…

They’re all “Made in America”…(Pause)

In a way… they’re just like us.

____________________

To buy these exciting stories (2 to a book), go to links above…and Thank you! 

 

12/3/18

A Podcast for Children’s Trucker Stories

Children’s Grandpa and the Truck, books 1 and 2 glorify a trucker’s interesting life, as he goes about his job of transporting goods across the United States. You see, our trucker/hero went to EVERY SINGLE STATE except one (do you know which one a trucker and his big rig can’t travel to?)

He became a trucker because he hated his first job. At 18 years of age, he was a roofer in Arkansas, smearing hot tar on roofs in punishing 120 degree heat. So, when he got the chance to drive the conveyor truck (it carried the products of shingles, tar, nails, brushes to the site), he jumped at it. What’d he learn? He was a natural trucker.

Now, as a long-haul trucker, a person learns a lot about our country–its geography…the cities..the rural areas…the different accents people have…their customs. He recognized America’s mighty rivers..the mountain ranges, the oceans. He learned about climate with ice-slicked roads..impenetrable fog…floods…hurricanes…tornadoes.

Sometimes he witnessed events that become historically important (the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969) when thousands of young people arrived at a dairy farm in upstate New York and stayed 3 days!! (I’ll bet you didn’t know New York had farms?) I’ll bet you didn’t even know the town where it happened wasn’t really Woodstock but its neighboring town of Bethel, New York? (Don’t feel bad–nobody knows that.)

Yep, truckers see things no one else does because they are on America’s highways, traveling everywhere.

And they form clubs of sorts…groups of fellow truckers, the men and women who do this tough job everyday of bringing to us every single product that we use (Look around your house and realize that the couch…the chair…the lamp…your computer..your clothes..your medicines…your food…everything was brought in by truckers.) Truckers have a very unique lifestyle, talking to each other on their CB radios, visiting Truck Stops where they refuel, wash their trucks, do laundry, rent a bed, play games, socialize.

I’m going to tell you all about this fascinating lifestyle, so that when a big rig passes you by, you’ll understand how unique truckers are. When you hear the airhorn or the jake brake, you’ll know an 18-wheeler is nearby. You’ll learn about their on-the-road home–the cab or tractor that pulls the trailer.  Some cabs have inground swimming pools in them (I’m kidding!!) But they are pretty fancy!

You’ll hear of the great danger these men and women sometimes face, whether from nature or an even more threatening force–human beings–the crazy drivers out there who whip in and out of lanes or slam on their brakes last minute and expect a heavy 18-wheeler, fully loaded can stop on a dime!!!

You’ll hear their special language–at least the words I CAN share with you. Trucker lingo. You’ll hear their greatest fears. And the things they love best about this crazy job.

Finally you’ll learn that even if you hate math, you need to learn some of it to do their job because truckers use math skills every single day, on their jobs. I’ll explain how.

But our journey will be fun.

P.S. Our trucker’s nickname (truckers like to give each other those, too) is “Gater” because his last name was Gates. That’s “Gater” in the cartoon illustration and the real “Gater,” here, with a big rig. He nicknamed his truck, too (I’ll be telling you that, too.)…Stay tuned. The oral stories begin soon, when we finally give truckers the credit they deserve.

When ordering our books, make sure to mention you wish me to personalize to the child and sign them as author in the “Special instructions” section. I hope you’re on board for this exciting journey. Sign on so you don’t miss any of these stories……