08/19/24

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.

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

 

05/18/12

“Grandpa and the Truck” Stories for Kids: A Tribute to the American Trucker

 

For latest updates to how we’re doing as we get the word out about Grandpa and the Truck Stories, scroll down.  It’s there, I give running updates…

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Truckers are key to the American Success Story. How?  They transport every product we use in our daily lives.

The “Grandpa and the Truck” stories focus on the career experiences of one of them.  Written for kids ages 4-8, they show what truckers deal with via Mother Nature, crazy drivers, and tough road conditions.

They teach important life lessons as well.

The stories are based on the career of veteran, long-haul trucker Paul Wesley Gates, one of Atlas Van Lines’s “Elite Fleet” of drivers who logged millions of miles without accident.

He drove the big rigs for 30 years, clear across America, from Canada in the north, to the Gulf region in the south, and from his home port of Rhode Island on the east coast, to Washington State, in the west.

And in that job, he became expert at many things: how to run a business…how to interact with people..how to deal with emergencies. He met extraordinary folks and faced almost-insurmountable tasks.

But he is forever grateful for a job that taught him much about life and exposed him to the wonder of America with its diversity, amazing geography, and the goodness of its people.

His stories are from the perspective of “Grandpa,” and they’re the tales he told me.  Then, I told them to our 3 grandchildren.

But make no mistake:  Grandpa’s tales are the stories of all truckers as they go about their business every day—moving America.

For that reason, Grandpa’s stories are a tribute to them all.

Colleen Kelly Mellor (author of “Grandpa and the Truck” Stories and wife to this trucker)