A Monthly Column written by Kelly Livingstone, founder of atruckerswife.com, and
published in Truck News Magazine. Do NOT copy without permission.
October 2005
Dear Kelly,
I was so blessed today. I decided to go into the city a little late in the day.
I needed some things and had some other errands to run. We live in a little town
and the city is about 45 miles away.
I had just gotten passed a ramp, it started to pour. When I went to turn on my
wipers, nothing!! I panicked, I have five children in the van, and knowing rain
in Missouri as I do, it would be a long time before it stopped. When I just
about couldn’t see, I pulled over on the side of the highway. I am too far away
from the next exit to do anything else. I tried a few things, and it doesn't
move the wipers, but I can tell that the motor is still running, as it is
clicking, and my son said the parts at the bottom were spinning. I had first
called my husband who is trucking, about what I might be able to do. He has no
clue, even though he is very mechanically inclined.
It finally stops raining, so I have my son manually move the wipers, hop in and
off we go. I have 2 miles until the next exit. It starts raining lightly again,
but I am fortunate enough to get there with no problems. It is a truck stop just
off the highway. I figure there should be someone there that can help a very
pregnant woman with five small children since I had no clue what to do about it.
I ask a cashier what I could do. She points me in the direction of four diesel
mechanics. I told them what had happened, that I lived far away, and didn't know
how long it might rain. One gentleman says that he would help me out since he
didn't have to go anywhere until morning, and he can't stand the idea of a woman
being stranded with small children. He and one other gentleman say they will
take a look. I am assuming that the mechanics were working on their trucks, as
they mentioned that other one had a broken fuel pump. Yet, these gentlemen were
going to help me.
So, we go out to the van, it stops raining after a little bit. One of the
gentlemen bought washers, because they didn't have the right part and rigged it
up so that the wipers would work. It took and hour and a half, but they fixed it
to work for good. The gentleman, who said he would wait, had also bought me some
Rainex, in case I had the problem again. They were such nice men. I asked them
if I could give them anything for the parts, and they said no. I asked them
their names, at least, so I knew them. If I can remember right (my pregnant
brain isn't very good) they are Joe, John, Steve, and Carl.
Another thing too, is that we didn't have any cash, or even change, and the
children were getting very thirsty. I went in with them to look for a water
fountain. The cashier said to take their TA cups to the Popeye's to get ice and
water. I said, "I don't have any change", and she said that was okay, it was
free. I know that is a rare thing in most gas stations in this day and age. I
was sooo thankful!!
So, if any of your husbands were at the TA in Oak Grove, Missouri on Hwy 70 on
Sept 19, 2005(my husband's 33rd birthday), and helped a young desperate pregnant
woman with five children, while her husband was away and new to trucking, PLEASE
tell them how grateful she is to have 'Angels in Trucker's Clothing' come to her
rescue!! A VERY grateful mother of five!
Dear A VERY grateful mother of five,
Thank you so much for sharing this story with us. I love to hear about how
amazing our truckers can be.
Thank you men, for helping out our fellow trucker’s wife.
Kelly
Dear Kelly,
What do you suggest, cell phones or toll free? Right now we are using calling
cards, but I think it may be better to do something else. Phone challenged
Dear Phone challenged,
We have used cell phones and toll free. Toll free works well for us and can be
much cheaper. His company can get a message to him in the truck in case of an
emergency. A lot of families I know use the cell phone as it is more convenient
and also comforting in case you need to get a hold of him or just want to talk.
I think it is a personal choice. I would talk it over with my husband and see
what you both would be comfortable with. You can try a toll free number for a
while and if it doesn’t work for you, consider the cell phone.
Kelly
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