Roll on highway, roll on along
Roll on daddy till you get back home
Roll on family, roll on crew
Roll on momma like I asked you to do
And roll on eighteen-wheeler roll on
Yep, my Daddy was a Trucker!
And...Ya'll may have a hard time believeing this, but...My Mama was a Trucker, too!
It was one of those, "If you can't LickEm...JoinEm thingies!
So, Mama got her CDL (ClassADrivers License), and joined Daddy on the 'BigRig' haulin' everything from 'Swingin' Beef' to Cabbage all across the USA.
Now, being as I'm a Truckers Daughter, I know a thing or two about 'Truckers' and 18 Wheelers.
#1 All Truckers DoNot wear those 'Gimmie Caps. Ya'll know the ones...as described by Wikepedia...Really!The design of a trucker hat is similar to that of a baseball cap, with a slightly curved bill in front, joined triangular sections forming the hat, and a button on top. Instead of being made of cotton fabric like a typical baseball cap, the front section of a trucker hat above the bill is foam, and the rest is plastic mesh for breathability. The foam front of the hat stands up straight and stiff, which makes the trucker hat taller than most baseball caps. There is an adjustable plastic snap closure in the back to ensure that one size fits most.
My Daddy always, and I mean ALWAYS wore his Cowboy Hat!
All the 'Truckin' Memories' were triggered by yesterdays 'OnTheRoad Again' Trip Hi Honey and I made to Midland, Texas. It's another of those roads we travel often, so the scenery and PhotoOp is 'BeenThere DoneThat' stuff. However, this was NeatONikon's first trip down Highway 87 and shooting through the windshield proved to be entertaining as well as getting some great shots of passing trucks and the amazing Texas Sky along with a few splats of bug guts....that's a trucker term.
#2 I know you are dying to know...Yep, I have driven an 18 Wheeler with my Daddy sitting right close by to help with shifting 18 gears. It was all I could do to steer and just for the record, Officer, I only wiped out ONE Mile Marker sign.
PS...FYI...Most all 18wheelers have anywhere from 8 to18 different gears in them depending on what transmission is in the truck. When you shift gears you are moving a sliding collar on the transmission input shaft and splining it with a gear mounted on the output shaft. Since these engines don't have synchronizers in them like a car or pickup has you have to use doubleclutching to slow the gears back down in order to get the gears to mesh together for the next gear change.
See...I told ya'll I knew a thing or two about Truckers and 18 Wheelers. Thanks, Daddy!
Someday I'll tell them about your Texas Cowboy Trucker in New York City story!
