THE ROCKIN’ CHAIR
BY TRUCKER/POET/ARTIST TREVOR HARDWICK
Once in a while we, as drivers, find ourselves running in a pack of other trucks rolling down the interstate. Many times it is unintentional. But, there are times when two or three guys will hook up and run together to help pass some time. Eventually, one or two more at a time will join in and before long you’ve formed a “convoy” while running down the road. With a group of professionals, this proves to be no big deal. But sometimes it can provoke some drivers to “pick up the pace” and exceed the speed limit with a false sense of security. The theory is that there is safety in numbers, and with everyone looking out for each other, you’re less likely to get caught speeding.
The driver at the front of the line is called the “front door” and the driver at the back is the “back door.” The trucks in the middle are said to be “riding in the rockin’ chair.” The rockin’ chair is considered the easy position because you have drivers in front of and behind you, watching out for speed traps or other hazards you may encounter. The poem I wrote here is a humorous play on words placing a little old lady in the rockin’ chair – but she is not in the one in her living room at home. I hope you enjoy the surrealism.
This month I have also included a drawing I did for this poem. Some of you may already know that I have a hobby of painting portraits of trucks. This one is not a painting, it is just a simple sketch that I did to accompany this month’s poem, but it’s cute anyway. I chose a pink Mack to put the old lady in as a reference to the old song “Little Pink Mack” by Kay Adams. If you would be interested in having me do a painting or a drawing of your truck, give me a call at (425) 870-7587 and we can discuss it. And if you want to submit a poem that you have written, feel free to do so. You can send your trucking-related poems and/or drawings to 10-4 Magazine via editor@tenfourmagazine.com or faxing to (714) 962-8506.
“LITTLE OLD LADY IN THE ROCKIN’ CHAIR”
By Trevor Hardwick
I was chasin’ sun runnin’ in the Texas heat,
Runnin’ front door in my tricked-out Pete.
My speedo-needle bouncin’ off of 103,
With my super shiny-hiney I was lookin’ sweet.
We were five alive and flyin’ like a phantom jet,
When the back door hollered somethin’ that I won’t forget.
He said, “You got one comin’ atcha’ and it ain’t no bear,
It’s a little old lady in the rockin’ chair!”
A little old lady in the rockin’ chair?
Is she sittin’ knittin’ mittins with her kittens there?
I chuckled on the C.B. and he came right back,
“No, she’s mashin’ on the motor of a twin-stack Mack!”
I looked up in the mirror and sure enough, right there,
Was a little old lady in the rockin’ chair!
With her silver hair shinin’ like her chicken truck,
Maybe she’s just runnin’ with her throttle stuck.
Well, I tried to keep her back behind my “suped-up” Pete,
But her Superliner Mack was pourin’ on more heat.
I could see her slam the second stick against the dash,
As she put ‘er foot back in it and commenced to pass.
Well, now, quicker than a California trooper writes,
I found myself staring at her trailer lights!
With her boney fingers pirched upon the steering wheel,
She blew right past us like it’s no big deal.
She musta’ had them fightin’ bitin’ fire ants,
In her polka-dotted, purple polyester pants!
But I’ll tell you somethin’ buddy, if you think you dare,
Dontcha’ ever get no granny in your rockin’ chair!
So, I guess I learned a lesson in the hammer lane,
Truckin’ is no longer just a young man’s game!