{"id":5059,"date":"2014-11-01T10:29:35","date_gmt":"2014-11-01T14:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/?p=5059"},"modified":"2014-11-01T10:29:35","modified_gmt":"2014-11-01T14:29:35","slug":"character-counts-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/2014\/11\/poetry-in-motion\/character-counts-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Character Counts"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m sure we can all agree that our trucks have a certain look about them that gives them character. Some look sad, some look angry, and some look downright menacing. They all have their own demeanor in appearance. The trucks I grew up around had very pronounced and easily-identifiable features, especially in regards to their grill. Remember the big wide grin of a Ford CL9000 cabover or their conventional sibling, the LTL9000 \u2013 they were massive grills and they commanded attention (as was the case with the old Mack Cruiseliners and Superliners, too). Meanwhile, the elegant contours of a Pete 359 or a Kenworth A-model were surely on the list of everyone\u2019s favorites. A blocky and bold grill on a Marmon or a tiny grill on a Chevy Astro might be less familiar to some, but I really miss the distinct and artistic design that made some of my favorite trucks so recognizable in my youth. Today\u2019s rigs severely lack the creative beauty and character that is found in the older trucks, but at least International took a leap of faith and designed the wildly-bold grill we see on the LoneStar model. Love it or hate it, it\u2019s definitely not cookie-cutter or a trend follower. I, personally, love the way they look! In a sea of euro-styled, aerodynamic, plain-Jane fleet trucks, it\u2019s nice to see some character put back into the design of an American Class 8 semi. After all, the junkyards are littered with the sad but beautiful faces of the rigs we fell in love with back in the day \u2013 and that is a shame. This poem\/parody is written in honor of all the grills I\u2019ve loved before.<\/p>\n

\"NovPoemPic\"<\/a>TO ALL THE GRILLS I\u2019VE LOVED BEFORE
\nBy Trevor Hardwick<\/h4>\n

To all the grills I\u2019ve loved, before\u2026
\nWho\u2019ve taken wind from shore, to shore.
\nThe fat, the short, the long,
\nI dedicate this song\u2026
\nTo all the grills I\u2019ve loved, before.<\/p>\n

To all the grills I\u2019ve loved, the best\u2026
\nAnd, may I say, forget the rest.
\nFor pushing through the snow,
\nI owe a lot, I know\u2026
\nTo all the grills I\u2019ve loved, before.<\/p>\n

The engine fans are always blowing,
\nAnd in my mind, I hear them say.
\nAs eighteen wheels continue rolling,
\nIt\u2019s the grill that leads the way.<\/p>\n

To all the grills displayed, with pride\u2026
\nWhere bugs, and birds, and deer have died.
\nWherever they may roam,
\nI dedicate this poem\u2026
\nTo all the grills I\u2019ve loved, before.<\/p>\n

To all the grills who\u2019ve scared, the meek…
\nFrom Emeryvilles, to GMCs.
\nFrom Whites, to Western Stars,
\nAnd Macks, to Autocars\u2026
\nThey\u2019re all the grills I\u2019ve loved, before.<\/p>\n

The grills of rigs are always changing,
\nAnd nothing ever stays the same.
\nThe grills of old rigs are amazing,
\nWhere they proudly wore their name.<\/p>\n

To all the grills I\u2019ve loved, before\u2026
\nThey just don\u2019t make them, anymore.
\nA LoneStar can\u2019t go wrong,
\nUp front, where they belong…
\nAre all the grills I\u2019ve loved, before.<\/p>\n

To all the grills from Pete, to Ford\u2026
\nAnd Kenworth grills, I have adored.
\nThey\u2019re leading someone home,
\nIn polish, paint or chrome…
\nThey\u2019re all the grills I\u2019ve loved\u2026 before.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m sure we can all agree that our trucks have a certain look about them that gives them character. Some look sad, some look angry, and some look downright menacing. They all have their own demeanor in appearance. The trucks I grew up around had very pronounced and easily-identifiable features, especially in regards to their<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5059","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-poetry-in-motion"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5059"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5127,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5059\/revisions\/5127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tenfourmagazine.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}