Tuna Helper and Truckers

Hi!  My name is Beth Ann and I am a wannabe writer!!!!   I was excited when Bernie asked me to guest blog for her while she is away partying on vacation and of course I could not turn her down since she is such a great friend!!!   I feel like I am almost royalty now since I am getting to hijack write on her personal blog for the day.  Oh…the things I could do.   The mind is racing.  I could make multiple posts all day long to clog up everyone’s inboxes.  I could try to dig up old embarrassing pictures of her to post.  I could make a plea for monetary funding.  But I won’t.  I will play nice and tell you a bit about one of my many experiences in life!!!

Back in the dark ages (around the year 2000-2001) my husband had his own business.  I got the auspicious job of being the office manager for the company and shared an office with Bubba (no joke–it was the South after all).  Chris got the presidential office and before you get any ideas I must tell you that it was in a warehouse and it took me a good 6 months before I would use the bathroom there…..enough said?   I timed my trips out to coincide with my bodily functions if that tells you how luxurious our accommodations were.

One of my jobs was to get there early.  The hubby was often making sales calls and traveling so I usually got there early to open up, make the coffee, turn on the space heater and whatnot.  One morning I got there and did all of the above before Bubba or any of the other guys arrived as this was their second job and their schedules were pretty loose.   We sold matboard–you know that stuff that makes your pictures all pretty?   Well, that was what we sold and so we had semis that brought the matboard in and took it out on a daily basis.   I got good at doing bills of lading and had my favorite drivers (Con-Way was at the top of my list and to this day I still say “hey” when I see a Con-Way truck on the road).

This one morning I had a truck arrive before the guys got there and since I was not a forklift driver (darn) I asked the driver if she wanted to come in for a cuppa before the guys got there.  She asked me if I liked cats and even though I thought that was a little crazy weird question to be asking I told her that I had 2 of my own.  Enter cat lady.  She goes out to her cab and brings in a kitten.  An adorable little fluffy kitten.   I oohed and ahhed appropriately and let it climb all over my desk and of course Bubba’s since to him the only good cat was a dead cat.  (We had had that conversation already.)   Anyway, she proceeds to tell me that she wants to show me something in her cab and me being me says “Sure!” and follows her outside to her truck.  As I start to open the passenger side door she says—”Oh  no–get in on my side. The litter box is over there!”   WHAT?   As I climb up into the sleeper cab I see a Mama Kitty and her 5 kittens.  All snuggled in the back in their own little room with a view.  And sure enough—there was the litter box right where she said it was.   I was a little bit overwhelmed but this lady drives all over the place with this cat family with her.  I was a little amazed to put it mildly.

As we talk—with me straddling the litter box—she tells me that it is a great life to be a trucker. This is her own rig and she has a great life.  Travels all over with her cats and loves it.  They are her family and she takes them with her.   Feeding them is not a problem because one of the things I discovered is that there are little mini ovens that truckers can use to make food while they drive.   They just hook into the cigarette lighters in the cab and presto—–instant oven.   Tuna Helper only takes about 3 -4 hours to cook so she puts it in after lunch and by dinner time it is ready to eat.  And the plus side?   The cats can eat it, too!!!   I just can not imagine how you keep cats from going crazy in a truck cab while the smell of Tuna Helper wafts through the confined space…..

I love that I met this lady and she shared her little life with me.  The hubby, on the other hand, was not too thrilled that I had gotten in her truck with her.  I think he had images of me being kidnapped and being involved in human trafficking or something but it was all innocent and made a great story to tell, don’t you think?

Thanks, Bernie, for letting me share today with your faithful readers!!!  One of the things that I do on my own blog over at It’s Just Life is a Comments for a Cause feature. For every comment on my blog I make a 50 cent donation to a charity. The charity changes every month.  Come on over anytime and check it out.  I always have something to ramble on and on and on and on and on about!!!  Beth Ann