Then and Now

Gertie reminisces about the "good old days"

If anyone had told me in 1976 that one day I'd be riding in an air conditioned truck typing a page to be posted on the Internet on a laptop computer, I would have asked them what in the world is a laptop computer?? And what in God's Green Earth is an Internet?? Then I would have told them they must be nuts!

If anyone in 1976 had told me that one day I would be driving a truck equipped with air ride seats and suspension, a sleeper big enough to stand up and turn around in, with two bunks, a refrigerator, a microwave oven, a coffeepot, a color TV/VCR, a stereo system nicer than the one at the house, a cellular phone, a portable toilet, and even cable TV and landline phone and internet service available at some truck stops, I would have thought they were nuts. I would have thought it was a beautiful dream, but I would have still thought it was nuts.

Back then most of us had to make do with "Armstrong" power for steering.
It was a pretty good upper body workout to manuever an 18 wheeler into a dock. People used to ask me if I worked out.
Air conditioning was a luxury item. "2-60" (That's "roll down both windows and do 60 MPH" for the younger folks.) was all that most of us had. It was almost barely adequate on the open road, and didn't work at all in city traffic.
If you wanted refrigeration on the road, you carried an igloo cooler strapped in the passenger seat. Some people, like my dad, would occaisionally secure a can of beef stew or pork and beans to the manifold to have a hot meal on the road.
The sleeper was a single, narrow, bunk that you crawled through a hole to get into. Unless you were less than two feet tall, you could forget standing up in there.
I didn't know anyone who owned a microwave oven or a computer. I don't think VCR's had been invented yet, and surely nobody had thought of putting one in a truck if they had been.

These days, it seems like every other truck you see on the highway is driven by a woman or at least there is a woman in there. It wasn't like that until few years ago.
Women drivers were about 3% of the "driving force" in the 1970's. It wasn't uncommon to be told "We don't hire women to drive our trucks" from the man in charge of hiring drivers. Up until 1977, there were no anti discrimination laws. Even after the laws were passed it wasn't easy to get anyone to take a female applicant seriously. Since it was unlawful to tell you "We don't hire women" anymore, they had to come up with something else that meant to the same thing. Some of them were pretty lame. .
"You aren't strong enough" was one I heard a lot.
"Funny" I would say, "I can sling baled hay around, but I'm not strong enough to drive a truck. Humph!"
"You're too short"
While I was there a driver came in to turn in his paperwork. That driver was at least 3 inches shorter than my five foot four. Humph again!
One guy told me I was "overqualified". I never figured out what that was all about!

I finally did get a job though. The man couldn't think fast enough to figure out how to say "no." Maybe he was desperate for help. Whatever his reason, I was happy to be employed.
They put me in the worst truck they had, and sent me to the place everybody hated to go. I would have died before I would have complained! I knew they were trying to discourage me into quitting and slinking back to wherever they thought my "place" was.
Failure was not an option. I had a family to feed, clothe and shelter.
Besides all that, I wasn't about to give them the satisfaction of seeing me complain, or fail. (Did I mention that I'm a stubborn old broad?)
When I got there and handed the receiever the paperwork he asked me "Where's the driver?"
"You're lookin at him." I replied, and immediately wished for a camera. The look on that man's face was priceless!

well, that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!
And I got Picturesto prove it!
Gertie

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