Prose, Poems and Short stories
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Twin Flames - a poem by JWPJr A short story about enlightenment - by JWPJr Don't Quit - A poem by Anonymous The Dash - A poem by Linda Ellis Velvet Wings - a poem by JWPJr As I Began To Love Myself - by Charlie Chaplin Let There Be - by JWPJr A Grateful Message - Anonymous The Boob - by JWPJr |
In memory of Slow Dock in regards to his beautiful expression of words via the English language and the words of inspiration he gave me.
The Boob
Hauling a load of steel on a long journey South, I decided to stop at a truck oasis to recharge my batteries and get something to eat.
After parking the tractor trailer I was driving and double checking the securement of steel that was on my flatbed trailer along with the rig itself to make sure all was safe and secure, I proceeded to a restaurant located within the truck oasis; tired, hot, thirsty, hungry and grumbly, my first stop upon arrival was at the restroom within. "Woo ! I'm in luck !", I thought to myself, the restroom was freshly cleaned. So after relieving myself and cleaning up with some fresh cool water and soap I was off to the restaurant a bit less grumbly except for my stomach.
I entered the restaurant and instead of a booth, I chose a seat to sit down at a "U" shaped style bar table where most drivers liked to sit and have a good conversation. There were a few other drivers seated aside from myself and I felt the un-easiness of the other drivers as I sat down. Obviously, I thought to myself, I made some sort of impression or imposed. Flat bed truck drivers have a habit of doing that without saying anything of which most of you truck drivers out there are well aware of. Flatbedders for those of you outside of the trucking industry are the rough and tumble mischievous types of the industry and will be the first to use one of their many "specialized" tools to keep the peace and we have loads of stories to tell since we get in the most trouble, in a good way of course. I kept to myself and ordered lunch, water and an iced tea chuckling silently within myself hiding the smile wondering what on earth could be going through their minds at the time.
I began to think to myself in regards to my travels up to this point and recalled overhearing a fellow truck driver talk about a woman's bra in a way I never heard over the cb radio. I just had to laugh to myself and I yelled out at the cb, "You are supposed to keep your eyes on the road !"; I didn't pick up the cb microphone to say anything since I was laughing and wondering where this guy obtained such an awesome vocabulary that I haven't heard since high school in honors literature class and the woman must of been quite an eye catcher concerning her boobs although I could of sworn I heard boob; which brings to mind about a single boob cup that was given to my Dad as a gag gift and I will spare you the explanative of an x rated description.
While thinking to myself of some funny excursions and waiting on lunch to arrive the waitress brought to me my iced tea and water in which I drank down quite quickly and then ordered a refill of both. I was a bit parched due to the outdoor heat. Couple that with being at a steel mill in hot quarters and you tend to get a bit thirsty. Waitresses are great people at a truck oasis, and they put up with so much from the unruly types that should not even be driving a big truck. Waitresses at a truck oasis got some serious stories to tell, and mind you, some of them are quite funny and shocking. I once teased a young waitress at a truck oasis I frequented by pretending to go step on her freshly mopped floor. She looked up at me with the cutest cross face and proceeded to yell at me not to do it along with a few other choice words, a waving finger and finally a hand on her hip in which I laughed and went to sit down before that mop was slapped across my face. Another waitress, who was somewhat new to the restaurant and was about to wait on me saw the scenario and said to her in a cooing way, "Don't yell at him." and that "He is an angel.", in which the young waitress replied, "With a broken halo !" and back to mopping the floor she went. Of course it was all in fun.
So my food arrives, along with another iced tea and some more water. I started food demolition without blinking immediately. I could feel the other truck drivers seated nearby eyeballing me. I must of looked like an animal tearing into my food; I didn't care and my stomach didn't care either. I skipped breakfast ! While eating, the silence was broken by one driver in particular named Slow Dock. Now, that's his cb handle and what his real name was I couldn't tell you. But that name will stick with me the rest of my days.
Slow Dock was a bulk of a man, wore glasses, had grey hair with a beard neatly cut and when he spoke, I couldn't help but to listen to the way he used the most pronounced perfect English I ever heard in my life. Better than any book I read or any speaker I ever heard. He could give speech writers a run for their money. "Could this be the guy I heard on the radio earlier ?", I thought to myself. Sometimes life on the rode can be coincidental with a few surprises. He went on talking about his family life, the loss of his son along with inspirational words he heard that he felt should be shared that gave him hope. All this while I was eating.
After finishing my lunch in record time, I just sat there content and still listening. Not having mentioned a word to anyone other than the waitress. At the same time, Slow Dock was completing his story. No one mentioned a word after he completed and I found that odd. No one gave him the time of day or any recognition. They all just sat there staring. Some words were stated after the odd silence but not much worth repeating. That's when I decided to open my mouth and ask Slow Dock something.
First, I asked what his name was. Of course he replied that it was Slow Dock in which I told him what my name was. I then asked him if he had a hobby. He got red faced in an angry sort of way and looked irritated, breathed deeply and said, "I have plenty of hobbies !"
I asked him if his hobbies included writing such as a book, newspaper column or the internet because I found his usage of the English language quite, (and I paused and then stated) eloquently. I don't think he thought I was very intellectual since I stayed quiet the whole time and listening other than when I made that one small remark.
The reaction I got was unexpected. He ripped the eyeglasses from off his face with his right hand and pointed at me with those eyeglasses, stared me in the eyes saying in a bold tone, "You can do more than you ever thought is possible or ever dreamed of !"; he then proceeded to put the eyeglasses back on, turned away and looked down at his hands that he put up upon the bar table to rest and seemed to think to himself for a moment about a personal misjudgment. I just sat there astonished and didn't say anything wondering why he chose to say those words in particular to me. After that, he seemed quite pleased that someone with a knowledge of the English language met him on his level or even acknowledged his use of the English vocabulary in such an eloquent way. He later spoke to another driver across the bar table about those of us who don't show or express an elite style of thinking and that most of the time how they stay quiet while side eyeing me stating, unless they want to make themselves known.
Every one at the bar table eased up after that and the famous restaurant bar table conversations started. Slow Dock then proceeded to eloquently describe the boob lingerie with its certain "included" features in which I laughed to myself saying, "Son of a bitch ! It is him !"
Sometimes what you need to hear the most, comes unexpectedly from someone you know the least.
Thank You Slow Dock. You will forever be remembered. I no longer drive a big rig and started going after my dreams. Stay safe out there and always your friend, Fingerbone.
Written by JWPJr © 2020