My romantic perceptions of the trucker’s life evaporated during my week at a truck stop called Giant Travel Center. However, I did get some insight into an essential element of American culture.
When I met Ron and Sallie Wumkes at the Sunday chapel service, Sallie was in tears, badly shaken and thanking God for helping her husband steer clear of an accident involving trucks and passenger vehicles.
Recently Ron, an accomplished mechanic and teacher, became disillusioned by his employer’s corporatization. He and Sallie sold their home, crammed a few belongings in the back of a truck cab, left behind their grown children, and took up a nomadic existence sharing the endless hours of cross-country hauling.
Ron and Sallie represented many of the drivers I met that week who saw life on the road as a way to opt out of the corporatization of their lives.
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A weeklong visit to a truck stop also means seven days of truck-stop food. I don’t want to argue with all those great-food-at-truck-stops legends, but there are limits to how much mashed potatoes and gravy I am willing to carry around my waist. Giant’s all-you-can-eat policy—coupled with Maria’s grand turkeys, Manuel and Cyril’s dripping burgers, Darlene’s mountains of sausages, Irene’s whipped-cream-topped pies, and Chef David Dinsmore’s barbecued ribs—certainly contributes to keeping the drivers rolling in more ways than one.
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Photographing a truck stop was tougher than I thought it would be. Many drivers, tired from the long hours, were annoyed or suspicious of my camera. I was finding little joy in walking around in the smoke-choked canyons between the growling truck engines until I spotted that first Jack Russell terrier.
The little dog sat proudly behind the wheel of the big International truck, waiting for his rig mate to return from a shower. When the driver showed up, he was thrilled to have a portrait made with his dog. It was only a few minutes before another driver approached me and asked if I would photograph him with his dog. Soon I had a lineup of dogs and owners waiting to pose.
It would be hard to find a bond stronger than that of pooch and driver. Loyal and noncomplaining, canines are co-piloting a lot more these days than girlfriends are.
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