DISPATCH #6

The other day a guy hopped into the back seat and about five minutes into the ride he says:

“Are you famous? Like a rock star? The way you look in that cowboy hat and the camera and everything.”

I laughed and said, “Nope… just an old trucker.”

We both got a good laugh out of that.

Turns out he was heading downtown to work. He does IT support for the mines — mostly helping the truck drivers when they have problems with their systems.

He said most of the time he just sits there and reads books. Maybe one or two calls a shift. Sometimes the drivers call just to talk because they’re bored.

I told him, “Where do I sign up for that gig?”

Somewhere out there tonight, a truck driver is probably calling IT just to have someone to talk to… and honestly, I kind of get it.

Rideshare conversations can go in just about any direction. Not long after that ride, I picked up another passenger with a completely different story.

The other day I picked up a rider named Kristine.

Now normally the ride starts simple enough, but this one had a navigation challenge.

Her destination was on Mossy Brook Place.

Which, as it turns out, is off of Mossy Brook Lane.

Which you reach by way of Mossy Brook Boulevard.

At some point during the ride I said, “You know… after successfully navigating all three Mossy Brooks, I feel like I should be awarded a cake or something.”

Kristine laughed.

“Yes,” she said. “You should.”

Turns out she was heading to the AAA repair shop to finally pick up her car.

What started out as a simple oil change had slowly evolved into tire work… and then electrical work… and apparently several return visits.

She said they should probably name a parking space after her for how often she’d been there.

So I told her, “Ah yes… this must be the Kristine Space.”

“In honor of numerous services acquired.”

We both laughed.

She said she’d rather keep fixing the car she has than buy a new one with how expensive everything is these days.

I told her that even when you’re not making payments on a new car, you’re still paying to maintain one.

But an already-owned car is usually the cheaper adventure.

She agreed.

No cake was awarded for the effort.

But Kristine of the Mossy Brooks made it safely to her destination.

Well… see you next time.

— Steve
The Wayward Trucker

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