Driver Lifestyles

American Expediter's Favorite Pastimes

At times, expediters can lead stressful lives.  The pressure to deliver their freight 'on time, every time' along with the typical headaches of traffic, weather, nasty shippers/receivers and mechanical problems can take it's toll on a driver.

So how does one relieve that stress?  Well, it varies from driver to driver.  Some find it restful to put on a DVD, others like to read, listen to music,  even go for a walk.

Or, as with the drivers profiled here, some take a path less traveled with unique and novel 'hobbies."  

Bob Worthington, Cargo Van owner-operator
"Around eleven years ago, my wife and I visited a wood carving museum in Dover, Ohio and I was fascinated by the art.  I picked up a book on the subject, some wood and I started carving.  I soon realized that I needed more sophisticated tools than a Buck knife, so I picked up some better X-acto type knives and joined a wood carving club in Cleveland."

"When we moved to Tennessee, I took some classes and became more engrossed with the hobby.  What I like about carving is that you can do it just about anywhere, including in the cab of a van.  In the summertime, you can sit outdoors and create and 'let the chips fall where they may'."

Bob says that he started his hobby by specializing in "hobo art" - carving items such as a chain with flexible links and the popular "box with a ball in it."  He now concentrates on figurine carving, the pieces measuring from 4" to 6" long. 

"I like to work with basswood and I get it from a lumber yard around Cleveland. The grain of basswood is very tight and it takes detail well.   Also, it's inexpensive, I just picked up enough wood to last me for a year and it cost me $60.00. It's a very light colored wood and it's easy to carve."

Examples of Bob's work include: a sailor, soldiers, a couple of panthers for some folks in dispatch, a dragon and likenesses of fellow drivers. Of course, many carvings are given as gifts to family members.

Bob tells us that he's also involved in another aspect of his hobby that he doesn't take on the road - chain saw carving.
"I went to a class in which we took a log about three feet long and a foot in diameter.  You make a few cuts with the chain saw, use a grinder to smooth it out, paint it and you've got a bear!"

"Wood carving is a great hobby - I find it very relaxing and it's a great past time for the road."

There are a number of professional drivers who play musical instruments and often carry a guitar or such on the road with them.  But how many carry enough equipment for a small band to perform live for eager audiences?

Carroll and Dora Bean are straight truck owner-operators who have been sharing their love of music with senior citizens across the country for the past seven years.

Carroll says that when the couple completes a delivery and they have some free time, they will contact a retirement home in that area and offer to provide the residents with a mini-concert - free of charge.  Carroll is the guitarist and singer of the duo and Dora provides accompaniment on the keyboard and synthesizer.

Carroll says that it was his mother's entrance into a home and his awareness of the seniors' loneliness and boredom that sparked the couple's interest in performing for the homes' residents.  The 11-year expediting veterans have performed from "Washington state to Florida, Texas, Maine and a number of other places."

"Sometimes, one of the senior's visitors will come up to us after we've finished playing," says Carroll, "and tell us that, 'I know she enjoyed the music because she squeezed my hand while you were playing.'  That will really put a lump in your throat."

With a repertoire that includes country, the '40's and the '50's, with older dance music thrown in, the couple entertains the residents for 15 to 30 minutes, "or as long as they'll listen!"

Because the couple frequently transports government loads, their truck is searched on a regular basis. Carroll says that the inspectors are always surprised to open one storage box to find guitars, keyboards and amplifiers - not your usual truck driver equipment.

Although the Beans' have taken a break from performing for the last few months, they fully intend to resume playing for the seniors in the near future.  As Carroll says, "We enjoy it too much to stop for good and you can't find a better audience@"

John O'Mahoney is an expediter with a goal that's quite possibly only achievable in a trucking type of vocation.  He wants to travel to and visit every major and minor league baseball park in the U.S.

John, a retired New Jersey city police officer with 27 years on the force and U.S. Navy veteran, has only been expediting for 3 months, but has already been to 32 states and Canada.

His interest in baseball and it's ballparks has taken him - both before and since he's been expediting - to Yankee stadium, the old Cleveland Indians stadium, Shea Stadium, Wrigley and Comiskey ballparks, the old Tigers Stadium, Fenway Park, the Orioles ballpark and the LA Coliseum when the Dodgers played there. 

He says his love of the game began when his uncle, who was a president of Ballantine beer, took him into the New York Yankees locker room in 1956 when John was ten years old.

"That's when I met Mickey Mantle.  He spoke to me, but I was in a daze, so I don't know what he said.  He patted my head and I didn't wash that spot for quite some time!"

John says that a recent visit to Cincinnati allowed him to take in a Red's game and another trip 200 miles to the north took him to a stop at the world-famous Toledo Mud Hens stadium.

John states that his co-driver, Royse, might have persuaded him to develop an interest in another sport:  "He's a NASCAR fan, so who knows, I might be adding racetracks to the ballpark visits before long."