As your average working-class American woman here, I don’t put much thought into a truck driver, or the haul they’re carrying across state lines. But after diving into the book, “A Trucker’s Tale,” I am quite intrigued! I don’t know anyone that IS a truck driver.
However, Ed Miller put me right up in that truck cab with him for adventures all over the states and Vietnam! His story is nothing short of incredible and an eye-opener into the life and times of truck drivers the world over! If you’re looking for entertainment, honesty, clarity, and a bit of judgment, look no further than this book!
Ed’s upbringing will entertain you with his dad and Grandpa’s stories, and farm living back in the day. He chose not to pursue college and instead became a long-haul trucker to deliver goods to companies around the states. His story is a fascinating one, and if you’ve ever wondered about what goes through a truck driver’s mind, this is the book to pick up!
After I finished the book, I reached out to Joerenz with Mouth Digital Public Relations to see if I could follow up with Mr. Miller for a quick interview via email! He was happy to comply!
Our interview:
Me: You dedicated a portion of this book to explain some of your experiences while serving in Vietnam (THANK YOU BY THE WAY!); do you intend on ever writing an entire book dedicated to all of your memories there, or was this enough of remembrance for you?
Mr. Miller: I do have other memories of Vietnam, but I have never thought they would be enough, or interesting enough, to write an entire book. As you read in A Trucker’s Tale, my job as a Seabee was quite different from a soldier who had to do war instead of driving trucks or operating heavy equipment during an eight-month deployment in Vietnam.
I’m super nosy – is that bad? This next question was alllll personal! 🙂
Me: You mentioned your wife a few times; how did you meet her?
Mr. Miller: I was transferred to Pittsburgh in January 1980, and during the first eight months, I wined and dined many of our trucking company’s customers, namely traffic managers, who were the folks who controlled which trucking companies hauled their steel. One of the most popular dining destinations was the Grand Concourse Restaurant, which occupied the former Pittsburgh & Lake Erie train station. It was constructed in 1901 and still possesses the original look, such as the station’s accents of brass, marble, and mahogany, and covered by a majestic stained-glass cathedral roof.
The Gandy Dancer Saloon was the restaurant’s bar area, and after dinner, many of the guests wanted to enjoy a cocktail or several, so we made our way into the Gandy Dancer. Early 1980 was the days of the three-martini lunches, and the dress code at the restaurant and bar was not shorts and t-shirts. Coats and ties for men, and usually dresses for women.
One evening at the Gandy Dancer, my eyes were drawn to a strikingly beautiful redhead. Conversation followed, and even though her friend told me I would have nothing in common with her, my wife-to-be relented, after a considerable amount of time, in giving me her phone number. The rest, as the story goes, is 39-year-old history.
Is that NOT the most fantastic love story?! Congrats on 39 years, Mr & Mrs. Miller!!
Me: Are any of your children following in your footsteps?
Mr. Miller: By the time my kids were born, my driving days were over, I was behind a desk most of the time, so the allure I experienced climbing into a truck for the first time, was never part of their childhood, and their college experiences led them in other directions.
Me: From what I can gather, you no longer drive the trucks; have you retired? What do you do in your free time now?
Mr. Miller: Although I am retired, I drive a school bus part-time, or at least I did before COVID-19 closed schools. I have been landscaping outside our home with a rock garden and rock walkways. My backyard neighbor is a hard-working farmer who has over two hundred acres under cultivation, and through the years, he has produced a very prolific pile of rocks that he has picked up from his fields. We live in an area which is adjacent to the Susquehanna River, and as that waterway was carved-out by a glacier, that slow-moving mass deposited rocks, rocks, and many more rocks all over many counties. Thankfully, Farmer J keeps me supplied with all the rocks I will ever need.
For all of you non-truck drivers with CB’s in your car! Some useful information coming up:
Me: My husband has a CB radio in his car, what you “affectionately” refer to as a four-wheeler (which is too funny, by the way!). He will reach out to truck drivers while driving on the highway if he notices they need help or are trying to merge. Do truck drivers find that “helpful” when a four-wheeler driver reaches out, or is it more annoying?
Mr. Miller: I would say most truckers appreciate useful information a four-wheeler provides by CB radio. Most any truck driver pretty quickly notices how a non-trucker talks on the CB and whether that person is a knowledgeable radio user or just a wannabe who is more aggravating than useful.
Me: Do you keep in touch with any former Vietnam vet buddies, or any truck driving buddies?
Mr. Miller: One of my closest friends is a fellow Seabee I met shortly after bootcamp. We served in Vietnam together, bunked in the same hooch, or hut, and we have been friends from the time we met in 1968.
I started working for a trucking company in 1972 and worked for them for twelve years. I am still friends with the owner, and his two sons, to this day. Although I am not close with any drivers I worked with, I remember many of them by writing about them in A Trucker’s Tale.
I can only hope to have friends that last a lifetime like Mr. Miller! What about you?!
Me: Does the current state of “affairs” in our country worry you? The rioting and looting that’s going on? In terms of thinking from a truck driver’s point of view, I feel like this would be a terrifying time! You mentioned the few strikes that you worked through, which were terrifying due to the bricks and cinderblocks thrown from overpasses!
Mr. Miller: I can think of numerous clichés indicative of our present times, but I think the most apropos is “The country, indeed the world, has gone to hell in a handbasket!”
I was born and raised after the Second World War, and to my generation, these were the best of times in which to grow up. Most everyone had both parents at home, and we were taught manners, respect, and the difference between right and wrong. For some time now, the notion of “family” has eroded to either one parent raising kids, or grandparents, or divorced parents splitting time with the kids. As a school bus driver, I witness the rude, boisterous, foul-language behavior of mostly low socioeconomic kids as they go to and from school. My parents would not have tolerated this behavior, but unfortunately, this is now the norm rather than the exception.
Yes, it is high time racial equality was practiced, rather than just talked about, but burning, looting, tearing down historical monuments, and defunding the police doesn’t seem to me like the way to achieve this goal.
Truck drivers have continued doing their finest as they have worked, and still work, during this COVID-19 infected time. They will continue to deliver to us even when angry mobs try to shut them down.
OMG YES TO EVERY BIT OF THIS! I am 100% on Mr. Miller’s side regarding the current state of affairs!
Me: Sheba sounds like she was an incredible dog! Do you have any pets now?!
Mr. Miller: Yes, we have a mixed-breed small sweet thing, our grandkids named Dixiebelle. Her name may offend some folks these days, but we named her before southern names and terms became offensive. Although she doesn’t pick things up as quickly as Sheba did, she thinks our grandkids belong to her, and she’s pure love. She retrieves the morning paper only if she likes the headline. And, to her, she thinks her sole responsibility in our household is to chase the squirrels away from our bird feeders!
Me: Do you and your family ever take trips back to where you grew up on the farm? You mentioned other folks own it nowadays?
Mr. Miller: We go to Western North Carolina several times each year, but we hardly ever get back to the small town and farm, where we grew up, although there is a bright side to many things. The farm was sold off piecemeal, but the main house went through several owners, in addition to several renovations, over the past 20 years.
Two years ago, I noticed a Facebook post from a woman who inquired if anyone had any information concerning a home she and her husband had recently purchased. Yes, it was the house my grandparents owned. After socially conversing with her, I sent her photographs of what the place looked like through the years, which she framed and placed on her piano. The piano sits in the same place where my Grandmother’s [Civil War era] baby grand piano sat. The couple has returned the home to look like it did 140 years ago, and it looks fantastic.
That’s incredible that the current owners have done this! I love things like this!
Me: What are your long-term goals for the next five years or so?
Mr. Miller: My primary long-term physical goal for the next five years is to stay above ground! Most likely, this will involve staying socially distant from strangers until sometime in the future. Also, probably not a good idea to drive around with offensive decals on my car.
Mentally, I want to enjoy our family, my wife, three kids, two grandbabies, in addition to my sister and two brothers. We have been close since childhood, and I am so very thankful for that. I want to watch and participate, as my grandkids grow-up, and hopefully, I can pass tidbits of knowledge and experience their way.
I had fun writing A Trucker’s Tale. Many days I was up writing before sunrise and late at night. Even though I did not envision a manuscript when I penned the first story of a truck driver, the words and stories were easy to put on paper. I would like to continue telling stories, but only time will tell if it happens.
Those sound like some GREAT long-term goals to me!! Keep on ‘truckin,’ Mr. Miller!
Me: You indicate that while the trucking industry has come quite a ways since you began, it still has a long way to go in terms of safety for truck drivers, and space for them to park when necessary! I completely agree! Do you have any links or websites I could link to for further information in this respect?
Mr. Miller: The internet is awash in articles, research, and studies regarding truck parking. Unfortunately, even though the issue is a hot topic, very little has been done to alleviate the shortage. The following links should give you a lot of good information.
The Eastern Transportation Coalition – Mary Grace Parker would be an excellent source of information.
The American Transportation Research Institute
TruckPark
TruckParking USA
Federal Highway Administration on Truck parking
Truck Parking Perils as noted by Overdrive Magazine’s leading journalist, Todd Dills
My final thoughts:
If you’ve read this review, you realize that Mr. Miller served our GREAT country during the Vietnam War. He was a truck driver over there and was at risk frequently! We owe him a great big THANK YOU Ed Miller! This gentleman is one of the good ones!
I’m thrilled to have “met” him via the internet and learned about his life and journey!
Feel free to go and check out the MULTIPLE places his book can be bought, including Amazon, Audible, BAM (Books-A-Million), Barnes & Noble and more! 🙂 Or click here:
I’ve been fortunate lately to have many opportunities to review books and interview the authors of those very personal stories! One of my favorites was Soheila Adelipours’ “Dancing to the Darkest Light,.” I’d appreciate it if you’d check it out!
Love ya,
Kelly Ann
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