PUTTING MONEY ASIDE IS CRUCIAL
I was interested in the article from an owner-operator’s wife concerning money issues [“For Richer or Poorer,” October]. I agree wholeheartedly that you need to expect an emergency. Creating a slush fund is how we can guarantee making ends meet until we have to make late payment calls to our debtors. Owner-operators need to put money away from each payment. We have quarterly estimates of taxes to pay, not to mention when the boss brings home a deer antler sticking out of the radiator, or when the rear end falls out on the interstate.
We pay $200 per week to our credit union account. That money is not for a new television or anything else non-truck-related. We dip into it for repairs, tires and taxes – and only for these items.
As owners, we are not employees. Some of us also have to pay our own occupational accident policies, insurance, workers’ comp and, again, taxes.
ANN SHRIVER
Eagle Grove, Iowa
AN ANGEL AMONG US
My son, Jim, his girlfriend and her two sons – ages 1 and 2 – were traveling home in July from Boston, on I-80 going west. About midnight the transmission failed when they were in the middle of nowhere. My son tried waving vehicles down to help, but no one would stop. They had no cell phone and little cash.
He tried for more than an hour before a truck slowed down on the opposite side of the road. The driver, Paul Wimmer, had circled back to see if they needed help. Jim talked with him, and Paul circled around again to the car and let my son call me from his cell phone so I could come and get them.
Paul then drove them to a truck stop to get them off the road. Paul offered them $50 to get a room so the children could settle down a bit. He also gave them a gift bag full of stuffed animals for the children. We later found the receipt, still in the bag, totaling $79. Paul left because he was behind schedule.
About 3 a.m. Paul called my cell phone to make sure they were OK and that I had arrived safely. He let me know that he had called AAA for them, too. Jim told me that Paul said he stopped because he noticed the children.
We are just so blessed that this man had the compassion and trust to stop for strangers who really needed help. Thank you, Paul, for being my son’s guardian angel and for being a good Samaritan.
KATHY SCHAD
Beaver, Pa.
ANOTHER WAY TO CONNECT
“Getting Connected” [October] included trucking support websites, but forgot the best and one of the most widely known groups, LOADS: Loved Ones And Driver Support. The address is www.loads.org.
It’s for all truckers, wives, girlfriends, children and anyone connected to trucking. Please check it out. My wife has been a member since 1998. I know it has helped our marriage.
ELI D. OVERTON
Dallas Center, Iowa
Send letters to Write On, Overdrive, P.O. Box 3187, Tuscaloosa, AL 35403, or fax to (205) 750-8070, or send e-mail to [email protected]. Letters are subject to editing for length and content.
