A WIFE’S SHOCKING DISCOVERY
I wish you had written the lot lizard article long before Dec. 1999, when I discovered condom receipts from my owner-operator husband. I sleuthed and found out what was contained in your article, and more. Sex on the road is cheap, available and foolproof because drivers think, “She’ll never know.” However, in addition to intuition, which should never be ignored, there are telltale signs.
Pornography is the biggest. He says he’s using it only because you’re not around. Believe me, when a man becomes sexually addicted and women are offering, he’s going to bite.
Watch those receipts. Especially those he wrote to justify lumper fees. And watch out for layovers that he explains a little too much. I had to research and get smart; I didn’t have this article to clue me in.
There aren’t many options when a man becomes sexually addicted to strip clubs, pornography and young women begging for a few bucks. I had one of two choices: Leave or learn to accept infidelity. I implemented a don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy. It works in that our three children and I are taken care of financially, but at the cost of a trusting and intimate relationship with my husband.
Thank you for giving wives a glimpse of the truth. You have only scratched the surface. I have much more information than you have given.
By the way, I’m attractive and educated. This is the man’s problem, not the wife’s.
Jane (last name withheld)
CHASE AWAY LIZARDS
Regarding the lot lizard stories, I would like to give you all a high five for your excellent exposure of a truly dire, dangerous problem. You presented a lot of different viewpoints from a lot of different sources, with none of them showing anything positive or rosy about prostitution and its effects in our industry.
I don’t agree with everything my fellow truckers say they do to keep the lizards away, especially those who hang underwear in their cabs, or the ones with the damp paper towels on their steps. To me, that is extremely poor judgment and bad taste. Imagine seeing something like that from a family’s point of view while entering a rest area or truck stop.
The best deterrent I’ve found, after being approached hundreds of times in just about every state, is to scream “Get the hell off my truck!” I am more than willing to back that up and to deal with the poor others awakened by my yelling.
Self-respect and self-control will keep you out of harm’s way. If you can smell the skank through the glass, it ain’t good, so why expose yourselves (and your loved ones) to it? Pushing diesels is hard enough without having to deal with all the baggage that using a prostitute can bring.
Lenny Witt
Chicago
COUNSELOR OFF BASE REGARDING AFFAIRS
The Emily Brown that you quoted on Page 43 of the September edition sounds like a different breed of woman than I am. If infidelity makes a marriage stronger, I must have missed the addendum to “Thou shalt not commit adultery” that says, “unless you want to strengthen the relationship with your spouse.” I don’t recall any callers to Dr. Laura saying their marriage is stronger because of a dalliance. Marriage vows taken are just that, a vow, and taken far too lightly by many, even by professionals, it appears.
Please do those of us with some intelligence the favor of quoting a knowledgeable person next time you run articles of this nature.
Sandra Oakes
Portage, Wis.
LAW DISREGARDS NEED FOR COMFORT AND REST
The state of New York is beginning to enforce its no-idling law. This states that a truck can idle only for a period of five minutes unless the temperature is below 25 degrees. It gives no exceptions to heat or break periods.
If I’m tired, then the government says I should sleep. That’s fine, but I can’t sleep when I’m too hot or too cold. Officers are waking up drivers at rest areas or parking areas and fining them for breaking the no-idle law. In other words, we’re being asked to drive instead of getting our rest when we need it. I’ve been driving as a professional for 29 years. Much too long for some wet-behind-the-ears officer to tell me when I’m safe to drive. I’m really hoping this will be your next series of articles.
Carey Bolyard
Grafton, W.V.
