Newlywed Gerard Lewis, 42, of Saint James, La., is a brave man. He likes to tell his wife of less than half a year: “My truck was my first love and you are my second. The truck is my wife and you are my girlfriend.”
But, like her husband, Joyce Lewis is in love, so she simply smiles and enjoys the teasing.
Gerard has been driving trucks for almost 30 years now. Twenty-five members of his family also drive trucks.
“I love everything about trucking,” he said. “Trucking has always just been in my blood.”
Out on the road he often stopped at the USA Truck Plaza in Gonzales, La., to get gas, food, or just take a rest. Lewis said he always noticed Joyce, 46, of Galvez, La., working in the truckstop. One day he got the nerve up to start talking to her. From then on, whenever he would stop in for gas, he would also pay Joyce a visit. The two began dating and a year later he popped the question.
Joyce waited two weeks before finally saying yes. Joyce’s youngest son has multiple sclerosis, a disease that causes degeneration of the muscular system. When Joyce saw how good he was with her son, her heart melted.
“If he’s good for my son, he must be good for me,” Joyce said.
Gerard asked Joyce if she wanted a limo to take them to their wedding ceremony back in May. But Joyce had never been for a ride in an 18-wheeler, and she asked that they go to the church in his rig. Now Gerard had seven groomsmen, and every one of them drove a truck. So the couple decided that an eight-truck convoy to the church would be a wonderful introduction to married life
Joyce admits to some butterflies on that first ride – maybe it had something to do with the occasion – but now she loves it and rides along with her husband on some of his hauls.
