I remember back in 1992 when my dad was driving locally for a construction company. He had recently come off the road and walked away from his pride and joy, a fancy chicken truck, in favor of prevailing wages and regular home time. He took me along for the day, during the summer, as he was hauling fill dirt from the pit to a freeway construction job. We had stopped for lunch in the dirty side lot of a convenience store – we were covered in dirt and sweat – and then we saw his fancy old chicken truck roll by in all its pride and glory. It was clean and glistening in the summer sun, and we just watched as some stranger rolled down the road in the truck that dad loved. We sat in silence as it rolled out of sight, then dad said, in a solemn tone, “There she goes… with a new man… I should’ve never let her go!” This poem is about that feeling you get when you run into your beautiful former truck and it tugs at your heart, like seeing an ex-love with their new significant other. In those moments, you tend to notice a glow about them that you perhaps missed or became desensitized to when you were together. This is a poem about an “old flame” – enjoy. I also have included some pictures of a couple great rigs I had to let go of over the years.
THE OLD FLAME
By Trevor Hardwick
So there I was just sittin, in the Pilot parking lot,
Listening to the CB, and the CD I just bought.
I was munchin’ on a meatball sub, when I saw you down the aisle,
My heart began to race, and then my face began to smile.
I never thought I’d see you, since the time we parted ways,
I’ve thought about you often, and I recall our glory days.
You and I were quite a pair, we turned a lot of heads,
And now I’m in a situation, every trucker dreads.
To see you with another man, is bittersweet, at best,
You still look good, you always did, a cut above the rest.
I see he’s taking care of you, there’s some guys who just don’t,
I’d like to tell him you were mine, but I guess I prob’ly won’t.
I wonder if you know I’m here, I wish that you could see,
I miss you, but I realize, you don’t belong to me.
I loved you back when you were mine, you have a stunning glow,
I wish that I could have you back, I should’ve never let you go.
I guess I’ll let you pass on by, I’ll just stare across the lot,
I hope that he appreciates, the treasure that he’s got.
In case you’ve ever wondered, I’m involved in something new,
But when we’re having problems, all I think about is you.
I’m glad to see you’re doing well, you’re not dead or beaten down,
And maybe I’ll see you again, if you’re ever back in town.
I’m finished with my meatball sub, and I guess it’s just my luck,
No one here will ever know, that you were my old truck.
3 Comments
I really like this poem but what I like even more is the color of green on that cabover!! Would love to have that paint code for my new truck…
Justin, this is Trevor. Thank you for the compliment. Im glad you enjoyed the poem! I really miss some of those old trucks i let go of. When i repainted the blue cabover and decided on black and green, i wanted the green to be the same as an old green Freightliner my dad had. We didnt have a paint code to work with, so we made a custom blend until i was satisfied with a close match. All i can tell you, that might help, is that dad’s Freightliner was a factory color in 1990. It was called emerald metallic. Very similar to the color on Hidden Valley Transport Peterbilts from texas, and Interstate Dist. Fleet from tacoma wa. You might have luck calling a Freightliner dealer and asking what the paint code might be for emron emerald metallic green from the early 90’s. I hope this leads you in the right direction. Sorry I don’t have a specific paint code to share with you.
Thanks a lot Trevor! I’ll work off of that and I think I’ll get pretty close..