OCTOBER 2010 TRUCKER TALK
A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE
BY WRITER & DRIVER KIM GRIMM
Here at 10-4 Magazine, October is our special month and the 4th is our official holiday – “10-4 Day”! It is also the time that I celebrate seven years of writing this “Trucker Talk” column. I am very proud to have the opportunity to write for 10-4. I have had a lot of fun doing it over the years. I’d like to take a trip down Memory Lane, not only about how the magazine started and what it has grown into, but also about looking back in a general sense, remembering where we (all of us) have been, what we’ve done, and where we are going.
The magazine was started in 1993 and was originally the idea of a Southern California trucker. With no publishing skills or financing to get the magazine going, he turned to an investment company to “buy into” (literally) his idea. Back then, Dan Linss, 10-4’s editor today, worked for this parent company and was around when the first issue was printed. This first edition was published September 1, 1993 and had 24 pages of black and white ads printed on messy newsprint paper. In the beginning, it was also printed twice a month.
In February of 1994, the girl that was laying out the entire magazine was sent home to be on bed rest while she was pregnant with twins, so Dan was (loosely) trained to start producing the magazine. That same month, Erik Sieben was hired to help with ad sales. Dan and Erik couldn’t have been more opposite, but they worked well together – and in just four months, they had the magazine up to 60 pages with some color on the cover. It was at that time the parent company began having legal difficulties and decided to just walk away and let the magazine (and a few other companies) die. Erik decided to risk his life savings to keep the magazine going and Dan, for the most part, stayed onboard to help.
To make the magazine their own, the name was changed from 10-4 Magazine to 10-4 Express. Their first issue was printed in July of 1994. To save money, they cut the printing down to just once a month. With part time help from their wives, Jean and Shannon, they worked hard to put together a magazine that was both informative and fun (this from two guys that had never even sat in a truck before). After a year, Jean quit her “real” job to take on all the office duties of the magazine, which she still handles today. Jean and Shannon are usually behind the scenes, but they are a very important part of the magazine! In July of 2000, to commemorate their sixth anniversary, they officially changed the name back to 10-4 Magazine and created their website (www.tenfourmagazine.com), which now gets thousands of hits every day.
From the beginning in 1993, their dedication to grow and improve as a publication has never wavered. Their motto is “Whatever It Takes” and that exemplifies the attention to detail Erik and Dan give to every ad and service they provide to each and every client and reader. Currently, the magazine is distributed at about 225 locations in 15 states, has full-color throughout, and is printed on nice glossy paper. Most drivers like the stories and articles, not to mention the beautiful two-page color centerfold that graces the middle of each magazine, but many admit to liking the colorful and informative ads, as well. Most drivers can cite at least one example of when 10-4 Magazine helped them out of a jam while out on the road by steering them to the services they needed. These advertisers, many of whom have been around since the beginning, should be applauded – they are the ones that keep the magazine free for the readers.
When you can’t find a copy of 10-4, be sure to check out the website. The website not only features all of the articles and pictures that are in the current issue on the rack, but also a vast archive of past editions, as well. The website also offers maps and driving directions, weather reports, and driving conditions across the country. There is also an index of the current advertisers, a calendar of events, and thousands of truck pictures from past shows and features. They also just got the magazine on Facebook, so if you are a part of that social network, search for “10-4 Magazine” and become a fan. Subscriptions are also available, but they are not free. If you want a copy sent to your home or business every month, a mere $25 a year gets it done (that just pays for the 1st Class postage).
When a driver picks up a 10-4 and then goes down the road, it gives the magazine eighteen wheels (they really get around). I found a classic example of this recently in Avoca, Iowa. After chasing down the driver of a beautiful Freightliner cabover I spotted out in a parking lot, I asked him if he ever reads 10-4 Magazine. Without hesitation, he reached back into the bunk and pulled out the current issue, which had just been released a few days prior (we do not have any distribution in or around Iowa). That was pretty cool! I only had a short time with the Canadian driver, named Andre Bellemare, but we exchanged our phone numbers and plan to keep in touch – his rig is gorgeous.
It’s really an honor to make the cover of 10-4 Magazine – I know – my old Kenworth graced their November 2005 cover. I have to give Erik and Dan all the credit for their outstanding photography that makes the covers and centerfolds so awesome! There are only twelve a year, but they really know how to pick them (and how to shoot them with their cameras). And if you go to any of the big truck shows where they are on display, you can buy laminated versions of the actual centerfolds, which make perfect placemats for the table, or nice pictures for the wall that will stand the test of time. Those beautiful centerfolds debuted in the March 2001 edition, and have only got better over the years.
When you pick up your next copy of 10-4 Magazine, think for a minute about all the hard work these few people are willing to put in to achieve their dreams and goals – and how they have continued to keep stepping up those goals and dreams to stay ahead of the pack. This is what we all need to do every once in awhile. We need to stop, look back at where we’ve been, and then look forward to where we’re going, resetting our goals and dreams when necessary.
As drivers, and probably as an entire society, it seems we are always running 75 mph down the interstate. There are always too many things to do in the 24 hours we are given each day, but even if we got double that, we still wouldn’t get everything done. Of course, that is just wishful thinking – 24 hours in a day is all we will ever get. We just have to make the most of those 24 hours every day. Sometimes we need to take a little time to take a stroll down our own Memory Lane to look at how we are doing on accomplishing the dreams and goals we set for ourselves, and to maybe think about some new ones as our lives change and we grow older.
It’s a crazy world we live in, and you just never know what tomorrow will bring. In the last few years, I’ve had several dreams and goals change and I’ve made several new friends, but I still have those few special friends that have been there since high school. Maybe it’s just that we are getting older, but when you get a phone call saying that this friend or that family member is gone, it really sends you down Memory Lane.
I had one very special friend that I lost almost two years ago. Bette Garber was more than a truck photographer and writer – she was a great friend of mine. Bette loved to take pictures of trucks and to tell the drivers’ stories. I learned so much from her and I miss her terribly. When I write, I think of her often. I’ve been fortunate enough to write some of the stories she wanted to write but never got the chance. Bette always encouraged me and gave me constructive criticism, and for that I was grateful.
As drivers, we spend almost as much time looking back in those mirrors on the sides of our trucks as we do looking forward out the windshield. All that time spent looking back keeps us from looking forward, but it also makes us better drivers. Life, like driving, should be a balanced combination of looking back (to collect information) and looking forward (to determine where you are going), but balance is the key.
Steve Wariner has a song called “Life’s Highway” and in it there is a line that says, “We are young and then we’re old.” That pretty much sums it all up. Getting older is not a bad thing, it is a good thing. It allows us to learn from our past and use that knowledge to make better decisions in the present. So, if you haven’t done it in a while, take a little stroll down your own Memory Lane and see where it takes you.