my dad worked for a trucking company and was often given the opportunity to make up some much-needed overtime to help with the family budget. this labor came in the form of a midnight run with a double-trailer full of gypsum taken from the manufacturing plant to the processing plant. why it had to happen in the middle of the night I have no idea...perhaps there was a black market in a white building material that I was unaware of.
one weekend, while dad was toiling away on new brake linings or replacing a faulty alternator he asked what sounded like a question.
"want to go with me on my next night run?" he asked, while wiping black grease from his hands.
"huh?" I wasn't really listening. Led Zeppelin was on the radio, I mean come on..
"I have a gyspum run this week and I wanted to know if you wanted to tag along".
the thought had promise. any time i could hang out with dad was great, especially if it involved an activity where i could "prove" my whole 10 years of maturity to my dad. however, it seemed like something mom wouldn't approve of. sure school was out and the days were spent sleeping in then staying up late watching chips and star trek reruns, but still...it had an element of danger that might cause her to invoke the "not-my-baby" rule.
"you have to go to bed early, then wake up and we will leave. I will talk to mom about it". well, if he was going to run interference...how could I say no?
The next few days passed in a blur as I found myself more and more excited about the night run with dad. of course I told everyone about it, acting as if my dad 'needed me' and wouldn't be able to accomplish the 'mission' without me.
to be continued
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