The Wal-Mart Years

     

I drove for Wal-Mart for fourteen years before retiring in 2009. Before that I was in Radio/TV Broadcasting for 30 years and just wanted a change. Too many stories on killing, robbing, and raping finally got to me and I just wanted to get away to some solitude. Driving a truck gives you a lot of time alone to yourself so you can contemplate the problems of the day. Being a former sniper in Vietnam, I am used to being by myself and not needing a lot of support from others. In 1995 I did my final report on TV and walked out of the station for the last time, never to return.
   I took about a year off and just tried to find a new direction to my life and future. An uncle in the car business tried to get me involved in his car dealership in Plano, but after a brief fling in that dealership I knew it was not for me. In my early years I had driven a truck and trailer while hauling my brother's race car around the country. I figured why not try that for a while?
   My chauffeur's license had expired while I was in Vietnam and I never had it renewed. Now it was replaced by a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) and I had to undergo a rigorous test to secure one. Without any experience driving commercial big rigs it was tough finding that first job, but I did work for CRST, Trans-States-Lines, and Heartland Express before landing with a top company. My Dad use to tell me, 'whatever you do, be the best you can be.'  I figured everyone wanted to be employed by Wal-Mart, so they must be the best.

   In April of 1997 I started working for Wal-Mart after almost two years of applying. They would reply about an opening in Ohio,..or California, but I was adamant about wanting to work in Texas. Finally I was accepted by the distribution center in Palestine, Texas (6036) and given the above cab-over truck to drive. This was a 1994 model truck and had been passed down through three other drivers. From Palestine, we supplied almost 200 Wal-Mart stores in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Palestine had around 300 drivers and I was at the bottom of the seniority board, but I loved it. After three years in the cab-over I moved up to another truck.

   Truck 9830 was originally driven by another driver, but he had a physical problem that forced him to give up driving altogether and I assumed it. A ten-speed transmission and Detroit diesel engine performed flawlessly for over two years for me. When I did move up on the board and become eligible for a new truck another problem arose. Palestine is 183 miles from my home and Wal-Mart was building a new distribution center in Sanger, Texas,...46 miles from home. Management told me I did NOT have enough seniority to qualify for the move, so I accepted a new truck from the Palestine fleet. 

  Truck 1734 was a 2001 model and had 2 miles on the odometer when I climbed in it for the very first time. I had carpeting installed inside and night lights on the floor,..also a refrigerator and TV. It had all the comforts of home, BUT then management decided that I could transfer to Sanger after all.
    The distribution center in Sanger (6068) opened for business on September 11, 2001, the same day the terrorist crashed planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. I was issued a new truck in Sanger.

   Truck 1501 was also a 2001 model but actually older than the truck I just gave up in Palestine. It had 6 miles on it when I officially took over responsibility. I took the above photo as a joke since I had to pick up a J B Hunt trailer for them and return it to the J B Hunt terminal in South Dallas. Truck 1501 and I would enjoy each other's company for almost five years through thick and thin.

  60955 would be my final new truck and was a 2006 model. It was a super truck and performed flawlessly. In 2009 I won a seniority bidding contest and was given a position where I would work two weeks and be off one week. The kicker to the deal is I had to give up my truck and take another one that I don't have a photo of. That truck had a history of trouble and the driver's seat did not even square up with the steering wheel. I developed a lower back problem and in October of 2009 I could not deal with the pain any longer,...and I retired from driving. I am not sour with Wal-Mart for the outcome, after all, it is my back that gave out. Wal-Mart pays its drivers well; thanks to them my home, two cars, and a motorcycle are paid off. My time with WM was some of the best years I can remember..

  This was taken in 2001 at the Regional Driving Championships in Tyler, Texas. This was the group representing Palestine and I am the one in the necktie. I went on to the State Championships later and finished fifth in the state. Thanks for the memories!