Farewell to Motorman!

I would be remiss in my blogging if I let the passing of Motorman go unannounced.

He was 57 years of age.

Motorman and I went back many years. He had driven a truck for the family business, then ran as a team driver with me hauling cotton strippers.

You live in a truck with someone and you get to know them pretty well! Motorman and I were pretty much exact opposites. I like to drive with the seat aired up where I can see any and every thing. Motorman liked to ride with the seat as low as he could get it to deflate to, usually putting his line of eyesite just at dashboard level.

I use to kid him that if a lawman saw us he was going to think midgets had stolen that big truck.

With team drivers, one driver is usually asleep while the other guides the big rig down the road. That is the advantage of "teams", double the miles, double the productivity of a single truck. It takes a great deal of trust to put your life in another's hands while you sleep. But I trusted Motorman explicitly.

Later he owned his own truck, and at the time of his death he owned two.

I will never forget one time when we were hauling the oversized cotton strippers, we were going to be caught on the road when darkness fell, which means you have to stop and get off the roadway. We weren't too far from Motorman's Mom and Dad's house, so we took a detour. When we arrived (O.K., we stretched the thirty minutes after sun down rule), their home was dark. As Motorman manuevered the big truck on to their property, the porch light came on.

We were greeted warmly by his Mother and Dad, in fact his Mom had already turned the stove on. No one would go to sleep in their home hungry.

There was lively conversation as his Mom and Dad caught up on happenings. We ate like Kings.

Later, Motorman showed me where I would be sleeping (a long narrow room which housed four double beds), and he showed me where I could shower. I still remember when I crawled in bed, it was one of those big soft feather mattresses. I slept like a baby!

Motorman's Mother was blind, the result of years of battling diabetes. I was amazed watching her tool around her kitchen as she cooked our meal.

Motorman slept on the floor at the side of his Mom's bed, just in case she needed anything in the night.

The following morning, when I awoke, their home was filled with the smell of breakfast on the stove. The meal was served with laughs and lively talk, and it was with heavy hearts that Motorman and I had to leave.

A few years ago Motorman moved his Mom and Dad to Brownwood to live with him so he could help care for them. Not too long after that his Mom passed away. I am not sure if his Dad is stll alive or not.

The last time I visited with Motorman was in May. He was needing a trailer and we were trying to work out a lease agreement.

Motorman loved life, and he loved his family.

Goodbye Jesse Orosco. Tell Fred, TJ, and Sam hi!

FATHER, thank YOU for allowing me to know Jesse and his family. I ask YOUR blessings on his family. Surround them with YOUR angels and comfort them. Fill their void.