FIXTITLE Ron Witherspoon.docx

BEAUTIFUL SOUL

The Story

Of

Ron Witherspoon

In speaking with this Legend’s nominee, I could not help but smile the entire interview. His comforting tone and easy conversation opened the door to several tunes, written over the years that referenced whichever our current topic was at the moment. His choice of song varied from humorous to somber. Within his 44 years of driving professionally over the road, his repertoire consists of everything in between. Throughout his extensive career in trucking, he has a lifetime of 5 million safe miles to his name. His time spent behind the wheel provided the muted space to gather thoughts and draw inspiration from his surroundings. Along with song writing, he also enjoyed translating his life’s travels into poetry. Many verses contained people in passing, stories of a more memorable time, or a beautiful sonnet of expression from his own point of view; a hardworking man that loved his job.

By sharing his thoughts out loud he wears his heart on his sleeve, allowing his poetry to pour from his soul. With a gentle voice of honesty, he is always willing to share words of encouragement, or an uplifting story to make you laugh. He can sing you a song that will raise your spirit or recite a joke, relieving any worries if just for a moment, to enjoy a second of joy. This Legend’s gift comes in the form of beautifully rhythmic words that every truck driver can relate to.

Square One

Born the summer of 1948, Ron Witherspoon was raised in the small town of Cave City, Kentucky by his mother and grandparents. Their family home was located near a lumber company that brought in a lot of traffic, primarily trucks. As young as three years old, Ron became fascinated with the large vehicles and even snuck over to the yard more times than he can count. With an advanced imagination of traveling a world that was beyond his understanding, the one and only thing that mattered was the fact that being in a truck was going to get him there.

Ron spent a good deal of his early years at his uncles’ farm, helping where he could. At the age of nine, he got a taste of what it was like to sit in the driver’s seat. His uncle had a farm truck that he used to haul hay for the horses. It was an old 1952 Chevrolet with 6 cylinders. Ron can recall its full description and exactly how he felt the day he gripped his fingers around the steering wheel. “I could barely reach the pedals. Some days I would day dream about driving across the mountains. I felt like a king in that truck. It was my favorite thing, just sitting in it,” he said.

Growing up, Ron always found work on a farm. When he wasn’t at his uncle’s place he worked for his neighbors hauling hay and cutting tobacco. He stayed with one family from the age of 12 until 19, milking their cows by hand. At 19, he landed a position at a tire repair station where he pumped gasoline for customers. By his second week on the job, while speaking with a gentleman he was offered a job delivering country hams to a place 50 miles up the road.

Ron’s first thought was that he had never ventured out more than 35 miles from home his entire life. His next thought was that he was not going to let this opportunity pass him by. He continues, “I remember thinking, I’ve made it! I am the king of the road. It wasn’t long after, the company needed someone to run a route going through Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolinas delivering hams to grocery stores. When I was growing up I had read a bunch of books on horses, another thing I was intrigued by since I was around them all the time. My dream at that age was to see the race horse farms in Lexington, Kentucky and this new job offered me that chance. On December 12th, 1967 I was in my first commercial vehicle! They started me in a 4-wheeler, then a 6-wheeler, and eventually I was driving a semi. And it’s what I’ve done ever since. I wouldn’t trade a day doing anything else.”

*Included are a couple of Ron’s poems that he wrote about trucking:

WHO IS DRIVING WHO

I climb up in that old semi and turn on the key.... When that engine fires up, something fires up inside of me.

As I let her build up air, I can feel my blood start to flow. She will be ready in a minute and we will both be ready to go.

I walk around and kick the tires and check all the lights. We won't hit the road until we know everything is right.

Then I say a little prayer before I climb into the seat... Lord bless all the drivers that are on the road with me.

Then I push in the buttons and it starts to slowly roll; got to take it easy till I hit the big road.

Then I start to grab them gears, she will do the rest. You got to be in harmony if you want to do your best.

As the miles roll away and the sun starts to rise, I know that I look at the world with a different set of eyes.

Because unless you are a trucker, you cannot truly understand... That special kind of feeling between a truck and a man.

Nobody understands what this truck and I do, but the question really is...

WHO IS DRIVING WHO?

Live A Little

Looking back on his trucking career, Ron has taken pride in the fact that all his 5 million miles are accident-free. He drove local for some time, but the open highway always found a way to pull him back in. Retreating to over the road willingly, he does state that hauling livestock was by far his favorite. He ran team for a while with a close friend, whom he learned a great deal of trucking from. Ron explains how his former teammate grew up riding in a truck since he was in diapers. He was the only boy of the family, with three sisters. Everything he learned through the years from his father, he passed on to Ron as they exchanged tips and tricks with one another over their course of time together.

Another big influence on Ron’s trucking career dates back to his childhood. When he was a kid and sitting at the local truck stops around town, listening to the truck drivers carry on about where they’ve been and what all they’ve seen. His mind couldn’t fathom being on a mountain looking down upon clouds below him. He says, “Even then, I just knew that trucking is where I was meant to be!” The gravity of how the trucking industry has fulfilled a life of wonder, excitement, and knowledge of our country’s history was embraced by Ron open-heartedly, as if to ask, why not? He says, “I had never traveled away from home before trucking. We were poor and I remembered asking myself, ‘What is my future going to be?’ I was speaking with a friend recently that I graduated high school with in 1967, and he still has never been out of Kentucky. I would’ve been the same way. That could easily have been me.”

Ron continues, “I love the open road! It’s where I always feel at home. The highway is the only place I’ve felt needed and appreciated. When I’m driving is when songs and poems pop in my head, it’s when I’m most creative and free. Sometimes I’ll keep repeating poems or lyrics over a period of time and the words won’t go away until I write them down. I pull from experience and memories. Most are true stories; some wrote for me, others for friends.”

ROAD DOGS

I missed my son's birthday party. I think this makes five years in a row. And last year on Christmas day, I was in Oklahoma driving in the wind and snow...

The other day my granddaughter called and said that she and my old horse had won first prize. When she said granddaddy, you should have been there, that brought a tear to my eye.

Why does a man leave everything he loves and go out on the road? Sometimes what he has in his trailer ain't his heaviest load...

Why did Lewis and Clark travel three thousand miles? Was it for fame and glory? Or was it just for the smiles?

Why did the pioneers get in a covered wagon and head out west? Was it for a better life? Or was it some kind of personal test?

You can take an egg from a song bird's nest and replace it with an egg from a cow bird and that baby will hatch out and be big and strong, but it will never sing. It will only chirp...

Then it will fly off with others of its kind and never look back. So, when we say we were born a trucker; we may not be too far off track.

Yeah, I believe you’re born a trucker or you're not and there ain't a whole lot you can do about that. And I believe that us old roar dogs are born just to chase them yellow cats.

Breathe Easy

Hooked at 12, trucking for a means of living by 19, and running from coast to coast for 44 years, there have been a number of things Ron has missed out on since committing to the trucking industry. Now at home full-time, he can enjoy many of life’s blessings that he was absent for while away on the road: family, spending time with his granddaughter, also tending to his horses and rabbit dogs.

When I inquired his take on what it requires to achieve a successful career in transportation, he stated that the term ‘success’ can be measured in a lot of different ways. In his eyes, he has accomplished his goals as a professional truck driver being that he has visited everywhere he has ever wanted to, and done everything that he has set out to do. But to truly succeed at the profession, one must absolutely love it. “Being a truck driver is hard. It’s hard work and harder on your family, because you give up so much. That’s why it’s so important that you love what you do. Otherwise you won’t make it. Trucking is not just a calling. For me, I was born to be a truck driver. That’s the one word you can describe me as, a trucker. It’s all I am, all I want to be,” he said.

Ron reached a fork in the road… Was he to pursue another career that could strengthen his outreach to the trucking community, where his songs and poetry could have a platform? Or depart completely as your typical truck driver, leaving behind a world where his heart beat felt alive and his essence can only be lived through flashbacks?

When speaking of a character such as Ron, with a heart of gold and stories to share for days, there was never a doubt which direction he would choose. He spends his days relaxing, mentoring when he can, singing and for the better part, spreading joy. Ron invites you to follow him on Facebook (found under his full name Ron Witherspoon) and listen to his videos, read more of his poems, or if you need a good ear to listen, don’t hesitate to contact him. Trucking and his fellow drivers is what he lives for!