T-Bar Tommy

T-Bar Tommy

By Paul McCann

T- Bar Tommy had driven trucks for most of his working life and even still as he approached retirement he was out there on the road six days a week . He loved Maggie his wife of forty years very much and every day he rang her on his breaks . She understood how important driving a truck was to him and learnt to live with the loneliness during the times he was at work . In a similar way T-Bar also had a lonely life being on the road all the time .

Driving his truck meant a lot more than collecting a wage . It was a way of life for him that he had loved for many years . Every day they loaded him up and sent him out on highway . His instructions were always the same , just get the goods there safely and on time . T-Bar knew every road and the fastest routes to take him where he would have to go . Even though he knew his way around , recent T-Bar felt kind of lost at times . It familiar places T-Bar was unsure were he was . It worried him a little and he never told anyone about what was going on . There were some days on the road when he had to pull over to get his bearings . He missed some turns and ended up in strange places where he had never been and then all of a sudden he realised where he was . It felt almost as if he was in some lost forgotten zone in time .

He put it down to driving long hours alone and even though he knew things weren’t quite right he kept working away . Some days were hard to get through and he began to make excuses to the freight company about road accidents and closures that held him up causing him to arrive late with the delivery .

When he got home he ate some dinner and had a shower before going to bed  

Which was his regular routine . His wife always had everything laid out for him when he arrived home . She knew trucking was a way of life and had to get used to that early on in their marriage .

 

Sunday’s was the only day that T-Bar had and his wife had together and they would usually go to the markets and do some shopping and later on they would go to dinner somewhere . One Sunday night as they both sat in a restaurant T-Bar looked at Maggie and reached her a glass of wine and said ,.

“Have you ever been somewhere you know and felt like it was strange ?”

Maggie looked at him and replied .

“Oh sure , like here with you now .“

and she started to laugh but he never though it was funny and continued ,

“No Maggie , I mean have you ever felt like you were lost in a place that you know have been many times before ?“

“I’m not sure what you mean Tommy >”

“It’s just lately I’ve had a few things happen “ Then he laughed it off .

“Are you ok Tommy ?”

He looked at her as if he seen her for the first time . Her face was glowing and her hair in place . The smile on her face was almost childlike /

“I love you Mags”

He said .

Maggie replied ,  

“I love you and now you’ve got me worried . What’s going on Tommy ?”

‘   

He didn’t want to worry her so he just made up a story . T-Bar was getting good at making up excuses about things  .

“‘It’s just all these new roads and roundabouts they’ve building . Almost every day there’s some new development going on out there . It’s so confusing Maggie .“

Maggie changed the subject .

“Tommy I need to talk to you something . I been checking some travel brochures abd was wanting to ask your thoughts about taking a holiday after you retire. .

“That sounds like a great idea Mags “

He replied and she continued .

“There’s a three week Mediterranean cruise that leaves Malta and makes its way to all those places we always wanted to visit in Europe .  Wouldn’t it be great to see al those places Tommy ?”

“So its three weeks on a ship ?

“Yeah , three weeks to do nothing but relax and enjoy new places Tommy .“

“I’ve never actually thought about that before Mags ?’
“Well Tommy maybe its time you did . You’ve been working hard all those years and maybe it’s time now to do something different “

“Like what ?

He asked .

“Like talking a plane to another country and seeing how people live in some far away place . There’s a train that that runs all the way from Canada to America and they say you get to see the Rocky Mountains on the way .”

“Mags it sounds to me like you’re coming down with a travel bug . Seems as if you could end up with a wanderlust about your feet .”

They both laughed .

After dinner they returned back home and went to bed .

 

The day dropped in and said hello nice to see you

“T-Bar was already on the road with white lines on the highway in front of him shooting past like little arrows underneath his truck . He noticed all the traffic was going the wrong way and tried to avoid some cars that almost collided into him .

Suddenly he realised he was on the wrong side of the road and immediately pulled  .

over to the side of the road . After collecting his composure he grabbed the first  chance he could to make a complete u turn around to the right side of the highway and he hoped that the police would not show up . As he returned back on the right side of the highway he rang Maggie and as much as he wanted to tell her about what had just happened he knew it would really worry her so he just made some small talk about that holiday on the cruise ship . Maggie was delighted to hear him ask her about that and as he listened to what she said he decided that maybe it was rime to retire . He knew something was just not right and told her that he was going to apply for twelve weeks long service leave with an option to officially resign and go not his retirement . Maggie was so excited and didn’t know what to say so she let out a scream over the phone that almost deafened T-Bar . After the phone call T-Bar checked his paperwork to see where he had to go and in his mind he already had decided that today was the last day he would be driving . He held tightly to the wheel and drove with extreme care . It was a long road to get to where he had to go but eventually he made it there safely .

 

After that day T-Bar . Informed the freight company that he was going to take his long service leave and most probably retire afterwards .

For the first time in forty years Maggie and T-Bar were going on a holiday . They made their way in a taxi to the airport on route to Malta to board the Cruise ship that would take them all around the Mediterranean .

Along the highway five hundred trucks had lined up on both sides like gauntlet or honour for T-Bar . The drivers all began tooting their horns and waving sings and banners in tribute to T-Bar Tommy in acknowledgment of the life he had loved and the noble exit he had made . The highway had been like a home for T-Bar for all those years and now it would no longer be a place that was his . He knew he had to leave and somehow put on a brave face to say farewell to the only life he had ever known . T-Bar knew that there would always be other trucks out on the highways with younger drivers always pushing time and pumping that pedal to get things there on time . It’s a hard graft for sure but his days were over .

He never told Mags about the little children and animals that he saw around the house just before they left on their holiday because he wasn’t sure if she saw them too so just kept it a secret . The three week cruise was really what T-Bar needed and not long after the return it was quite clear now to Mags that something wasn’t right with the love of her life . After making an appointment with the doctor Tommy was referred to a specialist . Some tests were made which confirmed Tommy had a condition called lewy body dementia . In a few weeks Tommy was placed into a nursing home where they cared for other residents with dementia .

Maggie visited once a week and even though he never recognised who she was  anymore , Maggie continued to visit him until he passed away . At his funeral trucks had lined up for miles and miles as the hearse made its way to the cemetery .

Maggie seen the funny side to it and said even in his death he was able to put up a  roadblock on the highway . It was Sunday afternoon and July was cold when they laid T-Bar to rest .

 

The End

 

.