Because of Winn-Dixie

From Salinas, California, to Orlando, Florida, my brother and his driving partner hauled a load of blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries. When they arrived at the WD warehouse, their load was refused.

My brother, Boyd, says his partner has never had this happen to him before. I told them, "Welcome to Florida." :-(

Since they weren't allowed to unload, they had to scramble to find a place who would take the load. This took most of the day since it was already unloaded at the WD warehouse, waited for inspection, then refused, then had to be reloaded. At 5:30 pm he called and told me they had to be in Atlanta by morning, so he wouldn't be able to stay the night.

We quickly drove up to where the semi was parked so we could have a few hours with him. As we arrived and I saw him sitting in the cab of his truck, I said to Himself and the girls, "Oh Lord, he looks exactly the same!"

Meanwhile, Boyd was saying to his partner in the cab of the truck, "Oh Lord, she looks just like my mom!" :-D

I couldn't stop hugging him, and we both had tears on our cheeks. He met Glenna for the first time! Ty was playing a show in Lakeland, hoping to catch up with Uncle Boyd this evening. Unfortunately, he had to miss seeing him.

We had until 8:30 while his driving partner slept, so we drove him back to our house to sit a spell. We talked and talked, we called my Dad, and too soon we had to drive him back to the truck.


It's so unusual to see him scruffy like this. He had been on the road since Tuesday and his partner isn't fond of stopping long enough for showers. Back in CA, Boyd would stop, take a shower, get a haircut, and hit the road again. His shirt was always tucked and he was always clean-shaven.

To me, he looked great!
Glenna said he looked like Grandma Ya Ya and me. I laughed and told her a lot of people have said that all our lives, but he's actually my adopted brother. Still, he's mine and I claim him as such and always will!


When we got back to the truck, he offered to give us some strawberries. Himself kept trying to refuse, but Glenna and I love strawberries! It's one of the few fruits I can eat.


Their truck was parked right next to this sign:
Their welcome in Florida keeps getting warmer and warmer, doesn't it?


What's wrong with this load, I ask you? Nothing! Thanks, Winn-Dixie. It could have been fun.

Not that I'll hold a grudge or anything.

His driving partner said he may come to Florida once in a while and could even drop him off for a week or so. Boyd wasn't excited about driving to Florida again . . . he's actually been working as a semi truck mechanic and prefers that to being on the road these days. I can't blame him, it's a hard life. Still, he said he'd consider a visit. I hope he does.


So thank you to all the truckers, and thank you to this truck owner for bringing my brother to me, even if it was only for 2.5 hours! Every minute was worth it.