• Family Matters,  guest posters

    Guest Post from Tom the Trucker

    My Bro modeling my dad's gloves



    Hi All! I thought while I was busy fixing up the calendar (Thank you, by the way. So many typos!) I figured I’d put up a guest post from my Dad. It’s something he’s been working on for a while and now that it looks like his trucking career might be over, he’s even more interested in developing. Before he came down with the blood clot, he started a little side business selling gloves. This post is all about that. The gloves are so great, they practically sell themselves so this is not a hardcore sales pitch from anybody. If you’re looking for some heavy duty water proof gloves for somebody in your family who might have to deal with weather, then you might want to order a pair for Christmas. Otherwise enjoy my Dad’s lengthy post. I love you, Dad.

    The above photo is my brother, by the way, modeling my dad’s gloves. Whit Woooo! Lookin’ good Cupcake!

    And now, without further ado, my dad’s post:

    super gloves that sell themselves

    I have been driving OTR (over-the-road) for about 17 years now, and was expecting to be driving until I was at least 66 and would be able to retire. However, in August I tore my rotator cuff while climbing into my truck and have been home waiting for surgery. With time on my hands I pursued other interests.

    A few years ago I stopped at a small truck stop in Weed, California for a short break. As I made my way across the convenience store towards the men’s room, I saw a wheelbarrow full of gloves with a sign above them that said “Waterproof Gloves”. A few minutes later I found myself back at the wheelbarrow checking out these “Waterproof Gloves”. The first thing I noticed was that they were made of leather. I had never seen a waterproof leather glove before. In fact, I was skeptical that a leather glove could be waterproof. I picked up a pair and stuck my hand inside, and thought to myself, “OOOHHH, these gloves feel good!!” But how can they be waterproof?? I read the label and discovered that between the outer heavy duty leather and the soft Thinsulate lining, was a rubber bladder that prevents water from penetrating them, but I was still skeptical. “How will they hold up?”, I wondered. They felt good on the inside and appeared to be heavy duty on the outside. The only thing I could do to find out if they were truly waterproof, was to buy a pair, so I did.

    The next day as I was driving over Donner Pass (which is at an elevation of about 8,000 ft.) down into Reno, Nevada it was snowing quite hard. I saw the highway sign, “chains required 5 miles ahead”. (Most cars are front wheel drive and chains are only put on the two front tires and away they go. It’s not the same for a big truck.) Usually, there is a highway sign telling us whether there are “Minimum Requirements”, which means we have to chain up one drive tire on each side of the truck and two of the trailer tires to keep the trailer from sliding. Or the sign says “Maximum Requirements”, which means all eight drive tires and two trailer tires must have chains. Normally at this point a truck driver says to himself, “Oh no, I should have stayed at the truck stop”. I was about to say that myself when I remembered the gloves I had bought the day before. It was the perfect opportunity to try them out.

    Sure enough, the sign said “Maximum Requirements.” I was going to be out in the cold for at least an hour or so. I put on my new gloves and started working on installing ten chains, not an easy job. About half way through, I found my hands were still dry, and relatively warm. “These gloves are great,” I said to myself, “I wonder how my hands will feel when I am through?” When I finished installing the chains I was cold and glad to get back into my warm cab, but my hands were doing just fine! I was really impressed.

    I thought the gloves would last me three winters, but I never got to find out. During their second winter of use I left them sitting on my fuel tanks and drove away. I went through Weed, California a few weeks later and went into the same store to buy myself another pair of gloves, but there was no wheelbarrow full of waterproof gloves. I went to the glove section, hoping there would be some there. No such luck. There were no waterproof gloves at all! I went to the counter and asked the clerk, “Where are the waterproof gloves you had for sale?” The clerk, which happened to be the owner of the truck stop, said to me, “a salesman sold me those gloves and I have never seen him again.” I said, “wow, I really need a pair of those gloves, they were the best winter gloves I have ever used.” He said, “I am sorry, I can’t help you.”

    I thought there must be another truck stop that carried these gloves and since I travel the entire 48 states I was sure I could find a pair somewhere. For the next 6 months I was on a mission. I stopped at every truck stop I could, and scoured the glove section, hoping to find a waterproof leather glove waiting for me on one of the hooks. Truck stop after truck stop I was disappointed. There were no waterproof leather gloves anywhere! I was starting to get concerned, winter was coming and I couldn’t find the gloves I had come to rely on the previous two winters. I started googling “waterproof winter gloves” but I wasn’t interested in the ski gloves the search would respond with. Ski gloves would never hold up to the rigors of hanging chains on a truck. I did find some leather insulated gloves, but none of them were waterproof.

    As I dug through page after page of the Google search I finally saw a company name and logo that looked familiar, Palm Flex Gloves. I vaguely remembered the name and wondered if they were the company that manufactured the waterproof gloves I bought over two years ago. I called and asked if they had waterproof leather insulated gloves. The lady on the other end of the line said, “we used to, but we don’t carry them any more.” Apparently, nobody at Palm Flex ever drove a big truck! I asked her if she could tell me who made the waterproof gloves? I really needed a pair! All she could do was give me the phone number of the salesperson they used to buy from. I thanked her and called the number she had given me.

    A man answered the phone and I asked him if his company made waterproof leather insulated gloves. He said, “you mean the gloves with the blue leather palms and yellow cuff?” I said “YES!!! That is exactly the glove I am looking for!” I explained that I was a truck driver who had come across the gloves two years earlier and I was desperate to find another pair!!

    He told me that they hadn’t pursued the trucking industry with their gloves but could see how a driver could use the gloves. They catered to highway construction workers, fire departments and various safety departments. I asked him how I could get a pair of the gloves. “Well”, he said, “I am not sure. Let me give you the phone number of my boss in Washington, see if he can help you.” I called his boss in Washington and went through the routine one more time. He told me the same thing as the previous salesman, they weren’t interested in selling to the trucking industry. But if I had a resale license and became an approved, registered distributor they would be happy to sell them to me wholesale by the dozen, and oh, by the way, we have a two dozen minimum in order to ship any order. Hmmm…now what was I going to do?

    It took awhile for me to decide that I really wanted to go into the glove business. After all, I was just a truck driver, not an entrepreneur!! But how was I going to get a pair of those gloves???

    I consulted my wife, she wasn’t too excited about starting a shoe-string business, but gave me the go-ahead. I went to the county office where resale licenses are issued and turned in an application. My daughter Brenda jumped on the bandwagon and said, “Dad! You need a website! Hmmm…, how about ‘Tom’s Truck Shop’?”. A few seconds later, she said, “yup! ‘www.tomstruckshop.com’ is available.” So I paid the fee for the domain name, and I was in the glove business.

    I ordered two dozen of the waterproof insulated gloves and began asking other drivers if they were interested in these gloves when I was at a truck stop. While fueling up my truck I would talk with the driver in the next stall as they were fueling up their truck. I would ask the driver if they went into the colder parts of the country. (Just about every driver deals with the cold more than they like to admit. You can’t stay in Texas and Florida all winter!) The driver usually says, “Yeah, why?” “Well,” I reply, “check out these waterproof insulated gloves.” I hand them a pair of gloves and encourage the driver to put them on. Most often that is all that is required. The driver studies them for a moment, and while looking at how they are constructed their hands are telling them, “hey these are really nice gloves.” The next thing they say is, “how much are these? I need a pair!!”

    That’s how it goes nearly every time. I have had drivers hand me a $20 bill, and as I am fumbling to give them change say, “keep the change, I need these gloves!”

    It quickly became evident that I was on to something. Truck drivers need these gloves and they aren’t available anywhere! I stopped in at a busy truck stop in Sacramento, California a few months ago and spoke with the manager. Since this particular truck stop sells sets of chains all winter long the manager thought he might be able to sell the gloves if he displayed them along side the chains. A few weeks later he ordered another eight dozen! They are selling more than a dozen a week and drivers are delighted with them!

    I am quite happy with how things have turned out. Remember… I never envisioned being in the glove business, let alone being so successful at it.

    Now… there just may be someone reading this blog who has a dad, husband, brother, or co-worker who would really love a pair of these waterproof leather insulated gloves for Christmas. I doubt very many will be able make their loved one hold out until Christmas, especially if there is a storm blowing in and the walkways and driveways will need to be shoveled in the morning. So it’s OK with me if this particular present is opened a little early… it is in the interest of “frostbite prevention” after all.

    Visit Tom’s Truck Shop to order your pair today!

  • guest posters

    Break me in gently

    This post was written AND illustrated by my amazingly talented friend, Anna from Borderline Bonkers. Thank you Anna Banana!

    I really think that God breaks us in to kids gently.

    I am not a supermom or even close to one.

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    I remember when Kaitlyn was born and I stood there watching the nurse bathe her because I was too scared. She was so fragile and small and I was so terrified.

    I was afraid to change her diaper and had the nurse watch to make sure I did it right, and then we had to take her home. Home!? Out of the safe clean hospital with all the doctors who knew how to care for babies. I was shaking as we walked in the door to our house and promptly sat there staring at her to make sure she was breathing.

    After a few weeks we fell into a routine and my confidence grew. I started thinking this whole mom thing was pretty easy. I mean, hello, I have a kid and can get stuff done, I must be superwoman. Look at me!

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    We got pregnant again. (I miscounted my days and it happened.) I was fine with it. After all, how hard could it be? So far one was a cinch!

    Then my three-month-old little girl started getting more active (turning into a terror). By the time Ethan was ready to pop out I was freaking and spent many nights praying that he would just stay in there for a while. How the heck was I supposed to give birth again when it felt like I had just given birth, and then take care of another baby?

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    Turns out babies start out pretty easy and become more work as they get older. Who knew? Someone could have told me! I really thought I had it all together! If I had known that I would have two little people only 12 months apart fighting over who gets the biggest bowl of cheezies and then together deciding that dumping them and grinding them into the carpet was more fun, I might have thought a bit harder about spacing my kids.

    This must be why God doesn’t let us give birth to terrible two-year-olds. We probably wouldn’t take them home with us and if we did would give up in the first few weeks and book ourselves into the loony bin. I totally admire people who adopt children or have multiples or foster for this reason. They are my heroes!

    I remember when Ethan was first born I would haul him around in his car seat and carry Kaitlyn on the other hip. I would think about the days when they would both walk and in my mind everything would be easier.

    Ha, ha!

    What was I thinking!? That was easier! Now they can both run whichever way they want and now I dream of those backpack kiddie leashes. My house has never been such a dive but I am sometimes okay with that. Stages.

    Turns out God knows us pretty well. He gives us small babies to learn and grow with. They get busier and smarter as we figure out and adjust to caring for them. It is a learning process and as we discover and instill our values in them, it becomes a natural progression.

    I used to think that I would just one day sit down with my children and tell them how the world works. This image terrified me and haunted me in my sleep like a monstrous dragon breathing fire.

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    Turns out they are learning every moment how the world works by watching us and how we react to and treat every situation. It is baby steps the whole way.

    Looking back now, I really think that God breaks us in gently to kids. They start out small and quiet and then they grow and learn with us.

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    I have not come far in this parenting gig yet and I have a feeling that it is not going to be an easy road, but I do hope and pray that I can lead and be the example of what a good citizen should be.

    Well, so long as being a good citizen doesn’t include being a good housekeeper.