The Spectrum

Spectrum

The spectrum is an interesting concept. This weekend I had the privilege of meeting two young men and there caregivers. I also got to deal with quite a few people with different temperaments. My wife Roxanne works with the developmentally disabled. That has given me a little knowledge and perspective of the spectrum.

The highlight of the show for me was visiting with a man (about 40?) who was fairly high functioning. His sister is his caregiver. She was remarkably loving and supportive. He loves trucks and is thirsting for information about trucks and the industry. He was excited to get into the truck and look around. We exchanged knowledge. It was amazing to me just how much he knew about trucks, truck shows, and the industry.

When we got out of the truck we walked around the tractor and the trailer. He was absorbing information. It was fun for me having such an engaged audience. It was an absolute pleasure dealing with him. While you could see and understand his abilities and his limitations. His sister is admirable. She had taken him to MATS and I was telling her about Walcott. I hope to see them there and show him the antique trucks that will be there.

Autism is complicated. I had the privilege as well as the challenge of meeting a non verbal young man as well. He was there with his mother. You could tell that he was excited to be there. My skills are definitely limited when dealing with the non verbal. His mother is his caregiver. We tried to get him into the truck. I think that he would have liked that. He was shy. I recognized that he did not like to make eye contact with strangers. He made me want to develop my skills.

Then there was the real trucker who asked me what my fuel mileage is. I told him that my truck had an 8.7 lifetime MPG. Had it close to 9.1 before the Wisconsin winter knocked it down. He told me that he didn’t believe me. I told him that I could document it. He told me that no way he would believe me, let alone those drivers who claim to get 10.0 or better. Curiously, I asked him, if he wouldn’t believe me anyway, why ask? Then the discussion, which was very civil, took a turn. He said to me, I bet you don’t idle. I told him that I try to keep my idle time below 5%, and do keep it below 6%. Then he asked me about my APU. He was curious about the battery powered system. He had some knowledge about the system and was curious about how it worked. He really is a nice guy and probably a smart operator.

We all have different ways of learning.