Murphy's World

Turkey of a Thief was Half-Baked

Dear Murphy,
It started out to be just another Thanksgiving holiday for me in 1997 driving big trucks. That morning I found out I wouldn’t be home to have Thanksgiving dinner with my family, so I was kind of upset about that. My dad was my dispatcher, and he sent me for a load in New Iberia, LA. That's when it turned into a really bad Thanksgiving Day.

I made it down there about 6:30 p.m., got loaded and headed for the truck stop to eat some turkey. After fueling, I parked my truck and went into the truckers’ lounge. I was in there five minutes when a guy ran in asking who drove a purple truck with a chrome tank. I said I did, and he told me it had just been stolen.
Running outside, I saw my truck flipped over in someone’s front yard. The police caught the guy. My dad came home from a Thanksgiving party with an ice chest full of turkey, so I got my Thanksgiving dinner after all.

“Purple Haze”
Fresno, CA

Dear Purple,

The idiot who tried to steal your truck sounds like he was auditioning for both roles in “Dumb and Dumber.” You’ve got to be dumb to resort to stealing. You’ve got to be even dumber to try to steal a big rig. You’ve got to be off the dumb-o-meter to try to steal a purple big rig with a chrome tank and then do a rollover seconds into your getaway.

Guys like this beg the question: What was he thinking? Did he really think he wouldn’t stand out like a dumb sore thumb while trying to escape in a purple cab and chrome tank? Of course, judging from his skills behind the wheel, he wasn't going to get too far even if he was driving a stealth truck.

OK, enough about the thief. What’s up with your dad, the dispatcher? Dispatchers aren’t generally known for their kindness to drivers, but couldn’t dear old dad figure out a way to get you home so you could be with your family on Thanksgiving? At least he brought you home some turkey. In Murphy’s World, we count our blessings anyway and anywhere we can find them.

Murphy and Lucky Dog