Posted 11 April 2014 12:21 PM by Regan Billie
Check out part one of the interview:
Fleetmatics: When did you first realize that you could hear trucks? Truck Whisperer: See now, the thing that hangs me up on that question is that word 'realize'. Because I don't feel like it's something I realized at all. That's like asking somebody when did they realize they could walk or eat or breathe? I couldn't NOT hear trucks, ya' know what I mean? Since I don't remember when...it came to me like one of the basics. The only thing I'd say I realized was that not everyone else could hear them. I remember that, for sure. Let's just say that Kindergarten got real dicey for about a week and a half.FM: Can anyone be a Truck Whisperer or is it something you're born with? TW: I think it's something you're born with. Or at least, I was. And now as far as if anyone can be a Truck Whisperer? Well...I'm not so vain as to think that in all of evolution and in all of the creatures and species that exist in this world that I'm like the Cuckoo Bird or something like that. Like I'm the only one or something. But...well, how do I say this...I've never come across another Truck Whisperer yet...and have heard no tales of others. So, maybe if there are more Truck Whisperers out there... they might be found on like the Galapagos Islands or something like that -ha! Maybe somehow I got off the island, ya' know?FM: What's your favorite kind of vehicle to talk to? TW: I suppose you're asking what kind of truck? I see very little difference in the trucks themselves. I mean, they make 18 wheelers, passenger vans, utility vans, with lift gates, without, and so on - but all that aside - a truck is a truck to me.So I'd say my favorite kind of truck to talk to for me - is that one I'm speaking with for the first time. Because not only is it my first time meeting her, you got to remember, it's her first time really getting listened to! That's an incredible feeling. There's a huge relief and she's just overjoyed. I can't describe how wonderful it is when a truck learns that she's going to be heard and treated well. It's like the whole fleet starts to swell up with pride because of it. There's a definite communal lift - a spiritual ripple, if you will - that is felt beyond that one truck, for sure.FM: Are there any trucks you can't hear? Any you just don't understand? TW: There's hearing and then there's understanding. And listening, which is my preference, is hearing WITH understanding, okay. Now, I can hear all trucks. But some of those foreign models, whooo. I can't understand a word they say. One German truck said something once about schnitzel...but I couldn't figure out what the heck that had to do with anything besides sauerkraut. And that just had me craving an overgrown pretzel and a tuba.You know, I thought about doing one of those online classes once where you can learn a foreign language, because if they can't talk to me... well, I don't like the idea of any truck feeling lonely.Please check back next week for the second part of the interview, when the Truck Whisperer shares with us the most shocking thing a truck has ever told him.See more Fleetmatics videos on our YouTube channel
