Truck Driver / Transportation

“I think one of my favorite songs is ‘Eighteen Wheels And a Dozen Roses’,” says Charlie with a grin.  “For one thing, my name’s in it.  But more than that, I DO have a good life and a good wife, who I love a whole lot.  Me being on the road all the time makes it hard on her, so staying in touch is important.  It used to be CB radios and payphones, and that worked OK.  But it was always easier for me to find her than her to find me.

“These days, I carry a cell-phone that’s got one of those nationwide plans, so it got a little better.  But I don’t care what they show in the commercials, there’s still plenty of places where you can’t ‘hear me now’.  Getting me when she needs me was still hit and miss.  That’s changed since we got Genie.

“Now, Eve just calls me on my Genie number, and Genie hooks her through on my cell if she can.  If she can’t, Genie can try other numbers where I might be, like a motel where I stopped for the night.  When I stop at a motel, I usually try to call Eve and let her know where I’ll be.  But lot’s of times, she’s out, or maybe it’s real late, and I don’t want to call and wake her up.  Now, I just call Genie and set the number where I am.  I don’t have ta’ wake Evie.

“Even if Genie can’t get the call right to me, she takes a message, and I know she gets it right.  I make sure every time I stop to call and check for any messages.  I can do that at any time I want, without having to worry about who’s in or who’s out.  And, with my own toll-free number and local numbers all over the country, it’s usually a really cheap call.

“Eve and I got the Family Plan, so she has her own Genie number too.  We even got two GenieCard accounts.  On payday, my check goes straight to the GenieCard account on her number, so she can pay bills and rent and stuff.  Then she can send some spending money to me on my card, and it doesn’t cost anything, not like wiring money used to.

“I use Genie with my company too.  I had ta’ beat on the dispatchers a bit ta’ get them to stop using my cell phone by itself, but I finally won.  Actually I got sneaky.  I changed the cell phone and just wouldn’t GIVE ‘em the new number.  Now they get me straight away when they can, but when they can’t they don’t have to make ANOTHER call to leave me a message.

“Once my boss found out how easy it is for Eve to send me money on my GenieCard, he decided that he’s going to get one too, for the company.  That way, when I need money on the road for gas or repairs or whatever, he can send it to me free.  He doesn’t even have to worry about exactly where I am, cause it works with just about any ATM or place that takes ATM cards.

“I’ll be home-base tonight, and Evie knows I’m coming, with a dozen roses.  Cause tomorrow’s our Anniversary.  Don’t tell Evie, but Genie even helped me remember that!