David Longanecker retired at 70 after a 45-year career in higher education policy. Then he went back to school.
Truck driving school.
Longanecker (’68 Socio.) “loved big trucks” for as long as he could remember.
As a kid, he relished stories of his father’s and uncle’s trips in an 18-wheeler. Later, he loved riding in the cabs of semi-trucks when he hitchhiked to Washington State University.
Here, enjoy excerpts from his book, The Late Truck Driver: Following the Dream (Archway Publishing, 2021).
Michel and I went swimming in the shallow water of the Gulf of Mexico to get in some light exercise without putting too much strain on my body. I waded along the shoreline in chest-high water so I could still touch the sand with my feet. Then, very gradually, a subtle undertow pulled me into deeper water. In astonishment and with raw, primal fear, all I could do was look at Michel, and do my best to cry “Help.”
I had always been a strong swimmer, but now I was seeing and comprehending in stark detail just how much my body had withered. My … » More …
Jamie Truppi (’00 Liberal Arts) doesn’t sugarcoat. The Idaho nutritionist recently released an unapologetic food-and-marriage memoir and is already contemplating a prequel and a sequel.
