McGee: 20 Gauge Lorraine

"She went running off into the snow screaming and screaming and I just stood there at the door laughing."

These words were spoken by a fellow student at the truck driving training camp I went to many years ago. Her name was Lorraine.

After she told me the story of why she decided to get into truck driving I started calling her "20 Gauge Lorraine."

I remembered 20 Gauge Lorraine the other day after coming across a news story from Florida. It seems a woman got a free ride in a police car to the county jail, charged with assault, after barging in on her ex-husband and his new girlfriend and causing mayhem involving a shotgun and a Christmas tree.

20 Gauge was training to be a trucker so she and her husband, who already drove trucks, could become owner-operators and team drive across these United States.

"I can't trust him so I need to be with him," she said.

This line just begged for an explanation.

"What do you mean you can't trust him?" I asked.

"Well I caught him with his little girlfriend in our home," she said.

"Oh?" I said. My eyebrows were raised.

"Yeah, I knew something was going on," she said. "So one night I snuck home and caught 'em. We had a nice conversation at the point of my 20 gauge shotgun."

20 Gauge went into further details but such tawdry tidbits aren't meant for a family-style newspaper.

"So with a little coaxing I ran his little girlfriend out the door," she said. "She went running off into the snow screaming and screaming and I just stood there at the door laughing."

"And you stayed with your husband after THAT?"

"Aww, yeah," she said as she smiled. "He was just lonesome. I still love him."

I hope they're living happily ever after in their 18-wheeler.

Grant McGee is a long-time broadcaster and former truck driver who rides bicycles and likes to talk about his many adventures on the road of life.

Contact him at: [email protected]