Watching for the Pie Truck

It is hard to imagine a world without Interstate 80 and all the trucks on it that we have today. Most of the trips my family took while I was growing up were on paved, two-lane highways. A trip on U.S. 6, U.S. 30 for U.S. 81 always found lots of truck traffic.

As a youngster it was hard for me to sit in the back seat during what seemed like endless drives. My mother was creative in inventing games to make the miles go by faster and one of those games was watching trucks. Back then there were the local haulers and the nationwide companies. One of the nationwide companies was Pacific Intermountain Express.

On the trailers of the Pacific Intermountain Express rigs, the company name was painted in big letters with prominence given to the first letter of each word. Thus you ended up with big letters “P”, “I” and “E”. I knew what that spelled “pie” – one of my favorite desserts!

As we motored down the highway, we’d spot trucks from various companies and I would yell them out. It was particularly exciting to spot a “pie truck.”

Today, I try to avoid Interstate 80 and all of its crazy drivers speeding to save a minute or two, but at least a part of the past is there. I still spot a “pie truck” from time to time and experience a real delight.