By
Ian Berry
Anderson Independent-Mail
She's only been a trucker for a couple of years, but Betty Ewing
has already seen and heard quite a bit - some good, some bad.
"I've had drivers tell me things like, 'Lady, why don't you go
home and make babies.' "
But Mrs. Ewing has been there, done that.
Mrs. Ewing, 49, is a mother, a grandmother, a wife and, she
emphasizes, a lady. And yes, she is a truck driver.
Like many female truck drivers - according to federal estimates,
women comprise five or six percent of truckers - Mrs. Ewing is
part of a team with her husband, Edward. The couple are from
Lake Charles, La., but they see home only once every four
months. In between they see the entire country, from California
to Wyoming to Iowa to Georgia.
They are truckers for CRST, based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Mr. Ewing, 50, had been a trucker for years but decided to
abandon the road and operate a paint and body shop so he could
be closer to his two teen-age children. When the kids were
grown, he went back on the road, joined by Mrs. Ewing.
They live in the truck for months at a time, sometimes driving
24 hours a day, and say the lifestyle is not healthy for every
relationship.
"It can either make you or break you," she said.
The perks are obvious for a couple that like to travel and like
each other: the Ewings have seen every state except for Maine,
and have even made trips to Canada.
People in the trucking industry say it still is to some extent a
man's world, but is becoming more accommodating to women. Marge
Bailey, CEO and founder of DriverFinder Net and the website
www.ladytruckdrivers.com, also said the image of a female
truck driver - or any trucker - as a toothless, uneducated
person - is out of date.
Mrs. Ewing said some men who are surprised to see her still
react positively with friendly comments on the CB radio.
"Man CRST, I didn't know they had women truck drivers that look
like you," she recounts hearing.
She said some women choose not to take care of themselves on the
road, but they are the exception. Mrs. Ewing wears earrings,
fixes her hair and keeps her clothes wrinkle free, as if her
bedroom was at home, not in the truck cabin, and her bathroom
was in a nice motel, not a truck stop.
"I am a lady, I'll be a lady, and I'll maintain that until they
day I die," she said.
