Fourteen women who met via the Internet traveled to St. Louis June 10-13 to meet each other face to face. They are part of a 190-member online community of mostly truckers’ wives who support each other with friendship and advice while their drivers are on the road.
The online group, dubbed the Family Center E-List, is part of the trucking Web site www.layover.com. Truck drivers’ spouses and significant others find a listening ear and pass along their own experiences. For them, sitting down at the computer is like grabbing a cup of coffee at the local diner with their best friends.
Carol Kiley, the E-List moderator, was the mastermind behind the reunion.
“I had the opportunity to meet several members of the list," she said. "Each time I met one of the ladies, it created a more personal bond and a deeper friendship. I thought that everybody should have the opportunity I had."
Kiley began planning the St. Louis gathering late last summer, coordinating hotel accommodations, flight schedules and activities. Fourteen women representing nine different states made the trek to put a face to their friendships.
"After you meet someone in person, you read their posts in a different way," said Kiley. "It puts the facial expression and laugh in the e-mails, and it gives voice to what you read."
The ladies visited the famous Gateway Arch, had lunch at Union Station and shopped along the river. Some of them made a trip to the Big Pevely Flea Market and a few adventurous ones enjoyed the thrill of trampoline bungee jumping.
A pizza-and-pajama party brought lots of laughter and sharing. Here the women also shared special gifts they had brought for each other, some depicting the area of the country they lived in: a copy of the “Da Yoopers Glossary” from a member in Michigan; a road apple shot glass from a member in Pennsylvania Amish Country; and Hillbilly Penny Pinchers from a member in the Missouri Ozarks.
On the last evening, everyone gathered in the hotel lobby for group photos. They had dinner together, went swimming and piled into each other’s rooms for one last chance to visit. Some stayed up till dawn to make the most of the time.
E-List member Cathie Yoesel said the reunion was nothing like she had imagined and more than she could have ever dreamed.
“I have never laughed so much in my life,” she said. “I have never been more surrounded by love (other than the love of my husband and kids). I have never survived on so little sleep."
This was the group’s second annual reunion. The first took place in the summer of 2003 in Atlanta. The location for next year’s reunion has not yet been determined, but it is expected to draw even more participants.
The Layover Family Center E-List is open to anyone with a relationship to the trucking industry. The majority of the members are truckers’ spouses and significant others, along with a few drivers. The members share the daily happenings of this unique lifestyle via e-mail. To join the E-list you simply need to access Layover's Family Center www.layover.com/familycenter/elist.html and click on the appropriate links.
For additional information, write to Kiley at pk@layover.com, or Layover’s Randy Racioppi at randy@layover.com. You may also call Racioppi at (877) 4-LAYOVER.
