I'm still here to write big rig humor in part because of Richard Jeni

For eighteen months during 2001-2002, big rig humor was a big part of my life. At that time I was employed as an OTR (Over The Road) truck driver. Richard Jeni helped a great deal with that.

No, we never met. But Richard's comedy tapes helped keep me alive. If there is one thing that constitutes the greatest of all dangers for a trucker, it is fatigue. The driver who knows how to stay awake when the average civilian would fall alseep at the wheel...that's the driver who can and will make a living.

Safely.

Richard contributed to my safety. Big time. Oh, I had other techniques, such as writing my own comedy songs and singing them to the Cosmos (well, the Cosmos, plus sometimes my wife, Pam, and our Truckin' Cat, Moe Key Man). But for me, great comedy routines by Master Comedians were my finest anchor to Waking Reality.

And Richard Jeni led the pack.

Thus, I offer the following big rig humor poem tribute to a man whose ripples in the Great Pond Of Life reached out, surging beyond the limits of his own knowledge, to lift the boat of at least one tired trucker toward safe docking.

(To understand how we built this Richard Jeni tribute page, click on the big rig!)

=================================================================

Coyote of the County, A Big Rig Humor Offering
Copyright 2007 by Fred Baker
Presented in Tribute to the late Richard Jeni, Master Comedian

Rolling down a California grade,
I saw something dart across the road
Hauling forty-seven thousand pounds
Of paper rolls in a single load
I might not have been able to stop
If the critter hadn't had a clue
But there was never any question at all about that
He simply watched as I rolled on through

He's the Coyote of the County
Sly and swift and gray
He can snatch a chicken from a chicken coop
Before a fox could find a way
He laughs at traps and trackers
For they never can find his lair
But he's got the respect of all the rest
From mouse to grizzly bear

He is the concert master
For a mournful coyote band
And runs a school to teach the pups
New ways to outwit Man
He is so well regarded
And held in such high renown
Not even a full grown timber wolf
Would try to back him down
In fact it has been rumored
And it truly has been shown
Even the usual parasites
Leave this coyote alone!

He can laugh at traps and trackers
For they never can find his lair
Raise a dozen coyote pups
And never turn a hair
He will not touch a poison bait
Yet his stomach is always full
He can butcher out a full grown sheep
And never touch the wool
I salute when my rig rolls by him
Then pop in a Richard Jeni tape
I know I trust Bill the Belching Gourmet
To keep me safely awake

================================================================= SPECIAL BONUS: ASHPALT LIZARD

At richardjeni.com, his family states clearly that Richard suffered from depression and paranoia. My wife and I do understand. Pam suffers from precisely those forms of illness, along with many other physical aiments. She lives it, and I live with it. Every day. We write big rig humor. Richard wrote (and performed) big TIME humor. Common ground.

Our best wishes go out to the family. As for you, Richard... Happy Trails, and Thank You for helping keeping me safe for those many, many miles.

With appreciation,

Fred and Pam

Big Rig Humor, A Tribute To Richard Jeni Home Return To Work Humor Return To Publish Your Humor