Friday, May 16, 2008

Ole Buford Name

It seems only fair to let you know how I got the name of Ole Buford.
Most of my life was spent in the trucking industry, both as a driver and in management. While working in truck safety, one of the duties is to do road patrol to ensure your companies drivers are being good little boys and girls while away from the office. One day I looked on the dispatch computer and saw that two of our drivers from the Ohio operation were heading into Carlisle, PA from Atlanta,GA. I hopped into my car and headed south on I-81 until I saw our two trucks heading the other way. After getting behind them, I just stayed back about a half mile and clocked their speed. They were driving within the limit and practicing good driving habits. Being farm boys, they were chatting on the cb about what the farmers were doing along the way. All at once the lead driver said "Look, there goes Ole Buford". I thought who is that? Then the second driver said "No, there are too many antennas on the car". I watched traffic going the other way and soon saw a car just like mine with one more antenna than I had. Mystery solved, I was Ole Buford. They said they better behave due to the fact that they were approaching Carlisle and you never know when Buford T Justice would pop up. Well, Buford had been behind them for 25 miles and they didn't realize it. I took a short cut from the interstate and was sitting behind my desk when they walked into the office. I never said a word about Ole Buford.
Anyone who may not know, Jackie Gleason played Sheriff Buford T Justice in the movie Smoky and the Bandit. He chased a truck across numerous states and wound up with a patrol car that looked like the loser in a demolition derby.
A week after this incident, I went to our Ohio office to have a driver safety meeting. The tables in the conference room were set up in a big square and I took a seat facing the two drivers I had followed the week before. Since there were new people in the group, everybody stood up and introduced themselves. I went last and looked straight at the two unsuspecting drivers and said "My name is Buford T Justice". They both slid down in their chairs trying to find a hole in the floor. Everybody laughed, including me. Paybacks are such fun sometimes.
The trucking operation was disbanded in 1993. Right before I left, there was a bag on my desk one day and inside was a cap that said "Buford T Justice" on it. I still wear the cap from time to time.

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