….AND THE WINNER OF THE MANTON 2021 ANDY’S CHOICE AWARD IS . . . . . DRUM ROLL
LARRY PARR
👏👏👏👏👏👏
(If that was all you wanted to know you are excused now! LOL)
Because nothing has been normal in this past year of Covid, keeping in line with these crazy times this is the first time I’ve started with the winner. This is also the first time I’ve known more details about the trucks we interacted with and the first time I had to hobble around with a very sore foot. Andy and I had a few other firsts judging this event as well.
Given that Andy has become very familiar with most of the trucks at this show, some of which he has special memories, created some stiff competition, at least in my mind. Yes, Andy has gotten to know Larry and his truck well in the last couple years but he has gotten to know other rigs as well during the last couple years. The Big Rig races and Covid have given us opportunity to get to know other trucks that have become meaningful to Andy. Yes, we did visit Larrys truck more during covid but we spent considerable more time and miles driving thru the Lutke Forest Products yard! 😳 Just Ask Lonny! 😅😅
There are a couple of Lutke Forest Products semis that I thought Andy might choose. First was the navy Kenworth Justin Hein drives. Justin lives close to us and in past few years we would often see his rig parked in his yard and many times would stop and admire all that Kenworth charm, sometimes we would even find Justin home and chat with him. When patrolling thru the Lutke Forest Products yard Andy looks for and points out Justin’s truck. Justin’s son, Adam, entered this truck this year while Justin was assisting in setting up the event. Andy knows Justin well enough to pick on him a bit. In our meanderings at the show we crossed paths with Justin many times giving Andy ample opportunities to poke at Justin. He took advantage of each an every one! 😁
The other Lutke Forest Products truck I thought might be in the running is what I call the Grandma truck. For the past year or so every time Andy sees the Yosemite Sam image on that orange and black Kenworth he points to it and says it’s Grandma! 😳😂😂😂 I don’t see any resemblance to his Grandma. She doesn’t have a mustache and I don’t ever recall her having one but she has been know to brandish a pistol a time or two! His consistent interaction with that truck made me think it might be his favorite this year.
As we were slowly, very slowly making around way around the streets on the Friday of the show and more rigs were being lined up we heard a familiar sound from the semi races we started attending a few years ago. The rhythm of this race truck catches my attention because it reminds me of the diesel oil wells I could hear at night as a kid but I’m sure that’s not why it catches Andy’s attention! I’m not really sure why this race truck gets Andy on the move toward it when it starts up over any of the other ones, but when it starts we are changing directions to get up close to it. Perhaps Andy’s heart beat syncs up to its rhythmic internal power. When I heard that familiar rhythm of Dave Parrot’s black beast heading to a parking spot I wondered if the competition was over in Andy’s mind and this would be his choice. This is the only truck I’ve seen Andy do his happy dance for more than once.
The last truck Andy had a memorable experience since the last Manton truck show that I thought might sway him was Tom Betten’s V-Max truck. At the 2019 St Ignace Semi show Tom gave Andy a ride in his semi during the Parade of Lights. This parade starts in St Ignace and travels over the Mackinac Bridge to Mackinaw City (both pronounced ma-kuh-naw) proceeds to the main street in Mackinaw City then heads back over the big bridge to St Ignace, about a 3 hour ride. Andy had a great time and loved all the jake-brakes Tom gave the crowds. I really thought this ride might influence Andy a bit.
Well,,, only one of the above was chosen in his first round! Apparently when the black beast is sitting quietly Andy just walks on by and chooses the Western Star next to it. The bright glow of the rig next to Tom’s caught Andy’s eye in that section of trucks and Larry’s truck beat out the Grandma truck. I can tell you what he reacts to when we are out and about but I can never predict what he will choose at the show. As I write this I realize three of the four in the final four were parked next to the trucks I wrote about above ,,, Hmmmm!!
Our history with Larry’s truck has been different than the ones mentioned above in that while Andy has loved that truck he has never had a ride and it sits very quietly when we visit, however, both of us look towards the road when we hear its low tone and can hear every gear as it leaves town a mile away. This truck has been in every show since Andy started choosing his favorite and it never made it to the final four so I never gave a thought today was Larry’s day to win.
This was the first year I noticed Andy view the trucks differently when he was judging verses enjoying. On our rounds on Friday he checked out the trucks with apparent randomness, but I know he is not random! Some of the rigs he would check his reflection in the bumper or hub caps and others he would whiz by on one pass but maybe check more thoroughly on the next round. However, when it was time to begin judging Saturday morning I told Andy he had to check them good and he did. He spent more time looking at the inside and check all sides of the outside. I tried to make sure he gave each truck equal time. Once he had chosen his favorite for the day, he was back to his regular pattern of appearing random.
Over time I’ve found we need to do the judging as soon as we get there Saturday morning while he is willing and before the afternoon heat kicks in. While I do my best to make sure Andy gives each rig a fair amount of eyeball time, I will also tell you the odds will never be fair due to the lay out of the trucks. This event was an excellent example. I usually try to group the first-round trucks into groups of four for him to choose his one favorite. However, the very first group of four took an entire city block and with them lined up in a long row like that he could not get a visual of all four in his sight. I had to do groups of two on two of the streets which gave those truck greater odds from the get go. I had tested him the night before on the trucks the next block over asking him which of the four Christmas-like lit trucks he liked best. As he pointed in that direction his thumb was kind of pointing to the third truck in that string, his arm was more toward the first in line and his finger was pointing downtown someplace. While I could have made a guess that’s not how I want his judging to be; I want to be confident in his choice to keep his part of the awards authentic.
After he has chosen the first round rigs we head to get a snack and finish the judging. Once seated I arrange the pictures in groups of four in the iPad and he chooses his favorite in each of those sets and I repeat with those winners until we have a final choice. With the usual number of semis at Manton a rig has to win in at least three rounds to be the winner.
Using his knowledge of the truck owners and verifying with his words was another notable first to me, probably not a big deal to you but it is to me! He tends to be lazy using some of the names and words he can say and I have been encouraging him to expand his language. At the 2019 Manton Truck Show I had taken pictures of many of the trucks and drivers to make a matching game for Andy as a goal at the day program he attends. With this game he is to match the driver to their truck and verbally say their name. The original intent of the game was to give him a meaningful activity during his time in that program that enhances his daily interactions. The success of the game fostered his knowledge of the rigs and drivers at this years show. It never occurred to me it might one day impact an Andy’s Choice Award! Those photos decorate my refrigerator and Andy references them when he what’s to chat about one of them.
Although Larry will say he’s know Andy for 15 or more years, Andy has only known Larry since 2018 when I published the first Big Rigs Making A Difference*** coloring book that Larry’s truck is in. It was then we learned Larry lived not far from us and gave us permission to visit his truck anytime it was home. Where this rig parks is visible from the main road but not until one can look directly down the drive. When we are traveling out in that direction Andy will look to see if that red Kenworth is there and if it is I can feel the car move as Andy’s whole body reacts in excitement. If I’ve not slowed down to turn Andy starts pointing toward the truck and asking “please”. If i tell him “not today” I get the ole stink eye from him until we meet a big rig to draw his attention away from me. The first couple years Andy completely ignored Larry and just gave the truck all his attention. I remember the day he greeted Larry first before admiring the truck. He loved the truck for a long time before he liked Larry! lol
Long ago, Andy started touching the Kenworth logos on the front of the rigs at shows. I decided this is where he gets his power to carry on his energetic passion. Andy has powered up on that red and white Kenworth almost every visit.
Andy’s choice for the 2021 show was Larry and Tracy Parr’s truck. Is it a familiar truck? Yes, it has been to both St Ignace and Manton shows for the 10 plus years we have known that truck. I can’t tell you why Andy chose it this year over any other year. Maybe it was when Larry turned on the lights Friday night. Andy saw them light up from the other side of the park and we were instantly on the move to go see them. I don’t know. But I do know Andy had to choose that truck three times, well maybe a couple more times than that if you count the times I ask Andy to show me again because I was not sure the exactness of his sometimes crooked pointing!
It has become tradition for Andy to present the winner with the trophy during the awards ceremony. Some years that presentation goes as I envision and some years Andy decides to spice it up a little! 😅 This year Andy decided to do things his way and did not exit left, he just exited right down the center isle with Larry! In typical Andy style he did not hand the award to Larry, he helped Larry deliver it to Tracy. 😅💗👍 He has his own style ya gotta ❤️
***Larry’s Semi is featured in Vol 1 of Big Rigs Making a Difference Coloring Book available thru DieselFreak.com.
All content copyright Pamela J Babcock 2021
Life with Andy has been an adventure in nearly every way possible which is always evident in our big rig related experiences. As much time as I spend with Andy and all his reactions to the different rigs we come across, it’s a good thing I have never made bets on the first day of the show which truck Andy will pick on the next day, I’d have lost every single time!
Over the years many of the trucks that attend this show have become very familiar to Andy. The local trucks we see weekly in our local travels and many of the non-local trucks we now have pictures and videos of that he accesses on his iPad. In addition to that I have made a matching game for him that he matches the driver to the truck that is one of the tasks he works on at his day program. I estimate two thirds of the trucks at this years show Andy knows well.
As Andy and I wandered around on Friday I was pondering the reasons Andy might choose the different ones we had shared experiences. At the last St Ignace show Andy rode in the parade of lights with Tom Betten, would he choose that V-Max truck? Over the years Andy has had many laughs with Justin/Kelly Jo Hein. We have visited that truck in their yard as well as at the Lutke yard and Andy always shows me Justin’s truck when at the Lutke yard. Plus Justin is in the set of cards Andy works with weekly. Would Justin’s truck be the winner? Another Lutke truck I wondered about has a picture of Yosemite Sam on it and in the last nine months or so Andy has pointed to “Sam” and said it was Grandma! and he did so at the show…. So would he pick the Grandma truck? ( just for the record, Grandma does not have hair on her face but she has been known to carry a gun!
) As we walked around so many of our unique relationships with each truck came to mind.