The gesture of “arm-pumping” for drivers to blow their horns is a symbol of joy around the world. It’s not just in the United States where you can see kids and adults asking for a loud salute – it happens in other nations too.
Lad with special needs enjoys hearing the horns blow
On Sunday, a particularly nice Reddit post over on r/Truckers caught my attention. Most Reddit posts are filled with bile and venom, but this one broke the mold and caused some tears to roll down some cheeks.
The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over 230 miles from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby before heading northwest.
Alex is a young man with special needs who is taken by his dad to an unnamed M6 motorway overpass so he can see the trucks dash underneath him. He would arm pump until he was worn out, getting responses most of the time from trucks as they noticed him.
One recent morning, Alex had the surprise of a lifetime waiting for him. A Royal Mail model truck was left zip-tied to the overpass’s chain link fence, with precise instructions on who it was left for.
The Royal Mail is the UK’s version of the US Postal Service. It was founded in 1516 by order of King Henry VIII. It was owned by the British government until the Postal Services Act of 2011 was passed when it became a publicly traded company on the FTSE 250 Index.
The messages on the box were: “For the Dad and lad who waves at the trucks!” and “I drive for Royal Mail and see you and your lad regularly and thought he might like one for his own, have a nice day!” You can bet Alex is treasuring his new truck from the unknown driver.
There were several “at-a-boys” for Alex and his modern-day “Postman Pat” from the usually raucous redditors. Here is one of the responses from the post:
It’s these simple acts of kindness that help promote the many positive aspects of trucking over the flood of negativity on mainstream media. If you know of any more acts of kindness from truckers or fans of trucking, please leave details in the comments below so we can spread the word.Syraxis41
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1 day ago
That’s an awesome thing that they did. Sounds like something I would do. People with special needs have a soft spot in my heart. I use to work with them growing up. I treat them like they are one of us because they are. Kudos to the parents who raise these kids. They could easily turn a blind eye but for the ones who love them unconditionally and know the journey is going to be tough but they do it anyways. Thanks for sharing Op.