Thursday morning the rain threw me off. I woke up on May 28 and heard the rain hitting against the window. So on my way to work I quickly reached into the closet and grabbed a hoodie. When I got to the truck and put on my seatbelt, I realized what hoodie I grabbed. It was my dad’s Rocha Transportation hoodie.

In the mid-1990s my dad began working for Ed Rocha as a driver. I was 11 at the time and we were living in Patterson. Each summer Rocha Transportation would host a classic truck show. My dad would take my brothers and I to the show each year and I truly looked forward to the event. I remember we would walk around the show for hours. My dad explained to us what each truck was and its original purpose.

My dad took tremendous pride in how his truck looked. He would spend one day out of the weekend to travel to Modesto just to wax, polish and wash his rig. He would leave early in the morning (usually 6:30 a.m.) and would come home late in the evening. I’ll never forget the first time he asked me to join him. I was 12 and I was playing basketball. He called me over to the house and asked if I wanted to go with him. I was so excited that I left the basketball outside and went into the house to get ready for bed because I knew the sooner I went to bed the sooner morning would arrive. The next day he woke me up at 6 a.m. and by 6:30 a.m., we hit the road. He stopped by our local donut shop and he got us chocolate milk and some donuts. When we arrived at his work; we walked over to his truck and I climbed on in. I felt like I was in a monster truck because of how high it was. He let me sound the horn and it was so loud but I loved the way it made me feel. We drove around the yard for a little bit and then when we parked it was time to go to work. My big job was to polish the rims. Sounds easy but let me tell you; getting around those lug nuts was quite the chore.

By noon it was time for lunch. He would go on a food run and bring it back while I continued to scrub. I’ll never forget the sense of accomplishment when the job was complete. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and told me thank you for all the help. On the car ride home, he asked me if I had fun and if I would like to help him out the following weekend. To be honest I did not expect that. I turned to him and said “Of course I will.” We would go back every weekend for the next three years until he left the company.

I often think about our times we shared at Rocha’s keeping his truck looking sharp. I remember one time I scraped my knuckles while working on the truck and a certain ‘four letter word’ came out. Dad laughed and said “Well son, if you’re not swearing or sweating, you’re not working hard enough.”

My dad passed away in the spring of 2022. I miss him a lot but a little more on the weekends. He was a hard worker and a prideful man. His time at Rocha was truly one of his favorite times driving truck. He was a driver for over 30 years and covered all the lower 48 states. When I hear a truck horn roar, I go back to that day he let me sound the horn.

Sometimes it’s the smallest things that make the biggest memories.

Dennis D. Cruz is a staff reporter for The Oakdale Leader, The Riverbank News and The Escalon Times. He may be reached at drcruz@oakdaleleader.com or by calling 209-847-3021.