My annual twist on the poem, The Night Before Christmas, by Clement Clarke Moore:
T’was the night before Christmas and all through the maintenance facility,
Not a creature was stirring, and there was no technician-manager hostility.
The stockings were hung in the lunchroom with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
The technicians were all at home nestled snug in their beds,
While visions of new technology and government regulations danced in their heads.
When out in front of the maintenance facility there arose such a clatter,
The after-hours shop manager sprang from his desk to see what was the matter.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below.
When what to the manager’s eyes did appear on the ground below,
But a shiny new tractor trailer with its plentiful lights all aglow.
He spotted a big burly trucker, so lively and quick,
The shop manager wondered if his technicians were pulling yet another trick.
The trucker was well-groomed and dapperly dressed,
His red uniform bright and smartly pressed.
With a large bundle of something that he’d flung on his back,
The trucker entered the maintenance facility and in short time came right back.
He performed a vehicle safety check, looking his rig over all around,
And the shop manager could see the trucker’s face now wore a frown.
“What’s the matter driver?,” the shop manager called from above,
The trucker turned and looked up after giving the bundle a shove.
“So many technicians have come to my assistance throughout the year,
I’ve way too little time to thank each of them personally,” he shouted as he shifted his rig into gear.”
The trucker gave the air horn a long, hard tug,
Giving the shop manager a salute, the rig began to lug.
As the rig pulled away, the trucker yelled out the window of his door,
“Got to continue rolling on my annual thank-you technician tour.
“Can’t imagine what’s in store for me and trucking this New Year,
Once thing is certain, talented technicians will always be near.”
Over the diesel’s roar the trucker exclaimed as he drove out of sight,
“Happy Holidays to all, and to all a good night.”
