It's "Real Life"
with, Dan Lovallo

A monthly publication that takes you into the real life of individuals and events who have volunteered to be featured. If you'd like to offer Dan the opportunity to experience your real life, first hand, send us your details and contact information. Dan will be selecting submissions at random each month and featuring them here on this page.

danlovallo@talkofconnecticut.com

The Pulse of America...
Clicking on any of the pictures will open the photo album containing all of the photos.
Listeners to the "Talk of Connecticut" know him as "John from Bethlehem."   A regular caller to the station's numerous talkshows, including the nationally syndicated Bill O'Reilly Radio Factor, "John from Bethlehem" is actually John Rocchi, as passionate in his careers, as he is about the views he expresses on the air.
 
Rocchi, who works for the City of Waterbury, is also employed as a tanker driver for Beacon Falls-based Not Just Trucking LLC.   For years he's wanted me to make a delivery run with him, so I could "get a better understanding of what truckers face in the industry."   We finally agreed to a time, one Friday night after the afternoon talkshow.
 
I met Rocchi at a commuter parking lot in Thomaston, where he was waiting in his 6-year old Dodge 4x4, that looked as if it just came from the showroom.    There wasn't a scratch on it, and the interior was just as meticulous.    It was a foreshadowing of Rocchi's detail-oriented approach to his work, and for that matter his life.
 
Rocchi and I made the 20 minute trek down Route 8 to Beacon Falls, talking about radio and the trucking industry.   "I used to work fulltime, driving tankers," he said.   "But when the company I worked for out of Naugatuck, was bought out by a New York firm, I lost my job.   It was at that point, a friend told me I should apply for a job that offers a pension.   That's when I went to work for the City of Waterbury."
 
Rocchi, 36, is employed by the city's Public Works Department, but he still keeps a hand in the industry he loves, working part time for Not Just Trucks, a firm owned by a longtime friend.  He works three or four days a week, delivering fuel to locations across Connecticut and southern Massachusetts.
 
This night, our journey would take us to New Haven Harbor, to pick up a load of diesel fuel earmarked for delivery at the truck stop in Sturbridge, Mass.   Upon arrival at Not Just Trucks, located in an industrial park, Rocchi picked up his paperwork and fueled his 2007 cab, which holds 120 gallons of diesel.   
 
The yard itself was neat, keeping strictly to the standards ordered by the government.    After fueling, he backed the cab up to a 46-foot long aluminum tanker, that looked like a shiny silver bullet, connecting cab to trailer in one shot.   It was then time for the safety check, making sure every light on the cab and trailer worked.   "If one of these lights is out, I'll get pulled over for sure," Rocchi said.   "Yet, you'll see tonight, when we're driving, how many cars have tail lights and brake lights out."    Rocchi would be proven correct on his prediction, as he was on most of what he said.
 
The truck cab itself had comfortable brand new feel to it, as you might expect from a 2007 cab with only 27,000 miles.    But the cleanliness was also do to the meticulous Rocchi.   Everything was in order and there was no grease or oil stains one might associate with such an endeavor.
 
On the cab's dashboard, there were gauges everywhere, not only the requisite speedometer and RPM dials, but indicators for vapor and brake pressures, and other gauges important to a tanker driver.   Proving his loyalty to the "Talk of Connecticut," Rocchi put the interior lights on a subdued ruby red.   "I learned this from Mary Jones.    The color keeps me calm," he said, giving a nod to the "Talk of Connecticut's" weekday afternoon 2p-3p host, whose noted for turning off the studio's overhead lights, in favor of a lamp and candlelight.     Then it was on to New Haven Harbor.
 
Rocchi is such an expert tanker driver, he can manipulate the cab's 10-speed standard shift, without depressing the clutch or grinding the gears.   "It's all in the ear.  I can listen to that engine and know precisely when to shift."   He can also bring the big rig to a near stop, without touching the air brakes, downshifting with an uncanny ability.   "Look," he said, as we approached a stop light at Route 34 intersection, enroute to the harbor, "my feet are crossed."  Sure enough, the stop was smooth, when Rocchi finally touched the brakes to halt the tanker at the traffic light.
 
Once at New Haven Harbor, Rocchi pulled the rig up to overhead pumps, connected underground to tanks situated along the water.   There he filled the vehicle with 9,000 gallons of diesel fuel.   The area is like an elaborate gas station, as tankers, much like cars, stop to fill 'er up.   Rocchi prepared the tanker, by unhooking several valves and making sure gauges and lights on the tanker indicated it was safe to accept the load.   The process was involved because the tanker is divided into five compartments.   The hoses were connected and the tanker filled.   A keen ear could hear the whoosh of the fuel, entering the rig.
 
The depot itself  was nearly spotless, and when there is a fuel or vapor spill, truckers immediately clean up the mess, with a special absorbant pad that leaves the area clean.   Once the tanker was filled, an endeavor that only took 20 minutes, Rocchi had to sign off on more paper work.    By 9:00 we were on our way to Sturbridge.
 
"Wait, until you feel the difference," Rocchi said, as he skillfully manuevered 80,000 pounds of diesel fuel, onto I-95, before linking up with I-91.   And what a difference it was.   As 40 tons of weight pressed behind, driver and passenger, for that matter, seemed to be enveloped by an omnipotent feeling, riding high above the interstate.
 
"Except for moving over for another vehicle, I always drive in the right lane and stick to the speed limit," Rocchi said, as we journeyed along the three lane highway toward Hartford.   "Believe it or not, you make better time that way."  
 
As we traveled across the interstate that cuts Connecticut in half, Rocchi shared his life experiences.    Born in Waterbury, a graduate of Kaynor Technical School, Rocchi talked about his love of mechanics and of driving trucks.    He first drove an oil truck for F & S Oil in Waterbury, then graduated to big rigs, after going to school to earn his license.    When fate intervened, he went to work for the city of Waterbury, all the while keeping his hands in the career he loves, driving a rig.    "This is actually a hobby for me.   I relax driving a truck.   Sometimes I get in the cab, turn the lights down low, blare the music on the radio and go on my way."
 
As we traveled on I-91 and I-84, we saw numerous tanker trucks.   "They go 24/7," Rocchi said.  "Take a look at the road.    There are cars everywhere.   They have to get their fuel somewhere.    Look at the businesses and homes.   They need oil."    Rocchi detailed an intricate network of some 200 tankers, working for independent dealers, that crisscross the state, several times a day, making their pickups at New Haven Harbor and dropping off their load at gas stations and oil depots on almost a daily basis.
 
An hour and 20 minutes, after our departure from New Haven, we pulled into the Sturbridge truck stop, off Exit 1 on I-84.    "This is the pulse of America," Rocchi said.   Sure enough,  18-wheelers spread out as far as the eye could see, as truckers from Missouri to California, paused to get some rest.  
 
"How do you think computers and flat screen TV sets get to the store?   What about our food?    It's thanks to these trucks.   They are the economy of America," Rocchi added.
 
Once at the truck stop, Rocchi again undertook a detailed process, unloading the diesel into underground tanks, so truckers could have fuel, to keep America's commerce on the go.   A half hour later, after delivering the load and more paperwork to sign, it was time to head back.   Instead of buying food at the truck stop, however, Rocchi had another plan.
 
"I brought some pepperoni, cheese and sausage.   The best sausage in the world.   It comes from Waterbury.    We'll wash it down with some ice tea, as we drive back," said Rocchi.   And off we went, driving into the wee hours of Saturday, munching on the best sausage in the world, talking radio and trucking, as I acknowledged a new found appreciation for the skill and necessary work, performed by "John from Bethlehem" and others like him, who truly are "the pulse of America."

A Bear Affair!
For years, Connecticut's northwest corner has been the home to bear sightings. Backyards and decks are especially inviting locations to bears on the prowl for a meal. There was even the case of a bear, breaking into a home in a wooded area near Highland Lake in Winsted a few years back. Seems the home's owner operated a bakery out of her basement, a venue too tempting for the bear to pass up. There he was, eating cake and other goodies, while the frightened owner called police for help. Winnie the Pooh would be proud.

These days, northwest Connecticut and southwestern Massachusetts are being overun by bears, that don't move. Early in September, five organizations, led by the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, launched a fund raising drive, featuring bears carved out of fiber glass-polyester resin and decorated by artists.

Downtown Torrington, alone, has five bears, including two on the front lawn of city hall. One of the bears has a quilt-like painting for a cover, divided into squares, featuring some Torrington landmarks, including the Warner Theatre and the fountain in Coe Park.

The promotion, dubbed "A Bear Affair," features 77 bears of various sizes, throughout the region. "We got the idea from West Hartford's cows and Granby's horses," said JoAnn Ryan, president of the Northwest Chamber.

Businesses or groups donated between $1000 and $3000 dollars - depending on the bear's size - for a sponsorship in return for the bear being displayed on the sponsor's property. The sponsor also has first dibs on buying the bear, when the promotion ends.

In an effort to make this a collaborative event, the chamber is interacting with the public on "A Bear Affair." If people can name all 77 bears - the artist and names are displayed on a plaque, attached to a base - they will be eligible to win prizes.

"We had 20,000 maps printed with the bears' location, and only 2,000 are left," said Ryan. "This event has exceeded our wildest expectations." (People can also access the website, abearaffair.net for locations.)

The artwork is stunning. From the aforementioned bear in front of Torrington's City Hall, to a bear "outfitted" in an art deco style, the artists, who were free to choose their own theme, put their talents on display. "We had artists from Cape Cod, Maine and Fairfield County participate," said Trisha Poirier, the chamber's coordinator for the promotion.

The bears will remain at their locations, until late October. The "Affair" ends with a gala celebration in November. At that time, bears not purchased by the sponsors, will be auctioned off. You can be sure some in the private sector will be making bids. This is one bear, people won't mind in their backyards.