Raised in a strict state orphanage for boys, Bill Elkins wanted nothing more than to get out and see what the world had to offer. Bill’s unhappiness and strong desire to be free from the restrictive orphanage life, resulted in frequent acts of rage and consequent disciplinary action. The unsympathetic orphanage officials wanted Bill to be out of their facility, just as much as he longed to escape.
At age 18, Bill Elkins got one step closer to his wish of exploring the U.S.A., when he enrolled in truck driving school. Bill felt trucking school was his chance to fly free and be released from the life of substandard existence he endured in the orphanage. The trucking academy had never seen a more eager student, willing to do whatever it took to become a truck driver. After graduation, Bill immediately found employment with a local Nashville trucking firm. His first job didn’t allow him the travels he dreamed of, but it was a start and a paycheck, none the less. A few years later, Bill secured the position of his dreams with a national trucking company. Finally, this job took him all over the country. Bill couldn’t believe the vastness and beauty of our great country, and the number of attractive truck stop waitresses he met in his travels. For Bill, life was good on the road, a welcome change from growing up in the austere all boy state orphanage.
America was the land of opportunity for Bill Elkins and that did not apply only to employment. Bill Elkins had a reputation with the ladies. His actions made it clear that Bill didn’t want to be tied to one woman or one town. His vow to never again be poor, hungry and lonely, caused him to keep moving. He often tempted fate by driving too many hours, sometimes managing to drive beyond the legal limit of consecutive hours, a dangerous practice. But an angel must have watched over him because Elkins always seem to avoid an accident, cheating death on several occasions. His friends swore he had super powers, nicknaming him “Superman”. Bill liked the nickname and so did his lady friends.
Over the years, however, life on the road wore on Bill. He promised himself that on his 30th birthday, he would settle down, get married to a good woman and start the family he longed for growing up alone in the orphanage.
