She Gets Her Dream of Truckin'

Stories like how she met her husband, Jack. In her 20s, Kirsch left her hometown of Rome, Ga., and moved to Lawrenceburg, Ind., to work in dining services with American Airlines. One day while working at the airport she saw a man with a camera and approached him.

He said, "I've come over today to take a picture of a good-lookin' woman."

"Where do you want me to stand?" she replied. "Because I'm the best-lookin' woman you're going to see today."

They married on Oct. 31, 1956. "I can never remember dates," Kirsch said. "So I picked Halloween as our wedding day because it's a great holiday and that way I wouldn't forget it. Every year Jack gives me a broom."

After driving more than 6,500 miles and over 110 hours, Wood said she loved the journey with Kirsch. "It was really a mutual wish granting," she said. "I've always thought it would be fun to run around the country with an empty trailer and a nice rig and have a good time."

Kirsch summed up her experience with two words — awesome and outstanding.

"Would I do it again?" Kirsch asked rhetorically. "What time do you want to pick me up?"

Suzanne Tobin is a copy editor for the AARP Bulletin.