If patience is a virtue, Hamberg is plenty virtuous

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Greg Hamberg is a patient guy. There aren?t many people who would wait 16 months for their new ?toy.?

Hamberg, however, waited, waited and waited some more before his custom cab rolled into the Mt. Pleasant Walmart Distribution Center late last month. The blue Western Star with special suspension, television, microwave and numerous other bells and whistles was Hamberg?s reward for becoming the 14th member of the distribution center?s 3-million mile, accident-free club.

The resident of Little York, Ill., reached the milestone in July of 2014 but a few snafus delayed the truck?s arrival. He doesn?t know the complete story, only that he wanted a day cab (meaning no sleeper compartment) and there were problems securing the day cab. So, instead he opted for the sleeper unit.

That?s water under the bridge now and Hamberg has been enjoying his new rig for several weeks while journeying through his 54-stop, 2,000-mile weekly jaunt, picking up claims at Walmart stores. A Walmart claims driver picks up returned merchandise to individual stores.

Hamberg?s route stretches from Coralville to Yankton, S.D., and then to Norfolk, Neb., and a couple of stops in Missouri. It?s a route he?s been driving for the past 12 years.

Growing up on a farm, he hoped to make the farm his life, but a couple of forks in the road steered him to truck driving. ?I went broke farming. I guess I was not quick enough to sign up for the farm program,? he chuckled, ?so I started driving a truck. I really wanted to raise corn and soybeans in Florida, but couldn?t get that done.?

Hamberg leaves his Little York home on Monday morning and doesn?t return home until Friday night. Asked whether that makes for a rough life away from family, he answered, ?When you don?t know any better, it isn?t tough being on the road all the time.?

?Sure, I missed some family things,? he said, ?but there is a tradeoff. I work with very good people and am paid well for what I do. If I weren?t paid well, we (the family) might have not been able to do some of the things we did, such as going on vacation.?

During his 28 years driving for Walmart (he drove for another company for four years before joining Walmart), Hamberg said he has been fortunate not to have an accident.

?By the grace of God, I made three million miles,? he emphasizes. ?I am good at what I do, but sometimes you still have to sit there and wonder how I missed that one,? he reflected. ?If anyone tells you that a little luck isn?t involved in going three million miles without an accident, they are lying to you.?

In years past, he has driven his Walmart truck to Loveland, Colo.; Dallas, Texas; Virginia; Devils Lake, N.D.; Virginia; and Alabama, or fairly much through a majority of the country.

Today?s roads, Hamberg reported, aren?t as safe as they formerly were. He termed it ?more challenging,? saying that too much texting and cellphone usage makes for a dangerous environment.

So, how long is Hamberg going to stay behind the wheel? ?Until, they pry my fingers from it, my wife says. But really, I don?t know, although, it will be a few more years.?

Hamberg and his wife, Janice, have four children and nine grandchildren.