You either know ‘YoYo’ or wish you did

The stories sound like something you’d read in a New York Times bestseller.

Or see in a Hollywood biopic.

There’s never been a truck driver quite like Mirah Lesa “YoYo” Worley, and there’s not much she hasn’t done.

Worley competed in – and won – the first bobtail truck race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1979. She was a regular on stage, belting into a microphone at one of her favorite spots on the West Coast or in Texas. She made an appearance on the NBC’s documentary show “Real People,” which was most recently featured in a Blackberry Smoke music video.

And the list goes on, and on.

Even still, Worley never set out for the kind of notoriety she would earn.

But, like the popular toy she shares a nickname with, an innocuous action often creates an incredible end result.

Let’s start with the innocuous act.

Worley was doing what friends do – help each other.

Affectionately known as “Funky Monkey,” Worley’s friend Jim was a truck driver who needed to pick up a load of peaches in Georgia and take them to New Jersey. Just before the trip, Jim fell sick and needed some help to make his run.

Jim phoned YoYo and “he talked me into going with him and keeping him awake,” she said.

And that’s where, unbeknownst to her, life on the road began.

At one point during this trip, whatever bug Jim caught got the best of him, forcing him to the sleeper. Worley had no choice but to get behind the wheel, and so began her incredible 39 years as a trucker.

“Traveling with Jim started my love for trucking,” Worley said. “It was the open road and being free that I just really loved.”

Once she started making runs on her own in the mid-’70s in a Peterbilt, the only truck Worley said she’d ever drive, she truly realized there was nothing else she’d rather be doing.

Through her nearly four decades on the road, Worley mentioned there were a couple of routes that really left an impression on her.

“Going down I-20 was always a good time,” Worley said. “My biggest run was from California to New York, and that could take almost a week. A lot of the places knew me by name, so that always made me feel welcome.”

Yes, a lot of people would come to know the name “YoYo,” and that’s what made it so hard when she was forced to leave the comfort of her Peterbilt.

In 2011, Worley was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, meaning the life on the road she loved so much just wasn’t going to be an option due to the debilitating effects of the illness.

As a profession, and life in general, driving a truck and the trucking industry was all Worley had ever really known or wanted to know.

“I just miss driving, period,” she said. “I miss having to run like crazy to make the appointments. I miss having to get up early to beat traffic. I miss my old friends. I’m originally from Lenoir City, Tenn., but I always said my home is in a Peterbilt 359.”

So, after 39 years in her Peterbilt, Worley was forced to adjust. It was hard, but all the people she ever made an impact on as well as those who really care about her never forgot her – or her dreams.

Prime example: Those closest to her knew they had to get Worley back home – in that Peterbilt 359 – at least one more time.

Worley’s daughter, Michelle Hughes, reached out on a whim through a Facebook post in search of any way to make one more ride possible for her mother. The response was more than Michelle could have ever imagined.

The search for one truck quickly became a crowd of more than 30 semitrucks, 30 Harley Davidsons, television stations – and even local residents – all who wanted to have a part in making YoYo’s “last ride” a reality.

“All I wanted to do was drive a truck one more time,” Worley said of the crowd the event drew.

The ride started and finished at the Dyesburg Army Air Base in Halls, Tenn., and if just for a moment, brought back the YoYo her family and friends know best.

More recently, another show of support came in the form of a GoFundMe page, which was set up earlier this year by her daughter, Michelle. Many people had reached out to ask how they could help Worley, knowing the health issues she had been facing. Michelle stepped in and organized the fundraising page where any funds donated would go directly to helping pay for medical bills.

It was yet another example of the impact Worley has made on others throughout her life.

“It’s really great, and I’m very thankful for everyone who has helped me out,” Worley said. “It’s also something positive for people to think about when the last year has been so hard for a lot of people.”

While it’s been more than a decade since Worley left life on the road, she was recently nominated for another honor. The Mid-America Trucking Show announced in April that Worley had been nominated for the MATS Wall of Fame.

The Wall of Fame will honor those in the MATS community that have made significant contributions to improve the American trucking industry, according to the MATS website.

The Wall of Fame committee will review and approve nominees at its sole discretion.

“That would be great, I would really be honored if that happened,” Worley said. “I drove a truck because it’s what I loved to do. Leave me alone, I got to go. That was always my attitude when it came to getting out on the road. I never wanted to do anything for recognition. I just wanted to drive a truck.”

Being forced to say goodbye to something you love is never an easy pill to swallow. But if anyone can handle it, YoYo can. Her personality comes right through the phone, and it’s clear why she’s had an impact on so many people.

Yet, unlike those bestselling books and acclaimed films; life doesn’t always play out the way we expect it to. That doesn’t mean there’s no happy ending. Maybe we’re just moving too fast and need some help when it’s time to stop and take a breath.

If we don’t slow down until we reach the finish line, we may just miss the chance to look back and appreciate the ride. LL