When he received Cook's call, James was still helping the kids with their homework. Among this group of truck drivers, he was one of the few with a "high education." Of course, this so-called high education doesn't mean he went to college or anything; he simply finished high school and attended a technical school for a year.
This technical school wasn't one of those set up in factories to swindle educational subsidies with their training classes. It was a bona fide technical school where he learned truck driving and basic truck repair skills.
Back then, the truck repair skills of Cook and the others were all learned from James. He might not be the most conspicuous among the group, but to the small circle, he was an important core.
Sometimes when people had problems, they would come to him for advice because he was the most educated.
