Is it a bonus week when you pay for a five-week course to learn how to drive a semi and actually get six weeks for the same price because you failed part of the test at the BMV? Or is it the truck driving student’s equivalent of the dunce cap from school days of yore? I still have not figured that one out, but it didn’t matter – Week number 6 was a good week.
I got a different guy at the test facility this time, one who was a lot less friendly than the guy from the previous week. My range maneuvers were all good this time, so out we went for a drive.
By this time I had driven what was known to be the test route several times. There is one place where we follow a 40 mph surface street that turns into an interstate highway. The route has us take an immediate entrance ramp to a second intersecting highway, then take the immediate exit to head the opposite way to the first highway, which turns back into the 40 mph surface street again. The instructor had given us the place where the speed limit dropped from 55 to 40 mph – which was necessary to know because there was a traffic light shortly thereafter. The tester had a far stricter interpretation and told me that the speed limit was 55 mph all the way to the light.
This became a problem when the light turned from green to yellow to red as I approached. I had plenty of time to get on the brakes and haul the rig down before the light. The problem was that doing so without at least two downshifts so as to be in 3rd gear by the time I stopped would be an automatic fail.
Remember early on when I explained how the 5-speed transmission in these old Macks refuses to be rushed? I knew that I had to accomplish two downshifts in the time the truck would be willing to do one. There was only one thing to do – force it. On my drives with the instructor I had crashed gears plenty of times, and had also seen the instructor grab the shift lever and jam it where it needed to be, gear crashing or not. I became the boss of that transmission and got my two downshifts. They were not quiet and they were not smooth. But I got them.
I passed the test, though the tester made it a point to tell me how rough the ride had been. I resisted the temptation to hand him the keys and tell him that it was his turn to fight with old Mack No. 208, and that I looked forward to seeing how much smoother he was at it. However, I held my tongue. All of my time, effort and money had paid off, and I had now passed my CDL test. But that was not all I needed for a license.
I had passed all of the written tests at the BMV for the various endorsements to the CDL (double/triple trailers, tanker and HazMat). The HazMat is an interesting animal, especially after some fairly recent federal changes. I took and passed the test at school, took and passed the test at the BMV, so it was done, right? Well, no. The BMV gave me a temporary license printed on paper, but without the HazMat endorsement. I then needed to pre-register online with the TSA (the people who man the airport security checks) and go to an appointment to get fingerprinted for a background check.
Next I would get my real license (without the HazMat) in the mail, but then when the TSA results came back, I had to go BACK to the BMV to have the license re-issued with the HazMat endorsement. It is no wonder they have a shortage of drivers, with all the hoops we have to jump through these days.
Within 24 hours I had two job offers, or kinda sorta job offers and one last bit of drama. My first choice was with a company called Yellow Freight. A Yellow rep came to talk to our class and described a pretty rosy gig. It was all driving between terminals, no city driving, no touching of freight, and someone else does the dropping and hooking of trailers. Any overnight stays were at a hotel with transportation provided from the terminal. It was to be a union job – which would have been a new experience for me. The problem was that they would not process my application until I had my CDL WITH the HazMat in hand.
Oh well, I had wanted to take a week off between leaving the law office and starting school and couldn’t make that happen, so my week of either vacation or unemployment would come now. That turned into close to two weeks because of the time it took for the HazMat. Then a funny thing happened – I saw a news article about how Yellow Freight was in tough financial shape. That started a deep news and research dive for me, which left me convinced that Yellow Freight was not long for this world. I had already turned down an offer with another company, and had to sheepishly make a call to that hiring manager suggesting that I had reconsidered things and would like to talk to him again. It was a good call because Yellow Freight shut down for good (following years of bad management) about a month after I would have started working there had I gone through with their hiring process.
I have now been employed for about nine months at a company that I do not intend to name. It is a regional company that has (among other lines) multiple contracts to haul mail for the U.S. Postal Service.
It is a good company and everyone has treated me really well. The first week and a half was spent backing trailers in one of the company parking lots. They say that most accidents happen while backing and that most drivers suck at backing, so they start everyone out in this way. Then came another couple of weeks with a trainer to learn procedures and to get some fine-tuning in my driving skills. One of my classmates (the ex-lawn care guy) took a job here the week before I did, and our trainer told me how it is a treat to get guys from our school because we come in with good habits and already know how to drive. I have now been out with a truck on my own for several months.
For the first several months I got to experience quite a few different trucks, from the old Macks to some more modern Freightliners and Internationals, both with automatic transmissions. It is interesting how every single unit has its own unique personality and quirks, and how some of them are really pleasant while others are more of a chore to drive. This is especially true with the old Macks – I never know whether I will be a Mack Daddy or on the receiving end of a Big Mack Attack. Perhaps I can write up some driving impressions some time.
By December I had progressed to having a regular route and a regularly assigned truck. The regular route was driving nights to deliver trailer-loads of mail between postal facilities in various cities in Indiana (and occasionally beyond). It was a load of hours (around 62 hours per week), with 12 to 13 hour nights from Sunday through Thursday, leaving Friday and Saturday nights off, and I am home at the end of each shift. There are routes with fewer hours, but more hours means more money, and I figure that I may as well make hay while the sun shines (as my farming relatives would say).
The truck is one of the automatic Freightliners, a 2014 model with about 500k miles on it. These are far more civilized than the old Macks, but the automatic (an automated manual, really) is slow and is not always in the gear I want. I still enjoy occasionally getting into the Macks, but will admit that my 64-year-old clutch knee appreciates the Freightliner on a daily basis. The Freightliner is a Daimler product, so it is a lot like driving a big Ram – it drives very nicely and as plenty of conveniences, like power windows and mirrors. But it can be the victim of cheap parts that fail in irritating ways.
Also, I discovered one night last November that the plastic bumper is no match for a deer, which managed to crack the radiator when I ran it down, leading to a very, very long night while I waited for a tow truck to bring a substitute tractor in rural eastern Illinois, so that I could continue my trip to St. Louis.
Quite recently my schedule changed again, and I am now starting in the wee hours of the morning. Unfortunately, hours have been reduced substantially due to the company being underbid on some Postal contracts and losing a number of trips. I am waiting to see how things settle out to decide whether this is where I will stay or if I need to go elsewhere. Fortunately, a CDL with all of the endorsements qualifies me for virtually anything, although I will have more options after I complete a year of tractor-trailer experience.
After several months, I can report that my stress levels are far, far lower than they have been in decades. I am physically tired at the end of a 12-13 hour shift, but that is far more pleasant than the mental tiredness I used to experience in my former life. Now, I leave the job behind when I get in the car to drive home and don’t need to think about it until I get ready to go in for the next shift. It is a funny thing that since I started this odyssey, I have heard several stories of people who left other fields to go into trucking. So far, I have heard of a CPA, another lawyer, a radiologist, and a guy who spent years in sales. The lawyers at my old firm used to compliment me for “thinking out of the box”. My life has improved tremendously after I stopped thinking outside of other peoples’ boxes and started thinking outside of my own. Also, there have been enough men in my extended family with blue collar jobs that making this change was not as big of a culture shock as it might have been for some others.
The bottom line? While I am still settling in, I am happier than I have been in years and am really enjoying the journey.
Well that’s a good bottom line to have. Well done and thanks for bringing us along for the training. That’s probably not my exit ramp but I’m getting to the point of looking to dial back my engineering level of stress.
Although I can’t believe that a heavy truck would have a plastic bumper, think of the lost productivity for hitting anything!
Yes, I thought when I hit that deer I would be fine (as opposed to if I had hit it with my car). But no. I was glad to be near a truck stop, because I pulled in just to check things out and discovered that I was losing coolant at an alarming rate.
I was on a trip to St. Louis that night and had to wait for home base to have a second truck towed out to where I was waiting so that I could continue the trip. Federal regs allow for a periodic two hour extension in allowable hours for emergencies like this, so my day (night) came perilously close to 16 hours, and I still had to have somebody meet me about 30 minutes out to take the truck the rest of the way in.
Congratulations Jim, and thank you for taking us on this journey with you.
This series is a real eye opener, and as I said before, it should be required reading for new drivers so that they understand what you guys go through. Even experienced car drivers can learn a lot. Always careful around trucks myself, I am even more so now that I’ve read these fine posts.
Good luck, and keep us posted of your various adventures in your new field!
Thanks, Rick. It was certainly a big learning experience for me. I am sure I will find excuses to post something going forward.
Glad it all worked out for you JPC, and that you didn’t take the job at Yellow! I know some other people who weren’t so lucky when Yellow folded.
Yes, I felt really bad for all of the guys with long seniority there who were turned out into the cold. It surprised me how fast things went bad there. I had expected they would find a way to stretch things out a year or two, but stuff hit the fan after a couple of months.
Congratulations on your successful transition (to a truck driver I mean!). I’ve known about this for some time but now that’s it’s it’s all out there clearly it has stuck and things seem to be going well, with perhaps the biggest self-realization being one of why wasn’t it done sooner…which was certainly the case for our own move/change.
But now we can get down to the brass tacks, the burning questions, things you didn’t touch on yet but you know we all want (need) to know…in no particular order:
1. Which is fresher/tastier at the truck stop? The Shrimp Po’Boy Sandwich or the Chicken Fried Steak platter with the lumpy white gravy?
2. When you pick up hitchhikers these days, what IS the most common currency in the post-millenium era? Gas, grass, or…that third one? Nobody rides for free, amirite?
3. White Line Fever, Convoy, Smokey and the Bandit. We need a trucker’s ranking please.
4. Lot lizards. Knock knock “Hi, my name’s Lolita and this is my friend Tanqueray…” Is it polite to shoosh them away when tired after a long shift with a belly full of Shrimp Po’Boy or CFS platter w/LWG or should one always be outgoing and hospitable, like a good Midwesterner would have been raised to be?
And finally #5, Road Menaces – what’s usually being driven worse with the least consideration for, well, anything: is it decade-old Nissan Altimas or just any lowered Audi with aftermarket wheels?
Thank you for your service.
1. My rule is no seafood when you are not within 1,000 miles of a sea, so it would have to be the CFS. The more lumps in the gravy the better! Actually, I carry my own lunch/dinner that is high protein things like meat, cheese and nuts. I do carry a stash of chocolate-covered coffee beans that do double duty of satisfying my sweet tooth and adding caffeine to my system.
2. Company rule: no passengers. Probably because they would not be allowed on postal property as a non-employee. This saves me from the dilemma you mention.
3. I am a Smoky And The Bandit guy. I must confess that I have not watched the other two. I guess I have homework.
4. My home-daily routine is much better protection from that sort of thing than anything found in the restrooms. If I found myself out overnight, I think I would be a “draw the curtains and turn out the lights” kind of guy. Without answering the knock, I mean.
5. This one is easy: Older Nissans are the runner-up. The winner – Chevrolets! Not the trucks, but Chevrolet passenger cars and crossovers. You name it – Cobalt, Impala, Equinox, Aveo – if it cuts me off or does something stupid in traffic, one of those big gold bow ties will be on the back. In the karma department, one of them just mowed down my mailbox last week, and left a mirror and headlight as its calling card, just to make sure I knew.
Re: movies- just the way you have them listed. Although, depending on how much I’m missing motorize mayhem in the 70’s, S&B can rocket to the top. Nothing quite like blasting through the South in a Trans-Am S/E…
Excellent series Jim, very educational. I’d hazard a guess that trucking would not be for everyone, and based on my inability to back a simple u-haul trailer, a 53 footer would be a great challenge for me.
Best wishes,
On the other hand, I learned it so I am sure most others could do it too. Unfortunately, not enough younger folks are getting a CDL to make up for the retiring codgers. Or codgers who will retire in the next several years like me.
Congrats! After decades of working myself to death, my wife and I made similar decisions
to destress our lives. After a couple of years we can hands down say that the it was the
best choice we ever made.
A quote I once read was that “no one on their deathbed every wishes they had spent more time in the office.”
Very true!
Thats garbage. When i did mine you were expected to downshift only when able, of course you were expected to look ahead to plan to downshift, but a quick stop due to a changed light or someone pulling out in front of you you did not have to downshift, pushing the clutch in and braking was all you did, putting the truck in neutral while coasting was a fail. Sounds like your examiner was a bit of a dick.
Yeah, he kind of was.
Passing on Yellow Freight was a good decision. I had minor dealings with them over the years, pretty demanding and very little money to be made.
There is a lot to be said for a job that doesn’t come home with you. The work doesn’t pile up on your “desk” while you are on vacation.
Yes, when I was doing my frenzied research, I expected to find at least some reasons they may make it through – new management with some good ideas, a good reputation with customers, some profitable lines of business, or even people in government or the union who wanted them to survive. Not a single one of these things appeared to be true. I figured that as a last resort, a Democrat administration would be reluctant to see a union trucking company shut down on its watch. But the company had gotten some help during Covid from the Trump people, and that seemed to be enough to poison the well with the current folks. Chrysler’s situation in 1979-80 was positively rosy in comparison.
Thanks, Jim, for sharing your journey with us. I knew all too-well that you were pretty unhappy in your previous work, but I wouldn’t have guessed back then this would be the result. But it seems much more logical now; you always seemed to be very happy behind the wheel of a vehicle with a torquey engine.
I’m very happy behind the wheel of my Promaster on long trips, with my noise-cancelling headphones on listening to a good book. The miles and time seem to just fly by. I can quite readily see myself doing the same in a truck. What a great way to catch up on all the reading I didn’t do when I dropped out of high school and didn’t go to college. And when I was so busy with work and a growing family.
There’s an ancient tradition, especially so in India, when a man is done being a father/householder for him to pursue his own enlightenment, having made many sacrifices to support his family. It was not uncommon for men to leave their household (leaving behind adequate support) and go off to a monastery or such and spend their time in reading sacred scripts and meditation and such. In your own way in our time, that’s what you’re doing. Good for you!
But I do miss not seeing your daily early-morning comments at CC articles. 🙂
Haha, the audiobooks thing has been huge – I have kept up a broad range from classics I should have read in school but didn’t, to hardboiled noir mysteries of the 1920s-30s, to modern bios and nonfiction works. I will confess that the Annals of Tacitus was a bit of a slog, but feel better knowing just a bit more about the Roman Empire. 🙂
I am back on early mornings, so I have been an early commenter again on days off!
Congrats on joining the ranks! You are correct, many of my current drivers are on their second or third careers. I have former professional masons, commercial divers, and a retired COO of a South American railroad that run the road. It can be a great job. In terms of your HazMat, states are required to accept your TWIC fingerprints to save you a second trip and the wait but some refuse. Don’t forget to complete 126f training with your carrier. All HazMat endorsed drivers have to complete the four tests every three years to be in compliance. They are: General Awareness, Safety Training, Security Awareness and Driver Specific Training. Carrier must administer tests and keep records. Kinda of CYA thing.
Thanks for the tip, I will make sure I look into that!
“Now, I leave the job behind when I get in the car to drive home and don’t need to think about it until I get ready to go in for the next shift.”
And that, my friend, is the definition of nirvana…at least in the job sense. My wife and I both have challenging corporate careers where you’re never really “off” the clock. Checking emails after hours, Skype meetings, responding to texts, stresing about your inbox while on “vacation”, etc. We’re fortunate enough to be well-compensated for our efforts, but not gonna lie…there are days when I go into the local supermarket and I’m envious of the workers there simply because they get to forget about it all once they clock out (I should know…I worked all through college in a market). We haven’t reached our personal break-even point yet but I feel it brewing within the next 5-10 years, as the stress vs. reward equation becomes too lopsided in favor of the former. I wish you well in your endeavors, JP…and I admire your fortitude in making such a change. Godspeed….
This. I now realize that I never really had a vacation because everything on my desk was always waiting for me to get back, and much of that stuff never vacated my mind in my hours off, no matter how hard I tried.
I was also getting a bad attitude about the modern state of the insurance industry and the adversarial position they are taking with their attorneys on time and billing, which generated rules that were all about jumping through billing hoops more than representing clients. I don’t miss that part at all.
If you put yourself in the shoes of an exhausted working class single person, having to work two jobs to pay their rent, or simply to eat enough to survive, it helps make high pressure white collar jobs more palatable.
The soul-crushing stress of keeping a roof over one’s head, on a single below living wage income, is affecting millions globally right now. And knowing people in both positions, the folks with the income security and career stress, seem to be generally fairing better.
I certainly won’t argue that point, Daniel. My intent wasn’t to diminish the pressures of such jobs. It’s definitely a bit of the ‘grass is always greener on the other side of the fence’ mentality on my part. Having grown up in a single parent household where money was always tight, I’d definitely prefer my current situation even despite the inherent stressors. That being said: we all have our own demons and they take their toll in their own unique ways.
Wonderful to hear JP. We are all cheering for you, and appreciate hearing such a great news story. As many often face income decline, and age discrimination in their careers, as they get older.
Thank you for sharing your personal experiences. It is much appreciated. I, and others, are very happy for you! And wishing you continued success.
Thank you! I have appreciated your encouraging comments
This has been a great read. And so relatable about leaving the constant grinding stress of work that is never done. I’m not thinking about being as bold as you and changing careers as I think I can stand it out to retirement. But I do have a plan in place.
I have though been going back to my roots a bit and at least embracing a few parts of my past. And since a couple are gasoline powered and I intend to write them up here.
Thanks, and I look forward to your updates.
Congratulations Jim and many safe travels!
Did the guys at the truck stop ask you for some random, legal advice already?
Haha, I actually have been hit up for advice by fellow drivers. I have told them that I can no longer offer legal advice, but I can offer the benefits of my experience as a fellow trucker. 🙂
Happy for you JP.
Dave
Thanks!
Congratulations, JP! Changing careers sounds terrifying; I’m glad you’re happy with your decision. And it’s fun to be out on the road. 🙂
What’s bad is when it’s terrifying to consider doing what you’re doing for another 5 years. I’m glad you are not in that position.
JPC, thanks for this whole series. I’m glad that this shift has continued to satisfy and your insights into why it has been satisfying are keen.
It’s a fascinating thing to explore what works for people so far as how to manage and balance their lives and their existence as functional creatures in our social and economic universe. Obviously, different things work for different people, but the trick I believe for any individual is to be able to – to the best of their ability – reflect upon how they got to where they are, and how to move forward in a manner that brings fulfillment. As simple as that sounds, clearly it’s not possible for everyone to achieve. Many do not have the courage or other resources to engage in that reflection and subsequent action. Congratulations to you for progressing on your journey, and blessings to all (including first and foremost yourself) for making that possible.
Your comment on how the stress with this new endeavor is much less than lawyer-ing is a good one. For me personally, I have essentially been my own boss for 30 years and while I am the polar opposite from your current job in terms of being able to leave the job behind at the end of the day, I think that the daily knowledge that I am the person who ultimately creates my own stress is what allows me to manage.
Nevertheless, Paul’s comment about ancient Indian traditions (something I did not know about!) is intriguing. At nearly 50 years of one thing, I am kind of liking the idea of leaning harder into pursuing ones own enlightenment.
I did the “own boss” thing for a long time – I eventually discovered (much later that I should have) that I was much better at the law than I was at the business of the law. Running an office and being responsible for that besides my case load was too much for me. I gave up the management in my last role, but traded it for jumping through corporate hoops. In the end, I finally solved the problems. Perhaps it was a bit of an overreaction, but so far no regrets.
Yup. My field/situation is different in that it’s quite possible to do my work without running an office (I am quite clear on how this is different in the legal field)…but there’s still the issue of case load. Drawing revenue from a single-person operation where you have to work on all of the cases is way different than drawing from the running of an organization where there are many people working on cases. That’s the challenge I’m facing nowadays.
All in all, a lower-stress job where you work for someone else often sounds like just the ticket.
Jim, this has been a great journey to read about. Also being one who knew about it prior to most, this series has certainly filled in some details. From this perspective everything appears to have fallen into place quite nicely although I doubt that was your experience during that time.
As one who is rapidly approaching that milestone in which he could retire (from my current career, anyway), seeing your career transition has helped relieve some of the angst on this end. Seeing myself continuing to be an engineer isn’t a strong vision; the rub is determining what I want to do next.
Best of luck as the journey continues. Oh, and from what you show, the beard looks great. You should keep it. The Mrs. shouldn’t mind a bit. 🙂
Good luck with your own future transition, whichever direction it goes.
Outdoor work gave me my first-ever excuse for a winter beard. I made sure to get photographic evidence before it went away. Which was necessary because I am married to someone who hated it.
Thank you for sharing your journey with us. It sounds like it’s been a successful change for you & I certainly wish you all the best for continued success in it! I too am at the age now where I contemplate what might life look like after wrapping up my current career. Once free from the need to work when I reach my milestone I’ve set, what does that look like? Is something decidedly more fun & less stressful the way to go? Could I even go so far as volunteering to gain greater spiritual rewards if there’s no need for any financial ones?
It certainly makes for an interesting time of life to contemplate. So I might ask, was CDL just one avenue you considered out of many you may have gone? Or, as I believe you may have alluded to in one of the posts, simply fulfillment of a lifelong dream to try?
I still wanted to earn a decent living for my last working years, so the CDL killed two birds with one stone because I have always loved machines and driving. It was the perfect solution for me.
Congrats on your new career JPC, its one where you never stop learning, I got sent on a SAFED course in theory to learn how to keep fuel consumption down by skip shifting, ok Id been doing that for years but learned something new about what rpms a 615 hp Cummins will cope with rolling along at town speed limits@44 tonnes at 600rpm in 18th gear yep no problem, we did a mixed route city motorway and back, check fuel use on the engine computer I used 27 litres/100kms first round driving my way then 23litres/100kms driving it the instructors way and driving an 18 speed like a 3 speed, i’d not tried lugging an engine that low before but skipping gears on hills was normal, and thats the issue automated Roadrangers have, I spent 18 months driving ‘smart shift’ eatons in two trucks one Detroit powered the other Cummins and neither transmission learned a damn thing both still wanted to use every gear changing down and the trans programm wouldnt do 3 gears in one shift at all in either truck in manual mode up the Kaimai range @ 50 tonnes everday, you dont need all 18 a big diesel growling @ 1200 rpm up a steep grade is a beautifull thing, have fun.
My experience has been with a Detroit transmission on the Freightliner. I have driven a couple of Internationals with a different transmission – possibly Eaton – and I don’t like it as well. Those are really jumpy in low speed situations like hooking to a trailer.
The fuel economy training sounds interesting.
Some trucking songs for you:
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen: “Mama Hated Diesels.”
https://youtu.be/S5RDTK5jZxM?si=8MC2RDd6JUj7whWX
Red Sovine: “Giddyup Go.”
https://youtu.be/-ZgRC3Jkryc?si=o9hD9w4zIQDz5UKI
Taj Mahal: “Six Days On the Road.”
https://youtu.be/1WaHXscnbUw?si=no28viscrlfjONz_
Dick Curless: “Tombstone Every Mile.” Apropos of your encounter with the deer, check the most recent comment by artistetrapeze. I suspected moose weren’t to be messed with, but that’s quite a story.
https://youtu.be/4aFzfDv2hz0?si=h0L7MgEOKz70BPy7
Del Reeves: “Looking at the World Through a Windshield.”
https://youtu.be/hv_TPW01-2k?si=pbr352dj3EH3cYY1
I’ll add one more, a song that most folks here are unfamiliar with. From the Australian country group Sunny Cowgirls. A great night-time trucking song.
Sunny Cowgirls: “Killalottametres”
Haha, I’ll have to check them out – although they will feel out of place, with all the vintage jazz that gets played in my truck. 🙂
“Fortunately, a CDL with all of the endorsements qualifies me for virtually anything, although I will have more options after I complete a year of tractor-trailer experience”
Does it? It used to be (and it may have changed) that a driver had to have five years experience before pulling doubles (no triples in my state).
I have no first hand experience here, but have been told that with the endorsement (which I have after passing the written test for it) I am legal to pull them. But I suspect that any company that would hire me to do so would insist on some actual training.
Doubles are common with some big freight companies here, but the only place triples are allowed in Indiana is on the Indiana Toll Road which crosses the very northernmost part of the state, and therefore not a place I expect to run.
Glad to read this final installment, and to see that things turned out OK, even on the 6-week plan. It’s a good thing you didn’t get this examiner on the first try when lots of things went wrong!
I’m curious whether the school or your employer gave any special instruction regarding dealing with inclement (winter) weather – which I assume isn’t uncommon for night runs in Indiana. Since so much else about driving a big rig seems to hinge on a driver dropping his “car habits,” I can only imagine that driving a tractor-trailer in snow is a bit more involved than just “Take It Slow.”
I’ve enjoyed reading this series tremendously – thanks for sharing your experiences with us.
Because my schooling was in the late spring/early summer, I got no winter weather experience. My company warns us to slow down and leave extra room around us as much as possible. I suspect that most of us have enough experience in snow/ice that we can “scale it up” for the bigger, heavier vehicle. I got to experience a couple of bad nights that saw me going maybe 45 mph on the interstate, but with so little traffic in the middle of the night, it did not freak me out.
The key of “don’t make any sudden moves” works just as well in a big truck in slick conditions as it does in a car.
Parading around the highways and byways with orange and white trucks branded YELLOW never really inspired my confidence in their management.
Haha, an excellent point!
Congrats on your employment, Jim. I’m not too far behind you and have more than once thought about a change in my occupation. However, heeding my truck-driving father’s advice I’ve managed to stay away from the industry, but my wife and kids have not (CSR, HR and dispatch). Regardless, we have many friends in the business and I feel like I’m part of the business whether I want to be or not. 🙂
I don’t know that I would find driving (even a bid route like yours) less stressful, but good on you for finding your post-work career. I hope that it remains less stressful and good for you in the upcoming years. Cheers!
Thanks, George. I hear drivers say that things have changed and that things aren’t like they were in “the good old days”. But then I found myself saying that about law. I decided that with trucking, these are my “good old days” because I am new at it and it is the environment I am starting out in.
I spent too many years doing CSR, HR and the equivalent of dispatch in a small law office, and would rather just be the guy out driving the truck, and let everyone else deal with the “people problems”.
The “good old days” apply to more than just jobs, but I have surprised myself using that term when speaking to younger colleagues. When did I turn into “that” guy?
In my university days, I interned at an art museum for a couple of quarters (yes, quarters. I went to an “old school” university…) I really like the relaxed atmosphere in that environment and would possibly like to find something like that again. Grand Rapids has a rather nice art museum, but I don’t know what my 40+ years of print production experience would do for me there.
Since I live about 45+ minutes away from the Gilmore Collection, I’d love to be a docent or a guide there, but I don’t think I would relish that drive in the wintertime. But it is something I want to check into in the next few years.
Belated congratulations for both your new career and this most illuminating series of posts, JPC. Can’t imagine many people could do a 180 turn like that (I mean career-wise, though doing one of those in a Mack truck would also take some doing). Hope you will find life in the cabin fulfilling — and if nothing else, it’ll give you more opportunities for finding CCs!
You have hit upon my biggest frustration: I see so many cool cars that I would either stop and shoot or shoot from the driver’s seat. But with schedules and traffic I can’t just pull over, and shooting photos with my cell phone while driving is absolutely verboten.
In just the past week, I have seen 1) a first generation Honda Prelude, 2) a 52 or 53 Lincoln hardtop, 3) a mid-70’s International Harvester pickup, and I am sure there have been others that I can’t think of right now.
Glad to hear you’re out on the open road and enjoying it to boot .
Backing a trailer has always escaped me .
Lastly :
Up hill slow
Down hill fast
Tonnage first
Safety last ! =8-) .
“The good old days weren’t” .
Greetings from clean and cool Death Valley .
-Nate
Mega congratulations on your new path, JP. It’s a bold move, an honorable move, and I wish you continued success. I’m going to go back and read the preceding parts of your story now.