Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

I'm home. Dropped my trailer at the Publix on Melbourne Beach on my way home yesterday instead of going home, then turning around and driving back 115 miles just to go back home. These Publix stores are getting harder and harder to deliver too. I bobtailed home and sent a message into Tim that when I come back out Thursday, i'll need a trailer to go along with my reload.

 

I pick up a new trainee on Friday in Richmond when I get back in. Actually, he's a stage 2. He was trained by TMC, drove solo for 9 months, then got off the road for about a year. He lives 18 miles from me so this ought to work out pretty good. He's flying up Tuesday evening, going through orientation Wednesday and Thursday, then will get on my truck Friday when I get in. He's been in all 48, parts of Canada and has Ice & snow experience. Hopefully this will be a positive experience this time. I'm about done with this insanity called training a newbie, it kind of reminds me of the mouse in the wheel. We shall see how this turns out. I figure by the time my vacation is here at the end of November, he should be well on his way to solo stardom, I just hope he can get started without hitting something. My trainee record of 1 for 8 needs improving.

 

Wasn't me Pete, we don't have male/female training, which is a shame, the next one that comes through looking like and acting like Jenna Jamison would fit nicely in my truck.

 

Thanks for the kind words. What I have seen and heard from every new trainee I've had is the same, they are told by the school they go to that it isn't the schools job to teach them, it's their job to see they pass the state test and get their CDL, the company that hires you will train you. Really? Maybe the Federal government needs to put a little more focus on these schools and put into place a little more stringent requirements in order to get a CDL.

This is the time of year I worry about, that new trainee that's just about finished with his/her summer training that will be cut loose in another few weeks to travel across Wyoming, Colorado, Montana and the rest of those wonderful majestic states that requires hands on training, to deal with the harsh realities of this job. I don't begrudge anyone that wants to enter this profession that has provided me and my family a wonderful life, but at the same time, what's being cut loose out here has me terrified. I can write a book about my experiences with the trainees I've had, and the excuses as to why they have done things the wrong way. Anyway, that's enough of my rant. I'll see how this turns out between now and the end of November.