Semi-Formal Introduction - Not a Semi Driver

I am an American expat who has lived in the Philippines since 2004. I am looking at the possibility of returning to the US with my wife and taking up a place behind the wheel again. I drove back in the eighties but I surmise many things have changed since then.

I have one year experience driving a B-Model Mack fuel truck for SW Rodgers (Last I heard in Manassass and Gainesville Virginia though they may have opened or closed shops since then) We were certified for everything from Dynamite to a hundred different types of fuel oils ... maybe not a hundred but I know I spent more time with the safety director for training then I did with my wife sometimes.

I also drove for AeroMayflower Agency 440 out of Pikesville Pennsylvania for three years. I drove an old Peterbilt with a Detroit and a Spicer tranny that would completely refuse to go into any gear if you did not tach it out before trying to change them. My first run was to downtown Philly and when they confirmed that I made the trip without killing anyone or damaging any property (well, I did scrape an alley post but dang, I had like two inches clearance on either side and they had me backing in in downtown Philly during morning rush hour) they sent me to NYC the next day ... and kept me in the cursed rig and a Mercedes straight truck with a reverse gear pattern for the next three years.

I also have some time hauling logs through West By God Virginia and Hauling Hay on straight trucks, straight flatbeds and doubles and even the occasional triple in Northern Nevada, though none of this was done for anyone other than my boss and we never logged anything.

I am 47, never been knocked down in the mosh pit and given my current circumstances, figure I will have to start at the very bottom. However, as my wife just noted, you can go ahead and kick me when I am down if you must, but it would do you well to remember I will get up again LOL I say that only partly in jest as I am looking for Straight Truck (Preferably with sleeper) opportunities in some of the more inclimate locations where the driving is rough, the work is hard, the conditions suck and driver turnover rates make those that stay capable of earning a bit better living.

I seriously doubt that anything is going to happen for somewhere between eight months to a year but if I do get something better in the meantime, I am certainly open to offers and suggestions though my driving experience is twenty years back and if my wife does make the initial trip with me, her experience is kinda limited, though she is built Ward Tough and Ford Tough ain't got nothing on that. (Though I tend to use Mark as Ward often ends up sounding like Wart where I lived in many places)

Additional work of mine includes working as a hunting and fishing guide in Wyoming. I am used to rough weather so no worries there. I had a more difficult time with the spicer transmission than I ever did with chains or the weather ... a part of the reason I do not want to get into a semi ... I speak Spanish with a Southern Mexican accent. I speak some Bicolano (Rinkonada) but not much Tagalog. I also speak Native English but there is a good deal of hillbilly mixed in so some of y'all may just have a bit of a time understandin' everthin' but ... maybe not

If that ain't enough reading for a day, I don't know but maybe there are some better posts on this forum and I aim to find them too but LaFayette, we are here! I look forward to meeting people and learning more about what I am getting back into as opposed to what I left.

Our sincerest thanks,
Mark and Ruth

PS I hope you see the humor in some of what I wrote there!