OH Bound - April 15

Great to meet you too, Sap. Gary's got a nice little family there. I took a real shine to the little one, keeping an eye on him while Mary Ann and the two other little ones washed up before lunch. That baby just smiles and smiles and smiles.

 

If she ever needs someone to watch that baby and I'm in town, call me. Never had any kids, but I'd take one in a heartbeat.

 

Day 8: Woody is back so the class split up again, my half sticking around for range exercises. After our pre-trip, we pulled the truck out of the shop to head to the range. A SIGNIFICANT downpour came and deluged the joint. Upside: Really put down the dust on the range. Downside: Turned the range to mud, which we promptly got stuck in. Is front wheel drive an option on any of these tractors?

While Woody tried to nudge it out, we grabbed a shovel and tried to get some gravel under the tires so they'd bite. Meanwhile, I got soaked to the bone, even through my alleged waterproof rain jacket. Temps got cooler and the wind blew throughout the rest of the day, so that was a joy.

After about 45 minutes Woody told me to get the other trainer truck and drop the trailer so we could pull the first out of the mud. Before we got a chance though, someone came from the shop with a small backhoe, hooked up to the ICC bar, and shoved the trailer a smidge to get the rig rolling. I guess everybody has to learn about getting a truck stuck sooner or later.

So off to the range we went for offsets and blindside parallel backing. Not too difficult to grasp, and I'm finally learning the secrets to backing: 1. Take your time. 2. Find something to aim for. 3. Stop and think: should I being turning the wheel? If so, why? I'm sure it'll all become second nature someday, but that day is not here for me yet, so I'll just do it veeeeeerrrrrrrryyyyy ssssssllllloooowwwlllllyyyy. I might even need to wear a helmet and a shock collar.

The fellow who left to tend to a family medical emergency yesterday did not come back today, so we're now down to seven in the class. I sure hope things work out for him and his family.

Well now I'm past the halfway point of this phase of the training, and I must say I am SO pleased I chose Millis (and that they are taking a chance on me). The program is awesome - at least for the pace I prefer when learning new skills. Everybody I've met from the company so far has been great. The guys in the class are all great as well. There is some trepidation among us about what sort of trainer everybody will get hooked up with, but I figure whatever happens, I'll just keep my nose to the grindstone and get through the trainer period by making the best of whatever situation I find myself in.

 

I heard the cameras have a USB port for them.