Missing a Gear: Pulling the Hills of Western PA

So when I came out of training and orientation last year (this year? It seems like forever...), instead of giving me a truck and gettting me started right away, I had to do a "ride-along" with another driver for a few days. That in itself is another story. But anyway, the driver who took me had been on the account only 4 months, and we spent a couple days together. We stayed in touch afterward, and of course we see each other fairly often. We both work a 5-day on/2-day off schedule, though not the same days. It's not unusual for me to see his truck around the yard, or coming in or going out when he's at home- being used by a newer driver who's still slip-seating. Anyway, I text him when he's at home to let him know what he's missing. Here's an example (this was a day or two after the election):

"Hey Trumpy! Let's make America WORK again- you ever coming back? Also, some rookie totaled your truck & it had to be turned in (collided with a yard jockey & wound up high centered on a fire hydrant). DBL sent out a message giving notice for a memorial auction in your honor. I guess he didn't know what to do with your stuff. Anyway, you didn't happen to leave your Rand McNally GPS in there, did you? 'Cause I was thinking about putting in a bid for it..."

I thought I was pretty funny with that, but this is my personal favorite so far:

"Guy sleeping in your truck this morning. I climbed on the catwalk and banged on the back of the bunk, just for you. Also- and totally unrelated, but I thought this was funny- later when I went to get my paperwork, there was a guy in the office complaining that his bunk heater was making a crazy loud banging noise and he was so startled that he wet the bed..."

This may only be funny to me, but on this holiday week, I thought I'd share in hopes that all of you might get a laugh as well. Stay safe out there, and roll on...

 

Hey man - Good to hear! Track me down when get to Wintersville! Would love to meet you. It's a pretty decent gig here.

 

Nope, not even a bit...! When I first got my CDL back in 2005, I spent a year pulling a dry bulk tank, hauling cement out of the Ft. Lauderdale port to ready-mix plants all over Florida for Commercial Carrier. Pay wasn't great, and neither was the job, but I got experience driving in Miami rush hour traffic and backing into all kinds of crazy tight spaces in little dirt-lot cement yards- much more than anything Walmart requires. It paid the bills that year, and I have some fond memories of it. I had maybe three trucks assigned to me over that year; this one- 7544, a Mack 6-speed (like a 12 without the selector, because Florida has no hills)- was the last, best, and the one I kept the longest until I left the company.

My SNI truck is a 2016 Cascadia auto that just passed 200k, almost 80k by me. I've now been driving it longer than that old Mack, so maybe I should consider trading out the photo sometime soon...