The Adventure Begins!

Thank you so much, everybody. I thought I'd give an update. Hubby is into his 3rd week of training. Nobody's fault, but it was a slow start as the instructor was out sick the first 2 or 3 days, the first week. Another guy filled in but he was doing that on top of his regular job and from what I've gathered, there wasn't an awful lot of instructing going on. Since the instructor has been back, it seems like he doesn't realize or remember who has been instructed on what and he's been impatient toward students. Last week he made the comment, "You've been here for 3 weeks and there's no excuse..." (I forget what he was after them for not knowing by then). At that point, hubby had been there 1.5 weeks and hadn't even heard anything about whatever the thing was. He's with some other guys who started before him. Anyway, all in all, things are good and he has lots of stories to tell me during our nightly phone chats.

Yesterday he and another guy, along with an instructor, took a trip to a town in Idaho, about 200 miles away, to pick up a load of lumber. He got to drive half the way empty and then half the way back, loaded. That was the first opportunity he had to practice any securing and tarping. The feedback he received was that he did great with the only concern being that he was a little "aggressive" in town. He thinks that stemmed from a traffic light stop where he was far enough back from the car in front of him to be able to see the pavement between, but his company likes them to be 2 to 3 car lengths behind. This morning he finally got his trip plan done (he did one for the Idaho trip too) for his in town driving test and he'll be taking that this afternoon. I don't know what all else he'll need to do before they turn him loose. He does have a 100 question (answers written out, no multiple choice or anything) test to complete but they're letting them do that as they go, not all in one shot in the classroom.

 

Thanks for the good advice. He might be 65 in years but I've seen him work with 30 year olds and when they're worn out he's not even broken a sweat. He's super healthy and fit. I'm a good number of years younger than he is but certainly don't feel it with my sedentary lifestyle! Also, he told me that all the company's trailers are equipped with ladders, although some drivers prefer to get their own which they strap onto some part of the truck so their ladder stays with them. He agreed with you about the trouble with 2 to 3 car lengths between you and the vehicle in front of you, but that's what he was told. He also found out that the "too aggressive in town" was because he was keeping up with traffic and Jones Bros like you to go slower than traffic.

 

I appreciate the well wishes so much, Spindrift! It's going to be a huge change for both of us, for sure. We've been together for 33 years and have 4 grown children. I could never have handled him truck driving when the kids were still home, but now seems like a good time. I hope I'll get to go with him from time to time. The company is fine with it. As far as him doing it at his age, no one can ever believe he's that old. He sure doesn't act or look like it!