Heavy Haul Miscellaneous Thoughts, Ideas and Questions

Well back when we rode dinosaurs to school, it was easy to tell which kids belonged on the short bus & kids didn't have ADHD, they had behavioral problems, rather than drugs they'd bust your tail. Amazing how many kids that straightened out.

These days it seems that drugging them &/or short bussing them is the systems easy way out of having to deal with it.

They are too busy teaching them to take tests that are really designed to evaluate a teacher & schools efficiency. They don't want any kids that might bring down their overall score & keep them from getting their bonuses, so it's here, take this pill, now go sit down & continue licking the windows or anything else, just do it quietly.

If they are going to spend so much time testing them, then they should be giving them aptitude test to find out what they are truly interested in & good at, then point them in the direction that will best educate them for that.

 

I l

I loved school. Not because of the learning but because of the social aspect. I was the get D's on my school work and A's on my test kid. I was bored and goofed off alot which caused me my fair share of trouble. High school was an absolute blast for me. In my senior year book I was given the class clown and school spirit award. Unless I was working I never missed a sporting event or beer party or anything else going on. I'd love to be able to go back and live it again.

Half way through my sophomore year myself and two others were approached to be the first students to try "post secondary options" basically take community college class that will count towards high school and college credits. It was awesome. I got out of school sometime between noon and 1 everyday and I had a college class one afternoon a week after regular school. From that point on I basically worked 40 hours a week. I worked at the grocery store in town and worked at the farm. The previous winter is when I started at the farm that I'm at now.

 

Tell us about your school life @TripleSix

 

I was terrible at highschool. I went to a school that everyone had been together since kindergarten and they had learned at a higher level and when I joined the school in grade 7 for middle school everyone was way smarter. I got along with everyone though. Had some good times but I was not good at the school work. I was in the special portable for learning assistance. Grade 12 though I took college auto mechanics instead of a full year of highschool. Did that for 2 years after school and then got into trucking.

 

My biggest problem is trying to figure out how to say things that makes sense to other people. I was one of those kids that was reading BEFORE going to any school. See, the difference between reading and study is that reading is recreation. Things like world history, US history, Greek/Roman/Norse/Native American/Chinese mythologies, and the bible. Straight A student, but had problems in school. Serious problems.

EXAMPLE: 2nd grade. My teacher was really good friends with Coretta Scott King, and MLK hadn't been dead for too long. They started teaching black history in school (bear with me, mom says I am racist, women drivers think I am a bigot, homosexuals think I am homophobic, Jews think I am anti Semitic, Patriots think I am unpatriotic, democrats think I am republican and republicans think I'm a democrat)
Well the teacher was telling is about a guy named Crispus Attucks, who generally is regarded as the first person killed in the War of Independence. I raised my hand and asked the teacher why were we studying about this person. She said, "Because it's black history." I said, "This is stupid." She was angry. She walks up to me got in my face with coffee breath and asked why did I think that this stuff was stupid.

'Wasn't this guy a runaway slave?'
"Yes"
'What would have happened to a runaway slave if he had gotten caught?'
"They would hang him."
'But one night, in March 1770, he got all bent out of shape because taxation without representation is tyranny, and got to mouthing off to an armed British patrol and they sent him to oblivion. That sounds stupid to me.' [perhaps a Black Lives Matter shirt would have made a difference to the redcoats....hmmmm]

The teacher stood there with this dumb look on her face.
"Well, we have to study it anyways."

For what purpose???? Because it's HISTORY? His Story. Doesn't mean it's true. See what I mean? If someone tells me I have to learn something or do something, if they can tell me why, I can understand. Like double clutching. I've never been to driving school. I went to the DMV and then got a job driving semi. It was years down the line that I heard about double clutching. Why do they teach double clutching? That would be like someone telling you to snap your fingers twice before you pee. Why?

"Well, it helps newbies with their timing. And see if you don't snap your fingers, you may be leading to kidney damage."

The big one in school was Christmas. They would have these plays and songs and want to decorate.

Ummm, why?

"Well, it's Christmas."

You will never be able to get me to understand the reasoning of staying out in the elements, 2am, Black Friday, waiting in front of Best Buy and Walmart to duke it out with that big girl with 4 kids. How the heck do they get people to agree to spend 1/3 of their entire income for the year? And you get bombarded for 6 months to a million versions of the same 10 songs.

See, it's that whole shortbus thing again.

You and I see it, we've spoke on it...when someone new comes in asking about trucking, they instantly look at the megas. You say, "Don't drink the KoolAid, and they go GLUG GLUG GLUG GLUG. And you write them off as a window licker. What's the point?
You tell someone that they don't have to go OTR, and you see them get on a Greyhound to go to orientation. I've had people tell me that I was wrong and that companies will not hire you without experience, and I tell them that I did it. In fact, I told my kid sister how to do it and she got a decent gig, running local. She applied at FedEx in the warehouse. She signed up at the community college for CDL school. When FedEx found out, they paid for the schooling, and gave her a $3k bonus check. She runs between the airport and Amazon. And she makes about $150/day. That's for 6-8 hours a day. Not a bad gig for a new driver. A company, because of insurance reasons, may only be able to hire experienced drivers, but if you go to the warehouse, it allows you to get your foot in the door.

Somehow, someone has figured out how to program and control the human brain. "MJ, can you pick up a load in St. Paul and take it to Columbus, Ohio?" Sure. "BTW, you can't use interstate 75 at all. Keep that in mind."

Now if you're brain dead, you get, DONT USE 75. DONT USE 75. I have to find a route around I75. Instantly stuck thinking inside a box.

 

ON POINT SIX! Like when someone says don't touch or don't do that or it can't be done. I LOVE to prove them wrong. Or at least prove them right. Never ever marched to someone else's parade. I March to my own jam.

 

Majority of the population are two legged cows!!
Follow the Herd mentality.
I feel "they" try to group us,,
Some of us resist more than others!

On the window licker thing, I used to work with a guy much older than I.
In todays system he would've been shortbussed, no doubt!
Nice guy, decent worker, but a little slow. In his day, well this could get long...
I'll try to be shorter.
In general people either chose a purpose or was given one..
He was taught to drive, plow, and labor..
and if you managed him well, he was great.
If overwhelmed or not directed, well he could spend all day on the windows,
And my Lab would have them cleaner!!!!
Point is his parents taught him some basic skills and he became a contributing member of society...
I feel as though todays system supports warm and fuzzy dreaming!
Instead of promoting solid accomplishments! Point and click is not how #### gets done!


As for sharing,,, the warm and fuzzy,,, if anyone cares.
I got along with most everyone and was welcome at any groups party. For the most part like to sit quietly and watch from a safe distance, be involved but not the center.
Hated school, never took a book home, never studied, got in trouble for not paying attention in class! I was to busy doing the homework so I didn't have to take my books home!! And so I could work! Usually did fairly well on all my tests.
Almost failed gym though, apparently RedWing Loggers are not appropriate foot wear!!!
Even though In them, on the waxed hallway floors I could catch almost anyone.
And still to this day, rarely does someone call or come looking for me unless they have a problem.... Always been the fixer! And for all kinds of problems, not just mechanical.
Sometimes it gets old,,, but it seems to have been one of my purposes...

 

Me and school, I was what they called a coaster.. I did what I needed to maintain. Alot was my rebellion to my Dad and what he thought I should be instead of what made me happy and money. I had work study ny junior and senior years. Worked 40 week.
Plus I was the go to guy for things that were not really meant for us young kids to have. Hint hint

 

LOL these school stories are great.

I did pretty good in school but was also bored. Worst grade was a D in library of all things. Needed an English elective and that one was open. Might of had something to do with calling the librarian something that rhymed with ditch. Anyhow, the last 2.5 years of high school involved 4 out of the 6 hours being shop classes. Either welding or automotive. Had to take history and english all 4 years or there would have been more shop time. Wrote one research paper in all 4 years. Just rewrote it for the next class. Finished the math requirements as a freshman. Used to sign grandma's name to the permission slips, I could nail her signature every time.

It was a fun time. It was not until after I was gone that they discontinued the homecoming bonfires. Once we had our driver's licenses they could not stop us from building the biggest piles ever. We never lost a competition. It was Sr and freshmen against the Jr and sophomores to see who could build the biggest piles. If it was not tied down and would burn we hauled it in there.

Welding shop teacher was awesome. If you forgot your pencil he would sell you one for $.25 each or 3 for $1.00.

 

Was in ffa, the teacher was a wildlife officer. We logged the woods behind school one year for an ffa project. I was 17 ran the JD skidder and D6 dozer that was loaned to us. I was the only one that could or would. Got out of alot of classes that year. Learned more doing that than sittin at a desk! Did all the board feet calculating on the logs. In my mind I WAS THE MAN!!