Refresher Course

I mean I was more than 2 inches off, about 4

 

Why wait, just sign up with another company. Plenty of companies will hire you even though you were fired and will get your backing skills up to par.

 

Let that be a lesson. Of all things, messing up a trailer hookup could kill a whole family down the road. Develop a sequence of steps and stick to it. If someone approaches and distracts you, stop and politely ask them to wait until you're finished with the task.

 

Yeah Schneider will fire you over that in a heartbeat. They had a driver several years ago that thought he had his trailer connected, and came loose and killed a family out west somewhere

 

If you cannot mentally stay with the kingpin through the entire hookup to verifying that the jaw is closed and locked around it then Im worried about your ability to field wild balls tossed by those in traffic around you. Your mind needs to be all over the truck and trailer. Anything that is not quite right needs to be made so before you move a wheel. As others have said a family's life may depend on it. God knows Ive almost killed a few myself over the years but for the truck working nicely with it's brakes and so forth in order. Akron comes to mind many times with that incident.

Im not here to be difficult. But trucking is not that mindless. People or yourself might get hurt or killed if you take your mind elsewhere around trucks.

Many people wanna drive a big rig. We lose half in the first year or even 6 months or faster than that. We need many more to replace them. (Turnover)

The few drivers left running after 5 years can be considered national treasures for the skills and experience they have managed to accumulate.

 

Yeah I know I messed up pretty badly that time, just been hard to keep my head straight lately; kinda relieved honestly that I get a break

 

That I think is good if you can get a break.

Work is one thing, Trucking is it's own all consuming world. It's easier to keep up a mistress in her own apartment and diamonds than to nurse, love on or wrench a 18 wheeler with all it's demands. thats my theory anyway.

Anyhow, what I am getting at is during downtime when the Truck or Freight and most importantly your bosses (Plural) are too busy doing their own thing to bother you, then you are on time off. You need to find whatever it is in life that keeps you happy during that time off. And enjoy that activity.

That is a balance between the demands of trucking and your personal life which will essentially slip through your fingers in a hell of a hurry by the number of your best years in life taking care of trucking. Until one day you wake up and go omg, where has all these years gone. and for what? The important thing is to enjoy off time.

If I was near the Chesapeake I had a bad habit of hiring instructor with sailboat. Nothing big or grotesque mind you just a small one. I can take a tractor trailer through hell and back but I could barely steer a little boat on calm water without the instructor barking at me to trim that sail tighter. It takes my mind totally away from work. And it does have it's moments of being fun. ONCE in a while. St Michaels comes to mind. Its a activity that takes you completely away from your stress and worry. Same with flying. I cannot deal with small planes with my 40 ton hands of lead. But I can certainly get a pilot from A to B without making Uncle Sam see that I violated Camp David Airspace and scramble jets to us near there. Its the map reading and navigation up there. (This was way before 9-11, these days DC is a literal fortress, you do not take a plane anywhere near there now... unlike back then)

Work and play is balance. And of course there is people you love and cherish. Not the grumpy family who sit there and ask me when am I going to get a real job? What the kind that rots me soul and demands I fold my private life to after hours work policy? At home? HA. You kidding right? Enjoy that roast beef Da, I delivered that the other day into the local cold storage. If that isnt a real job then I dont know what is.

 

Ha I haven’t seen my dad since I was 10, he passed away; I’m going to apply for another trucking job in two weeks or so

 

just get back out there, don’t wait

 

You back out there yet?
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