Where are the old timers at?

He's also the guy that, when asked for advice, will do the best that he can to help the person asking. You might not like the advice you get but it will be honest and based on many years of experience.

The old timers I've worked with were mostly tanker drivers and loggers. I started in the late 60s. I had trouble when I started out understanding
why they did things the way they did but after a while it made sense. I was a slow learner and hard headed. That's not a good combination. They were more patient with me than they had to be.




The old timer doesn't say much and you'll never hear him brag. His work says everything about him that you need to know. He probably has some pretty good stories to tell but he doesn't inflict them on strangers.

When you've been around the outfit long enough for the old timer to start calling you by your name you've really accomplished something. Maybe not acceptance but recognition at least. Until then he'll pretty much ignore you. That's not rudeness. He's seen so many drivers come and go that he doesn't pay much attention to anybody until they've been there a few years. He'll work with you and he'll help you but don't expect him to be a friend.

Watch how the old timer works. He never seems to hurry but he gets a lot done in a short time. You don't see any do-overs or wasted motion. He can get every bit of performance out of a truck, especially in bad country, without hurting anything.

You can learn a lot from old timers. If you want to, that is.

 

Saw a lot of myself in that story.