Comments By Phantom 850

Don’t worry guys. I’ve hit the pad hard for the last 2 1/2 days. I took an hour to sulk and cuss after I failed, slapped myself in the face, and got back at it. I’m not the kind to lay down. Besides, if I quit I have to ride the greyhound back to Florida, and I’ll never do that again.

You could choose to look at it the way I do. Training sucks, but there’s a lot of money to be made out there and this is just a means to an end. You want to make real money, you have to survive training. I got lucky. My trainer and I hit it off right away. That doesn’t always happen. Also, try to put yourself in his shoes. If he is a lease guy, he’s not chasing miles, he’s chasing loads. He also has a truck note that has to be paid every week whether the loads are there or not. If you had an $800-$1300 note due every week you’d turn and burn too. As students we tend to get in a hurry. Slow down and get your learn on. During my D seat I learned as much or more sitting in the right hand seat. I’d observe how he handled situations and pick his brain endlessly. That’s the beauty of these company sponsored programs. You’re not just learning to drive a truck, you’re learning to be a truck driver. And at the end of the day you have to realize, this man has invited you into his place of business. That truck is how he feeds his family, and he was kind enough to not only let you in it, but let you drive it. That’s a big deal. His livelihood is resting on your shoulders. How would you feel if you’re mortgage payment was in the hands of a green rookie that’s so wet behind the ears he drips? Is he compensated for taking you on? Yes, but in my opinion it’s no where near enough. Hell, I may have cost my trainer money my first week. He turned down a load that would have netted him around $2000 because he wasn’t comfortable rolling through NYC with a student.

Retest on Monday. There’s a 48 hour rule. Whipped through the pretrip, hit the straight line and offset back no problem. Then I died and went to blind side parallel hell. Made a stupid mistake and guided off of the wrong cones. Couldn’t recover, and tried to reset. Ran out time. After throwing my hat and cussing for about an hour I went back to practicing. Nailed it first time out. I’m still pretty upset, and could make a million excuses, but at the end of the day it’s on me. No one to blame but myself. But I’m not the kind to lay down. I’ll rally and get it next time.

Aaaaaaaaand... I failed.

Sorry the posts have been so infrequent. As most of you know, life on the road can be a little hectic. We’re back in Springfield so that I can get a couple days of pad work before my test which is Thursday. I’m not going to lie, I’m a little nervous. I feel like now is a good time to reflect on what I’ve seen during my first two weeks on the road. I’ve driven through 15 states, crossed the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, and Potomac rivers, been to the home towns of William Faulkner, Mark Twain, Abraham Lincoln, and the lead singer of the band Surviver. I’ve seen the Gateway Arch, the capital building, the Washington monument, and where the national anthem was written. I’ve shut down in Amish county and across the street from a horse race track. I’ve met all kinds of people, some good, some not. I’ve had someone unhook my trailer air when I walked in to get a scale ticket. But by far the coolest thing I’ve done is let a little boy blow that air horn on the truck. If you were asleep in the pilot in Whiteland around noon last Saturday, I’m sorry. But be honest. You’d have done it too. Now the next step is to pass that test and earn the coveted title of Driver.

My personal preference is Wilson Logistics (Wil-Trans/Jim Palmer). But I'm a little biased in that regards.

I’m in the same boat as Dave.

Maybe I’ll see you sometime when I swing through the prime lot to grab a load.

Nothing really special to report. Had a 34 hour cut short by dispatch so my trainer is down to three minutes on his 70. Grabbed a load up in New Jersey, and had to flog it pretty hard to get it to Indy. Now here’s the fun part. We shut down about 1:00 pm, and we get dispatched at 3:00pm. The load was 40 miles away, and had to be picked up by 9:00pm. Yea. No good. My trainer calls dispatch and explains the situation, and we’re laid up until 7:00am. The good news? There a race track across the street and they were running.

I am still a permit holder, and he was sitting next to me. What happened was I followed the gps when he wanted me to take a different rout that would have skirted the city. He gave me a good five mile warning, but I was locked in on the gps because I’m new and haven’t learned to follow alternative instructions or think for myself. When we hit the ramp he saw what was happening and said something, but I couldn’t get over. He took it in stride and said, “Well, tonight lesson is about tunnels.”

The accent means nothing. I have the Appalachian-American vocal ability, too. I also have an associate's, two bachelors, an MBA, and a PhD in American history. I'm more educated than I sound. I use it to my advantage when someone attempts to match wits with me.

Oh PackRat. Sweet and gentle soul. What you are describing is the hillbilly accent. It’s a derivative of the British accent and is very lyrical and pleasant sounding. I sir, am a flat lander. I speak dirt southern.