You mother trucker!!

[limahhouston]

Ladies ... What made you get out there on the road??

I'll go first ... I always wanted to drive. My uncle currently drives and he was my GREATEST motivation. My dad was a school bus driver for YEARS and we'd always take road trips I remember getting truckers to blow their fog horn. I remember my first time ... Memories!! A little girl rolling by gives me that universal gesture and I blew my fog horn. I remember her laugh and I read her lips, (she was on her knees in the back seat looking out the window) I read her lips. She said, "MOMMY, DID YOU HEAR THAT?!) That made the rest of my day! The hugest support system came from the men in my family and my daughter who was 20 at the time. There were so many things I sacrificed while she was growing up and I needed to hear it from her, too, that this was ok. I took her to the yard with me and drove around a few times with her hiding in the bunk ... SHE LOVED IT.

Anyway ... school was horrible. I HATED IT! It took me 4 tries to actually pass and get my license. Those initial tests, at the DMV, I passed all of those the first time. That walk around and all that crap under the hood and under the truck and tires and 4 point inspection?? PUH LEEZE!! I did what I had to do to pass. Don't ask me about an engine or car parts TODAY!! I wanted it that bad so I learned. I'm a girly girl!! SO? Don't judge me! I still got my nails done and I NEVER BROKE ONE coupling, uncoupling or anything else. I wore my sundresses in the summer, had sunglasses if every color and I kept my hair done ... YES MA'AM!! The looks I would get getting in and out of my rig were priceless!! That's not why I did it though. I was simply being me and providing a service to people across the world.

I shop at Walmart and Target ... John Morrell has some REALLY good beef bacon!!! LOL!!

I miss driving. I really do. I came to realize, though, in my short time out there that you miss out on SO many other things. I missed the birth of my little sisters first son. She's pregnant with #2 and come hell or high water ... I will be in Texas for that!! I don't even remember what part of the world I was in on my birthday last year ...

I gave it all up when my father got sick. I had just had home time when I got the news. Luckily I was already headed back east. I called my DM and this fool tells me that "he can't let me off the truck every time somebody stubs their toe" ... Why did he say that to me? Claude Ha'MERCY!! I hadn't even told him what happened to my dad and at that point it wasn't even important that he knew. My dad ended up having back surgery and had to learn how to walk all over again. He says today, "My pimp walk ain't gon' EVER be the same!"

I parked that damn truck as soon as I got to the yard in Indiana, FULLY LOADED, with the keys in it hopped in my Jeep and went to take care of my father. That was in November of 2013. I never went back. Being in healthcare 16 years and taking care of people is what I do.

Your turn!!!

 

[pro1driver]

Ladies ... What made you get out there on the road??
I'll go first ... I always wanted to drive. My uncle currently drives and he was my GREATEST motivation. My dad was a school bus driver for YEARS and we'd always take road trips I remember getting truckers to blow their fog horn.

well i ain't no lady......unless today ends in "Y", so here is my reason why, and a few other things....

i was a mechanic for about 17 years, and when my old boss sold the business, i could not find another job/garage that i liked as much. too many dummies fixing cars, screwing them up and me being a part of the overall scene in shops like that, ruining my reputation...?? no thanks

so i sought out truck driving schools, and back then a mere $3,300 for 16 weeks. 4 weeks classroom, 12 weeks yard, road.

actually learned quite a bit, as it was not a cdl mill back then, hell CDL wasn't even spoken of yet...

hell again, we didn't even have trucks or trailers....we had Yaks and carts......

Anyway ... school was horrible. I HATED IT! It took me 4 tries to actually pass and get my license. Those initial tests, at the DMV, I passed all of those the first time. That walk around and all that crap under the hood and under the truck and tires and 4 point inspection?? PUH LEEZE!! I did what I had to do to pass.

when i was teaching at the now CDL Mill i had graduated from many many years ago, i cannot tell you...oh wait, i can.....we had this one student that had taken the state of MASS skills test 13 times....and failed

on his 14th time, i was with him.....he passed the yard skills, then he passed his road test. in MASS, you fail just ONE yard skill test, you do not go test on the road, you must pass ALL yard skills test....took him 13 times to do just that..>!!

oh and by the way, each yard skill/road test appointment in MASS...?? costs $90......fail..pay MASS $90 please....

when he finally passed he had paid just over $2,000 for his tests, and then the fee's for the actual CDL......on top of his $8,000 for the schooling..>!!!

I miss driving. I really do. I came to realize, though, in my short time out there that you miss out on SO many other things. I missed the birth of my little sisters first son. She's pregnant with #2 and come hell or high water ... I will be in Texas for that!! I don't even remember what part of the world I was in on my birthday last year ...

i do not miss driving all that much, just the jobs i had that were drop and hook and home daily...yes, as an OTR driver (or long haul) as it was called back in my day, you miss out on life....

I gave it all up when my father got sick. I had just had home time when I got the news. Luckily I was already headed back east. I called my DM and this fool tells me that "he can't let me off the truck every time somebody stubs their toe" ... Why did he say that to me? Claude Ha'MERCY!! I hadn't even told him what happened to my dad and at that point it wasn't even important that he knew. My dad ended up having back surgery and had to learn how to walk all over again. He says today, "My pimp walk ain't gon' EVER be the same!"

which is why some dispatchers are behind thick, or bullet proof glass....you wanna kill'em.
they have no heart and think nothing of the machine behind the wheel. some companies may actually have very good dispatchers, i did indeed have a couple or 3 in my day, but those are few and far between..

check out my thread, about my back surgery, i don't have to learn to walk again, but i can certainly feel for your dad..

I parked that damn truck as soon as I got to the yard in Indiana, FULLY LOADED, with the keys in it hopped in my Jeep and went to take care of my father. That was in November of 2013. I never went back. Being in healthcare 16 years and taking care of people is what I do.

Your turn!!!

i have parked my truck (working for the same company) TWICE...first time i just quit....they actually re-hired me about 2-3 years later..

the second time...i got pissed off at...what else....a dispatcher....

i parked the truck, inside the garage, tossed the keys into the dirty pond across the street...for some strange reason....they fired me for that one....bastoids.....

not the first time ever.....however.....tossing my keys away........

pisses them off too....still can't figure that one out though.....