FIRST 5 YEARS:(Wednesday-Taylor, Michigan)
Midnight, the start of my day, found me talking to the Taylor(Detroit suburb)terminal dispatcher, The load I just brought in was delayed at the auto assembly plant so I was told to drop the load in the yard. I dropped it, gave the paperwork to dispatch and went to bed with the TV running. I didn't get up until before 9 AM EST. Went to dispatch and got on the trucker's ready board and was told that it would be tomorrow before I got out of the Detroit, Michigan area. I went to lunch at a Swedish Buffet and it was great. After I ate, I was going to go to Fred Meyers department store but had to go to my truck and lay down and watch TV and digest lunch. Visited Fred Meyers around 5 PM EST during the area's “rush” hour. Went back to the terminal and watched terminal TV with the other drivers(4) waiting for loads. Went to my truck and bed about 11 PM EST...
A Trucker's Tale:(Keep you eyes open all around you.)
This is a short tale I tell about the California Highway Patrol but it probably is told by many a driver on the road. I was driving eastbound, through the desert , on I-40, in the slow lane, with a long convoy and traveling about 62 or 63 miles per hour(speed limit was 55 m/h) when I looked in my driver side rear view mirror. I saw a highway patrol car about two or three trucks back, in the fast lane, checking the speed of each truck by driving next to it and then pulling up to the next truck in line. He checked me and then moved up to the truck in front of me and kept going. NO ONE mentioned the highway patrol on the CB radio(including me), maybe because...I don't know why...Through the years of driving, I've seen state troopers(highway patrol, police, Provincial Police, etc.) check vehicle speeds; it was not something only California Highway Patrol did.
I kept a day by day journal the first 5 years I was enjoying North America. While earning a living,I kept track of where I went, often what I did, feelings I had and various other details. I am writing this blog day by day as I lived it. The month/day I lived it is the same as the month/day I write about it. The years are obviously different...thus the days title: ie: August 30, 1989, 2009.
About Me
- The Protraveller...
- Starting as a preschooler, I remember my Grandfather bringing me rocks from his trips he took after he retired. Each rock had a story to tell. In the sixth grade, I watched a freeway be built and then wondered where all the trucks would go. I remember in high school looking at the mountains and wanting to travel. I did many jobs BEFORE trucking but I always wondered what driving would by like. I really wanted to see things and drive a big truck. So after almost finishing nursing school, a divorce and three cute little kids, I became a truck driver. While earning a living, I found myself enjoying North America and seeing the land and people. NO ONE ENJOYED TRAVELING MORE THAN ME. There are two things I have enjoyed in this life and they are traveling and writing. I use to call myself "Protourist" but my Mother-in-law and Wife would become upset with me as they know I really love THE "travel" and not THE stopping to see things. I now call myself "protraveller"(I like it with a double "L") and my Mother-in-law and Wife are now happy!!! I love to write and this blog gives me the opportunity to share my past and thoughts with the public.
About this blog's layout...BLOG UPDATED ONCE PER DAY...
I follow my journal daily by writing under the daily title, "FIRST 5 YEARS:" The first five years will strictly follow my 5 year journal. If I find the day I am writing about to be boring, I will either write about thoughts I remember(placed under the title of "SECOND 5 YEARS"), write a trucker tale(placed under "A Trucker's Tale"), give a helpful trucker hint, ask a "student driver" question or do something.....When a location appears after the day of the week after "FIRST 5 YEARS:", it is where I am at the start of that day((IE: FIRST 5 YEARS: (Sunday-Kansas City, Missouri))..... I would encourage those that find themselves enjoying North America to follow me day by day.....REMEMBER: THIS IS A BLOG ABOUT WHAT LIFE IS LIKE FOR A TRUCKER THAT DOES NOT HAVE A DAILY ROUTINE ROUTE(called a "dedicated" route). THERE WILL BE MANY TIMES WHEN THE ROUTING, SCENERY AND DAY'S ACTIVITIES WILL BE SIMILAR(boring???) TO PREVIOUS DAYS; THAT'S TRUCKING! THERE WILL BE DAYS WHEN THE ROUTING, SCENERY AND DAY'S ACTIVITIES WILL BE TOTALLY NEW; THAT'S TRUCKING. Frustrations? I mention the frustrations I had as a driver. I loved my job while earning a living and realized that all jobs have frustrations; truck driving is, and was, no different..... Many pictures on this blog can be left-clicked and made larger.....Questions?...Please E-mail PT at fabalt2000@centurylink.net
Blog Dictionaries...
The Trucking Dictionary...words in this dictionary will many times appear highlighted. If a word isn't highlighted or in the blog dictionary and sounds "different", check it out in this dictionary. Please note: Many times when clicking on these dictionaries anywhere in the blog, the first thing that comes up is an advertisement which I have no control over.
The Blog Dictionary...This dictionary contains words I use that aren't "trucker" words and thus not in the "trucking dictionary". I separate them--the dictionaries--in case someone wants to copy the trucking dictionary for personal use. This dictionary also contains names of people(not real names) that I dealt with many times through my trucking career. Blog word found in this dictionary often will be licked to it.
DAILY UPDATES SHOULD BE UP BY NOON CST...
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What's in my blog...???
- 666--Highway (2)
- A Trucker Tale-introduction (1)
- A Trucker's Tale (33)
- abandonment of truck (1)
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- animals (3)
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- violation (51)
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