FIRST 5 YEARS:(Tuesday-Lake Station, Indiana)
I woke at 4:45 AM CST after a good night sleep and headed for the Hershey's Chocolate factory in south Chicago(Illinois). I had good directions and so I was at the plant--not too far off I-94--at 6 AM CST. I checked in with the guard shack and was told where to go. I went to the instructed area and waited until 8 AM CST for a dock.
I backed into the assigned dock and was told I was to help unload. I didn't like the idea but the work wasn't hard--big bags of fine corn flakes weighed maybe 15 lbs each(????)--and the air was filled with the smell of chocolate. What I found interesting were the two fellows that helped me unload. An older gentleman and a real young one. The older guy referred to the younger one as, "My Bother" instead of using his name. The younger one just seemed to ignore the older. The younger guy was using the forktruck and the older was helping me pick up the light bags and put them on pallets. The older guy would often said something like, "My Brother, I do believe it is my turn to drive the forktruck"and the younger would ignore him. Well, when we would fill up a pallet, the younger would pick it up with the forktruck and move it to the building floor. While picking up one pallet, the younger guy hit a bag of corn flakes with the forks of the forktruck. Very fine corn flakes all over and they blew around with the slightest breeze. The older guy apologized for the younger one by telling me that it takes a good 5 years to learn how to drive a forktruck and that the young guy had only been driving it for a few months---BULL!!!!.
I got empty and called dispatch. They said to go to Newton, Iowa and pick up a load of refrigerators going to Montreal, Quebec. By 10:30 AM CST I was headed down I-94 to I-57 south. Went I-80 west and stayed with it into Iowa. Follow I-80 to Newton, getting there at 4 PM CST. I checked in with shipping and they had me back to a dock and stated loading me. It went real fast and I had my paperwork and was headed east on I-80 by 5:15 PM CST. I was tired by the time--9 PM CST--I got to Peru, Illinois--as well as out of driving time--so I pulled into a truckstop and went to sleep for the night...
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...
July 16, 2011
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