 
Comments
by Rick & Christine....
A dull pain throbs across the back of my thighs.
I am in a room totally devoid of furnishings except for the solitary, sharp-edged,
cardboard box, which I have spent far too many hours sitting on lately.
In front of me is the computer that I just found out I get to keep for
three more days, until my friend that bought it picks it up.
I am on the majestic island
of Maui, 3000 miles out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. My wife is
lying on the floor in the bedroom reading our copy of, “Bumper to
Bumper – A Complete Guide to Tractor-Trailer Operations”. Meanwhile, our
dog, affectionately known as “Wrigley the Wondermutt”, snores contently
at my wife's feet, completely unaware of the drastic lifestyle change she
is soon to undergo.
You see, we have just sold
off nearly everything we own and will be
attending a big-rig truck
driving school in California starting in May. Poor old Wrigley will be
stuffed in a crate and have to endure a six-hour flight in complete confusion,
wondering if she will ever again see the two humans who took her home from
the pound less than a year ago. After that, she will be subjected to L.A.
traffic, my mother-in-law’s evil cat Kula and a five-hour car ride to Fresno.
This followed by a two-month
stay with my parents and a yapping little weinerdog named Schnappsy. Did
I mention that WE will be subjected to all these things too?
If all goes well, all three
of us… yep, the Wondermutt is coming
too!… will be cruising around
the country in a big ol’ 18 wheeler,
delivering all manner of
goods to all manner of places and having some pretty wild adventures while
doing it. Hopefully not TOO wild!
But, I am getting ahead of
myself again. First, we have to gain intimate knowledge of things like
airbrakes, sliding the doubles, hazmat regulations, logbooks, etc. Then
we have to learn to drive one of those suckers; can you say “double-clutch”?
We have to pass our CDL (Commercial Driver’s License) test, which, by the
way, includes PARALLEL PARKING that 70 foot long beast!
Then we have to survive our
4-6 weeks living on the road with a stranger (our company trainer). Wish
us luck, OK?
Christine and I are both
very optimistic about the new life we have
chosen, but I must admit,
it is still pretty scary. If for some reason one of us fails the course,
or, god-forbid, has an accident, we will find ourselves jobless, penniless,
and in Fresno, California. If any of you have ever been to Fresno, you
will understand the dread of that! We will do our best to keep everyone
up to date on our schooling and our life as “Truck Dwellers” once we set
out on the big road. Here’s hoping you will stick around for the ride!
ALOHA! (won’t get to say
that much longer)
Rick, Christine, and the
Wondermutt
|
 
 
Hey,
we know!
.
Allegedly
Art's
Link Letters
Below
The Fold
Crazy
Talk
Dept.
Of Huh?
Eye2Eye
Fool4Love
Full
Disclosure
Get
Over It
Homoerrectus
New
World Hors Doeuvres
O-T-R
Patriarch's
Planet
Scene
& Herd
Strange
Bedfellow
Technophobia
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