Clubhouse Grille (*** NO LIV DISCUSSIONS ***) (*** NO POLITICS/RELIGION ***)

[RoverTiger]

First day back in the office wasn't too bad. Now settling in for the evening by pricing out some components for a potential new Frankendriver project and trying to will the Auburn men on to victory in their golf semifinal against Ohio State.

[Double Mocha Man]

I remember taking my driver's test in my Dad's car, with which I was not that familiar.  Automatic.  The officer complimented me on my driving and when I finished he gave me a perfect 100%.  But then he added, "Son, great job, but you never took the car out of 2nd gear."  Good thing we didn't go on the freeway.

[Soloman1]

i went to high school in northern virginia. learners permit age was 15 and 8 months in the 1960’s.

 

the phys ed teachers took 3 students with them after school for about a week, i think, and we took turns driving big ‘ole plymouth boats with the name of the dealer who supplied them on the front doors.

 

total cost was $0.00. no tip.

 

 

[braincramp52]

3 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

 

That's insane! Do you just gently roll through stop signs and stop lights?

Rural highway miles my friend.

[Conrad1953]

4 hours ago, BIG STU said:

I agree. Right now I do drive an automatic. But I figure I have shifted more gears than most in 3 lifetimes unless they were like @Conrad1953 and myself and drove a big truck. I figure I deserve an automatic in my golden years.

Now days most big trucks are auto trans equipped. At the scrapyard I was the lead driver and in charge of training drivers. I had a guy one day that they hired that absolutely could not shift gears. Now I had to calm myself down some and check my tongue because my truck was a Mack 10 speed and those are a little difficult compared to say a Road Ranger 9 or 10 if one is not used to it. I can remember the next day I parked my Mack because it was new with only 20 K miles and got the old spare for him to drive which had the Eaton Road Ranger 10 speed. When we came in my boss the owner asked if something was wrong with my new truck? I told him no and I wanted to keep it that way. Now he had drove trucks himself and had a CDL. I said this "driver" cannot even shift a 10 speed Road Ranger. Come to find out he had went to driving school and trained and qualified on an automatic trans unit. He had drove for a local beer company. He admitted he had never driven a manual shift car. Now days on CDLs they have an endorsement of "Automatic Transmission Only". After I retired they had trouble finding drivers that could drive a straight shift. He had to go to an all automatic fleet. I can remember the owner right before I retired said the next new trucks would be automatic. I told him fine I was retiring in 6 months and if something happened to mine I would drive on of the old manual shift trucks until I retired

 

I always opted for easy over hard when it came to work............................

 

I could back up anything but I would always look for a pull through parking spot first. 

I only backed up when I had to.

 

I also drove most shift patterns from 10, super 10, 13 and 18. Had an 18 in our last Volvo

tractor. Way too many gears but we got a good deal when we bought it. I skipped gears

anyway, lol. I shifted as little as possible.

 

The last truck I drove before I retired had an automatic in it. I loved that thing, especially

in heavy traffic. 

 

I was not a typical trucker though I spent 25 years driving one. My CB radio was off 99.9%

of the time. It only came on to find out what a traffic back up was all about. I drove in shorts

and flip flops much of the time. 

 

And, I don't miss it at all! Retirement is NOT overrated.

 

And I had over 3 million accident free miles. So did Cobi.

 

I can still hear people, when we told them we drove a truck, saying "oh how nice. You get

to travel all over the country together and see all the sights!! 

 

Uh, we wished, LMAO. It's not like travelling in a motor home. We had to cover 1000-1200

miles a day, hauling expedited freight. It's a tough way to make a living. We would go out

for about 2 months, come home for a few weeks then back out for a few months, then

back home for a few weeks, rinse and repeat....................for years.....in all kinds of

weather and road conditions.

 

Did I say I don't miss it? I DON'T miss it.

 

And that is why we are homebodies today................................................

[Soloman1]

16 minutes ago, Conrad1953 said:

 

I always opted for easy over hard when it came to work............................

 

I could back up anything but I would always look for a pull through parking spot first. 

I only backed up when I had to.

 

I also drove most shift patterns from 10, super 10, 13 and 18. Had an 18 in our last Volvo

tractor. Way too many gears but we got a good deal when we bought it. I skipped gears

anyway, lol. I shifted as little as possible.

 

The last truck I drove before I retired had an automatic in it. I loved that thing, especially

in heavy traffic. 

 

I was not a typical trucker though I spent 25 years driving one. My CB radio was off 99.9%

of the time. It only came on to find out what a traffic back up was all about. I drove in shorts

and flip flops much of the time. 

 

And, I don't miss it at all! Retirement is NOT overrated.

 

And I had over 3 million accident free miles. So did Cobi.

 

I can still hear people, when we told them we drove a truck, saying "oh how nice. You get

to travel all over the country together and see all the sights!! 

 

Uh, we wished, LMAO. It's not like travelling in a motor home. We had to cover 1000-1200

miles a day, hauling expedited freight. It's a tough way to make a living. We would go out

for about 2 months, come home for a few weeks then back out for a few months, then

back home for a few weeks, rinse and repeat....................for years.....in all kinds of

weather and road conditions.

 

Did I say I don't miss it? I DON'T miss it.

 

And that is why we are homebodies today................................................

 

whew, at first i thought the last sentence was you were homeless today.

 

6th most dangerous job in the usa for 2024. good work!

 

 

[mshills]

@Conrad1953 there are certain things about driving a truck for a living that appeal to certain kinds of folk who have wanderlust I suppose. 
 

As for me I think that must be a very hard way to earn money….the thing I can’t get my head around is living / sleeping in a truck. Hell to the N. O. on that, as I sit here working in my hotel room this evening. 
 

On cars, I love cars and I’ve owned my share, well over 20 and I’m not a collector, just a serial buy / sell / trade guy. Some of the more analog cars I loved:

 

1983 Mercedes 300CD, 400k miles

1981 Mercedes 240D, 67 HP…the thinking man’s car as you had to plan your next move far in advance. Unknown mileage but it was a lot, odometer didn’t work!

 

1992 Mercedes 400E, close to 300k miles, bought barely running, replaced wiring harness and it ran like a scalded cat. Wonderful car. 
 

1990 Chevy pickup, 1997 F150, 2019 F150, 2009 GT500 😁 all tremendous!

 

There is something to say for the analog driving experience, but I was driving a newer Lincoln MKS absolutely loaded with every safety feature when my life changed in a second. If I’d been driving one of my older cars that I enjoyed so much it is highly likely the outcome would have been very bad ☠️. I’ll take all the crash test advances, please!

[Conrad1953]

24 minutes ago, Soloman1 said:

 

whew, at first i thought the last sentence was you were homeless today.

 

6th most dangerous job in the usa for 2024. good work!

 

 

 

It's down to #6? It used to be #1.

 

I think accidents have been going down in number in recent years and that explains the

drop to #6. Good to hear.

[RoverTiger]

Auburn will be playing for a golf national championship tomorrow! Yes sir!

 

 

[BIG STU]

4 hours ago, aenemated said:

 

I remember our driver's ed being pretty extensive in good ol Harnett County. Think it was like 6 weeks in class then quite a bit on the road. Did it the summer before I turned 15.

 

Of course, I'd already been driving for a couple years thanks to working on dad's construction crew. SOMETIMES something would be needed from the lumber yard and the foreman would throw me the keys to the truck and be all "Get on down to Womble's, boy - they're waiting for you."

 

13 years old rolling up to a lumber yard in a flat bed that looked just like this ...

 

 

4 speed manual! What I learned to drive in to begin with! 

I had to do mine in the summer because I turned 16 in September. I did mine at Garinger High school and the football coach was he instructor. On the driving part he had taken me to the side and told me I would be getting actual less driving time because he knew I could drive because he had seen me driving the C-60 dump around the golf course

[Soloman1]

44 minutes ago, Conrad1953 said:

 

It's down to #6? It used to be #1.

 

I think accidents have been going down in number in recent years and that explains the

drop to #6. Good to hear.

 

i looked up some numbers (obviously) before i posted. as usual, depends on the source.

 

logging was 1 across the board on all, fishing, construction, landscaping (!) was up there on most, plus roofing, farming, solar installers and electrical utility. drivers of all type were always around the middle.

 

forgot pilots (choppers are death traps) and crane operators.

Edited May 29 by Soloman1

[Duct Tape]

2 minutes ago, BIG STU said:

I had to do mine in the summer because I turned 16 in September. I did mine at Garinger High school and the football coach was he instructor. On the driving part he had taken me to the side and told me I would be getting actual less driving time because he knew I could drive because he had seen me driving the C-60 dump around the golf course

For one of the early morning group you’re up pretty late Stu. 😀

[Duct Tape]

1 minute ago, Soloman1 said:

 

i looked up some numbers (obviously) before i posted. as usual, depends on the source.

 

logging was 1 across the board on all, fishing, construction, landscaping (!) was up there on most, plus roofing, farming, solar installers and electrical utility. drivers of all type were always around the middle.

Golfing?  🤓🏌🏼‍♀️🏌🏼‍♀️

[Soloman1]

drivers license costs about $1,200 in japan. have to be 18 and they go to schools operated almost exclusively by retired police chiefs, so they don’t have to take either the driving or the written test, can’t remember which.

 

written test is 100 questions and need 90% to pass. i didn’t pay for the school, so i needed both.

[Soloman1]

3 minutes ago, Duct Tape said:

Golfing?  🤓🏌🏼‍♀️🏌🏼‍♀️

 

only danger is in louisville, kentucky.

[BIG STU]

15 minutes ago, Duct Tape said:

For one of the early morning group you’re up pretty late Stu. 😀

LOL I went to bed early and got up for now. I worked outside finishing up the flower bed in the front at 6AM to beat the heat. Somehow tweaked my back. I did some CBD and it knocked me out about 4 in the afternoon. Trust me I am going back to bed in a few

[BIG STU]

20 minutes ago, Soloman1 said:

 

i looked up some numbers (obviously) before i posted. as usual, depends on the source.

 

logging was 1 across the board on all, fishing, construction, landscaping (!) was up there on most, plus roofing, farming, solar installers and electrical utility. drivers of all type were always around the middle.

 

forgot pilots (choppers are death traps) and crane operators.

I agree on choppers. I had a golf bud who was an aerodynamical engineer. He worked for Chrysler for years was one of the designers for the infamous Dodge Charger Daytona and Plymouth Super Bird. He explained to me the aerodynamics of helicopters or the lack of. After that I will never get back into one. He also explained the theory aerodynamic wise anyhow why a Bumble Bee is not supposed to fly. He summed that one up by well it ain't supposed to in theory but it does. I know why but it would violate forum rules if I explained it. I told him that and he said yep that would explain it in a practical sense

[braincramp52]

8 hours ago, BIG STU said:

I had to do mine in the summer because I turned 16 in September. I did mine at Garinger High school and the football coach was he instructor. On the driving part he had taken me to the side and told me I would be getting actual less driving time because he knew I could drive because he had seen me driving the C-60 dump around the golf course

Growing up on a farm I started driving tractors when I was in second or third grade. We had a old beat up farm truck I started driving around the farm when I was about 10. 1946 Chevy is what I learned to really drive when I was 12. I drove that thing to a little town called Kent all the time to pick up stuff for my dad all the time .They didn't have a cop and I'm not sure they really cared as long as you weren't causing trouble. 

[Nard_S]

I taught myself to drive at 15 on a VW bus, within months I was running material on a 130 mile round trip for my Dad's business. Would haul 500 lbs of stock with dogs riding shotgun. It was pretty fun to get paid for that at that time.

[BIG STU]

1 hour ago, braincramp52 said:

Growing up on a farm I started driving tractors when I was in second or third grade. We had a old beat up farm truck I started driving around the farm when I was about 10. 1946 Chevy is what I learned to really drive when I was 12. I drove that thing to a little town called Kent all the time to pick up stuff for my dad all the time .They didn't have a cop and I'm not sure they really cared as long as you weren't causing trouble. 

I was the same way around the golf course. My Grandparents were Tobacco Farmers in Eastern NC and I helped there 2 weeks in the summer during harvest season. They also ran logging operation in the winter. I used to drive the Triplex Macks up to the staging area from the road when I was 13 or so. I used to stay down there Christmas Day until school started back. Rad knows what a triplex was on a Mack Truck but in all honesty loaded coming out of the woods I stayed on the low side of the box and only shifted 3 gears. 

[Duct Tape]

To continue the theme, at risk of belaboring it, my grandparents on mom’s side were sharecroppers in NE Oklahoma, later owning their own farm with veggies and cattle. To this day I can’t stand the taste or smell of beets or turnips. My mom, love her, can eat them by the bushel and can’t seem to remember my dislike. 
 

Grandad put me in his truck and taught me to drive around the farm. Later he sent me on errands or to pick up a bale of hay. I was well below driving age, maybe 14. I’m pretty sure the truck was an automatic, although could be wrong, as my first memory of a stick was my mom’s Olds 442 as I posted earlier. But I’m old now, memories are pretty fuzzy. 🤓🇺🇸

[Soloman1]

my first memory of driving was my father putting me on his lap and letting me steer. i don't know, 5-8 years old?

 

i learned how to play chicken in a de soto.

 

probably looked something like this. definitely black.

 

Edited May 29 by Soloman1
double belaboring everything.

[Soloman1]

first 100°+ golf day of the year starting soon. i might be laboring in it. if i’m not back in a couple of days, email me some water.

[aenemated]

 

😍😍😍

[Duct Tape]

36 minutes ago, Soloman1 said:

first 100°+ golf day of the year starting soon. i might be laboring in it. if i’m not back in a couple of days, email me some water.

Cool, partly cloudy and afternoon t storms here. Just sayin’ 🤓

 

Im sure I’ll hear more follow up in about 6 months.   Well deserved. 

[Double Mocha Man]

1 hour ago, Soloman1 said:

first 100°+ golf day of the year starting soon. i might be laboring in it. if i’m not back in a couple of days, email me some water.

[braincramp52]

5 hours ago, Soloman1 said:

my first memory of driving was my father putting me on his lap and letting me steer. i don't know, 5-8 years old?

 

i learned how to play chicken in a de soto.

 

probably looked something like this. definitely black.

 

Now that's a cruiser!

[Jim53]

5 hours ago, aenemated said:

 

😍😍😍

Oh the childern, save the poor souls from seeing that.

[Jim53]

Actually I am surprised there hasn't been an out cry from the Holier than thou non smokers, I don't smoke around kids mine or others for obvious reasons.

But if it happens in passing oh well, we boomers seem to have survived for the most part and our parents smoked in the car with the windows up. 

Just to quantify my position (always wanted to work that word into something, probably not correct) my mom did die of cancer so I get it, it is bad for everyone to be around. 

Edited May 29 by Jim53

[aenemated]

18 minutes ago, Jim53 said:

Oh the childern, save the poor souls from seeing that.

 

Whole lot more tobacco users (of varying types) on any tour than most realize!