Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Truck stop barbecues and bitchy women

FONTANA, CA - "There's a barbecue every night at every truck stop," the man says, and puts a new coat of barbecue sauce on the ribs he's grilling. He and some others have made a WalMart run and came back to the truck terminal with enough meat to feed a hungry horde of truckers. The man running the grill is wearing a confederate flag baseball cap, a muscle shirt, and cowboy boots. He is chain smoking Marlboro Reds and speaking with one of the heaviest Carolina drawls I've ever heard, and after living in NC for a year I've heard many.

It's damn good barbecue though. Tons better than anything I had while living down there.

* * * * *

I've become fast friends with the one other woman in my 20-person orientation class, D. She is a big, gregarious blonde who's spent the last 18 years raising her son by herself out in the high desert near Joshua Tree. Now that the boy is grown, she wants to see the country, get out there on the road on her own.

There's a lot of talk among the few women here about the advantages and disadvantages of female trainers. First of all, it takes substantially longer to get one than I was originally told - like several weeks, and I have no particular desire to spend that much time waiting around. All the trainers go through extensive training, and the men who train coed are closely monitored. I'm really not worried about my safety. My primary reason for wanting a female trainer was research purposes, but I'm not sure it's worth it.

My new friend offered up another good point. "Why would I want a female trainer? I barely like myself. I can be a real bitch. Why would I want to be stuck in a truck with another me?"

I'm pretty sure I'm going to call and change my preference to coed. Anyone out there have thoughts on this matter?

3 comments:

The18Wheeler said...

My trainer and I were of the same gender (male), but not one time it really matter. There was never a situation where we would've seen each other changing or otherwise nekkid, so if that's a worry of yours... don't. The only thing I can think of is that male truck drivers tend to pull over "just any ol' place" to, um... relieve themselves. A male driver may have to get used to looking for a "real" bathroom, but that's probably not that big a deal. That's the only negative I can think of.

The18Wheeler said...

The first sentence above should have read, "...but not one time DID it really matter."

Terry said...

I disagree with Jason.... Most trainers have the presence of mind to be discreet enough to be respectful of the female while training (or is that just wishful thinking)..... I do think however, that the bitchiness is something to take into consideration.

You will find that as a female, you will harrassed beyond your wildest dreams by those damned ole perverted truckers while cruising down the highways....Give em a quick smile, thank them for the compliments and most will scurry away to deliver their loads.. However, some females resent the extra attention they receive and have become very bitter on the road.

Another aspect to consider is that the female trainer will not give you any slack whereas the male counterpart might treat you with kidd gloves and not give you the quality of training you deserve (ie, backing into docks, parking spots, etc...)

Good Luck!