Profile For Dilrod

Let them have it, and call 911 ASAP.

Trying to go cowboy on a thief, bounding out of the cab with your tire thumper to serve some street justice, looks great in the movies.

But in real life, even if you win the fight, and good beating is probably just what the perp needs, it may land you in a costly court case for years, as the thief or his surviving family sues you silly for injuring him.

Trigger warning: I eat carbs.

As stated above, pretty much anything sold at the truck stops will pack on the pounds, Love's criminally priced 85 cents bananas not withstanding. Of course, there are the other fruit options, boiled eggs, but that's about all I've found. You can't even find a decent serving size cup of cereal; I went looking for bran flakes and all I found was froot loops, Cap'n Crunch etc.

The longer you stay away from eating fast food and convenience snacks, the less craving you have for them. Try not to snack while driving.

As a recovering snacker, my weakest time of the day is in the evening. I love washing down a chocolate chip cookie, or five, with a quart of milk. If I stick to a pint of milk before bed, my calories in/energy out seems to balance ok. Always parking on the far end of the truck stop for extra steps, and walking a few laps if the weather is good helps, along with hourly stretches I do while driving.

I'm very blessed that my wife sends me out with lots of rice & vegetables, fruit, a little pasta, chicken, some beef and salad greens. The carbs I mentioned don't cause me to get hungry like it does for others, and I am pretty good at eating sensible portions. I keep instant oatmeal and cereal for breakfast most days. I can eat home cooking until about the last day on the road, then I usually treat myself to something hot and greasy.

As an aside, I tried Atkins when it was it came out, but I got all the worst side effects. It wasn't for me.

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This happened this week, about 30 miles west of Fargo on I-94. A nice rooster was picking grit on the side of the road, and decided to take a closer look at my truck.

As you can imagine, it was a bit of a surprise. Lots of glass inside the truck, little shards with the consistency of sea salt. If he'd hit in front of me, I'd still be picking glass out of my hide.

Anyway, stay safe out there! The critters are on the move.

Awesome, keep up the good work!

Don't be too quick to dump a good truckers atlas. All it takes is a glitch with a GPS to cause a failure and without an atlas to back you up you have no paddle to go upstream so they say. It seems like a lot of today's drivers depend too much on modern technology to be their only choice in how to maneuver through their day.

I use mine every trip; Co-Pilot has a sick sense of humor.

Like all new drivers, I've gotten into quite a few pickles, but unlike some others, I STOPPED before any major damage occurred, then figured out how to get out of it. The few times I actually bumped into something (I recall two poles, a sign, a building, and a trailer at the DC, all of which were preventable), thankfully there was no damage beyond a few scratches, and my manager gave me another chance because he knew I was conscientious.

Many times I was left shaken, embarrassed (you always have an audience when it happens) and kicking myself for getting in a jam in the first place, but I made each one a learning experience. Thank goodness the Lord protected all those dumpsters, streetlamps, walls, residential street corners, other trucks and cars from one of His biggest idiots.

Family Dollar sent me to places that had no business being served by a 53 foot truck. I believe that many a new driver with a promising future ended their career in the interest of FD wanting to ignore the inherent risks associated with that account. If they cared, their DCs would provide shorter trailers, daycabs, even box trucks, but since they dump all the risk on the contracted carrier, they can turn a blind eye.

So, a driver has to stop & find a safe solution, then spend a miserable day beating yourself up for poor judgement and learning from the mistake. If a person can't do those, pick another career.

I'm afraid that's all I am allowed to share

Are you driving for FBI, CIA or the like? :-)

Mission top secret, destination unknown! ;-)

Hi, the trip was great! Beautiful country, and I'll never again complain about road construction in the Midwest, after barreling down twisty, mountain highways in the left lane next to a Jersey barrier, with weekend traffic speeding by on my right!

Best part was discovering the livestock auction next to the TA in Greencastle! I hadn't been to one in years, sure beat sitting in the truck for another night.

Thanks again for everyone's input. Can't wait to go again!