Day 10 -- Things get briefly ugly....

Well, today may have been the most frustrating day i've had yet.  Today was our day to get out and actually drive on the roads -- learning to shift, to turn corners, to merge onto highways, etc.  Our class was broken into groups of four, and each group was assigned to a drive instructor.  And that's where it all went bad....

Let's call him Sgt. Carter.  If you're of the proper age to remember the TV show Gomer Pyle, and remember Sgt. Vince Carter, Gomer's drill sergeant, you have something of an idea as to what this guy looked like -- crew cut, round face, gravelly voice, boxy shape. A total marine but wearing a black CR England fleece jacket.  He also had these piercing ice blue eyes.  Think a nasty Paul Newman and you're getting even closer.

Anyway, he must have decided right off the bat that he didn't like me AT ALL.  Shortly into our time together i asked him a question that he apparently did not like, and it sent him into a tirade, and he dressed me down in front of the rest of the group in a way that was beyond unprofessional.  When he asked if i understood what he was telling me (something about how to double-clutch the gear shift) i sort of looked at him in shocked disbelief that he was being so obnoxious, and he thundered: "It's a simple yes or no question!  Yes or no!  That's it!  If you don't want our relationship to be a problem i expect you to be able to answer a simple yes or no question.  Am i clear?"  My response?  "yes sir."

I can't say i've been treated like that in at least 25 years, the last time being basic training at Fort Knox Kentucky as part of the U of O's ROTC program.  And even then i was treated with more basic respect than from this idiot.

And believe me it didn't get better.  I found out later from one of the other guys on the truck that he doesn't think i have a good attitude and that he doubts i'll "make it" out of school.

Needless to say, it's kind of thrown me off my game for the day as i've groped for a solution to the situation and tried to figure out how to handle it.  I finally decided to mention something to the head instructor (which i did) and to then just see how things go with him tomorrow.  But i certainly will not allow him to abuse me tomorrow, if he is so inclined.  If so, i intend to set him straight in a professional but firm manner.

It's all too bad because he is the first bad apple of all of the really fantastic instructors we have had.

Almost lost in all of that was the fact that i actually drove an 18-wheeler out on the highways and roads of Salt Lake City!  Wow.  I never thought that would happen.

Other developments?  A couple of the girls (one black, the other Puerto Rican) decided they wanted to braid my hair into cornrows.  Because i don't give a lot of thought to my hair, i agreed.  The attached picture shows the work in progress.  Guessing it won't last more than a day or two.  Hopefully long enough though to bug my drive instructor..... :-)

Stay safe....

KWA