Day One - Saturday, 4/2/11

And the journey begins....

More back story to come, but suffice to say for tonight's blog that i've started an epic adventure, busing my way from Salem, Oregon to Salt Lake City, Utah to attend truck driving school.  The object?  Become a long-haul truck driver for CR England, ferrying refrigerated freight throughout 48 states.  On the road for three weeks, home for three days, with the pattern repeating for the period of a year. I've left my job as a lobbyist behind, giving my clients to my lovely and exceptionally talented wife, who is providing far greater service to them than i ever did.  And i couldn't be prouder of her for it....

And so the grand adventure is under way.  At 8:11 pm the Dog pulled away from the Greyhound terminal in Salem.  I now sit in the Portland, Oregon terminal, 35 minutes into a two-hour layover.  Most of my friends have already asked why in the world i would choose to take the bus to Utah.  Well, the company pays for a bus ticket so the choice was simple.  Besides, what better way to begin such an adventure than rubbing elbows, shoulders and feet with fellow highway travelers.

The overhead lights (most of which were working...) lit a bumpy walk to the back of the coach as i jostled my new travel mates with the shoulder bag hung just high enough to hit the top of every single seat, and more than one shoulder/arm that happened to be perilously close to the aisle.  I took my seat near the back of the bus and next to a kid who had to be between the ages of 17-23, but i'm terrible at estimating the ages of anyone over 13, so i really can't tell how old he was.  He was busy listening to his ipod, which he did for the entire trip, so we never engaged in conversation.  Consequently, i was left alone with my thoughts, which was a good thing for this early stage of the journey.  I wanted to suck in and absorb every detail....

As the driver turned off the lights and backed out of the terminal, the buzz of strangers becoming acquainted filled the air. One 20-something female behind me complains, "i thought it was a good idea to sit in the back of the bus by the restroom, but NO, bad idea!  It smells like shit back here.  Why the hell don't people put down the toilet lid!"  In front of me a 60-something man with a strong eastern European accent chats up (flirts with?) a 30-something single mother who periodically interrupts her conversation with the man (which she clearly finds more interesting) to scold her 6 year old daughter to stop fidgeting.

Next to me a man who looks haggard and homeless is folded sideways into his seat (how he did that without encroaching on his pretty seat mate is beyond me).  He is asleep and belches loudly.  Nobody but me and his seat mate seem to notice.  She picks up her phone to call the friends who clearly are picking her up in Portland.

And i am absorbed in thought, feeling strangely more calm than i can remember feeling in years -- maybe ever.  And that strikes me as odd, since a new adventure should be filled with excitement and nervousness.  But instead, i am calm, steady and settled.  I take comfort in that, since they are feelings i have rarely experienced.  And in moments the journey continues, hopefully not uncomfortably, with another 18 hours on the bus before hitting Salt Lake City.

So join me as i see where this adventure leads.  I encourage comments and questions.  Best of luck everyone, and safe travels, wherever you may be headed.

KWA