I have been under-employed going on 3 years now...
I left my former house in Missouri for supposed employment opportunities in PA that turned out not to be...
Came back to Missouri...
I drove a truck route in Illinois about 6 years for several years that paid exceptionally well (compared to working in a music store or trying to teach music for a living)...
I was gone most of the time, but I wound up getting in exceptional shape... We had to load our own trucks by hand...
It was a task that took about an hour of constant running back and forth and stacking boxes in an orderly fashion in the back of the one piece freezer truck.
I got to see a lot of rural country side in Illinois, meet some interesting people...
I've always been an old time barn and antique farm tractor enthusiast... and I got to see a lot of that type of stuff while driving the truck...
That particular type of truck driving only required a cheauffer's license...
I'm at a turning point in my life now...
The economy is messed up enough that a lot of fields seem to be fairly limited...
I've had enough of the retail environment... of music stores... of liquor stores, etc.
I long for the former days of weekly thousand dollar paychecks and even though limited in free time... there were a lot of other trade-off benefits such as seeing the country side and meeting people...
I figure, I'd still be able to operate my web site from the road... checking in every so many hours...
When I'm parked for a delivery, I could be doing various updates to the site, filling orders when they happen...
Working out new arrangements in the off hours...
All I'd need is a Good time open back... that would fit in a truck easy enough...
And, since I no longer own property, I really wouldn't have to worry about coming home any more or doing the usual chores, etc.
And, the best part...
I could be out there doing it in about 2 months...
There would be a month of schooling in St. Louis...
A month of schooling in Iowa...
And then the open road!
I have had one friend who drove a truck all of her adult life... solo...
Has her own company, i.e., she's a free-agent...
She hauls a small Harley Davidson between the cab and trailer.... and takes it for a ride when up in the Northwest...
She puts a folding outdoor chair on top of the trailer and sits up there and watches moose in the northwest... when she has to stop for said moose crossing the road...
I've heard it's a lonely lifestyle... but I've already experienced it... and it wasn't all that bad...
Most of my socializing happens here on the Hangout...
Never a dull moment with you folks!
I just don't know what else to do anymore...
I'm staying at my dad's farm in southern Missouri...
I'm 51 and need to get back in the swing, so to speak... and make things happen again...
It ain't over yet... I'm itching for a new adventure...
I could sell my Ford Ranger and pay cash for the schooling 20 minutes from where I'm living...
I could also sell my Gibson Mastertone... wouldn't need that again until I finish the schooling... or get re-settled...
What do you guys think?
Tom