Trucking For Hayter Trucking

In 1983 I walked into Bob Calvin's office at Hayter trucking in Fellows California. I want to learn how to drive a truck I said. We don't train drivers here son was Bob's reply. Okay I said I will find someone who will and started walking out the door. Don't be so hasty he replied maybe we can give you a shot but you only have one week to learn and no pay. Be here at 5 O'clock tommorrow. Fair enough I said thanks.
The next morning at 5 I met my trainer Irish. He was a big man who had lost his left leg up to the thigh in Vietnam. We would be servicing drilling rigs which continually needed drilling mud hauled off and water hauled in. We were driving an old Mac and this was before the formula engine and the gear shift was a large round metal knob with a button on the side with 3 positions that read ID DIR and OD. To shift you would run through the low gears in Indirect then shift into high range or direct tach out the engine and flip the button to overdrive tach it out which would increase your speed by about 5 miles per hour then drop to the next gear flipping the button back to direct and repeating the procedure. I think the transmission was a Dana Spicer but I usually didn't take a lot of notice to things like that except when something needed fixing
Three days and 50 hours of driving later Irish took me to the office and told Bob I was ready to drive. I am not trying to brag but everything just came natural the rest I would have to learn on my own. A week later I had my liscense and yes they paid me.
I became good friends with Irish and his wife and 3 girls. Most of the drivers used to get together and have a beer at one of our houses. There was a different atmosphere of companionship back then. One day a couple years later Irish showed up dressed in a suit and declined to drink with us and even stated he had quit smoking and started going to church. We sat and talked for awhile then he left. A few weeks later he had a massive heart attack in front of his wife and died.