I went to truck driving school and drove tractor trailer for about a year. THE MOST DIFFICULT PART about driving tractor trailer is backing up. 90 percent of our driving time was spent learning how to back into every situation the instructors threw at us. Either this was some retard that didn't understand what the job is about, or he's a terrorist.
You were lucky. I had a father-in-law as an instructor and during those early marriage years, he was not yet sure he liked me. I can tell you, backing a 40,000 pound load of swinging meat up a shaky ramp onto a railroad piggyback flat car is no way to learn to back a truck. It will, however, remove any foolish youthful thoughts of immortality.
After working at the post office for twelve years and watching many a truck driver try to back his semi up into a very limited space which is our delivery parking lot, I've got great respect for the skills of these guys and gals. I'd hate to have to do it. Some of the not so skilled have knocked down a few brick walls by the entrance. I've also been subjected to few rants by truckers who were quite annoyed with our tiny lot. Couldn't blame them.
That's subjected to "a few rants". Not "few rants".