Today's Thoughts 12/26/11 Whack Whack Whack
Here we go again, whack, whack, whack on the heads of those killers truck drivers once again. Good grief when will these folks give up. Again with this sleep apnea crap. Last week it was cell phones. Then the week before that, we had the TSA in Tennessee looking for it to go nationwide and the week before that another something else someplace else. Nationwide Brake Checks, inspections, background checks, Dot Physicals, on and on and on. AARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH….
When will it freaking end. Look here folks, in the thirty odd years I have sat behind the wheel of a truck I have not killed anyone. I've had millions worth of freight on my wagon and not stolen a dime. I've carried radioactive and destroyed not one city. I've been in five wrecks and not caused a one of them. When the hell are they finally going to get around to understanding that the only thing causing stress on my life and taking my mind off of that highway is their continued insistence about interfering in my life? That if they do not add just one more thing to my life to make sure I'm not a killer truck driver after thirty years of not killing any one is them, the government and special interest groups out to make a buck off politically correct thinking. And now once again, the big wigs that own sleep apnea crap are whack whack whacking on the governments door trying to get them to force truck drivers to buy their crap so that you the general public can feel safe from killer truck drivers that are only a small percentage of the cause of wrecks out on that highway. When are they finally going to get around to telling the voters that they actually need to pay attention when driving around trucks?
Why am I so pissed? Because I just signed a three year note to get my truck fixed thinking that it would be quite some time before they came back with this again, and after just one run, whack, there it is again. I got news for you, before I let the government force me into buying into this politically correct BS I'll walk away from the industry. No matter how many hoops we jump through they will just come up with more and more until they get their final wish. Those wishes being the American trucker not causing one death out on that highway. Of course that means that Americans will no longer be out on that road. They will bring in drivers from other countries to do the job because as they will claim, no American will do it. Of course we will not do it. After they make it impossible for us to do it ourselves, after they have striped us of every right we have as American citizens. Already several of the programs set up for foreign drives release them from having to meet American standards or following our laws. They are cutting our throats one vocal cord at a time.
Here's a clue folks, it's not just us, the trucking industry that is. It is this whole country that is being attacked and destroyed from within. Why do you think our American industry refuses to build jobs in this country? To fix our industry's problem we must stand up for all American jobs. So in the process of kicking this sleep apnea crap in the butt again, we need to stand up for all industry. We must look beyond ourselves and save our country. We must get our representatives up on the hill to stand up for us. We must demand that we be represented as we pay taxes and deserve to be represented.
There is just one more thing that I want to know from my representatives that are supposed to be looking out for me. If I spend all my time, at least once a week up there in some committee meeting on capitol hill, and I have to log this as time worked but not driving because it is in fact time I'm spending on my job, how the heck an I supposed to deliver the fright that keeps America fed? At the speed they are coming out with whack after whack after whack, I could never make my first delivery. When the American people have to stop producing and spend all their time on Capitol Hill ensuring that some fruit cake politician is not cutting their legs out from under them, then that folks in my opinion is nothing less than Tyranny. Yup, I used the "T" word.
No more. Period this crap has to stop. Not just this newest attempt from the medical profession to suck dollars out of the trucking industry. But the continuous whack whack wahck on hard working Americans that have shown especially over the last ten years that we have taking the lead from this tyrannical government and made the highways safer on our own. Just once I would like to see someone up there announce to the world just how much the truckers of America have sacrificed and made the highways safer. Just once I wish someone would put a dollar amount on what it has coast us in jobs, freight, family and time telling not only big companies but big government "hell no" when it was not safe or legal to put that load through. They sure as heck have no problem telling the world when some driver that they let in that had no business behind the wheel of a big truck screws up. But they never just quite get around to telling everything that we as an industry have accomplished.
Well folks, clue number two for today. What the heck are we waiting for? Surely not the folks that are using us as stepping stones to advance their career or line their bank accounts. If we want this done, If we want stand up and protect our jobs and our freedom out on that highway, if we want to continue to take the lead on safe and legal truck driving instead of being forced to comply with regulations that will force us off the road, then it is time to stand up and tell those morons where to stick it. (Boy is I in a mood tonight)
Ok, enough from me. If you want this, go fight for it. Best I can do is keep on doing my part. To make a difference you and you and yes, even you are going to have to look deep down in yourselves and decide to get it done. It's going to cost you something. Time for sure, maybe lost wages. I know myself what the cost has been for me over the years. Friends lost I think has been the hardest on me. But think back to those that first fought for our freedom. Our forefathers lost land, life and liberty. Our freedom has never been free and will always have a cost. The time is now to start this countries turn around. What part will you play in that?
Be safe peeps …
Jeff Head.
Be sure to add me as a friend if you like "Today's Thoughts"
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Now Wait A Minute
Today's Thoughts 12/24/11 Now Wait A minute
Yippee, I home for Christmas. What does that mean? It means that I have time to look back over all my leads and find the things that I missed over the last couple of weeks out there on the road. A chance at a decent internet connection so I can view some of the videos that I've been wanting to watch. And that folks gives me the chances to become very confused at just what in the frick they want us to do this time. After Ray La Hood and the NTSB spend the last year telling the world just how dangerous an eighteen wheeler is with a cell phone in it, The TSA and Homeland Security come out and start harassing big trucks and tell them to start calling in on the general public with their cell phones, again.
If you have not heard yet, Tennessee has partnered with the TSA and was stopping trucks at the weigh stations and without probable cause or retaining search warrants, then going through trucks looking for any signs of terrorist's activity. Is there no end to government stupidity?
First off, I don't care what the government thinks or better yet what either end of the government thinks, truck drivers since the beginning of time have been reporting drunk drivers and fires and anything else that the law needs to know about out there on that highway. Cells phones have made that just a little bit easier and a whole lot quicker. So why are they now handing out literature to truck drivers explaining to us how to be good little tattle tales in our travels on our neighbors using our phones? We have never had a problem partnering with the proper authorities in helping keep our highways safe. What we do have is a problem getting the proper authorities' to understand that we need our cell phones in our possession at all times so that we can do this.
But beyond that fact they are searching our trucks for terrorist activities and inspecting our loads trying to find that next little piece of terrorist activity. Well let me clue them in a little about this. They are the ones; the government that is that gave that terrorist a license to drive a big truck. As the trucking industry begs the government for better standards as to who can be allowed to sit behind the wheel of a big truck, that government continues to allow just any warm body behind the wheel. In fact the more grants that they can hand out to train people the closer they get to looking at the grave registration rolls trying to find more candidates. Job creation and all that you know.
But now let's just suppose that I'm a big bad terrorist with a load of terroristic thingys in the back of my wagon headed to blow something up. I would have to be a complete idiot to go rolling through a scale house knowing that they are inspecting trucks. Especially with the CB radios and cell phones lit up with all the details of the TSA being involved in the searches. I just simply wait them out and go through the next day. Put them in there permanent and I just transfer the load to multiple pickup trucks and I just wave at them on the way by. Of course with all the millions of other highways, I'm guessing choosing a route without a scale house might be a thing to do. You could harass eighteen wheelers till the end of time and the terrorist with all the time and money in the world will just use that as a way to keep them busy as they work around the problem.
So here's the deal big government, take away my cell phone and you will hear about the bad things going on out there on that highway the next time I get a chance to pull over and send up smoke signals. You keep unnecessarily detaining me for politically correct BS and the "keep your job" tactics telling the public how safe you are keeping them and I'm going to do what it takes to make up that lost time out on that highway so that I can keep my job. Because if I don't after you have wasted my time, the real world will just find some renegade truck driver that will.
Once again the solution that the government comes up with to fix the problem only creates more dangerous trucks out on the highway. Why they think they can first shackle us with time restraints and then detain us for an unlimited amount of time to look good in the news is beyond me. I keep hearing the claim that a truck was used in the Oklahoma City bombing. If I recall that was a rental truck and in case you don't know, in most states rental trucks are not required to go through the scale house where they are setting up the TSA inspections. In short folks they have created something that does not exist and then spent millions of our tax dollars protecting us from it.
Will a terrorist eventually get around to using an eighteen wheeler to do something? You can bet your last dollar that they will if they are already not doing so. But can you imagine the cost involved to check each and every truck each and every day on each and every highway? Can you imagine how many detained drivers will then have to do what it takes to get that load through after the searches? We already have enough of that problem with shippers and receivers and now the government wants to jump in and detain us even more. I thought the object here was to save lives on the highway, not put drivers in the position that they have to run like heck and cause more deaths. And of course I wish they would make up their minds, is the use of a cell phone a good thing or not? The TSA end of the government seems to thinks so while FMCSA and NTSB seem to think not. Or is it we can if they say so but if we think it's a good idea it's not.
Have Merry Christmas Folks and a Happy New Years too. Let us all pray for common sense to overcome our government real soon.
Be safe peeps …
Jeff Head.
Be sure to add me as a friend if you like "Today's Thoughts"
Yippee, I home for Christmas. What does that mean? It means that I have time to look back over all my leads and find the things that I missed over the last couple of weeks out there on the road. A chance at a decent internet connection so I can view some of the videos that I've been wanting to watch. And that folks gives me the chances to become very confused at just what in the frick they want us to do this time. After Ray La Hood and the NTSB spend the last year telling the world just how dangerous an eighteen wheeler is with a cell phone in it, The TSA and Homeland Security come out and start harassing big trucks and tell them to start calling in on the general public with their cell phones, again.
If you have not heard yet, Tennessee has partnered with the TSA and was stopping trucks at the weigh stations and without probable cause or retaining search warrants, then going through trucks looking for any signs of terrorist's activity. Is there no end to government stupidity?
First off, I don't care what the government thinks or better yet what either end of the government thinks, truck drivers since the beginning of time have been reporting drunk drivers and fires and anything else that the law needs to know about out there on that highway. Cells phones have made that just a little bit easier and a whole lot quicker. So why are they now handing out literature to truck drivers explaining to us how to be good little tattle tales in our travels on our neighbors using our phones? We have never had a problem partnering with the proper authorities in helping keep our highways safe. What we do have is a problem getting the proper authorities' to understand that we need our cell phones in our possession at all times so that we can do this.
But beyond that fact they are searching our trucks for terrorist activities and inspecting our loads trying to find that next little piece of terrorist activity. Well let me clue them in a little about this. They are the ones; the government that is that gave that terrorist a license to drive a big truck. As the trucking industry begs the government for better standards as to who can be allowed to sit behind the wheel of a big truck, that government continues to allow just any warm body behind the wheel. In fact the more grants that they can hand out to train people the closer they get to looking at the grave registration rolls trying to find more candidates. Job creation and all that you know.
But now let's just suppose that I'm a big bad terrorist with a load of terroristic thingys in the back of my wagon headed to blow something up. I would have to be a complete idiot to go rolling through a scale house knowing that they are inspecting trucks. Especially with the CB radios and cell phones lit up with all the details of the TSA being involved in the searches. I just simply wait them out and go through the next day. Put them in there permanent and I just transfer the load to multiple pickup trucks and I just wave at them on the way by. Of course with all the millions of other highways, I'm guessing choosing a route without a scale house might be a thing to do. You could harass eighteen wheelers till the end of time and the terrorist with all the time and money in the world will just use that as a way to keep them busy as they work around the problem.
So here's the deal big government, take away my cell phone and you will hear about the bad things going on out there on that highway the next time I get a chance to pull over and send up smoke signals. You keep unnecessarily detaining me for politically correct BS and the "keep your job" tactics telling the public how safe you are keeping them and I'm going to do what it takes to make up that lost time out on that highway so that I can keep my job. Because if I don't after you have wasted my time, the real world will just find some renegade truck driver that will.
Once again the solution that the government comes up with to fix the problem only creates more dangerous trucks out on the highway. Why they think they can first shackle us with time restraints and then detain us for an unlimited amount of time to look good in the news is beyond me. I keep hearing the claim that a truck was used in the Oklahoma City bombing. If I recall that was a rental truck and in case you don't know, in most states rental trucks are not required to go through the scale house where they are setting up the TSA inspections. In short folks they have created something that does not exist and then spent millions of our tax dollars protecting us from it.
Will a terrorist eventually get around to using an eighteen wheeler to do something? You can bet your last dollar that they will if they are already not doing so. But can you imagine the cost involved to check each and every truck each and every day on each and every highway? Can you imagine how many detained drivers will then have to do what it takes to get that load through after the searches? We already have enough of that problem with shippers and receivers and now the government wants to jump in and detain us even more. I thought the object here was to save lives on the highway, not put drivers in the position that they have to run like heck and cause more deaths. And of course I wish they would make up their minds, is the use of a cell phone a good thing or not? The TSA end of the government seems to thinks so while FMCSA and NTSB seem to think not. Or is it we can if they say so but if we think it's a good idea it's not.
Have Merry Christmas Folks and a Happy New Years too. Let us all pray for common sense to overcome our government real soon.
Be safe peeps …
Jeff Head.
Be sure to add me as a friend if you like "Today's Thoughts"
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Flushing The Subject
Today's Thoughts 12/21/11 Flushing The Subject
I did a good thing today. A good deed you might say. At least I think so. A simple request was made from one of our friends in the traveling public that just happened to be driving a four wheeler or a car as most people would call them. It was not a hard thing to do and a service that I was most happy to provide for this young man as he seemed most animated that the individuals in the trucking industry as he seen the word should be doing anyway. Just a simple thing you see, taking one's finger and applying it to a lever and thus giving that lever a quick downward push. Let me explain so you can see just how willing truckers are to meet the wishes of those that know just what a trucker really is.
For the first time in what seems like five years, I've actually booked a load that will put me at the house on Christmas Day. So instead of once again being stuck at some truck stop waiting to deliver the goods that keep America alive, I get to wake up next to my wife of twenty eight years and actually see my kid on a holiday for a change. Of course as normal the load only works if I hump, hump and hump to get it there. Legally of course as you know I insist on but three days at seven hundred miles a piece have to be accomplished. Not so much a problem for a old timer like me, but you push your limits and squeeze a little longer then you should and you make those miles.
Well, along about the time I figured I squeezed as long as I was about to squeeze, I swing into a rest area for a what I call a fourteen point two second pit stop. Hard to make miles sitting around looking at the grass growing under your truck so I jump out and follow two young men that get out of a pickup truck into the restroom. As it works out, the first young man through the door walks up to the only urinal in the place while the second finds the first stall and enters into it to do his business. I'm left with the far right stall that just happens to be the handicap stall. I love telling bathroom stories as you can see.
Anyway, the second young man in the stall besides me and knowing that I just got out of my big rig and that I'm a truck driver; is already complaining that truck drivers are filthy pigs. Those nasty truckers should learn how to flush a toilet and clean up after themselves. I listen to all of this (leaving out his use of profanity) as I grab a wad of toilet paper to use as I lift the seat so that I can do my business without leaving a mess for the next guy. I find it very interesting the fact that as he is complaining about this public restroom that he is leaving out the fact that it is open to everyone. I'm thinking he must believe that not a single driver of a car has ever ventured in here without leaving behind anything but the fresh fragrance of a rose garden.
So as he is pronouncing for about the third time that truckers really need to flush a toilet after they have used it and I'm just finishing up and noticing the floor drain that just happens to be between his feet which are now facing the door. I'm also looking at the fact that I've left out so far here; the toilet in front of me just happens to be stopped up and full to the brim with clear water except for what I just added to it. What a big smile that just happens to appeared on my face.
Ok, I did it. I grab another hunk of TP as you never want to touch anything in a public restroom that you don't have to and I did as my friend next door was asking me to do. I a truck driver for the first time in history flushed a toilet. Then I turned trying my best not to break out in laughter and waved at the first guy that just finished up as I headed for the door. I wondered what he was thinking about me being so happy waving at him but oh well.
About the time I opened the door for a quick exit, my friend sitting in the stall receives his wish and pronounces extremely loud, "G…… D….." and I'm out of there. I'm not very proud that as a Christian I made someone use the Lord's name in vein. But I am extremely tickled pink that I was once again able to improve the image of the trucking industry by helping a member of the general public receive his wish. I guess the moral of the story tonight is you need to watch what you ask for, you might just get it.
Be safe peeps …
Jeff Head.
Be sure to add me as a friend if you like "Today's Thoughts"
I did a good thing today. A good deed you might say. At least I think so. A simple request was made from one of our friends in the traveling public that just happened to be driving a four wheeler or a car as most people would call them. It was not a hard thing to do and a service that I was most happy to provide for this young man as he seemed most animated that the individuals in the trucking industry as he seen the word should be doing anyway. Just a simple thing you see, taking one's finger and applying it to a lever and thus giving that lever a quick downward push. Let me explain so you can see just how willing truckers are to meet the wishes of those that know just what a trucker really is.
For the first time in what seems like five years, I've actually booked a load that will put me at the house on Christmas Day. So instead of once again being stuck at some truck stop waiting to deliver the goods that keep America alive, I get to wake up next to my wife of twenty eight years and actually see my kid on a holiday for a change. Of course as normal the load only works if I hump, hump and hump to get it there. Legally of course as you know I insist on but three days at seven hundred miles a piece have to be accomplished. Not so much a problem for a old timer like me, but you push your limits and squeeze a little longer then you should and you make those miles.
Well, along about the time I figured I squeezed as long as I was about to squeeze, I swing into a rest area for a what I call a fourteen point two second pit stop. Hard to make miles sitting around looking at the grass growing under your truck so I jump out and follow two young men that get out of a pickup truck into the restroom. As it works out, the first young man through the door walks up to the only urinal in the place while the second finds the first stall and enters into it to do his business. I'm left with the far right stall that just happens to be the handicap stall. I love telling bathroom stories as you can see.
Anyway, the second young man in the stall besides me and knowing that I just got out of my big rig and that I'm a truck driver; is already complaining that truck drivers are filthy pigs. Those nasty truckers should learn how to flush a toilet and clean up after themselves. I listen to all of this (leaving out his use of profanity) as I grab a wad of toilet paper to use as I lift the seat so that I can do my business without leaving a mess for the next guy. I find it very interesting the fact that as he is complaining about this public restroom that he is leaving out the fact that it is open to everyone. I'm thinking he must believe that not a single driver of a car has ever ventured in here without leaving behind anything but the fresh fragrance of a rose garden.
So as he is pronouncing for about the third time that truckers really need to flush a toilet after they have used it and I'm just finishing up and noticing the floor drain that just happens to be between his feet which are now facing the door. I'm also looking at the fact that I've left out so far here; the toilet in front of me just happens to be stopped up and full to the brim with clear water except for what I just added to it. What a big smile that just happens to appeared on my face.
Ok, I did it. I grab another hunk of TP as you never want to touch anything in a public restroom that you don't have to and I did as my friend next door was asking me to do. I a truck driver for the first time in history flushed a toilet. Then I turned trying my best not to break out in laughter and waved at the first guy that just finished up as I headed for the door. I wondered what he was thinking about me being so happy waving at him but oh well.
About the time I opened the door for a quick exit, my friend sitting in the stall receives his wish and pronounces extremely loud, "G…… D….." and I'm out of there. I'm not very proud that as a Christian I made someone use the Lord's name in vein. But I am extremely tickled pink that I was once again able to improve the image of the trucking industry by helping a member of the general public receive his wish. I guess the moral of the story tonight is you need to watch what you ask for, you might just get it.
Be safe peeps …
Jeff Head.
Be sure to add me as a friend if you like "Today's Thoughts"
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Shackles
Today's Thoughts 12/17/11 Shackles
BINGO….. They have done it again. Truckers once again explain exactly what is needed to help keep us safe on the highways, and the government shackles us with new regulations that work against what we ask for. What am I talking about, the new cell phone regulations for drivers of commercial motor vehicles or CMV for short. Let me bring you up to date just so that we are on the same page about this. A couple of bad actors get themselves into wrecks due to the fact that they were using their cell phones for texting and other unsafe practices and the FMCSA decides that every truck driver must be punished so that no truck driver will ever be involved in a wreck again. So they decide that all cell phone use in a CMV should be banned…….
The problem with that is the study that they had done on cell phone use in a big truck showed that just the drivers that where using their cell phone in a unsafe manner were found to be involved in more wrecks. Drivers that used their cell phone in a safe manner were found to actually be more alert and involved in less wrecks. None the less, big government moved to remove all cell phone from trucks. Unfortunately for them and luckily for all highway users Safe Truck Drivers Of America stepped in and raised holy heck explaining to the world how unsafe our government was acting. They were putting being politically correct over what was saving lives on the highway…..
What we ended up with is a set of rules that basically takes a safety tool that safety conscience drivers use and shackles them by the way that they have to use that tool. One button is all that can be pushed to either make or accept a call. This my friend is all good and well but only if you can explain to me how it stops the renegade driver from pushing as many buttons as they were before the new regulation. They have already shackled us with a mandatory fourteen hour rule and new proposed rules are about to shackle us with mandatory breaks even if we are not tired. Electronic On Board Recorders (EOBR) was just thrown out by the courts and already they are up there trying to figure out how to shackle us with them again going around what the court's decision was.
I've said it many times before and I'll say it again. Truck drivers have taking the lead in highway safety over our government. We have asked them many times to partner with us on safety issues but they simply refuse to even acknowledge that safe truck drivers even exist. Instead they pull whatever out of the hat that sounds the most politically correct but hard to defend and they tell the general public that they are trying to save them from those rascally killer truck drivers once again. They picked one storey about one truck driver that was involved in a fatality wreck while he was texting and from that they decided that every truck driver out there needed to be shackled so that this never happens again. The thing is like I mentioned earlier, the renegades will just continue to text and the safe drive just lost a safety tool.
Texting while driving to my knowledge is illegal in any state in any vehicle. So is distracted driving as well. So what was accomplished by this latest shacklement on safety minded truck drivers. A tool used to keep their mind awake and alert made into an object that could shut them down. Large fines and temporary loss of their drivers license has been attached so now instead of doing the right thing, the driver may choose to just continue on while half asleep behind the wheel. Stopping is out of the question due to the fact of time restrictions placed on the driver and the plain real world fact that if that driver will not put that load through on time, another driver will be found that will leaving they safety minded driver starved out of the industry once again.
And speaking of once again, truck drivers are once again put in the very precarious position of deciding between running safe as opposed to running legal. Do they chance picking up that phone and engaging in a conversation that will keep them alert and awake as the studies show a phone conversation will do; or do they decide to play it safe from the law and drive drowsy down the highway putting everyone's life at stake. For me that answer is an easy one. I would rather do what is safe and be labeled a killer truck driver then to allow an over regulated and over bearing government to put me in a position that might kill an innocent family. Political correctness is not only killing our country but our families as well.
Just to let you know, for those of you that have not thought this through. That one button push thingy that they have pronounced upon us, well forget that. Every truck driver out there is now figuring out just how many buttons need to be pushed and where they are so they can clear their call list after each and every call so that the law cannot prove on the side of the road how that call was made. Whatever procedures might be necessary to obtain records from the cell phone company will have to be gone through before much can be done. Simply holding the phone down below the dash conceals from view anything a driver might be doing with the phone from the law and takes the drivers attention off the road. But as many of you all ready know, truck drivers have explained this fact to the government already, it's nothing new.
When will they start figuring out that humans are a very crafty bunch? No matter how many regulations they shackle us with, no matter how many millions of our tax payer's dollars they spend trying to enforce those shackles, about ten bucks and ten minutes is all it takes to work around those shackles. Until the government stops letting just any warm body behind the wheel, they will always be letting unsafe drivers out there. The answer to safe cell phone use is not more shackles but better truck drivers with better training and throw in some morals and ethics and decent pay so that we can deliver our loads safely without starving our families. But you see folks; these things are beyond the comprehension of the powers that be. Until such a time as they decide to start looking at the true cause of killer truck drivers behind the wheel of trucks instead of just the politically correct reasons for them being there, the best we can expect from out government is more just politically correct shackles.
Be safe peeps …
Jeff Head.
Be sure to add me as a friend if you like "Today's Thoughts"
BINGO….. They have done it again. Truckers once again explain exactly what is needed to help keep us safe on the highways, and the government shackles us with new regulations that work against what we ask for. What am I talking about, the new cell phone regulations for drivers of commercial motor vehicles or CMV for short. Let me bring you up to date just so that we are on the same page about this. A couple of bad actors get themselves into wrecks due to the fact that they were using their cell phones for texting and other unsafe practices and the FMCSA decides that every truck driver must be punished so that no truck driver will ever be involved in a wreck again. So they decide that all cell phone use in a CMV should be banned…….
The problem with that is the study that they had done on cell phone use in a big truck showed that just the drivers that where using their cell phone in a unsafe manner were found to be involved in more wrecks. Drivers that used their cell phone in a safe manner were found to actually be more alert and involved in less wrecks. None the less, big government moved to remove all cell phone from trucks. Unfortunately for them and luckily for all highway users Safe Truck Drivers Of America stepped in and raised holy heck explaining to the world how unsafe our government was acting. They were putting being politically correct over what was saving lives on the highway…..
What we ended up with is a set of rules that basically takes a safety tool that safety conscience drivers use and shackles them by the way that they have to use that tool. One button is all that can be pushed to either make or accept a call. This my friend is all good and well but only if you can explain to me how it stops the renegade driver from pushing as many buttons as they were before the new regulation. They have already shackled us with a mandatory fourteen hour rule and new proposed rules are about to shackle us with mandatory breaks even if we are not tired. Electronic On Board Recorders (EOBR) was just thrown out by the courts and already they are up there trying to figure out how to shackle us with them again going around what the court's decision was.
I've said it many times before and I'll say it again. Truck drivers have taking the lead in highway safety over our government. We have asked them many times to partner with us on safety issues but they simply refuse to even acknowledge that safe truck drivers even exist. Instead they pull whatever out of the hat that sounds the most politically correct but hard to defend and they tell the general public that they are trying to save them from those rascally killer truck drivers once again. They picked one storey about one truck driver that was involved in a fatality wreck while he was texting and from that they decided that every truck driver out there needed to be shackled so that this never happens again. The thing is like I mentioned earlier, the renegades will just continue to text and the safe drive just lost a safety tool.
Texting while driving to my knowledge is illegal in any state in any vehicle. So is distracted driving as well. So what was accomplished by this latest shacklement on safety minded truck drivers. A tool used to keep their mind awake and alert made into an object that could shut them down. Large fines and temporary loss of their drivers license has been attached so now instead of doing the right thing, the driver may choose to just continue on while half asleep behind the wheel. Stopping is out of the question due to the fact of time restrictions placed on the driver and the plain real world fact that if that driver will not put that load through on time, another driver will be found that will leaving they safety minded driver starved out of the industry once again.
And speaking of once again, truck drivers are once again put in the very precarious position of deciding between running safe as opposed to running legal. Do they chance picking up that phone and engaging in a conversation that will keep them alert and awake as the studies show a phone conversation will do; or do they decide to play it safe from the law and drive drowsy down the highway putting everyone's life at stake. For me that answer is an easy one. I would rather do what is safe and be labeled a killer truck driver then to allow an over regulated and over bearing government to put me in a position that might kill an innocent family. Political correctness is not only killing our country but our families as well.
Just to let you know, for those of you that have not thought this through. That one button push thingy that they have pronounced upon us, well forget that. Every truck driver out there is now figuring out just how many buttons need to be pushed and where they are so they can clear their call list after each and every call so that the law cannot prove on the side of the road how that call was made. Whatever procedures might be necessary to obtain records from the cell phone company will have to be gone through before much can be done. Simply holding the phone down below the dash conceals from view anything a driver might be doing with the phone from the law and takes the drivers attention off the road. But as many of you all ready know, truck drivers have explained this fact to the government already, it's nothing new.
When will they start figuring out that humans are a very crafty bunch? No matter how many regulations they shackle us with, no matter how many millions of our tax payer's dollars they spend trying to enforce those shackles, about ten bucks and ten minutes is all it takes to work around those shackles. Until the government stops letting just any warm body behind the wheel, they will always be letting unsafe drivers out there. The answer to safe cell phone use is not more shackles but better truck drivers with better training and throw in some morals and ethics and decent pay so that we can deliver our loads safely without starving our families. But you see folks; these things are beyond the comprehension of the powers that be. Until such a time as they decide to start looking at the true cause of killer truck drivers behind the wheel of trucks instead of just the politically correct reasons for them being there, the best we can expect from out government is more just politically correct shackles.
Be safe peeps …
Jeff Head.
Be sure to add me as a friend if you like "Today's Thoughts"
Friday, December 16, 2011
That's Your Problem
Today's Thoughts 12/16/11 That's Your Problem
CARB. For those of you that might be unfamiliar with the term, California Air Resource Board. This upcoming year is the year from my understanding that those of us with older trucks must register with the state if we are to continue running out here with the deadline being January 31st, 2012 as I understand it. This of course only gives us a couple of more years to run in this state before we have to either throw our trucks away and buy new equipment or pay thousands of dollars to upgrade them to standards that CARB in its infinite wisdom says it's ok for us to run. Next year of course is the year that older trailers have to be upgraded before we can run them out here. Easily for me I'm looking at over ten thousand dollars out of my pocket to do these upgrades unless of course I decide to buy new equipment and that could run me as high as one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for both truck and trailer. CARB's reaction to that little problem of course is the same as most new regulations place upon the common citizen "That's Your Problem"
Well let's take a look at the last time I spent a bunch of money to comply with CARB so I could run in the state of California. APU or Auxiliary Power Unit. California decided that no longer would drivers be allowed to idle their trucks while in the state so drivers were forced to take their mandatory ten hour rest break with no heat or air unless they purchased an APU for around eight thousand dollars a pop. Of course you were not required to do so but that meant that you would have to sleep out in the middle of the desert or in the dead of winter up in the mountains without any heat or air. Better they thought that you did not produce a bit of smog then you actually got some decent rest before you drove your eighty thousand pound truck around and run over someone due to lack of proper rest.
So I run out like a good little trucker and kick out over eight grand for an APU. Of course the technology was still new back then and I wind up with a lemon. Eight thousand more dollars not counting for time lost for installation and continuing trips to the shop to get the things repaired and I have well over twenty thousand dollars invested so that I am legal to run in the state of California. What a well respected good little trucker I am for doing so and trust me, for every dollar I saved not idling my truck I've spent two keeping the APU's up and running. And to reward me for spending all that cash, as I sit here tonight in a California truck stop with all of the trucks that did not invest in APU's sitting here idling and California is not doing a thing about it. In other words I threw away over twenty grand of my hard earned cash to do the right thing and my competition is out their keeping the freight rates low because they can run the freight cheaper then I can skirting the law. Yes I know, this is my problem.
So I'm sitting here thinking, "Do I go ahead and register then plan on once again kicking out thousands of dollars to keep compliant in this state?" And the only response I can think of is "Why should I". If CARB does as they did with the APU's, I'm just tossing money out the window to comply where most people will just ignore and the state of California will do nothing about it. Face it, California is about broke and they have absolutely no cash to pay for enforcement of just about anything. The governor was in the news just the other day saying he was going for over two billion (that’s with a "B") in cuts. And the way I see it, these folks out here are not going to like that not one bit, not at all. I'm guessing that they will remove CARB before they remove entitlements to illegal immigrants with their left coast thinking. It's going to fun for me to watch California in its infinite wisdom try to stay as socialist as they are without going broke or getting a handout form the rest of us. And trust me, if my representatives vote to hand this state even a penny, it will be the last time they get my vote.
Hence you can see my dilemma tonight, to register or to not register. And the longer I sit here and listen to all these idling trucks around me, the more I'm leaning towards not registering. I'm already down twenty thousand dollars that I would love to of had for other things in life. As I see it, we have them over a barrel and if we do not allow them to bend us over it, they will have to push these new regulations down the line or drop them completely. It's time that We The People stand up for ourselves and let a over bearing government know that we will not bend over that barrel any more. Let the state a California figure out how to feed its population without our trucks. Let them figure out how to keep even more companies from moving to Texas because the freight rates or to high due to lack of trucks being legal to run in their state. And when they up and complain that no one will run out here, we simply tell them, "That’s Your Problem".
See Ya' California. May the good lord bring to you politicians with common sense real soon.
Be safe peeps …
Jeff Head.
Be sure to add me as a friend if you like "Today's Thoughts"
CARB. For those of you that might be unfamiliar with the term, California Air Resource Board. This upcoming year is the year from my understanding that those of us with older trucks must register with the state if we are to continue running out here with the deadline being January 31st, 2012 as I understand it. This of course only gives us a couple of more years to run in this state before we have to either throw our trucks away and buy new equipment or pay thousands of dollars to upgrade them to standards that CARB in its infinite wisdom says it's ok for us to run. Next year of course is the year that older trailers have to be upgraded before we can run them out here. Easily for me I'm looking at over ten thousand dollars out of my pocket to do these upgrades unless of course I decide to buy new equipment and that could run me as high as one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for both truck and trailer. CARB's reaction to that little problem of course is the same as most new regulations place upon the common citizen "That's Your Problem"
Well let's take a look at the last time I spent a bunch of money to comply with CARB so I could run in the state of California. APU or Auxiliary Power Unit. California decided that no longer would drivers be allowed to idle their trucks while in the state so drivers were forced to take their mandatory ten hour rest break with no heat or air unless they purchased an APU for around eight thousand dollars a pop. Of course you were not required to do so but that meant that you would have to sleep out in the middle of the desert or in the dead of winter up in the mountains without any heat or air. Better they thought that you did not produce a bit of smog then you actually got some decent rest before you drove your eighty thousand pound truck around and run over someone due to lack of proper rest.
So I run out like a good little trucker and kick out over eight grand for an APU. Of course the technology was still new back then and I wind up with a lemon. Eight thousand more dollars not counting for time lost for installation and continuing trips to the shop to get the things repaired and I have well over twenty thousand dollars invested so that I am legal to run in the state of California. What a well respected good little trucker I am for doing so and trust me, for every dollar I saved not idling my truck I've spent two keeping the APU's up and running. And to reward me for spending all that cash, as I sit here tonight in a California truck stop with all of the trucks that did not invest in APU's sitting here idling and California is not doing a thing about it. In other words I threw away over twenty grand of my hard earned cash to do the right thing and my competition is out their keeping the freight rates low because they can run the freight cheaper then I can skirting the law. Yes I know, this is my problem.
So I'm sitting here thinking, "Do I go ahead and register then plan on once again kicking out thousands of dollars to keep compliant in this state?" And the only response I can think of is "Why should I". If CARB does as they did with the APU's, I'm just tossing money out the window to comply where most people will just ignore and the state of California will do nothing about it. Face it, California is about broke and they have absolutely no cash to pay for enforcement of just about anything. The governor was in the news just the other day saying he was going for over two billion (that’s with a "B") in cuts. And the way I see it, these folks out here are not going to like that not one bit, not at all. I'm guessing that they will remove CARB before they remove entitlements to illegal immigrants with their left coast thinking. It's going to fun for me to watch California in its infinite wisdom try to stay as socialist as they are without going broke or getting a handout form the rest of us. And trust me, if my representatives vote to hand this state even a penny, it will be the last time they get my vote.
Hence you can see my dilemma tonight, to register or to not register. And the longer I sit here and listen to all these idling trucks around me, the more I'm leaning towards not registering. I'm already down twenty thousand dollars that I would love to of had for other things in life. As I see it, we have them over a barrel and if we do not allow them to bend us over it, they will have to push these new regulations down the line or drop them completely. It's time that We The People stand up for ourselves and let a over bearing government know that we will not bend over that barrel any more. Let the state a California figure out how to feed its population without our trucks. Let them figure out how to keep even more companies from moving to Texas because the freight rates or to high due to lack of trucks being legal to run in their state. And when they up and complain that no one will run out here, we simply tell them, "That’s Your Problem".
See Ya' California. May the good lord bring to you politicians with common sense real soon.
Be safe peeps …
Jeff Head.
Be sure to add me as a friend if you like "Today's Thoughts"
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Russell Built
Today's Thoughts 12/10/11 Russell Built
It's finally done and she's purring as pretty as a kitten. As many of you already know I've been shut down since before Thanksgiving because after one point four million miles on my engine, she went to loosing water to fast for comfort. It was time to take her over to Russell and get her rebuilt. I know that three weeks seems like a long time on a rebuild. But if you think about it, the first week was spent on the Holiday and Holidays are family time and I would have been home that week anyway.
So only the last two weeks have been spent in the shop getting the work done. That shop and the work they done is what I want to talk about today. It's so hard out on the road to find a shop that is as interested in you getting a job done well as they are in you being able to take your truck when they are done and be able to go make a living with it. Finding a shop and a mechanic where they actually take pride in the work that they put out. Not only in how well will the repair perform for you, but how it looks under your hood when it is done. Adding the personal touch you might say.
Right up front I want to tell you that I was not asked to write this article. Nor was I paid or asked to take any of the pictures that are now on my FaceBook profile. This was my own idea, and the reason I came up with it is what you read in the first paragraph above. As an Owner Operator it is very important to me to know about a shop with these values and expertise and I thought I would share my little secrete with the rest of my friends so they could maybe stop by and check out for themselves this little jewel of a find. So let's fill in some of the blanks so you know who's who.
Bobby Allen, aka Blinky is the shop manager. Blinky drove trucks himself for many years so he knows by personal experience just how hard it is for drivers to get decent work done out on that highway. I spent a little time talking with him and watching him interact with different customers and I have to tell you, I think it would be hard to find a person that conducts business more honestly then Blinky does. "You have to be honest with your customers and explain to them exactly what needs to be done and why" Blinky told me. "So spending a little time talking with them is something that I always do"
That’s Blinky in a nutshell. As you talk to him and explain your problem, He will from years of experience explain back to you the most probable cause and exactly what it is that will fix your problem. You will walk away from that conversation or at least I did, more educated about just how it is your truck runs and what it needs to run properly. I think the thing that impressed me most about Blinky and his shop is the fact that when other major shops in the area cannot fix a truck or their mechanics mess up the repair, they tow the truck down to Blinky to get the job done right. Last week a major trucking company towed in a truck that their mechanics replaced the kingpins on the steering axel so well that the wheels would not even turn. After a lot of effort was made to tear down what they had done, Blinky called in the shop manager from the trucking company and went over piece by piece what his mechanics had done wrong. Then Brian and Slim did the repairs as they should have been done in a couple of hours and returned the truck to the company.
Russell is the mechanic that rebuilt my engine. The pride he takes in a job well done is something that I believe is hard to find in this world anymore. Russell learned his craft, and I call it a craft because as you watch Russell work and see the pride he takes in every step, it can be called nothing less; but he learned his craft the old fashioned way. Not by going to school and sitting behind a desk but by growing up in the trucking industry and from a very young age working besides mechanics on actual trucks as they worked in the real world. It's this years of real world experience that has giving Russell his unique ability to pin point with great accuracy exactly what needs to be repaired and the knowledge and skills to do the repairs.
"I've built so many truck engines that you could bring me any engine in a box and I could take those pieces out of that box and build that engine where it sits." Russell told me one day. "A customer needed his truck back one time. I had it torn completely down, nothing but a block sitting in the frame. John and I completely rebuilt that engine over night and had it ready to roll first thing the next day." Russell told me and to my knowledge, that engine is still running today.
But that’s not the way Russell likes to work. Each piece is methodically removed and positioned around your truck so that he knows exactly where it is when it is time for him to revisit it. Every bolt, every washer, every nut and every part is removed, cleaned and inspected before it is painted and replaced. After the tear down the shop area is cleaned so that no dust is present as he builds your engine back. Old bolts in certain key positions or thrown out and replaced lowering the possibility of a parts failure. Your head that comes in completely assembled is torn down and inspected by Russell, then reassembled to Russell's standards before he installs it on your engine. In fact for me to go over each and every step and explain the TLC that Russell takes and the pride in his work would take up a lot of space here. Let's just suffice to say that it is not uncommon for Russell to hear back that one of his engines just passed the million mile mark again. And the normal time a shop takes to rebuild an engine is about half the time that Russell takes. The thing about that last statement is that the price is usually about the same if not cheaper. The little extras that are usually found are thrown in to make sure the job is done right, not used as a ploy to jack up your bill. Remember that honesty thing I was talking about?
Besides they great rebuild job that I'm sure I received as many of my friends currently run Russell Built engines, I also received one heck of an education about my engine and what makes her run. I have a much better understanding about how things work and even how to fix them myself now. Russell is a natural teacher even if he does not know it. That in itself was worth the time and money I spent these last couple of weeks. My new found knowledge will serve me well one day out on that highway.
Well, I guess that’s all I have to say for now. I hope that someone out there that has been looking for an honest someone to help keep their truck on the road with expertise will find this information useful. I want to thank Blinky and Russell for the great job they did, and for making me feel like I was one of the family while I worked beside them out in the shop. The pictures of Russells work and the pride he takes can be found on my Facebook profile. And if you are thinking about giving these folks a call, here is their number. Just tell them Jeff sent you.
"First Diesel Service, Attalla, AL, 256-538-1911
Be safe peeps …
Jeff Head.
Be sure to add me as a friend if you like "Today's Thoughts"
It's finally done and she's purring as pretty as a kitten. As many of you already know I've been shut down since before Thanksgiving because after one point four million miles on my engine, she went to loosing water to fast for comfort. It was time to take her over to Russell and get her rebuilt. I know that three weeks seems like a long time on a rebuild. But if you think about it, the first week was spent on the Holiday and Holidays are family time and I would have been home that week anyway.
So only the last two weeks have been spent in the shop getting the work done. That shop and the work they done is what I want to talk about today. It's so hard out on the road to find a shop that is as interested in you getting a job done well as they are in you being able to take your truck when they are done and be able to go make a living with it. Finding a shop and a mechanic where they actually take pride in the work that they put out. Not only in how well will the repair perform for you, but how it looks under your hood when it is done. Adding the personal touch you might say.
Right up front I want to tell you that I was not asked to write this article. Nor was I paid or asked to take any of the pictures that are now on my FaceBook profile. This was my own idea, and the reason I came up with it is what you read in the first paragraph above. As an Owner Operator it is very important to me to know about a shop with these values and expertise and I thought I would share my little secrete with the rest of my friends so they could maybe stop by and check out for themselves this little jewel of a find. So let's fill in some of the blanks so you know who's who.
Bobby Allen, aka Blinky is the shop manager. Blinky drove trucks himself for many years so he knows by personal experience just how hard it is for drivers to get decent work done out on that highway. I spent a little time talking with him and watching him interact with different customers and I have to tell you, I think it would be hard to find a person that conducts business more honestly then Blinky does. "You have to be honest with your customers and explain to them exactly what needs to be done and why" Blinky told me. "So spending a little time talking with them is something that I always do"
That’s Blinky in a nutshell. As you talk to him and explain your problem, He will from years of experience explain back to you the most probable cause and exactly what it is that will fix your problem. You will walk away from that conversation or at least I did, more educated about just how it is your truck runs and what it needs to run properly. I think the thing that impressed me most about Blinky and his shop is the fact that when other major shops in the area cannot fix a truck or their mechanics mess up the repair, they tow the truck down to Blinky to get the job done right. Last week a major trucking company towed in a truck that their mechanics replaced the kingpins on the steering axel so well that the wheels would not even turn. After a lot of effort was made to tear down what they had done, Blinky called in the shop manager from the trucking company and went over piece by piece what his mechanics had done wrong. Then Brian and Slim did the repairs as they should have been done in a couple of hours and returned the truck to the company.
Russell is the mechanic that rebuilt my engine. The pride he takes in a job well done is something that I believe is hard to find in this world anymore. Russell learned his craft, and I call it a craft because as you watch Russell work and see the pride he takes in every step, it can be called nothing less; but he learned his craft the old fashioned way. Not by going to school and sitting behind a desk but by growing up in the trucking industry and from a very young age working besides mechanics on actual trucks as they worked in the real world. It's this years of real world experience that has giving Russell his unique ability to pin point with great accuracy exactly what needs to be repaired and the knowledge and skills to do the repairs.
"I've built so many truck engines that you could bring me any engine in a box and I could take those pieces out of that box and build that engine where it sits." Russell told me one day. "A customer needed his truck back one time. I had it torn completely down, nothing but a block sitting in the frame. John and I completely rebuilt that engine over night and had it ready to roll first thing the next day." Russell told me and to my knowledge, that engine is still running today.
But that’s not the way Russell likes to work. Each piece is methodically removed and positioned around your truck so that he knows exactly where it is when it is time for him to revisit it. Every bolt, every washer, every nut and every part is removed, cleaned and inspected before it is painted and replaced. After the tear down the shop area is cleaned so that no dust is present as he builds your engine back. Old bolts in certain key positions or thrown out and replaced lowering the possibility of a parts failure. Your head that comes in completely assembled is torn down and inspected by Russell, then reassembled to Russell's standards before he installs it on your engine. In fact for me to go over each and every step and explain the TLC that Russell takes and the pride in his work would take up a lot of space here. Let's just suffice to say that it is not uncommon for Russell to hear back that one of his engines just passed the million mile mark again. And the normal time a shop takes to rebuild an engine is about half the time that Russell takes. The thing about that last statement is that the price is usually about the same if not cheaper. The little extras that are usually found are thrown in to make sure the job is done right, not used as a ploy to jack up your bill. Remember that honesty thing I was talking about?
Besides they great rebuild job that I'm sure I received as many of my friends currently run Russell Built engines, I also received one heck of an education about my engine and what makes her run. I have a much better understanding about how things work and even how to fix them myself now. Russell is a natural teacher even if he does not know it. That in itself was worth the time and money I spent these last couple of weeks. My new found knowledge will serve me well one day out on that highway.
Well, I guess that’s all I have to say for now. I hope that someone out there that has been looking for an honest someone to help keep their truck on the road with expertise will find this information useful. I want to thank Blinky and Russell for the great job they did, and for making me feel like I was one of the family while I worked beside them out in the shop. The pictures of Russells work and the pride he takes can be found on my Facebook profile. And if you are thinking about giving these folks a call, here is their number. Just tell them Jeff sent you.
"First Diesel Service, Attalla, AL, 256-538-1911
Be safe peeps …
Jeff Head.
Be sure to add me as a friend if you like "Today's Thoughts"
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Home Time
Today's Thoughts 12/1/11 Home TIme
What exactly is that? Home time that is. It's been so long since I've had more than just a day or two at a time that I think I've plum forgot just what it is like to have the time to do more than just a small quick project around the house. My usual average time at the house is about a day and a half. Thirty six hours to come in, wash my clothes, fix the truck, spend time with the family and fix the major item around the house that broke while I was gone; and leave again on another two to three week turn. Such is the life of a traveling man. This time is different though. While my truck is in the expert care of my favorite mechanic Russell over in Alabama, I have about a week and a half to do, well, nothing if that’s what I want to do.
Anyone that knows me knows that nothing is the last thing that is going to happen. I have to be doing something or the something I'm going to be doing is going nuts. So I have years of backed logged work that needs to be done around the house to keep me busy. The cool thing about that is I have to save every dollar for the engine rebuild so there is not a dime to spend on the honey do's until the truck is done and I'm off and running again. That of course means that I have to figure out how to make all that needs to happen around the house happen without spending any cash to make it happen. I love a good challenge though and I figure that I can do this. I have lots of things stored and piled around to work with.
Today I finally got around to cutting up that tree that fell on my shed out in the back yard last winter. I have an electric chain saw so that was easy enough. Then came stacking the wood and out came the leaf blower and we cleaned the yard. I love doing chores with my wife, working as a team, wearing ourselves out and then crashing together totally worn out for an afternoon nap. I'm finding though that years of sitting behind that wheel has me a little soft when it comes to doing this hard labor stuff. Thinking I might just be a little too old, fat and lazy for tree cutting anymore, and for that fact, yard work.
Tomorrow I have planned an old broken mirror that has been sitting in a trash can waiting for proper safe disposal. No way do I want my family taken a chance on something like that while I'm out on the road. Then on to a few minor sheet rock repairs and then finally getting around to finishing that trim that needs painting in the hall way. I guess it's been about a year ago that we painted the walls and the trim has been sitting there waiting for me to find the time to finish it off. That’s the thing about being a truck driver running over the road. There is never a shortage of things that need your attention and there is never enough time to attend to those things. That truck and that load always come first. That’s if you like eating that is.
Anyway it does feel good to be out from behind that wheel for a while. But the big road is just beyond the trees on the other side of the railroad tracks. I can hear the trucks running up and down that highway and it's calling me. That's where I belong and I know it. That’s who I am. I think that if I was to be here for too long I would really start to miss running that open highway. Going places and seeing things that most people only dream of. But at last, my honey do list does need a little attention every now and then and so does my family. Finding a decent balance between the two is always a welcome discovery.
So its family this week and I have every intention of getting the most out of this time spent at home. I'll be spending lots of time with the wife and kid. Spending Sunday mornings at the church I've come to enjoy being a part of and most of most of all of course just feeling like a normal person with a normal home and normal life for a change. I'm not going to rush these things because I know that before too long, it will be years before I can enjoy them for any length of time at once again. Life in a big truck I guess. You have to love it and it has to be in your blood or you will never make it as a truck driver. It's a good thing I love what I do. That’s the only way I'm able to do it.
Be safe peeps …
Jeff Head.
Be sure to add me as a friend if you like "Today's Thoughts"
What exactly is that? Home time that is. It's been so long since I've had more than just a day or two at a time that I think I've plum forgot just what it is like to have the time to do more than just a small quick project around the house. My usual average time at the house is about a day and a half. Thirty six hours to come in, wash my clothes, fix the truck, spend time with the family and fix the major item around the house that broke while I was gone; and leave again on another two to three week turn. Such is the life of a traveling man. This time is different though. While my truck is in the expert care of my favorite mechanic Russell over in Alabama, I have about a week and a half to do, well, nothing if that’s what I want to do.
Anyone that knows me knows that nothing is the last thing that is going to happen. I have to be doing something or the something I'm going to be doing is going nuts. So I have years of backed logged work that needs to be done around the house to keep me busy. The cool thing about that is I have to save every dollar for the engine rebuild so there is not a dime to spend on the honey do's until the truck is done and I'm off and running again. That of course means that I have to figure out how to make all that needs to happen around the house happen without spending any cash to make it happen. I love a good challenge though and I figure that I can do this. I have lots of things stored and piled around to work with.
Today I finally got around to cutting up that tree that fell on my shed out in the back yard last winter. I have an electric chain saw so that was easy enough. Then came stacking the wood and out came the leaf blower and we cleaned the yard. I love doing chores with my wife, working as a team, wearing ourselves out and then crashing together totally worn out for an afternoon nap. I'm finding though that years of sitting behind that wheel has me a little soft when it comes to doing this hard labor stuff. Thinking I might just be a little too old, fat and lazy for tree cutting anymore, and for that fact, yard work.
Tomorrow I have planned an old broken mirror that has been sitting in a trash can waiting for proper safe disposal. No way do I want my family taken a chance on something like that while I'm out on the road. Then on to a few minor sheet rock repairs and then finally getting around to finishing that trim that needs painting in the hall way. I guess it's been about a year ago that we painted the walls and the trim has been sitting there waiting for me to find the time to finish it off. That’s the thing about being a truck driver running over the road. There is never a shortage of things that need your attention and there is never enough time to attend to those things. That truck and that load always come first. That’s if you like eating that is.
Anyway it does feel good to be out from behind that wheel for a while. But the big road is just beyond the trees on the other side of the railroad tracks. I can hear the trucks running up and down that highway and it's calling me. That's where I belong and I know it. That’s who I am. I think that if I was to be here for too long I would really start to miss running that open highway. Going places and seeing things that most people only dream of. But at last, my honey do list does need a little attention every now and then and so does my family. Finding a decent balance between the two is always a welcome discovery.
So its family this week and I have every intention of getting the most out of this time spent at home. I'll be spending lots of time with the wife and kid. Spending Sunday mornings at the church I've come to enjoy being a part of and most of most of all of course just feeling like a normal person with a normal home and normal life for a change. I'm not going to rush these things because I know that before too long, it will be years before I can enjoy them for any length of time at once again. Life in a big truck I guess. You have to love it and it has to be in your blood or you will never make it as a truck driver. It's a good thing I love what I do. That’s the only way I'm able to do it.
Be safe peeps …
Jeff Head.
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