OTR Truckin'

I began what was to be a lifetime affair with trucks when I was 19 years old. Oh, I went off and did this and did that for a while but, it seemed that I was destined to work in, on, or around trucks for the largest part of my life. It has been rewarding, damming and frustrating.

I worked as a stable boy at a place called Bar S Stables at Griffith Park in Burbank, Ca. I’m guessing the only reason I went to work there is, I met a girl and she hung out there. Occasionally an over the road trucker would bring horses from Oklahoma for sale or to renew the rentals that were the stables main business. After becoming fast friends with the driver, a Missourian named Delbert Gist, (RIP Deb!!!) my interest was piqued and my career began.

It was very hard to break into the industry in the late 60s, the age required to go over the road was and is 21 years old. I took my first job as a trucker when I was 19 with a company in San Dimas, Ca called Fox Hollow Horse Transportation hauling Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses up and down the coast of California, going to such places as Del Mar, Santa Anita, Bay Meadows, Golden Gate Fields and many more. After turning 21 I eventually began transporting horses throughout the entire North American Continent. I believe I have been to every racetrack of note in this country for sure, several in Canada and even two in Mexico. You have not lived until you have driven an eighteen wheeler through Juarez on a Saturday afternoon.

The lure of the road became too much and I wanted more freedom than I had with this company so I decided to find a company willing to hire a younker. It was hard I’ll tell ya, You have to keep in mind that when I started driving, the Interstate system was only about 50% complete, mostly around metro areas. Owners back then were sorta scared to let green drivers just take off with a truck & load.



I finally found a 2nd seat position with a company called Big Sky Trucking of Montana. Back during the Viet Nam conflict there were transport companies that were based in agriculture, a non regulated commodity. They were able to haul 70% regulated if they hauled 30% of farm commodities. A loose way of saying we were “hot ‘n heavy” haulers. I learned how to get around the US the way most would never realize. The many times, in fact almost always we would go from coast to coast without touching a state weigh station. It was more physically demanding back then because of the long hours and the routes we had to take. Hauling mostly for the Navy and Army I occasionally hauled the odd Sidewinder or loads of 500 pounders for the Air Force. If people only knew what they were sharing the American highways with back then.

When the war died down I began driving for various produce haulers. With my experience I was a great catch as a driver because of my ability to move illegal loads around. Not jail time illegal, just big dollar citation type illegal. Had my own truck for a while hauling produce for Frenchy’s Markets in Montreal, Ca. With my own truck came lots of payments so I cut wherever I could and hauled as heavy as I could. I ran with my pickup license plate for almost two years. I got caught in Illinois, it cost me $1200 for a year there. That was okay tough, it just meant I was legal. Had they taken me to the scales it would have cost me another $800 for overweight. You didn’t have to be smart to be a state cop in those days.


Since my scanner is broke I used some pics off the net. Similar but not the same as I drove.

continued....

Nukes

I have read with interest the letters of local and not so local persons condemning the use of nuclear power plants. We seem to have many "not in my backyard" wierdos here. They overlook the fact that we have one of the largest storage and shipping facility for nukes within 30 mi of here.

The outrageous use of water, can’t they reuse water? The expense, we have and do pay to subsidize the building of dams, big fans, & coal-fired plants now. Why not channel the subsidies into clean burning, reliable nuke power? The latest rant was someone railing against nuclear waste. Funny thing about that, we have several up & running plants in the UsofA and I have not heard of any problems. Europe runs on nuke power, again I have heard of no problems. Believe it, were there any problems the enviro-whackos would be parading in front of every plant in the world.

In 1986 the Chernobyl Power Plant #4 reactor exploded showing the world what could happen with no oversight, no restrictions, shabby building standards and socialist controls. Hmm, could this have been one of the first terror strikes? The world has since tightened standards and security and no incidents have been reported. All these plants are aging though, if they are not replaced, in 10 or 20 years we will undoubtedly be facing a new crisis.

The Chosen One, has said He will put the coal business out of business. Of course that means we will no longer have a plant serving our area and will have to rely on the big fans. We will have to have one in every spot there is a spot to be able to serve the area and of course with an Obama presidency the wind will blow gently forever more.

In an Obama presidency like the Clinton presidency the global warming issue will not be an issue, unless it’s to further His agenda. Those of us that read knew all along that it’s a bunch of hooey. If it wasn’t those who espouse it would alter their lifestyles instead of telling us that we have to alter ours.

As far as the waste issue, we will develope a plan, as I stated earlier they must have a pretty good plan now. We will keep on safely developing ways. As long as we don't just dump it in a landfill somewhere I'm thinkin' it is pretty much under control. Somebody just has to take a stand, slap the whackos down...hard, and say "get out of our way, let us do our jobs".

Bailouts

As we have now found out, the Trillion in giveaways did nothing for the people it was supposed to help. The criminals that we reinstall yearly in Washington just gave it to their already incredibly rich buddies. The bankers that got money just went out and bought more banks. There has been nothing done for the "poor" people it was supposed to help. How shocking!

Today we are going to bailout the United Auto Workers Union and by proxy the "Big Three" auto makers. Mostly it's a bailout so the union is not told to go find a real job. The end to protectionism? What a novel idea. They called them gangsters in the early days. Now they call them union leaders and politicians. They are expecting to be paid back for the ton of money they gave The Messiah for the election though. This will be a down payment. Contrary to what the whiners are saying, it is a bailout, it's not a loan. I can't think of anything more exciting than having to give money to a company for the privilege of buying it's product.

Watching the news, again I see that 41 states have their hand out for a bailout. They've been giving taxpayers money away as fast as they can rake it in and are so far in the red they don't know if they can keep their heads above water. Again the sky is falling, children are going to starve, and the fat welfare momma won't get her Big Screen TV. Of course, cutting giveaways will not work. They won't even stop giveaways to illegals, to their shame....and to ours for keeping them in control year after year.

I saw in the newspaper that one of the larger print media has gone bankrupt. Several of the existing ones, after years of mismanagement are also on their knees begging for the bailout cash. Nothing surprises me any more. The Exalted One will probably give them some of our money too. After all they lied for him and refused to print facts or even investigate his past.

Where will it end? That's a big question.