"On the Road" with the original florida kid
Hello again fellow truckstars! It's Week 34 and......
......you're on the road with the original florida kid.....
Grandma, Barbie, Pup the wonder dog and the whole gang here at the ranch say a big cowboy howdy "HEY!"
KITCHEN TABLE TALKIN'- Alright, alright grab a cup of grandma's famous cowboy coffee, an ashtray and pull up a chair, we have a lot to talk about this week - so let's get'er goin'........
..................Dan Little from the www.uscattlehaulers.com site has set up a non-profit truckers group - check it out at: http://owneroperatorsunited
As I've said before I've talked to Dan Little a few times over the phone and I'm convinced he's got the rights of truckers in his heart when he decides to do anything, he's the one spearheading the surcharge lawsuit and he's working on a bunch of other stuff too , right now as we speak. It isn't just about a "shutdown" because of fuel prices, we all know that, a lot of things working against truckers has come to a head - some politicians are on our side, some are clearly not - but if the laws are changed and held up then we will have something, even the mexican thing has been held back to a large degree, and that's a good thing. I'm joining up with the OOU today and I hope you can put the $20 together and do it too, in fact I'll say this, if you're going to join any group, or just one, this is the one.....
You can read up more on Dan Little at www.uscattlehaulers.com
He's all about gettin it done with all of us in mind......
I just want to say one thing(okay more than one thing...) here before I go any further, and it's this, for me, this country needs truckers worse than it needs politicians and a lot of others who run the show but it's truckers who are getting treated worse than a old rented mule. What do I mean? I mean, in every way you can think of, from the food(if you want to call it that...) at truck stops to the pay scale. The most important factor, that's us,( I know the trucking co. owners think it's them but it's not....most of them are just arrogant pricks who would still own slaves if it were legal...) in a tricky equation of logistical freight movement is the most abused and worst thought of, and thought of LAST, not to mention the hardest working member of it, but you would think that we were all doing something wrong by the way we get treated. If I were a politician I would bend over backward to romance such a huge labor and voting force in this country, instead they act like we're a bunch of dumbasses that don't really require their serious attention, and truthfully it is partially our fault from the standpoint of - organization. Okay there - I said it again - organization. Since I've been a driver I still can't get over the very idea that between 3.5 and 5 million drivers, I've read government reports stating that there are really 7 million plus drivers, yet, there is no real major player or organization repping drivers. Hell man, the damn migrants who can't even speak english(by choice so I hear....) and most of whom aren't even here legally have better organization and representation than we do and WE BELONG HERE! This is a sad statement but it's also true, so don't wonder why every body, including the people we work for, up and down the line has been treating us still to this minute, like a twenty dollar hooker.
Truckers, by and large, and very active in their communities, current affairs, including relevant politics. Most of the ones I've met or interviewed are decent good ol' boys and girls who have the same hopes and dreams as everyone else, and it just so happens that we play a critical role in the supply chain of this nation, we move all the freight. From the port crane operators( I love those guys....) at the ports to the dock people to the lot jockeys to the mechanics to the waitresses at the few restaraunts with good food....without the drivers it all stops. Why is it then that almost all of the drivers I speak to can't even pay their bills at home? Why? And it isn't bad financial management, bad habits or stupidity.....it's the overwhelming costs and the ever declining pay scale. Now, you'll talk to or read guys like Dave Sweetman, who now writes for Landline, who are major league vets in the O/O field and who make it all sound so easy, but listen to me, most of us are neither as smart or experienced or lucky as guys like Dave and (here's my point...) because there is almost no general large scale organization across the country most of us have been to the school of hard knocks and some of us are still there....but that still doesn't justify the bad and even illegal treatment(can you say surcharge middlemen.....brokers....??) and disrespect that hangs over the trucking industry like a black cloud.....and no, not all the trucking co. owners are greedy asswipes, there are some really great people who look out for their drivers and do treat them with respect, and they have my respect and gratitude, but most of the major co's don't.....and they have been getting away with ripping off the drivers on things like actual hub miles to skimming to all the deductions for bull crap ins. and other stuff(most of which they have a piece of....) all the while letting them go over the HOS and fixing it, even on the Qualcom,(yes it can be done...I've done it...).
And this is what makes me so upset, it's not just for myself either....I have thousands and thousands of weekly readers and some of the stories I hear just rip my f 'n heart out, they really do. How much harder should a person have to work just to get by?....
Old school, old timer red-neck cowboy truckers are my heroes and have been since I was a kid. I was awestruck by the men who jumped down from the cockpit of these massive rigs, beautiful and so heavy and loaded with cool stuff in em', they always had a smile for a kid like me. Men who knew the goods and food and medicines they were transporting were vital to Americans all over the country, so, day and night in every kind of weather nature dished out, missing their families....they ran...and still run....and just to live to see the state of affairs in the trucking industry especially when it comes to drivers, well, don't wonder why I'm so upset.....and believe me I am......
I'm sure I'll get a few pissed off e-mails from some douche bag trucking co. owner or ass kisser co. employee who I may offend with my writing - but I'll tell you this right up front - You can kiss my ass and go straight to hell....and you can even quote me on that....(if you go to church you may as well stop - you're still going to hell along with you're buddies at the oil companies.....and a few freight brokers and car dealers.....). A thieving bastard is still a thieving bastard in any industry......What kind of a people is it that can steal money from needy families to take home to their own?.............Can someone tell me?......
THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT- Okay so, having just gotten off the road on an extended run I too know all to well the problem of trying to get a good meal down your gullet while on the road....but, it can be done! The hardest part is to fight the urge to go for the good smellin' burgers and fries, not the salads and other stuff that won't come back to haunt you. Most high blood prssure is caused by arterial blockage, and that in turn is caused by slidge and fats in foods that we eat everyday. The domino effect within the body tends to, as we age and the sludge build up continues to shut down other systems in the body, like the endochrine system, which is the glandular system in the body. This is why not only good diet is important but so is sweating thru exercise. Sweating is another way beside roughage,(and just as important,) and low fat diet that the body gets rid of fats and toxins from the body. try to find a way or figure a way to sweat as often as you can by exercising. I can't emphasize to you how important it is to sweat.....more next week on the endochrine and cardio-vascular sytems......
Tis' the season for Chuck Wagon Cook-offs!! (http://www.chuckwagon.org/),check their site for the 08' schedule, and truckstars if you only go to one event or take one vacation this year, and you're a fan of the old west, then you have to go to the big National Cowboy Symposium in Lubbock, Texas in Sept. 4-7th (http://www.cowboy.org/ ) the Chuckwagon Cook-off Championship is held there!!
Don't forget about abused kids, and our impoverished neighbors in West Virginia !!
Write down the following web addresses, bookmark em' and make it a regular part of your web surfing!
To find your Representative - www.house.gov ( just enter your zip)
To find your Senators - www.senate.gov - scroll to your home state.
Write them often, tell your friends to write them often...
Don't forget too, truckstars - if you're lookin' for a critter - I highly recommend you start lookin' at:
www.aspca.org and www.hsus.org (humane society) I see lots of drivers with little buddies on the road, I like the Jack Russells......my buddy Randy, a boat hauler too, takes his Golden Retriever on the road everywhere with him...
DON"T FORGET! You really need to start thinkin' about gettin mobile web access you guys, seriously. Just Google "refurbished notebooks" and you'll find, usually factory sites, with really good deals. Try Cyber-Power.com , or, Computers4sure.com You want mobile web access capability, upgradeable ram(at least 2 to 3 gigs, 4 if you can swing it), a big screen 17" or larger HD if poss., a built in web cam and mic, if not, then just buy a headset with a mic and a usb web cam, they're cheap. QVC and HSN also have a good selection of notebooks with great features AND you can break up payments on one for 4 to 5 months too!
I'm hearing Sprint has the best mobile web network......I'll let you know....T-Mobile too, AT&T?? Don't know yet.....
Don't forget about National Truckers Prayer Day -When? I don't know - you tell me!!
Contact Billy Mack on Bozo Radio, or the other radio trucking shows!
Billy Mack on(XM-channel 171) Bozo Radio's Open Road Phone Line
12noon - 4:00pm, mon thru fri - call him at 1-817-451-6055
Before anything else happens I hope we can all get together on a National Truckers Prayer Day.....the bible says - "if God is for us - then who can be against us?"
Do you think for one second that God would be on the side of some mindlessly greedy, earth raping corporation? Do you?
I bet He's wondering why 2 or more have NOT gathered in HIS name and asked for HIS intervention.........
Take a minute and PRAY for our troops around the world - with me - truckstars....whether you agree with the war or not - I think we can ALL agree that these are OUR men and women over there, our KIDS, and, the politics involved is way over my head, not to mention the idea that there's probably a lot going on we DON'T know about, so......and let's not forget about GOD in this equation....it's HIS will I want done, not some profit crazed business man's, not the government's, and damn sure not my own, I'm just not capable.....
.........how 'bout you truckstar?
Okay truckstars - I gotta go - I'm trying to find a haul and a back-haul....(truck payments....know what I mean vern?)
so - until next week.........
Remember - NO load and NO paycheck is worth dyin' for !!!!!
Pray for us all, our nation, the world and the lost..... and try not to worry!!
God hears prayers, trust me - I know.
As always I want you to remember - I mean it - I love ya' and I'm prayin' for ya' !
Play nice, drive safe and pull it on home...........
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