the truckstar

"On the Road with the original florida kid"
Hello again fellow truckstars! It's Week 42 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 want to say a big cowboy howdy "HEY!"

KITCHEN TABLE TALKIN'- Alright, you know the drill...grab an ashtray, a cup of Grandma's famous cowboy coffee and pull up a chair, there's more on the front porch by the door. Seems every week more and more people come over to sit around the table and talk about stuff goin' on, but that's okay that's what we're here for..
Well, I've been sittin' here on my butt for 4 weeks now waitin' on boat freight to pick up, but....and it's not just the price of fuel going up and down like it's on a pogo stick either...(yeah and that's another thing...)..
Barbie's got that strained nervous look in her eyes, I can see it when she looks at me. Grandma was lookin' out the kitchen window the other day, the way she does when I know she's thinkin' about Grandpa, and the tears were streamin' down her face....then, mine too...
I know it wasn't just for us either, lots of folks we know have hit hard times...people - good, everyday decent working people losin' homes, businesses, cars, land, and havin' to give up things they love just to try to pay bills and put food on the table...seems like we hear of someone every day losin' their rig or home.........even the third world knows you can't keep sending jobs out of the country and hope the economy will survive!
We may be next, I don't know..GOD HELP US....GOD HELP US ALL...PLEASE
This mortgage thing, the AIG bailout, all this business crisis stuff isn't killin' the economy, they're signs of an economy in serious trouble, and I know you don't need me to tell you that, but, I am sayin' that I truly believe we, as a people and as a nation, we need to take more responsibility for our government and economy. I can't tell you how sick and tired I am watching the politicians on tv fighting and mudslingin' like little kids... meanwhile the country is being ransacked by big business and anyone else who can afford to own their own politician.....we must look like idiots to the rest of the world...seriously...
Those of you who've raised teenagers know, most of em', most of the time, you can't trust...as kids I mean....you want to but you know you can't...you only hope they don't burn the damn house down while you're on a run....it's kind of the same thing when you talk about our so called leaders...you want to trust em', but you know ya can't....and this time.....
.....the house IS on fire.......hellOOOooo...

I bet the CEO of AIG gets a paycheck this week, the President of the U.S., the Rep's and Senators, they're all gettin' paid this week...I'm not...are you ?
If someone works for you, and ruins your business...aren't you supposed to fire them?? Voting is how we do that…….
And here's another thought: Why don't we ever boycott the products of companies that have moved out of the country putting thousands of people out of work just to increase their profits...Wal-Mart spends 18-20 billion a year in China...Levi's, the jeans co. fired 7,000 people a few years ago and moved just over the mexican border, like Ralph Lauren and dozens of other co's....Ford and GM are closing plant after plant...textiles - are there any made here still?...
There has to come a point when you realize you're cutting your own throat....why can't our leaders and big business figure that out? Even the greediest thievin' person or company has to come to their senses sooner or later....right?

Contact your elected officials TODAY! -
www.house.gov - to find your representative enter your zip code
www.senate.gov - scroll to your home state

We know your support and participation had an effect on this mexican trucking thing...the President might veto the House's vote to cut off money but they say they'll fight it.....so let em' know how you feel......
I registered to vote today....you have a few more days maybe 10 or so before the 29 day cut off...just Google, enter your home state name before the 2 words "voter registration" and it'll tell you where you can register in your area, or offer an online option where you enter the info and it makes up an appl. for you then you print it, sign it and mail it or take it to the supervisor of elections office near where you live.

TRUCKSTAR TECH- Check out CNN.comLive and also www.google.com/mobile/gmm - this is a Google program you can load into your phone to give you a gps and a map and direction program, for you techies out there you can also side load it in directly from your computer. Google's new Android phone is cool and most of the cell phone experts like it but it doesn't do nearly enough for me and I'm not payin' for a cell phone AND mobile internet....if I have to choose it'll be mobile internet......where I go my laptop goes......
I'm still trying to fall in love with the new breed of mini-laptops, like the new Acer Aspire One, or the much anticipated Dell Inspiron 10", but I really haven't seen one yet that has the juice I need while I'm on the road, and be careful the smaller ones have screen size adjustment issues, get at least a 10" screen.
Skype, Windows Live and Yahoo Live all have free pc to pc calling phone programs now and all 3 have video too if your laptop has a webcam - you can talk to and see your family at home( or anyone else...) for free! It only takes a minute to load in your pc or laptop. I like the new swivel screen laptops with lots of usb ports, the new air cards for mobile internet come in usb modem, they look kind of like a usb flash drive, and also a 4 or more gig ram dual core, HD or Blue-Ray screen, built in web cam and mic( and make sure they have their own controls...), although a headset is cheap, (they even make bluetooth headsets with a usb plug for handsfree driving while talking). Asus, Sony, Dell, Hp...everyone seems to be making a good laptop just get one with the features you want or need. I'll probably end up with AT&T for my mobile web co, they have the new usb air cards and good connection nationwide, but I'll probably get a new laptop with embedded 3G broadband so I won't even need an air card. Also check out this website - www.fancast.com - for tv shows and movies you can watch for free.....
I need a 10 pixel digital camera with a 200-400 wide zoom lens for photos.
I'm also sticking with XP for now too....
Keep in mind that Sony and Apple have the highest rated customer support, Sony's best help is their phone support, Toshiba is also not bad with customer phone support. Gateway is terrible and they want you to pay by the minute for help, it's a ripoff. Getting some of the new app's to work is tough even for experts and Customer Support should be a factor in deciding which brand and model you buy.

THE HEALTH DEPT- This week’s Health Dept. is going to be short because I want you to get a book called “The Bible Diet” written by a doctor named Richard H. Mays, M.D. Dr. Mays has written another “bible diet book” like “The Makers Diet” by Jordan Rubin but I believe this one is a good buy and filled with the info I want you to have for everyday food buying and eating habits and why…..you can buy it online from Alibris Books for a discounted price, here’s the link, just enter The Bible Diet in the search line:
http://www.alibris.com

Remember truckstars the condition of your body is a direct result of what you eat, the better you eat the healthier you’ll be. Don’t be discouraged by the endless stream of info on diets and what to eat, what not to eat. Arm yourself with a good foundational knowledge of food and diet throughout human history and it’ll give you a fix on where we are now and how you too can eat well and be healthy. You don’t have to be a believer to read and learn what’s in the “Bible Diet” books, but don’t discount it either if you haven’t read one of them…Okay? Don’t forget to think about whole grains and raw veg’s in your diet!

Don’t forget about abused kids…..

That’s it for this week truckstars!
If you’re a prayin’ person, Please pray for our nation, the world and the lost…
REMEMBER – No load and NO paycheck is worth dyin’ for…..
Don’t forget! I love ya and I’m prayin’ for ya!
So play nice, drive safe and pull it on home………

Saddle up…..let’s ride!
……you’re on the road with the original florida kid…we gown…..

Category: General

"On the Road with the original florida kid"

Hello again fellow truckstars! It's Week 41 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 give a shout out and a big cowboy howdy "Hey!".........

KITCHEN TABLE TALKIN'- Alright grab a cup of Grandma's famous cowboy coffee, an ashtray and strap your ass in, this week's edition is going to get bumpy....
In scanning over the mostly boring trucking news headlines I ran across some news articles, blogs and posts both "for" and "against" the mexican trucking fiasco..."Thank God" the House voted down by a huge landslide, the furtherance of it, (meaning, issuing full U.S. access to mexican trucks via operating authority) citing not just understaffed inspection personel, inspection equipment at the border locations, and the changes made to the original standards that should be imposed(meaning, in a secrective new program the mexicans are being allowed to apply and run with little scrutiny from the DOT), pay de-valuation and future job losses of American drivers.
I'm not sure, neither is anyone else it appears, why the federal government is pushing so hard for this thing when it is abundantly clear the American people, not just organized labor and truck drivers, do not want this thing to happen....... economists and labor analysts all agree that not only will it devalue(it already has....) the pay scale which is already freakishly low, but in the next few years as American co's have their mexican manufactured products shipped back across by cross-border mexican trucking co's who work for a fraction of the pay an American driver needs to make, many, some say millions, of American drivers will lose their jobs....just like those in the steel and auto industries, not to mention textile manufacturing(guess where Levi's went after they fired 7,000 people a couple of years ago?....) The trend and agenda is very clear......the first mexican truck rolled across the border with a DOT authority on Saturday the 8th of Sept. headed for South Carolina, with many more to follow if the pro mexican forces get their way, putting American drivers out of work. The president says he will veto the House vote.......the House says they'll fight the veto....
When you read a blog or an article written by an American trucking co. spokesman or an American driver/blogger saying that this is all a good thing and we should all just be friends, and that the facts are being distorted by organized labor and others(an overwhelming majority from both political parties against mexican trucking)...you have to wonder what interests they really have in the whole thing(there are many)......AND.....how can they serve their own greedy agendas knowing that many of their American brothers and sisters will be getting paid less and end up losing their jobs because of yet another cheap labor source? I've read some of the "pro mexican trucking" blogs and articles written by the few American truckers and often published by American based magazine media co's that also have an interest and that are for this thing. WHY? HOW? Because they are connected to the major carriers involved(who have their own lobbyists....) and that have been involved in orchestrating this thing since the late 80's. I find them, and so do the experts involved, seriously lacking in the true facts they accuse those "against" mexican trucking of using, and more importantly, conviniently leaving out what connection they have to it....most of them stand to profit heavily, even if that means Americans lose jobs....(yeah, so what else is new?).......their argument is that it makes products cheaper here in the U.S., but the business and economic facts say otherwise.......hmmmmm.....
.......Whatever the connection is truckstars, you can bet your ass.......IT'S ABOUT MONEY...and the cold brutal reality behind the scenes in the American trucking industry is one of greed and betrayal.....this truth IS now a reality, and WILL be borne out in the coming years as we will, no doubt, face another and perhaps the biggest labor crisis ever.......
More on this in future editions as I put all the facts together from interviews with the major players in this issue.....for now truckstars - Please keep up the pressure on our elected officials..here's the tools you'll need to do it; and don't forget to THANK those on our side! The battle is NOT over....
(Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN), Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. John Mica (R-FL), Ranking Member on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Rep. John Duncan (R-TN), Ranking Member on the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
Big THANKS to the Sierra Club and the Teamsters! OOIDA too!
Dan Little from the uscattlehaulers.com and the OOU....we love ya over here!
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......when? Right NOW !
Don't forget to think about tryin' to help out an abused kid...every community has em'..... ................they need heroes and truckers are heroes...still.
HEALTH DEPARTMENT- (next week)
TRUCKSTAR TECH- (next week)
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, with me, for our troops around the world - 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? You in?
Tis' the season for Chuck Wagon Cook-offs!! (http://www.chuckwagon.org/),check their site for the 08' schedule,and be sure to check out (http://www.cowboy.org/ )
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 love ya' and I'm prayin' for ya' ! So - Play nice, drive safe and pull it on home...........
Saddle up.....let's ride!.......... ......you're on the road with the original florida kid...............we gown..........

Category: General

"On the Road with the original florida kid "

Hello again fellow truckstars!
It's Week 40 and.......you're on the road with the original florida kid........

Grandma, Barbie, Pup the wonder dog, Larry the pig and the whole gang here at the ranch want to give ya'll a big cowboy howdy "HEY".....

KITCHEN TABLE TALKIN'- Alright, alright, grab a chair and an ashtray. Grandma’s got a pot of her legendary cowboy coffee goin’, it’ll be a minute.
Before I go any further I want to apologize to you all for being gone for 5 weeks, actually I was on the road for 3 and a half weeks and while I was gone my yard or house, we’re still not sure which, was struck by lightning and it fried a few appliances……including my computer system…..so I had to buy a new system, then start over with the radio station, from scratch…anyway that’s why I haven’t put up an edition of On the Road for a few weeks. I’ve gotten hundreds of e-mails from concerned truckstars out there who were wondering and worried what happened to me….I’m okay, it’s just, the worst part wasn’t the money or losing my system and 2 years of stuff on the computer…..
…….it was being out of touch with YOU……….
Tommy Boy wanted me to say “Thanks” for all the e-mails about his job situation(the co. he was drivin’ for went under….and he was out of work for about a month….). He got a lot of job offers, but he took a flat bed gig for a local ag hauler, the money’s good and it’s local, but he wanted me to say “Thanks”, and to tell all of you truckstars out there “not to give up hope….EVER….a good driver will always be able to find work, and, that I really really appreciate the support from the folks who took the time to send the ‘kid’ an e-mail for me.”
When I showed Tommy and his darling little wife the amount of e-mails that came for him and what they said, he and Tammi both got teary eyed, it was kinda cool, I wish you truckstars could have been here for that…..so……anyway I personally want to “Thank you” too…….this is the kinda of thing that makes me proud to be a member of the world’s best and largest driving force…….
You’ll hear Tommy Boy on Truckstar Radio in the next few weeks(he’s a character I’m tellin’ ya….Grandma loves him, he makes her laugh like crazy….)…..
I’m almost there with the radio station and blogsite……you can’t believe the amount of research and learning, not to mention buying equipment, getting help and support from new friends in the radio world, suppliers, tech people…..it’s waaaaaay more work(uh, and money…..) than I thought it would be, and, don’t forget I’m talkin’ about a real, full blown radio station that will play on whatever player you have on your cell phone, laptop, or pc….24/7 “live” all the way…..you can be a part of it too, not just as callers “in”, if you want to, but show hosts, just wait(or not….) till we’re up and running, listen in and if you like what you hear, get ahold of me and we’ll talk it over……we need “on the road” co-hosts to do their own shows…..advertisers too…..
It’ll be great! All drivers, all the time, on the road, day and night…..Need a weather report for exactly where you are? A truckstop or rest area exit number and/or miles to it? Fuel stop and /or repair shop distance from where you are? Road service options for what’s wrong and where you are?
Call-in and we’ll hook you up…..right away no b.s. …….whatcha’ think truckstar?
Interviews, talk and whatever else we can think that you want to hear and get involved with………You in?
I don’t know if anyone else out there has done any drivin’ in the southeast U.S. lately like me, but these tropical storms, almost hurricanes, are getting’ on my nerves….I drove through Fay twice a couple of weeks ago, and I’m sittin’ here right now Thankful Hannah passed us by in Florida down here, Gustav too, but, Ike is lookin’ bad and it might buzz us in the next few days…by Tuesday anyway they say….it costs a lot of money to get ready for a hurricane and I still worry about where to park the trucks and cars…..I can’t always drop everything and run up to Tennessee….not yet anyway….Barbie and grandma both want to move to tenn. Fulltime as soon as possible…..I do too….Pup loves runnin’ through the woods on the ranch……
Now….work is slow, fuel isn’t as bad as it was(wohooo….) but it still costs a lot more than it should, other stuff has gotten more expensive…like food, electricity and oil changes, filters and all that….so we’re feelin’ it here at home too, like you…….
….We feed a lot of people here at the homestead and I Thank God for His grace and mercy in providing for us all…….

So what’s up with the ATA lately? 55mph for drivers AND they’re trying to kill the TRUCC Bill !! Are you kidding me? They’ve had their hands in drivers pockets for so long I guess they forgot it was called “stealing”……This is the very reason I rip into trucking co. owners, it’s hard to believe some of them used to be drivers and I’ve said this before….drivers need a voice……not some greed based organization but an industry wide voice with all drivers voting on action to be taken…Hell, if the UPS drivers can do it, why can’t we? Maybe Dan Little at the new OOU is the guy we’re looking for……
Between the HOS, construction zones, fuel prices and trying to drive in a slow economy with low freight prices it’s a bitch as it is to try to make a living…and always, always the trucking co. owners are there to remind us that evil still lives in the world…….not all of them, again, there are good owners out there who haven’t forgotten where they came from and GOD BLESS em’……

We lost a great country music artist and a friend of the trucker, recently.
Jerry Reed……...poor health for the last few years finally took him….he’ll be missed by all of us……..

TRUCKSTAR TECH- Podcasting? Who? Is that a vegetable or something?
Nevermind it’ll go away before you have to know what it is……
Mobile internet is about to become very screamin’ fast…. stay tuned….I still hate Wi-Fi….and……make sure if and when you buy a laptop that it has good screen resolution for the screen size…some of the new mini’s don’t, the experts say to go at least ten inches, the 7” minis have too low of a pixel rate for the web….this is why I want one of the larger ram, gamer laptops, high screen resolution and killer sound cards. To me a laptop is far more functional than even one of the super cell phones…Why? Because I can still call home for free whenever I want AND they can see me as well as hear me…for free with SKYPE.com…and I can check my e-mail, paybills, find out information and a million other things my cell phone can’t do and the bill for mobile broadband web access is about the same as a cell phone bill…..I know I really don’t like the scroll method laptops use so I’m getting a mouse to plug in and use….it’s easy….Sprint has a 60$ a month un-limited plan with ever increasing upload speeds….I can see the day coming soon when my pain in the ass cell phone is going into the trash can….Gobi is trying to solve the pci card issue with integrated software built in(Qualcomm is jumping into the mix….)But whichever co. you end up with get the USBconnect since you can also use it in your pc at home……and all the cell carriers have gps available in your cell phone too…so….laptops, well just run a trip planner from where you are and I’ll look into it but I’m sure there’s a voice one out there too….
Listen, if you think about the dollar for dollar value between a cell phone and a mobile web capable laptop there is no comparison….so…that’s my 2 cents……
Whatcha’ think truckstar?

If you haven’t seen the new Batman movie, well go see it, if for nothing else, Heath Ledger’s performance, and if you’re a country music fan I recommend Blake Shelton’s new record –Pure BS…the hit “Home” is on it….

THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT- Okay, last edition we talked about “trans fats” and I hope you got out of it what you need to understand….when they screw with food for whatever reason, or even when they freeze it, it usually ruins it…that’s all you need to remember….Are you taking “whole food organic” vitamins yet….why not? Google them and order some if you can’t find a good health food store. I’m trying to get Flying J to carry them with a couple diff. kinds of high end protein drinks, they carry the Met Rx Collassal Protein Bars now, just look up by the register…..I still think they should let Sonny’s or Perkins come in there and take over the restaurants……
Don’t forget also to keep up with whole grain breads and lots of vegetables…watch the fat……ice cream(try Ben and Jerry’s Frozen Yogurts, they’re great…), salad dressings and cheeses are killers…..Think, think, think before you eat…don’t trust that some food co. cares what they put in your food, some do, some don’t, you need to check… I say this to you because I know what I’m talkin’ about and I love you guys and girls and I want you to be happy and healthy……..Okay?




Check out www.uscattlehaulers.com and find the link to the OOU, it's a new group who's only agenda is the welfare of drivers and Dan Little, who by the way is a working driver, is probably our best hope as a leader and fighter for truckers across the board. It's only $20 to join.....I've talked to Dan several times and I truly believe he's the real deal....see for yourself......I'm in.......you?

Also, in case you feel like rattling someone's cage -
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......when? Right NOW !!!!!
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.........
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 - Sept. 4-7th(http://www.cowboy.org/ ) the Chuckwagon Cook-off Championship is held there!!
Take a minute and PRAY, with me, for our troops around the world - 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?
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 love ya' and I'm prayin' for ya' !
Play nice, drive safe and pull it on home...........
Are you ready? Let's roll..........
......you're on the road with the original florida kid...............we gown..........

Category: General