On the Road with the original florida kid week 43

"On the Road with the original florida kid" Week 43
Hello again fellow truckstars! It's Week 43 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'- Okay, so grab a chair, an ashtray and a cup of Grandma's famous cowboy coffee and let's get this party started......
Grandma went to the doctor last week, she's been having serious back and leg problems. She needs to have surgery, as we expected, but she says she won't go, not now, with things the way they are, she says....Barbie is trying to talk her into it and it's easy to tell where Barbie got her stubborness from....I'm tellin' ya...
I have to tell you truckstars that this week I'm more than a little upset to hear of, yet more O/O's losing their rigs, and hell, I could be next...I finally got a boat haul from Maine to Ft. Lauderdale but I had to dead head up there to get the boat, a big boat, and bring it back down here to Key Largo. The money wasn't that great but anything right now will help...I think......
It seems even in boat hauling, the brokers, and whoever else is involved, know they can lowball and get away with it...although in his defense the guy I get a lot of hauls from, I'm sure, is getting lowballed too... wish I could lowball the fuel co's and my insurance co....and the power co. and the cable co. and the phone co. and the grocery store and the IRS and the people I make my truck payment to and everyone else I have to hand my ever shrinking paycheck to....I don't like feeling so desperate all the time....I need to understand something...I read a lot, I mean a lot, I read about all the advances in truck design and aerodynamics, logistics and supply chain management, I see tons of money being spent on super new truck stops and freight hubs as well as load tracking and communication systems, I see success stories of famous trucking company owners, I see lots of people patting themselves on the back and saying this and saying that...I see and hear about billions of dollars flying around the trucking industry...and I hear a lot about "bottom lines", (business men like to use that phrase), but the bottom line, the real f 'n bottom line is that I don't see any of it, or at least not enough of it.......going to the truck drivers.....
I can't tell you how many guys and gals, good, safe drivers who keep their expenses in check, who still can't pay their bills that I've spoken to and heard of, all across the country...how can it be that, for 50 years, drivers have been routinely robbed of fuel surcharges and no one, until recently, has done a goddamn thing about it....I'm trying to understand these things...
I had a great conversation with Dan Little from the new OOU, last night, and during our long talk he said something to me I realized that I really had forgotten. He said "We have to remember that, yes, we have families at home, most of us, but out here on the road, as truckers, we're a family too.... and in spite of the trials and tribulations of our industry, in spite of the blatant abuse and exploitation we suffer, (even from within our own industry), in spite of the hardships and Thankless efforts in any kind of weather, we, out here on the road, are a FAMILY."...(if you've ever met a veteran, old school trucker then you know what I mean)...
I know truckstars, I know, it's so easy to forget that, I do too sometimes...(that is, until I need help or advice or someone out there on the road to lean on) but we have to remember this....always....
Dan also said something else to me that I will never forget - "I tell guys all the time that we are professionals, and we have to act like professionals, all the time, and not forget that we represent each other, seems like lots of guys have forgotten that."
Often there is great wisdom in the simplest of statements....
Listen to me truckstars....we all know how important this job we do is to the country we love so much, and right now maybe it's not so loveable, but what I'm trying to say is that - without the American Truck Driver....everything stops, and I mean everything!
The marine and the rail industries cannot do what we do....from the flat bedders to the livestock haulers to the dry vans, to the tankers and the haz mat guys and gals, to the super haulers, to the road service and truckstop people(I call them “diesel culture” support industry…)....even those wild ass "ice road truckers". We are a family that helps provide a vital service to the greatest nation in the history of the world, but that's clearly NOT how the world sees us....and I wonder why....don't you?
I for one, believe we matter....I believe we matter more than the way we get treated and are thought of....and I also believe we can look to ourselves for the solution...
What kind of a world is it that a trucker delivers goods and food to a store that he can't afford to walk around to the front of and go into and buy the very products he just delivered for himself or his family! What the hell man.....
The mexican trucking thing, the trucc act, fuel tax and surcharge legislation, operating costs....these things and more, affect us all, both on the road AND at home, we know that, and just like a family at home tries to stick together, WE out here on the highways of America need to stick together too!
Lately, especially if you listen to the cb for 5 minutes, that damn sure does not appear to be the case....yeah maybe it's the hardships on the job, operating costs, or stress at home, the economy, the government, greedy big business and corrupt politicians....but these things have been around for 5,000 years or more....and it doesn't have to tear us apart as a labor force...not now, when even the trucking co's love the fact that there is absolutely NO real organization or voice for the drivers....
Do I have the answers? No, I don't, but I still know better than just to let my future and my family's future ride like a dice throw in a rigged game....and so do you....that's why I'm voting, I'm contacting my legislators regularly, and I've joined the OOU(owner operators united).....I'm getting involved, if you haven't heard about it yet, the OOU that is...stay tuned...you will....I'm not just going to call myself a professional....I'm going to act like one...how 'bout you truckstar?

THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT- Okay, so now you’re taking whole food organic vitamins….right? You’ve found a good place to buy the MetRx protein bars and you are drinking a good protein shake…I like the Labada and Muscle Milk Protein Drinks. Do you know how clean your colon is? Before you roll your eyes, listen to this…the colon is where most of the food nutrition absorption occurs, it’s kinda like havin’ a dirty sludgy carburetor and clogged fuel lines(your arteries and veins) and expecting power from your motor, it’s not going to happen….
Think about this for a minute with me truckstars….what has your diet for the past few weeks and months been like? Chances are you’ve eaten a lot of fatty foods, maybe even trans fatty foods and empty carbs like white bread and rolls, donuts and stuff, right? Well this kind of stuff creates a very heavy, pasty sludge in the colon and intestines and pretty much suffocates your body of any nutrition and vitamins you might take in (when you actually do eat a good meal of lean broiled meat, chicken or fish and dark leafy greens and fresh steamed veg’s) and I really really really really want you to think about flushing the “pipes” down there….How? Roughage or ruffage..there are lots of different kinds of roughage…did you know Triscuits(yeah I know, it’s crazy…..) are a great form of roughage? Anything whole grain as close to natural form as possible….you’ve heard of whole grain breads, cereals, muffins…all that kind of stuff needs to be in your diet every single day to keep the “pipes” clean in an on-going way. That’s why all the health nuts scream about whole grains all the time, well the amount of vitamins in them is the major reason but the roughage is the natural way to clean the colon. I also use whole psyillium husk…it’s really good way to, well, kind of like taking a bottle brush and running it through your lower unit…
Truckstars, you know I would never steer you wrong, and, you have to take this stuff seriously, you really have to. I want you to get a book called “The Bible Diet” written by a doctor named Richard H. Mays. I really like this guy, he’s a Tennessee doctor who’s been around for a long time. Amazon, Alibris and other book sources have it and I think it’ll be the second most important book you ever read…and I’m deadly serious….your health will never improve, your blood pressure and your cholesterol will never go down until you get with the program of regularly running the kinds of grains and fruits and veg’s through your system that you need to be. Even the men’s E.D. drugs are designed to create the kind of blood pressure needed to cause an erection because the vascular system can’t because of congestion…..it’s all tied into what you eat, and when you drink a caffeine drink on top of that it’s like trying to pump more water pressure through a pinched hose……. Okay? What d’ya say? Are ya with me?

TRUCKSTAR TECH- I’m sure it’s no secret to any of us that, well it seems like every day another area on the map is outlawing idling of a big rig….Whatever you may think about this, the fact of the matter is that in the near future it may be illegal nationwide, and, I would count on that happening….Aux power units are going to be a part of your future and for me, I like the idea of the Cummins diesel powered unit, it’ll run off the same fuel your truck runs off of and I don’t know of too many other co’s that know more about motors and power than Cummins, start your search there www.cummins.com or try www.starclassinc.com
This is something we need to plan for….and save for…
Okay now onto my favorite tech subject – Mobile Technology….lots of people are going with these new “Smartphones” and although I would love to have one of Googles new Android smartphones I think because of other app’s and media we like to use that somewhere in the middle of mini-laptops and smartphones will the technology end up in the next 2 years or less. They’ve really come a long way. Sprint I think has the ball in their court right now with the $99 a month all-in-one plan, but mobile unlimited web access with an air card is cheaper and in my way of thinking, more versatile. Or example, with a built in web cam and mic and a free Skype.com or Windows Live connection you can speak to and see anyone else with the same thing for free! Sure you can put lots of movies and music on a flash drive and just plug er’ into your mini-laptop. Me? I still want a big screen and the juice of a serious laptop with Blue Ray and/or whatever is beyond HD, with multiple sound cards and a gamer level graphics card, 4-8 gigs of ram and at least a 500 gig hardrive….hey - I’m a meat and potatoes and heavy horsepower guy of guy…..old school…yeah but I also have an eye on the future too….what about you truckstar? Do you have mobile internet in the cab of your truck yet? And not just on your cell phone either…..I like the new Sony Z Series mini laptops….and the service after the sale is really good, some say the best….whatever you need now - plan for it to become a reality… check out this link to what I feel is one of the best trip planner programs going – it’s called PC* Miler - http://www.alk.com/pcmiler/

Don’t forget about abused kids…..they really need heroes….I know….

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…..