"On the Road with the Original Florida Kid"
Hello again fellow truckstars! It's week 39 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(including Larry the pig) all want to give ya a big cowboy howdy "Hey!" shout out....
KITCHEN TABLE TALKIN'- Alright, grab a chair and a cup of Grandma's famous cowboy coffee, Tommy Boy got the ashtrays.......Okay - so I did it, I went and bought Barbie another car, or truck rather, if you consider the 2008 Ford Expedition a truck, I think it is one.......anyway I got her a really nice black one and as I expected she pitched a fit, mostly because(I guess...) it was a surprise....her 2004 Explorer had a lot of miles on it and her, Grandma, and our youngest, Leah, are now on their way to Michigan(I think she did manage to get the kitchen sink in there, since it's gone....) to settle Grandma June's affairs, following her death in a nursing home here in Florida a few months back. They are headed to southwest Michigan and should arrive there friday night. She sure was upset about the new truck, since the payment is a bit higher, she's the worrier in the family(sometimes I think too much, but....) I knew if I asked her she would say NO, and still I felt it was what I needed to do....the Explorer had always had problems,the factory kind....so .....anyway, I feel really bad she was so upset but also her and Grandma have been on the edge of their nerves for a very long time over all this and the on-going legal business which seems never ever ending and expensive......I really believe Grandma Junes death put them in a kind of state of shock, one they are still in and also truly and genuinely broke their hearts.....It was an all girl family between Grandma June(Grandma's Mom), Grandma and Barbie, even Barbie's 2 sisters were alone for a long time by circumstance and as many of you truckstars, especially you Lady Truckstars, know there are a lot of women in this world who single handedly run families, work and raise kids too, for whatever reason(usually not good ones....), and I can tell you that Grandma June, Grandma and Barbie were as close as family can get. I have always been awestruck by women left alone to work and raise kids on their own....I was raised by one myself, so I know. My Dad's Mom, or "Ma" to anyone who knew her was my Mom most of my life, from when I was 18 months old, and even though she passed over 20 years ago I still think sometimes I hear her voice and can see her face in my dreams....some things, I guess, us mere mortals never really get over, or leastways I can't seem to.....that's okay if the treasured memory of a loved one has to come with a little pain.....I can live with that..........How 'bout you truckstar?...........
I miss Barbie already and I'm just kind of moping around the house waitin' on a run myself, maybe a run to the north so I can then meet up with them in Michigan....it's been a little slow in the boat hauling world lately. I did a run to the Chicago area, to a place called North Point Marina on the lake, got back sunday night....nice place.....I will say this to anyone going up there, that both the 294 and the 94 are equally slow due to construction and the 294 tapers to 2 very narrow lanes for a long way and there are 5 toll booths to contend with so next time I'm just going to jump on the 94 up and back, and just deal with the city traffic as it comes.....I'm betting some of you truckstars out there know this area pretty well.....me, I'm just not a big city person so I'm always lookin' to drop my load and get out of dodge as soon as possible....tired or not....I got myself back south on the southbound 65 on the bottom side of Indianapolis and shut er' down at the Flying J there at exit 95....traffic tires me out worse than anything....trying to stay in my lane...you know the drill.....
The radio station is coming along, although, in my tireless search for knowledge I have found out what really goes on behind the scenes in the internet world when it comes to doing any kind of a broadcast whether it be just audio, like a radio show, or visual like, well, like a video stream. I've been dowloading software, configuring software, buying cords and headsets and all kind of electronics stuff....then I got to the point where my stream needed more bandwidth and upstream speed so I had to switch to cable for the upstream speeds and I still might need to have a T1 line installed since I want to do my own radio stream and be my own server and not have to pay a web hosting co. AND a server co. to distribute the audio stream...and I'm working on the back side of the learning curve there too.....I think my brain is going to explode......but I am determined to do my own radio station and video show online, it will most likely be both audio and live video too but the audio part is my main concern.....I'll let you know....if money was no object it would already be up and running.......
Yeah and as it is I'm way overdue to hit the Nashville music scene and a writing session with some boys up there....been tryin' to get myself together to finish the lyrics to a couple of songs, one of which I hope to get to Jason Aldean's people....
.....this fuel thing has really slowed things down and made what's left a lot more expensive to do....I sure could've used the extra money I would have had.....you too, I know.....guess that's why she was so upset about the new truck.....aww man.......I hate this feelin' like I spend waaaaaay too much time goin' through the "mud of life"........I wish I were better at lookin' to the Lord and hearin' Him....for sure I would've saved myself a whole lot of headaches and heartaches....gotta get me a set of those "Jesus Mud Tires"....I'll be speakin' with Him again tonight.....He's ridin' with Grandma, Barbie and Leah......
THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT- Trans fats. We've all been hearing a lot about them lately and there's a big move in the food industry to eliminate them from foods because it's more than been proven that they cause a bunch of different health problems, including high blood prssure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Let's get down to the nature of the problem....food co's expose oils to hydrogen, that is, the kinds used in the making of processed food products like cookies, cakes, crackers and breads as well as the types of processed food ingredients used in restaurants, and deep frying cooking oils, (not just fast food joints either.) Now, there are 4 types of fats commonly found in the typical diet - mon and poly-unsaturated fats, or good fats, and saturated and trans-fats, or bad fats. So - they are taking an already bad fat and making it far worse by causing the properties within it to change, hydrogenation changes a natural balance from, what are termed, HDL's,(which are good cholesterols that take fats from the blood to the liver for elimination from your body) and LDL's, (or bad cholesterols which build up and clog arteries and veins) to be far more lethal in LDL's or bad cholesterols. We all eat this stuff every day in toxic amounts, your kids do to in the junk foods they eat, thats why so many kids are overweight and already have health issues because of it.
Why do they partially hydrogenate oils?
So the products they are used in last longer on the shelf and in the deep fryers, it's cheaper for the food co's, and it makes the oils more solid so they are easier to work with....yeah, it's that simple and gets back to greed....A very long list of interested health agencies and advocate groups including the U.S. government, the American Heart Assoc., the Harvard School of Medicine and the New England Journal of Medicine all have done and published studies on the health effects of partially hydrogenated trans fats, or trans fats, and they all agree that the health effects have already caused deaths in the hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions by some accounts, in this country from diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Bottom line? Read the labels on the stuff you buy at the grocery store!! Even if it says No Trans Fats on the package, check the ingredients panel and if it says "made with partially hydrogenated oils" DO NOT BUY IT AND DON'T EAT IT - EVER !!!!
I'm pissed because they turned Oreos into a death snack.......check the package you'll see what I mean....
ask at the restaurants you eat at if they use cooking or deep fryer oils that are partially hydrogenated...
The health experts all scream in agreement that the single most serious dietary threat to Americans is trans fats....the evidence and body count is there truckstars.....so what'cha think?
Want to be a hero to some abused kid? You can, you know.
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..........
