“On the Road with the original florida kid” Week 51
Hello again fellow truckstars! It’s week 51 and…
…you’re on the road with the original florida kid………
Grandma, Barbie, Pup the Wonder Dog, Tommy Boy, JT, Neil Ray and the whole gang here at the ranch want to give a big cowboy howdy “HEY!”
KITCHEN TABLE TALKIN’- So what are ya waitin’ for? Come on in, check your boots first (Grandma’s on the war-path today, I came in earlier with you-know-what on my boots…) the infamous wooden spoon is on the loose…..
First up I want to ask all you truckstars out there to send up a prayer for Dave Sweetman this week.
Dave is one of trucking’s top writers and a successful O/O in his own right. He writes for Landline magazine, the literary extension of the OOIDA. His column is called - “Dashboard Confidential”. Sometimes funny, as the name would imply, but it’s always informative, insightful, upbeat and professional.
Sadly, I received an e-mail last week from a colleague of his saying that, Dave’s wife of many years had passed away suddenly and tragically from an embolism, this past Sunday. Dave wanted to send a message out to his readers through her. In it he said to make sure you tell your loved ones that you love them because, well, you never know. He wanted to make sure that his readers listened and understood how fleeting life can be and how suddenly someone can just be….gone…..to tell them that you love them and to make the moments you have with them….count.
Now, listen to me truckstars, I don’t know Dave personally, I, like you, if you’re a fan of his, feel like I know him from reading his great column every month, as I have for years, but still I don’t know him. The first thing that struck me, hard and heavy, having gone through the loss of a close loved one myself and also battling for Barbie’s life for many years, the first thing that hit me was…the pure and raw courage it must have taken for Dave, moments after losing his dear wife so suddenly, to want to get a message to all of us, out of genuine concern, who are his readers and fellow drivers. This kind of character is something I could only dream of.
I sent Dave an e-mail expressing my condolences and trying to lend what support and encouragement I could, on Monday, and the next day I received a response back from him thanking me and telling me how much his faith and the support of family and friends meant to him at what he called “..the worst time in my life.”
This, truckstars, is what I’m talkin’ about…..
None of us, not ONE of us knows the day, the hour or the minute when we will breathe our last here on God’s green earth. And, for me, when I look around myself at the people God has seen fit to bless me with I can’t imagine what life would be like without any one of them, Barbie especially. I can’t even think of the possibility of not being able to put my arms around Barbie, something I’m doing a lot more of lately, or to be able to kiss her and run my fingers through her hair, or even just to hear her voice calling my name…Truckstars, I have to be honest with you here…I don’t know if I could cope with it or deal with it the way “Deesel Dave” is….
Yet again this man shows us what he’s made of, the fiber and core character many of us aspire to and, like me, can only dream of. Thank God we have those among us.
The e-mail he sent me :
Daniel,
Thank you very much for the kind words and prayers. I appreciate them and you, more than you know. Although we likely have never met, I have seen your name and heard the radio spots before.
Although this is the worst time in my life, I will say that with my faith and the help of family and friends such as yourself, I will get through this.
Kindest Regards
ds
Here’s the deal truckstars….without each other, without FAITH, we are lost, we are truly alone, our trials and sorrows WILL overwhelm us….and I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy…..seriously…..
I’ll be the first to admit it, right here - right now…without the love and support of family, friends and you truckstars out there I don’t know where I’d be, having come so close to losing Barbie several times in the past few years. The cancer is back on he left arm, a very aggressive tumor, and I’m guessing the next few months are going to be a long dark road for both of us…..a road that I don’t want to go down……but if I do then I can look next to me and see a guy like Dave Sweetman and know that, well, if he can do it, then maybe I can too….but this isn’t about me….like ol’ Dave says it’s about faith, family and friends…..
I’m not going to give out Dave’s e-mail here in this week’s edition because I’m not sure it’s appropriate, but if you want to, and I hope you do, send Dave a message, go to the Landline web site - http://www.landlinemag.com/ at the top in the toolbar, do a search for “Dave Sweetman”. At the bottom of his column will be his e-mail addr. And from there you know what to do. I’m sure Dave would appreciate folks lovin’ on him a little bit right now……sooner or later we all need love and support and I’m a firm believer, when it comes to this kind of thing, that what goes around comes around.
What’cha think truckstar?
Out of respect I’m not going to write editions of The Health Dept. or Truckstar Tech this week. I will as promised do a piece comparing the new “smartphones” and netbooks(mini laptops) and APU’s in Truckstar Tech. If you have any pressing questions just call into the radio show from 8:00 to 11:00pm nightly.
Here’s the new link.
Truckstar Radio - Click and Listen in!
In the upper right of the page that comes up you’ll see the different media player icons, just click on the one you have in your computer, then click “OPEN” in the box that comes up and the player will load with Truckstar Radio. Click out of the start page with the map to continue web surfing.
Call-in numbers are: 954-376-8452 or 954-703-7561 or you can “Skype” in at - the truckstar live
(I want to apologize, especially to my listener in north Kansas, and to any other of my listeners who might have tuned in the past couple of nights and just heard country music playing while I was doing some tech stuff in the background. I try to keep that to a minimum but, radio being what it is sometimes I have to.)
Before I close this weeks edition I want to bring your attention to a website someone asked me to send on to you:
http://www.anysoldier.com/
Here, if you’re willing and able, you’ll find soldiers, OUR soldiers stationed around the world who, maybe, don’t have anyone back in the U.S., or they might need a kind word and a little something’ from home.
I believe, and I’m proud to say, that, people in our industry - YOU - are among the most caring, concerned and giving people on the face of the earth. I hope you’ll take a minute to go to this web site and see if there’s anything you can do. Okay?
Don’t ever forget - I love ya and I’m prayin’ for ya!
SADDLE UP…..LET’S RIDE…
….you’re on the road with the original florida kid….we gown….
