I'll get right on that!

We have had our motorhome for seven years and changed several things to make it more "user friendly" for us.

One of the first things we noticed was the kitchen cabinet under the sink did not have a silverware drawer. When you opened the cabinet door there were three plastic ( almost like dish pans ) drawers on plastic runners that pulled out and on top of those was a flat shelf for a silverware tray. The silverware tray spot was very dark and we just sort of felt our way for anything that was in the back. It had no back so things would get shoved off.

I said. " That will be one of the first things I change". Well true to my word "I got right on it", meaning I finally fixed it this week. Hey, at least I got "round 2 it".
I did not stain it because it is hidden when the door is closed plus I didn't want to turn it into another dark hole. Seems as I get older I can not get enough light on anything.

The pictures make it look unlevel but it is not. It has full extention slides rated at 100 pounds. I built it out of 1/2" plywood, with 1/4" poplar dividers and the front out of a scrap piece of 3/4" white pine. We are enjoying this little update. It's nothing special but sometimes the little things make the biggest improvements.

11 years and counting

I have been with Coleman Dairy 11 years this week. My friend Robin thought it might be a good job for me.

Robin and I used to drive trucks hauling wood chips and sawdust. A female friend from his church got him a job here and he did the same for me. I was 47 years old at the time and he was just a "puppy".

This job was what I had been looking for but could not find in the small town where I was living. It had above average pay, health insurance, and a 401k. Things that I needed even if it meant driving 67 miles one-way to Little Rock.

Robin had been working at the dairy about 6 weeks when I was hired and he was the one that trained me as I would be taking over the run he had been on since being hired. One night on our run I said, "Just give me 15 years on this job and I can retire". He said he would like 25 years. As it turned out he stayed a couple of years bought his own truck and quit.

A couple months after I was hired my supervisor hired his wife's first cousin. Thing were going as planned for about three or four years. Then came the news, the dairy lost one of our major customers and layoffs were being handed out. I didn't think they would reach me as there were several with less seniority. Finely the supervisor called the 1st cousin and myself into his office and told us we were being "let go". He then told me if I wanted to transfer into the vault, there was an opening and if he needed a driver he could just transfer me back.

I wanted to pull a Johnny Paycheck but I was just 8 weeks from my anniversary date and that meant 2 weeks vacation pay (at that time it was $600 a week), plus I still felt like this was the job I needed to stick with.

The transfer to the vault meant a rather large pay cut but I accepted it. I would move to the vault in 2 weeks after the last of the Wal-Mart runs were over.

Three days before the transfer, my supervisor calls me in the office and tells me that he has enough runs that he needs to keep the 1st cousin on part time. Imagine that!!

He gave him 3 good runs a week and even though he would be making less money than before, he was still making more money than I even though I was working some overtime. On paper the supervisor could justify it but I about had a stroke.

The 1st cousin has cows and it is "haying season" and he only wanted to work 3 days a week. Amazing how that worked out. After about 3 months and his farm didn't require his time, he found another job. Funny after his departure those extra runs that he was needed for (and we still had) was covered by the regular drivers. Imagine that!

The supervisor in the vault and I hit it off and he did everything he could for me as he knew I had been shafted. After 3 weeks he put me spotting trailers on the yard. I was still an unhappy camper but I persevered.

After about 2 years I settled in and was making the most of it. My wife transferred to the Bryant Wal-Mart store and we moved the motorhome to Little Rock and started living full-time in it just ouside the dairy's main gate. I had 125 steps to the time clock.

It worked out well for me as we had started serving Wal-Mart again and I was putting in some long hours.

When my former supervisor asked if I wanted to come back I just told him I HAD a job. With the overtime I was now making as much as the truck drivers.

Three years ago we built a new plant and when we moved I transferred back to being a truck driver. My former supervisor has now retired. The former supervisor and I seemed to get along but it was like we were "oil and water".

The Coleman brothers are really great to work for and with. They really care for their employees and even though they don't own the plant anymore, they still work here and do what ever is right for their people.

So after 11 years what do I think of my decision to stay.













The lemonade tastes mighty sweet. I think I am better off today than I would have been if I had quit.

As I get closer to retirement and this latest buyout is still shaking out, I wonder if I can say the same thing in 3 or 4 years or if I will finally say "enough is enough".

It made me smile

Friday didn't start of very well. The temp was about 100f when I left Little Rock headed to Hooks, Tx. . About 2 hours into my run I blow a tire on my back "pup" trailer down at Hope, Ar. .

Thankfully I had my cell phone or it would have cost me a lot more than the 1 1/2 hours that I lost.
Looney Tire Service does our tires but when we are that far away from Little Rock then Looney calls someone closer to us to handle the job.
GCR Tire Company in Texarkana was called and a nice guy named "Charlie" drove the 30+ miles with a new (recap) trailer tire. Not only did he smash his finger, he smashed it with the part of the carcass that had steel showing. Smashed finger and stuck with the steel cable. It hurts just thinking about it. He was a trooper and finished the job and I was on my way. All things consider, an hour and a half wasn't too bad.

It was dark on my way home and even though I have a "birds eyeview" into passing cars, there is not much to see unless their interior light is on.

A mini-van passed and since it was dark inside the DVD player really was bright.

There playing on the screen was Sylvester and Tweety Bird. If you see something like that then you have to smile. It made my hard day seem a lost less stressful. I don't understand the "crap" they call cartoons today. I guess I am just too "old school".
Looney Tire Service and Looney Tunes Cartoon all in the same day. Weird don't you think?

For those that might be interested, I updated my Sam's Fiero blog. It's a reverse blog so any updates are always on the bottom.

T-bucket day

I often see several motorcycles or streetrods traveling together as a group. Wednesday in about an hour driving time I saw 3 T-buckets.








For those who don't know. A T-bucket is a hotrod loosely based on a Model T Ford roadster.

All 3 T-buckets were on trailers. They were not traveling together as they were over 25 miles apart. I did not see any other streetrods on the road Wednesday.

I can only guess there was some type T-bucket meet somewhere. I have attended several streetrod meets over the years but never have I seen an all T-bucket meet before.

Cell phone

Monday when I left for work I didn't remember to take my cell phone. My car charger had quit and I had it on the home charger.

For the first 18 years of my life we never had a home phone. We used the neighbors phone on the rare occasion we had to place a call.

On my wanderings as a teenager I don't remember if I even had a "contact number" with me as I traveled and I was too young for an ID. Not sure how anyone would have figured out who I was if I could not tell them. I'm sure mom made me take something. I just do not remember.

I survived 50 plus years without a cell phone. So why did I feel "naked" without it on Monday.

The usual things popped in my head. What if I need to contact someone from work about my load or what if I have truck trouble. Or maybe I get hurt at work again and no one will be around to help. Luckily everything went without a hitch.

I want to think I am an independent person but I was unnerved by not having my cell phone. I'm not sure I like that.


On a different note.
Work is progressing on the Fiero. For those interested watch for "update" on the "Sam's Fiero" link.

Busy week

I have been so busy this week I have not had a chance to play with my "little toy",hey, watch it, watch it, you know I was talking about my blue car.

We have a driver on vacation and I am running extra runs with week. By tomorrow night I will have about 70 hours in 6 days. The extra work is not as bad as having someone in the truck with me for 3 days straight. After riding all the time by myself it is a little disconcerting to have a rider.

If you have ever left your watch at home you realize how many times you look at it. That's the way with the mirror on the passengers side. I glance at it a thousand times a day and is strange with I see a person over there. Every time he moved my perifial vision would do a number on me.

The extra money will be nice because my wife says I have to earn enough to put back what I spend on the #*%+#&* thing I call a car in the driveway. She didn't say that in as many words, but we all know wifes "scream" the loudest when they don't say a word.

I also received a new book from paperbackswap that is needing read. Well that is about all the time I have for tonight.

BIG HEAD, I'm a star!

Our friends we went to see in Ws. took us to Hayward, Ws. to see this outlandish place. Words can not describe the grounds of the museum.



This fiberglass fish is 143 feet long and 45 feet high.







You can walk up the stairs inside and stand in its mouth and have a great view.





While I was standing in the mouth I was interviewed Jim Seida of MSNBC.com. Here is the link to the interview http://msnbc.com/modules/take3/july/ then click on "roadside attractions", when the map comes up, you click on the arrow that is in the upper right side. That will take you to the interview. I hope you can get it to play. My son can hear it fine but for some reason it will not play for us.

I have used "the bobbers" and the "fawns" but will show the inside of the museum when I have more time.
I promise not to stick my nose too high in the air, but this might cause it to tilt just a little.

"Don't leave home without it"

That was a very popular catch phrase for a credit card. It started me to thinking and you know how dangerous that can be.

What we "don't leave home without" or more simply, what we always have with us really defines who we are.

I have been carrying something in my front pocket for over 35 years. Seven days a week in my front pocket no matter what I am wearing. If it has a front pocket then I am carrying it, no exceptions. It is just part of who I am.

When I first started working on cars, they all have points and condensers. For you youngsters, that was how the spark plugs received their spark. There never seems to be a uniform size for the nut on the point set. Not just a difference in car makes but also in difference brands of the points. They made a kit that had 5 various size small wrenches to fit the nuts. Way to much trouble to carry around all day.

I wanted something I could have in my pocket without having to go to my tool box all the time.

I bought a 4 inch CRESCENT wrench. I capitalized CRESCENT because that is the brand name and not the
nomenclature of it. Ask some to borrow an "adjustable wrench" and they might not know what you are talking about but ask for a "crescent wrench" and everyone knows. The CRESCENT is the standard all others are judged by.
I lost the first wrench and my son (then very young) gave me another as a present. My original wrench appeared again and I can't honestly say which of the 2 that I now carry. Either way this tool has been in my pocket for 25 (the present) or 35 (my original) years.










These photos show the size of this little tool. It's not a "toy tool" that some carry but a serious mechanics tool.









I can't say that in 35 years this CRESCENT has saved my life but it has saved me from walking numerous times. I seldom go a week without using it for something.
I can use it on a nut up 1/2 inch, as a small hammer ( many a jar lid have been picked into submission), and as a tool for forming shapes in plyable materials. I have used it to shape coat hangers to unlock doors more times than I can count.
A sharp angle can be formed in something by putting it in the "jaws" and bending. Passing it thru the round hole in the other end and bends can be made in the middle.
This tool is just who I am.
When they but me 6 feet under, I hope this little CRESCENT goes with me. If I decide I don't like it down there then I know "me and my CRESCENT" can get out. I know that will not be the case. I know my son with have to keep it because " this is my dad".

Better lucky than good

"Numbers" fasincate me but I guess you have figured that out by now. Here is one of the reasons why.

If you are in the stock market in any form or fashion then you know the internet has some wonderful tools to keep track of your investments.
I use http://finance.yahoo.com/ to keep track of prices and it also has up to date news on the stocks you have in your portfolios. You can set up as many portfolios as you want and name them anything. They are all "make believe" but they can mirror your real investments if you like.

You can track stocks or mutual funds that are publicly traded. If you have a 401k at work then some or all of your investment choices can be tracked.
I track my 401k, Judy's IRA and our personal brokerage account.

About 2 months ago I bought some Cascade Natural Gas Corp (CGC) stock. It pays about 4.5% dividend. I figured if I can make about 6% profit after commissions in a short period of time I would sell it and not wait to collect 4.5% over a year.

About 2 weeks ago I entered a "limit order to sell" of $21.75 ( limit order means I will not take less than said amount). It is a "good till cancel" order, meaning I can cancel at any time or leave it in place for 30 days. Heck, you already know all this.
Friday it closed at $21.46 and I'm thinking it might get sold today.

Over the weekend it was announced the company was being sold. When the market opened this morning CGC opened for $25.25 and "bang" that is the price I received. How often do you get 15% above your asking price for anything. Sometimes it just pays to be lucky.

Car update

Part 1
The e-bay add reads:

This is a 1985 Pontiac Fiero SE. It has a 2.8 liter V-6 with a 4 speed transmission. It is a rust free southern car. The Fiero runs and drives good. Car has new 16 inch tires. New holley carb. It has a new Acell distributor plugs and wires. The body is straight with no major dings or dents. The interior is in great shape for its age. Odometer shows 85000 miles but could be 185000 I am not sure. Things that need attention are as follows. Paint is dull could use buffing or repainted. Parking brake cable is broke. AC is not working all hooked up just not working. Engine has minor leaks due to age. Clutch safety switch only works part of the time. This would make a great first car, or a good project car. Very light and Quick. Ask any questions before bidding as I may have missed a detail important to you. Happy Bidding.

Runs good, drives good, and new tires. Since I want a project and it is close enough to drive home, I bid on it and win.
We agree I can pick it up on the 4th and it just happens to be one of our cooler days ( no a/c, remember ).

I round the corner and think, " I have seen this car on TV". You know the commercial where they pull the most oxidized and dull car they can find in the junk yard and proceed to demonstrate their Super Duper best ever car polish on a spot and the spot looks better than new. This car has as much shine as concrete.

Upon closer inspection I was disappointed to discover this was not the TV car because it did not have any shiney spots.

Everything was as stated in the add. Just didn't expect it to be quite this dull. I think I can bring the paint back enough to make a daily driver. The inside is very nice for its age. This is after all just something to keep me busy.
Did I ever tell you "that sleep is way over rated".
So with the drivers side window already down, I hit the switch on the console and lower the passenger side window and off we go.
It starts to rain on the way home and I raise the passenger window but leave mine down.


I can't believe how well it runs, drives and rides. We make it home without any problems and the rain has stopped for now.
BTW, it has a remote starter switch to start it because the key does not always crank it.
For not much more than the price of the new parts , it seems like an OK deal. Anything that run is worth what I paid and the fact that it is cute is just a bonus. I can't wait to start tinkering on it.


Part 2= Just too funny

For this part you have to know a little something about me.

I'm a "car guy", been a car guy all my life. For over 25 year I lived and breathed automobiles. Even though I have not made a living turning wrenches for nearly 20 years. I have in the past worked for a Ford dealership, an independent garage, and owned a service station and shop. So I know my way around a tool box.

Now the story.

Upon arriving home I hit the button for the drivers window and nothing happens. The other one works fine. So I do what any red-blooded male would do. I hit the button even harder ( that never works, so why do we do it), nothing.

Has to be the switch. So I take apart the console and find there is not even a connector plug on the button. I take the plug off the other button and attach the wires ( after I expose the ends) to it and still nothing.

Thinking the very worst of the man I bought the car from I proceed to look at the ad on e-bay again. Sure enough the window in the add is rolled up.

I call to ask how this could be and received his voice mail. Being a kind and gentle person ( a little sarcasm here) I just said we made it home alright and thanked him again.
I really need to get the window up as rain is moving our way. I try pulling on the window thanking it might be off its track. Nada.

The only way to raise it is to take off the door panel and do it manually. GM handles are held on with a C clip. Very easy to remove with a little tool that just happens to be with most of my tools in a storage building 60 miles south. Hey, before I had that tool I have been known to use a screw driver to do the job but you run the risk of damaging the door panel.

Still it has to be done. The rain is starting slowly but surely. I try taking the retaining screws off the door panel hoping to gain enough room without having to take off the handle. Then I notice that the panel has not been off from the top. Still wondering how this guy could have pulled off getting the window open. So the only access will have to be made from the bottom of the panel and that means the handle "will" have to come off. I try turning it hoping to get a better position to remove the C-clip.

Damn, the window moved. Yes the drivers side door

has a manual crank. I have never felt so stupid in my life. When I told Judy she said the expression on my face was priceless. Nearly a week later and she is still laughing about it.

Mush

Yesterday as I was leaving town I spotted a man on the frontage road walking beside a grocery shopping cart. He was walking beside it because the cart had a very large plastic bag ( large as in sofa or mattress type) filled with aluminum cans. The bag was sticking off of the cart over the head of the man. The only way it was staying in the cart at all was the fact the man was keeping it from falling out.

The funny part was he was just walking beside and not actually pushing the cart even though he was heading up a hill. The had 3 large mongrel dogs leashed to the cart doing the pulling. Doesn't sound nearly as funny as seeing it.

p.s. Did I ever tell you I think long legs, short skirts and convertible Miatas are a great combo? Thanks to the honey in the red one. Nice

Baby it seems long tonight

When I refer to my "run" I am talking about the trip I make in the milk truck I drive. This is just standard trucking lingo.

Some say I only work about half the time and they could be right. Lets see; 24 hours in a day divided by 1/2= 12 hours. That is about right but most of the time it works out closer to 14 hours. That's the legal limit for a driver to work in a 24 hour period. I say "24 hour period" because if I said "day" most people would think "midnight to midnight" or the standard day.

Our (D.O.T. drivers) 24 hour day is just that. 24 continuous hours even if takes in part of two different days. If I start at 10am Tuesday then my 24 hour day last until 10 am Wednesday. Really a pretty simple concept once you get used to it.


For the last couple of years I have been working a daytime run. Leaving about 6 am pulling a single 48ft. trailer.
Just your usual tractor/trailer combination. Tractor is what a truck that pulls a trailer is called. When you pull the same type trailer you get accustomed to the overall length of your rig.

On my new run I work the night shift. I leave about noon and finish in the night. But the big difference is I am pulling two 28 ft. trailers. They are also known a "pup trailers".

The two 28 ft. trailers and the dolly that connects them have a combined length of over 60 ft. That is a 25 % increase in trailer length.

When you look in the mirrors you have and entirely different look. They can sure seem long after not pulling them in awhile.

New Toy

I just purchased this little Fiero on E-bay. I will go to Hot Springs on Tuesday to pick it up.

I will post more pictures and give my evaluations of it when I get it home. It is a V-6 with a 4-speed.

I think I just mentioned "being young and reckless, again". Maybe I am just "old and stupid".

I have never even sat in a Fiero but it sounds like a solid little car that might be fun to play with.

June, 2006 book

On the first of each month I will post a book that I have enjoyed reading. Some you will have heard of and others you will not.



The first is Into the Wild, by Jon Krahauer. A true story about a young man from a well-to-do family that hitchhiked to Alaska in April 1992 and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter.

You will not be able to put this book down. You know the out come but the writer does an excellent job of detailing the events that led to this tragedy. Some things still go unanswered. Hope you will check it out. Pardon the pun.

The truck

I took this photo in Clear Lake, Iowa to send to my nephew Doug. I started to think about why and realized I needed to write this story.

My favorite brother Bob(everyone in the family felt the same way) and Doug's father had a 1955 Ford pickup.

Very nice old truck, custom cab with heater ( that used to be an option on trucks )and the even more rare electric windshield wipers and turn signals.


I ended up with the truck in the late 70's and added a 400ci Pontiac V-8 with the 400 tranny. I traded a car I had paid $45 for it and a friend that had a salvage yard said I could have all the parts off a Pontiac for $30. Built tranny crossmember and motor mounts, dropped in the engine-tranny combo with the Pontaic radiator, added twin glasspacks and I was on my way. When I had the truck running I had a total of $113 (no that is not a typo)in it. I used this truck as my daily driver for a couple years.

I later painted it black primer and ran 1963 Galaxie hubcaps on it. The hubcaps had a pretty blue center that matched the seat in the truck. It had the stance of the one in the picture due to the heavy engine-tranny combo and slightly larger tires on the back. I was very proud of it. Always wanted "white spoke wheels" (remember those), but never came up with any.

Used to drive it 50 miles to the dragstrip, take off the hubcaps, lower the tailgate, flog the crap out of it all day long, and then drive it home. At the drag strip it ran in the low 17's simply because it would not "hook-up" and would smoke the right rear tire over half the 1/4 mile. It would not stop spinning until the tranny shifted into high gear. On the street it was a very nice performer and would out run my buddy's 455 ci TransAm that he thought was so fast. The TransAm ran in the 15's at the track because it was not spinning the tires. Oh, to young and reckless again.

This truck was very dependable and never failed me. Even without power steering, it drove and handled great. I drove it to work everyday on a 45 mile roundtrip commute. I never received a ticket driving it and as I look back I can't imagine getting away with the tire smoking stunts I was pulling. I was working at a tire shop at the time and used tires were plentiful and I used up my share.

Doug finally talked me out of the truck and it went back home. He later rebuilt the engine while attending vo-tech school. He drove it for awhile and when I had a bright red Camero for sale he just had to let me have it back. He always regretted getting rid of it and had just recently acquired another to fix up.

This truck played a part in our family history for about 8 years and I still think they are one of the nicest body styles ever built. So Doug this is for you.

Thief?

When I stay at a motel I take several liberties that
some people may label me a thief.

I top my ice chest off (yes, I know what the sign says). Usually 2 and at the most 3 buckets of ice.

I take the shampoo with me even I did not open it, and sometimes the unopened bar of soap. I keep an unopened bar of soap in my briefcase that I carry in my big truck.

If the continental breakfast has fruit and muffins individually wrapped, I have been known the grab some for later. Can I count this as their cost of doing business or am I just a common thief trying to justify my actions?

No story needed

An amazing story

While on my 1/2 day (7 hours) Saturday morning run, I was mulling over ( and you thought all truck drivers ever did was drive and check out the "seatcovers") what I wanted to post today.

I had a couple stories in mind but what I saw put those on the back-burner for I knew I had to tell this as it brought tears of sadness and joy to me.

I stopped for a Diet A&W rootbeer ( I have type 2 diabetes, well under control ) at my usual c-store with enough room to park my rig.

Several motorcycles were gassing up and I saw a young man with a prosthesis leg walking over to his motorcycle. I was amazed at his ability to ride with one leg missing at the knee.

I politely asked if he would be offended if I photographed him on his bike. He very pleasantly agreed and off to my truck I went to retrieve my camera.

As we chatted and and I took this photo, I asked if he would mind explaining how he lost his leg. Being that I estimated his age to be in his 30's, I figured he would tell of losing it in the war or perhaps since he was on a motorcycle, then maybe a m/c accident . The answer absolutely floored me.

He patted his left knee and said he had diabetes and had lost his leg to the disease 3 years ago.

Then he patted his right knee and said he had lost his right foot within the last year. He was waiting to be fitted with a prosthetic foot and was wearing what the called his "sock foot".


I was curious about how long he had been riding a m/c. Again the answer was not what I was expecting.

He had always wanted a m/c and after his kidney transplant 5 years ago ( he might have said "liver", but at this point my mind was on over-load), his wife wanted a m/c for herself and 1 year ago he took up riding for the first time and had recently purchased this bike for himself. He jokenly said, "I am high maintenance".

All to soon his friend was ready to go and off they went. If his story does not bring a tear to your eye, then you are truly "jaded". This young man is an inspiration to all.

Nice "pair" of bobbers.

As a boy fishing bobbers were called "corks". That was because they were made of real cork. As plastic started being used, they started being called "bobbers". We often used wooden twigs as bobbers as they were free and looked more natural in the water. Did I mention they were "free".

When I spotted these and had to take a picture. They are so cute. What could be caught with bobbers like these?









They may be antique, but they don't look "old". Hehe, Hehe.

The "Duke" and the Lady

Winterset, Iowa

We stopped to see the birthplace of my childhood hero. Yes, could beat the crap out of Steven Seagal.
Just a small 4 room house on a corner lot.


We were told it was a Sears & Roebuck house.

It could be built with the door on the side or in the corner for a corner lot.





Outside the gift shop was this van under a carport.







A diehard John Wayne fan had donated it to the museum. I failed to photograph the inside but it was decorated in cowboy motif. It had barroom style doors leading to a bed in back.


The murals were very impressive. While we were looking at the van, we missed a tour of the house. Because it is small, they limit the group to 20 people.
The next tour would be in about 30 minutes.

This gave us time to look around the gift shop and read the many articles.

About 10 minutes before the next tour was supposed to start, in walks Patricia Neal. She starred in "In Harm's Way" with John Wayne.

She was in town to do a photo-opt with the governor later that night and was making her first visit to the home.



She was still a striking lady and stood beside a near life size cutout of the Duke.
The museum had no clue that she was coming.
Being on a tight schedule and needing to be in the home without others, our tour was delayed. She was very much apologetic for holding us up. It was well worth it. They say, "timing is everything".