Day 303 (Heading To Florida)

Dotle and I arrived in Ft. Smith, AR last night to unload this morning. At about 0645 we checked in (our delivery appointment was for 0700), then waited... and waited... and waited (also napping in the meantime). Tyson finally put us in a door at about 1230. Once we got unloaded, and had the trailer washed out, I began to take us to our terminal in Ft. Smith. On the way, we received our next load assignment, so I headed there instead. The load was supposed to pick up at 1100 (but as you can tell from the above narrative, that didn't happen), but we headed up to Lowell, AR anyway. This is yet another Butterball load, only this one is heading to Orlando, FL for Wednesday afternoon.

Florida is nice. It also happens to be one of the popular destination for snowbirds.. but this time of year - I prefer going into the colder regions... and the snow. Yeah, and I still plan on going to Starbucks!

Day 302 (Today Is Almost Over)

I am sitting here in Bald Knob, AR, which is 55 miles north of Little Rock. In about 40 minutes I will be meeting up with my next student, Doyle. He was actually ready for pick-up on Friday, but I was still in Gadsden, AL getting unloaded, then headed to Union City, TN where I picked up this load and (unfortunately) stayed there to get a re-start. I'm meeting Doyle here because this is where he lives, which makes better sense than for him to wait in our North Little Rock terminal all weekend.

Once we met up, I'll give him a brief rundown (a.k.a. a trainer's orientation) then we will continue down the road to Ft. Smith, AR. More than likely, I'll make a stop in Conway to pay a visit to Starbucks, and possibly top off the fuel along the way. From what little I do know about Doyle at this point is he's 33, married, and used to work as a Corrections Officer at a prison in Newport, AR for about 7 years. I'll update you with further progress and/or developments as they occur.

Day 301 (Almost Made A Quick Trip Home)

I left out of Gadsden, AL yesterday afternoon and headed up here to Union City, TN to pick up my next load. The good thing is, I was able to make a stop in Jackson, TN to top off my fuel AND pay a visit to Starbucks (yes, I had my trademark grande triple Marble Mocha Machiatto). I found out upon arrival that our company no longer has dropped trailers, so I had to wait until this morning to load. Had there been a dropped trailer, more than likely it would have been preloaded, and I would have made an unscheduled stop in Bald Knob, AR and had my wife pick me up, to which I would have been at home to get a re-start on my logbook. Then, once I met up with my student (Doyle) tomorrow afternoon, we both would have had a fresh 70 hours to start on. Instead, I'm getting my re-start at this Tyson plant in Union City.

Not that it's a bad thing. It's been a fairly mild day, temperature wise, though the northeast has been getting their snow early this year. All in all, it has been a peaceful and joyous Sabbath - nothing I could add would make it any sweeter!

Day 300 (Are We Being Deceived?)

Recently my wife and I had a discussion regarding the Occupy Wall Street situation. There have been many other similar protests that have started around the country as well, but I'll try to put some focus on this OWS. Over time we have seen the erosion of our economy and our culture - some over a period of time, so as not to be noticeable; others more overt. One thing is for sure, I no longer think our current leaders are reliable nor trustworthy. When you look back in history, British economist John Maynard Keynes held an economic theory that, basically, believed a government could spend its way out of an economic slump... much the way our politicians are doing now - also the way Roosevelt did before... as did Mussolini.

When it comes to OWS there are so many facets to the web (source of funds raised, support groups, etc.) that it's becoming increasingly difficult to keep them all in line. Recently there were a couple young men from Cairo that joined, "in solidarity", the OWS movement. This was recently reported by Israel National News. They were part of what became known as the "Arab Spring" - the trouble is, most of those Middle East protests had The Muslim Brotherhood backing them. Also reported by INN back in early September was on how the "Arab Spring" could end up being bad - very bad - for Israel.

This also hold true when Marwan Muasher , a Jordanian, is speaking in support of the Muslim Brotherhood - and also is endorsed by George Soros. According to Matthew Vadum in his article on the Human Events website, Soros provides funding for the Open Society Institute and the Tides Foundation, as well as the Alliance For Global Justice... the organization that is now (coincidentally enough) handling all the donations that are coming in to support OWS.

In this day and age (and with the rampant corruption in our government - in ALL parties) I support the idea - as well as the actual execution - of protests... as long as they are truly against what has been going on. To protest against Wall Street is the same as protesting (nowadays) the government. The only difference is your expecting one facet of the entity to come to your aid to battle the other facet of that same entity! What it comes down to is this: certain people (inside AND outside our government) are pulling the strings in order to get the masses to do what they want, a.k.a. Hegelian Dialectic. If we don't take a real stand against ALL politicians, the result could be a grotesque Socialist/Communist/Fascist hybrid - trust me, the fuel economy on that hybrid really sucks.

Day 299 (Another Change In Plans)

The plan yesterday was (originally) to pick up in Rogers, AR and go to Pennsylvania. Then it changed to pick up in Lowell, AR and go to Gadsden, AL. Then that changed to pick up the load in Lowell and take it to another driver in Russellvile, AR, then take his empty trailer and pick up a load today in Tulsa, OK bound for Edmonton, AB. The word that came down yesterday evening was to stay on the load going to Alabama. This I don't care for too much, since it had the least miles of all (300 miles less than the Pennsylvania load), but I'm doing it anyway.

I stopped in our terminal in North Little Rock to get my laundry taken care of. I wanted to make a Starbucks run, but both the company vehicles were already taken, which means I either wait about an hour later to leave, or just go without.

I chose the latter.

My miles have been shorted, but that just means that HaShem has something better.

Day 298 (Possibly Bound For Edmonton)

This morning I was up at 0400(CT) to make this delivery to the Walmart D.C. in Harrisonville, MO. It worked out alright... once I took care of checking in, I went back to sleep. I was also informed that I will have a new student. The only trouble is, he won't be ready for training until Friday. At this present time, I'm on my way to pick up a turkey load in Lowell, AR, swap with another driver in Russellville, AR, then head to Tulsa, OK to load tomorrow for Edmonton, AB (that's Canada, for those who didn't know). So as of right now, I won't pick him up until next week.

Since I still have to get down to Lowell (I'm in Joplin, MO right now), I will have to postpone what I originally wanted to post until tomorrow, since I want to do a little more organizing of the content. One thing I will say: it will be an eye opener... at least I hope it will be. Until then, you'll have to bear with this for today.

At least I had some coffee today!

Day 297 (This Past Weekend Was Rather Productive... And Blessed)

This past weekend (rather, the last few days) turned out to be a little busy, but not hectic. If you recall, a little over 2 weeks ago, I took the day off to observe Yom Kippur (which was quite joyous, by the way), but taking the reins of TCV in my stead, was Julie Mollins of Telling Tales. I must confess that due to poor planning on my part (this is rare), I asked her just the day before if she would fill in - she obliged. In the introduction I gave on her guest post, I mentioned how grateful I was to her agreeing, since she is a journalist by trade.

To make a long story longer, she DM'd me (via Twitter) on Saturday, asking if I would do a guest spot on her blog. This made me even more honored! So I came through, and emailed it to her Sunday ( basically meaning I did 2 blog posts that day). Yesterday that post went live.

Also on yesterday, after I finished getting loaded in Wisconsin, I got together with an old friend from my Marine Corps days, Chris Sennett. We met up at the Lake Forest Oasis (the first service plaza on the Illinois Toll Road, just south of the Wisconsin state line) and enjoyed some "moderate" Chinese food. So now I'm here in Booneville, MO (about 100 miles east of Kansas City), getting ready to take off and finish the final leg of this trip (I'm so not looking forward to the 0505 appointment at the Walmart D.C. tomorrow). Unfortunately, there have been no Starbucks locations enroute.

Perhaps I'll get to one tomorrow (I'd even kill 3 hordes of zombies to get a grande triple Marble Mocha Machiatto).

Day 296 (Leaving Wisconsin)

This morning I unloaded at the ridiculous hour of 0500 (CT). It took a couple hours before I received my next load, but I got one nevertheless. I picked up a load of produce (cabbage to be exact, which means I could make one heckuva batch of sauerkraut) which is headed to a Walmart D.C. in Harrisonville, MO (just south of Kansas City) for another ridiculously early delivery (0505), but fortunately I have until Wednesday morning to do so. What happens after that... well, I hope to find out, via pre-plan, tomorrow.

In the news, many politicians are gearing up the the upcoming Presidential election cycle. The late Steve Jobs once told President Obama that he would be a 1 term President. Judging from what we currently have to choose from, Mr. Jobs just may be wrong. The only potential candidate I would lean towards would be Herman Cain, then again, since I have "unplugged" from the MSM (and really haven't looked at him, nor any of the others, too ardently) I really don't know where any of them stand on any issue, let alone the ones I find important. Ironically enough, the ones who chose to "tow the party line" and call Americans (whom didn't vote for Obama) "racists" (just because he was black), are the very same ones whom are vilifying Herman Cain... who, himself (in case you hadn't noticed) is black. The only reason why these people don't like Cain is because he's NOT a Democrat. Over the past several years, I have COMPLETELY turned away from conventional politics, all for the same reason: NONE of them can be trusted. Not to mention the whitewashing effort by many to disguise the transformation of our society from a Republic into that of a Socialist mandate. Much of what has transpired - not just under Obama, but probably as early on as Bush 41 (possibly even earlier) - has similarities (some secretive, others more overt) to the policies endorsed, even forced, by the likes of not only Hitler, but also Mussolini (i.e. the takeovers of the auto industry, the banking industry, and health care). I'll close with this quote, which I think should be put into action today:

"Whenever any form of government becomes destructive, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and institute new government."

-Thomas Jefferson

Day 295 (Making My Way To Wisconsin)

I am less than 3 hours away from my destination of Jefferson, WI. I pulled off here in Bloomington, IL for a brief break, and the weather is quite mild. The cool thing about this load was that it was already pre-loaded and a dropped trailer, which meant in less than 45 minutes I was leaving the Tyson facility. I headed from Robards, KY up to Haubstadt, IN (just north of Evansville) and shut down for the night.

Having topped off the fuel and getting a cup of coffee, I was on the road at about 0745 (CT). I took a few highways off the interstate to try to cut a few miles. I'm not too worried about the time, since I only have about 420 miles to cover. The downside: a 0500 appointment tomorrow morning. I don't mind morning deliveries, just not that early. I have been to this particular Tyson facility before, so I know that they allow overnight parking (a plus). Where I go after that still remains a mystery, as I have no pre-plan, and the CSR's will not be in until 0700 tomorrow morning.

Wisconsin, in my opinion, has always been one of the better states to drive through; traffic isn't as crazy as most other areas, and the people tend to be more courteous and polite, both on the freeway and personal interaction. I wouldn't mind living there... but I would like to live in Woodinville, WA even more.

Day 294 (Nice Weather, Good Trip Ahead)

I made my delivery this morning in Columbus, OH without any problems, though I didn't mention much about the trip yesterday, as I opined on the "Occupy" movement, and how (in my opinion) it has - for the most part - become a fraud... and a distraction for something more diabolical that socialists (posing as Democrats and Republicans) within our government are force-feeding to us - complete with a candy coating.

The weather driving through Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana (and soon to be back in Kentucky) has been pretty nice. This next load pick up in Robards, KY (Tyson) and deliver on Monday morning in Jefferson, WI. By going up that way I'm hoping to be in cooler weather again. This has been a lovely Sabbath, and the Torah cycle has begun anew in Genesis. I've also just recently begun a new program called Daily Dose Of Torah, which is a series of books that are mailed to me throughout the year, and give me little "nuggets" of insight - from the ancient and respected scholars such as Rashi and Rambam - on several different aspects in daily Torah study.

I hope you all have a pleasant and blessed day!

Day 292 (What Is Up With BlogPress?!)

I apologize for this being posted so late, so here's the story:

Earlier today, as I was compiling the information for today's post, I was (as I have usually been doing) working through the BlogPress app. I had a fairly sizable piece - complete with links and such - AND it was only going to be posted 45 minutes past my deadline. I had just finished it after I had gotten a load of french fries put on in Philadelphia. Reviewed the content, double-checked to ensure nothing was left out, then hit "Publish".

Nothing.

Instead I get a "your connection appears to be off network" message... or something to that effect. Really? From a 3G area?! Then the app crashed.

I reopened it (and yes the post was saved), but there was no post. When I hit the "Manage" tab on the app, it crashes again.

I have always - and adamantly - tried to avoid "pre-writing" a post the day before, because I've always wanted them to be fresh. Now I guess I'll have to resort to doing just that... and this is not the first (in my opinion) really good post I've lost to an app malfunction. So if you will excuse me, I have to REALLY vent - in the comic strip custom:

I really can't @*%^$ believe this!! This $^@# piece of #~@@*%!!


- Another rant via BlogPress

Day 291 (Finally Made It To Manchester)

It took all day, but I finally made it to Manchester, PA... and only 1 1/2 hours late (as opposed to 8 1/2 hours, which was the case in Indianapolis). What will happen next remains to be seen, I'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out, since I'm out of hours for today. It has been rainy all day - with the exception of a brief "dry spell" - ever since Indianapolis.

The good thing is I was able to get some coffee... not one, but two cups today (one of which was my free one from Starbucks).

I may not have a student just yet, in fact it may be a couple weeks before I get my next one, since our division now has 11 new trainers. Then again, I could be surprised... I had heard from the training center at our North Little Rock terminal that there was a waiting list of students wanting to get in our division (I can;t say I blame them for not wanting to go into the flatbed side of our company... that can be some brutal work). Whether I get another student or not, I'm still ready to head back up to the northwest again. Next time I'll try to get back in the routine of arriving in Woodinville, WA to get my 34 hour re-start. I really do like that region, it's really quite beautiful: the mountains (especially when they're topped with snow), the trees, the cultural diversity... unlike the Arkansas town I presently live in where you can find more culture in a cup of yogurt. Then again, I've always liked the big city areas, mainly due to my upbringing in the Hollywood/Ft. Lauderdale area in south Florida, though I wouldn't move back down there... too much humidity - I'll take either the dry heat, or the cooler climates, thank you very much.


- Another rant via BlogPress

Day 290 (I Finally Made It To Indianapolis)

Yet another post that has gotten published past my deadline. As I mentioned yesterday, I loaded in Jonesboro, AR. I arrived at 1815 (or there abouts) for a 1900 appointment... I didn't leave until around 0030, which posed a problem with this Indianapolis drop: I won't be able to make my 1200 (ET) on time. Regardless of the fact that my delay was due to the shipper not having all the product in time for the appointment, which ate into my 14 hour clock. Therefore, I had to drive until 0550 this morning (when I had 15 minutes left to drive), THEN take a Federal required "10 hour break", which meant I could not begin the rest of this leg until 1550. So when I arrive at the customer's facility to deliver (and fortunately this did not happen), there is a chance they will be upset because their order is late - and who gets the blame... the driver. I drove as far as I could before I ran out of hours. I even notified my company of my E.T.A. well in advance. The point is: the delivery is late and now I have to wait to get "worked in" - which just may cause this very same problem at my final destination tomorrow - all because of the inefficient system of loading. Another fortunate thing: this is NOT a Tyson load.

Not to mention I'd rather be home AND I haven't had any coffee.

I'm sure it will not be a long wait here.


- Another rant via BlogPress

Day 289 (Is It Too Soon To Miss Home?)

I left out this afternoon and made my way here to Jonesboro, AR where I hope to begin loading soon. I was beginning to miss home as soon as I got up this morning. I left later than I had planned to, mainly because I was procrastinating the inevitable. During the time of meandering at home I spent some extra time with my wife (Tikvah) and my youngest son (Nathan - he didn't have school today), drank coffee, and converted a couple of my albums onto iTunes.

Once I get loaded here, I have to make my way to my first drop in Indianapolis (tomorrow at noon). It's not too bad, though it's always hard on the day I leave out. Our oldest son sent us a gift card for our anniversary, so next month we will cash it in at Outback in Little Rock, and let her do some looking around (possibly buying) for her birthday... she will be turning 45 on November 18th (and our youngest turns 17 on that same day).

Oy! We are getting old!


- Another rant via BlogPress

Day 288 (Lazy Today, Work Tomorrow)

It's been a pretty nice day today. After we came home from service, Tikvah and I made our dinner: she made a really incredible potato salad (with turkey sausage) while I made a Matzoh Ball soup. Afterwards we took a little nap, which felt really good. Tikvah and I have enjoyed each other's company - and coffee.  I was able to catch up on a few shows that were on the DVR (my awesome wife and cool son recorded them for me) such as NCIS, Ghost Adventures, The Walking Dead (which my youngest son, Nathan, now has me hooked on), and now I'm hooked on another new show - which I thank (or blame) my wife for getting me tuned on to - Pan Am (even though I can't get either of them hooked onto Leverage nor White Collar.

So tomorrow I head back out on the road. I'll pick up in Jonesboro, AR and make two drops: Indianapolis, IN and Manchester, PA. Where the road takes me... well, you'll just have to tune in and find out.

Day 287 (A Belated Anniversary Dinner)

It has been a very peaceful Sabbath, as well as a beautiful day for Sukkot. Since I was on the road this past Monday, which was my 19 year anniversary, my wife (Tikvah) and I went out for dinner tonight to celebrate it. We don't go out for dinner very often, so when we do, we tend to splurge. We went to Colton's (a steakhouse chain, of which there is one in our town) and had steak; she ordered a sirloin and I went with the smoked prime rib... which was funny, since we both were originally going to just have a Caesar Salad. She went to the restroom, so I quickly sought out our waitress (Becka) and told her that we were there for our 19th Anniversary, and was there anything special that they could do... Becka obliged. At the end of our meal, when they started loudly ringing the cowbell, I noticed that Tikvah had started smiling - she had schemed to cause the same embarrassment upon me as I had planned upon her. It still turned out quite pleasant and joyous!

We know each other... very well!

Day 286 (There's No Place Like Home - But I Don't Live In Kansas)

This has been kind of a lazy day... I slept in until 0930 (though I didn't get to bed until nearly 0500; updated my iTunes & iPhone to iOS5).  I watched a little bit of House, Law & Order: SVU, and I'm presently watching NCIS. I also got my hair cut, which was actually a bit overdue. So, If you will excuse me, I must enjoy my coffee and watch this episode (even though I have it DVD). I hope you will (if you are observant of such) have a good Sabbath, and a joyous Sukkot!

Day 285 (Home At Last)

James and I unloaded this morning in Pine Bluff, AR after which we headed back up to the terminal in North Little Rock. The trailer I had needed to go through the shop for some upgrade to the current tracking system. I dropped James off at the training center, where he began his final evaluation... from what I gather (at that particular time) he was doing well. By tomorrow he should be meeting with Monica (whom will be his interim Fleet Manager) and getting assigned his own truck.

After all that was needed to be done on the trailer (and I had gotten some Starbucks), I made my way home. I did, however, find out where I will be going when I leave out next week: pick up in Jonesboro, AR, make a drop in Indianapolis, IN, then finish off in Manchester, PA sometime on Wednesday. I'm sitting at home and getting ready to enjoy one of the gifts my wife, Tikvah, got for me for our anniversary... Depeche Mode Black Celebration - on VINYL! She also had a t-shirt made for me that says, "Too weird to live, too strange to die. - Hunter S. Thompson." The only trouble with it is that the silk screening shop misspelled "weird" (they spelled it "wierd")... and they used a computer?! I'll take it back to them tomorrow and have them fix it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get the vinyl spinning...

Day 284 (Onward To Pine Bluff)

James and I left from our company's terminal in Madison, IL this afternoon, and are making our way to Pine Bluff, AR for a delivery tomorrow morning. By tomorrow afternoon James should be going through the process of his final evaluation and getting his own truck. When he first started with me - just a little over three weeks ago - he was pretty shaky (and quite nervous) with his backing skills. Now, though he may still be a little nervous, he is a bit more confident and his skills have improved. Over time he will overcome that nervousness, but hopefully not to the point where he begins to get complacent... which could (and most likely would) lead to an accident.

The purpose of being a driver trainer (which should be applied into ALL careers) is to show others the tools we have available, and how to utilize them... in other words, how to be successful in what we do, and to ALWAYS strive for excellence. We can never be PERFECT (if you claim to be perfect, I challenge you to walk on water), and many of us cannot be the BEST... but we - simply by applying ourselves, and using the proper "tools" for our chosen career paths - can be EXCELLENT. Hard work and perseverance is what it takes to become excellent and successful. If they were around today, people like Milton Hershey (Hershey chocolates), Walt Disney (the Disney empire), and - as of recently - Steve Jobs (Apple and Pixar) would agree... not to mention the additional factors of Vision and Passion that are also mixed into the fray.

Vision & Passion mixed with hard work and perseverance... a concept that appears to be lost to the clowns at OWS.


- Another rant via BlogPress

Day 283 (Outside St. Louis)

Arrived yesterday in our terminal in Madison, IL, which is just outside the St. Louis area. Today we swapped with another driver, so he's taking our load on to Dayton, NJ and we deliver Thursday in Pine Bluff, AR. It works out well, because we didn't have very hours left on our logbooks. Bt the time we leave out in the morning, we will have a full 70 hours to run on... even though I'll be going home this weekend, and I'll start fresh again on Monday.

These last few weeks started off shaky, then picked up - it all balanced out, though I wouldn't mind running a couple trips back-to-back between the northwest and Tulsa (I can dream, right?).

I have just a little over 2 1/2 months left of my 1 year challenge. At times it gets challenging, just trying to have interesting content, but I may have found the niche for which I am more suited. Not so much the day-to-day drivel, but more of the addressing of current issues. Sure, there may be tons of other blogs out there that do just that, but they are usually laced (even filled, sometimes) with the talking points of their political leanings. I have tried to express views of a neutral standpoint... something that has been lost, even forgotten. My political support has shifted over the years: I was a Democrat... until Clinton, then I became a Republican; I remained a Republican until G. W. Bush's 2nd term, then I became fed up with the entire system, and remain so now. It has gotten to the point where the American people are used as political leverage to push certain programs or policies. Case in point: when the majority of American people were against the Health Care Reform bill, how did it get passed? If you recall, the deciding vote that "tipped the scales" and passed the bill was cast by Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas), but as of the last mid-term election, she no longer has a job... coincidence?


- Another rant via BlogPress