Whatta Week

Greetings all:
Well, I'm excited. Booked the flights for my vacation in June. Will be nice to thaw out!

For those of you who do not know, my son Terence is in the Army stationed at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia going through his Advanced Individual Training (AIT).

Tanya (daughter), Robbie and their daughter Trinity will be driving down from Akron, Ohio to Atlanta and picking us up at the airport, and we will go over to Augusta to see Terence on Saturday, June 5th. Then on Sunday when he has to go back to camp, we will drive down to Florida to see my Mom (her birthday’s on the 9th), Sister, and Nephew and his wife. Then back to Colorado on the 10th, and back to work on the 11th.

I am SO glad this past week is over. It's been hell. Had a NASTY cold. Ok, I don’t know of any cold that’s not nasty, but as the Late Great John Morris used to say: “Don’t confuse the issue with facts.”

I don't get sick often, but when I do... WOWEEEEEeeee! Look out! Glad I've got a good constitution and don't get sick often. Pity those that do. Thank God for our health. So, anyway, I should be good for another 2 years. That’s about the way the cycle runs.

But Brad, one of my bosses, the one who does the dispatching, is right about one thing: you can be sick and miserable at home, or you can be sick and miserable at work. At least if you're working you are making money, and in some cases the work can take your mind off of your misery. If you stay home, you miss those days of work, the $$$$, and focus on the misery which can make it worse, or at least seem to. Plus, being a very small company, my absence has an effect beyond my paycheck. So, looking at the big picture, I have more to think about than just me. (Hi Linda!) I gotta do what I gotta do to help keep the company afloat.

Oh yeah! As of the end of March, I’ll have been with this company Six (6) years! Longest run for me with any company. Hmmm… I wonder if the following is coincidental…? Last week, Friday, I had one helluva day. Granted I was sick with a cold, and the weather was crappy, but the people on the highways were stupid to the Nth degree. Yes, more so than usual. I had six, count ‘em, SIX (6) close calls that, by the Grace of God, didn’t end up with paperwork.

Ok, I have to interject a note here. That was six situations that I had to take major evasive action with my tractor-trailer in order to avoid an accident. Twice while loaded, four times while empty. A concerted effort on my part, not just an instinctual reaction. Driving in the purest sense of the word, taking the vehicle to the MAX and KNOWING its limitations.

The one was a dumb-ass that cut between me and a LARGE pile of snow at our store in Avon. After I got parked I went over to said young lady and asked her: “Are you stupid or drunk?” She proceeded to get lippy with me, and I informed her that if she wanted to, she could explain to the local law enforcement personnel why she was stupid. End of conversation. The local law enforcement personnel and I get along VERY well. Then a female got out of the back seat of the car and calmly say to me: “Don’t yell.” I got in her face and yelled at her: “I yell at stupid people!” That made her jump back and she smacked her head on the edge of the roof! Vindication! Oh, I was not mad, I was LIVID! So much so that I was ready to put my NEW size 11.5 steel toed Red Wing boots up their asses! That would have been an interesting set of snowshoes! Oh, the visuals…! I can use that in a comedy routine… (Randy, can you help me here?)

Of course, there are those that believe I have NO sense of humor (or any sense) let alone be able to have a comedy routine. Proof of my sense of humor is this: you’re my friend, aren’t you?
For reference, one day a couple of years ago I counted the number of incidents (that I knew of) that I believe I was spared paperwork (by the Grace of God) that did NOT require major evasive action on my part, such as deer on the highway, rock or snow slides, etc. BTW, that number was 17! I figure that’s an average day!

Running the hills (translation for you flatlanders: mountains) is inherently risky, and those of us who do it daily are somewhat inured to the stupidity of the slope dopes (translation: skiers). But this day tested me to the limits; more so than usual.

I wrote about that in the Prairie Times magazine. I prayed to God to put me in a job that challenged me both physically and mentally, and realized one day that hauling fuel in the mountains did just that. I was already there! If you have not read that article it is the previous post on this blog.

I have been told by many that know me that “The Company” does not appreciate me for all I do for them, and the extent to which I will go to do my job. As the “Ask” article points out, it’s the challenge. But Brad, bless his heart, has been good to me. A better boss a person cannot ask for. Now if we could do something about his sense of humor…! You want to see him light up, ask him about Conoco! But that’s another story.

Had an epiphany the other day:
God is my co-pilot.
He has to be: Brad is my dispatcher!

Well, that’s all for now. This week has been so wrought with challenges and excitement that I could literally write a book about it. But, probably like the first one, I wouldn’t have the time necessary to properly market it. I am working on a couple more. Stay tuned.

This Blog has been brought to you by:
Slope dopes
The Rocky Mountains
God
Brad Schreiber and Linda Robinson (of)
Precision Fuel Haulers (and)
Crown Royal (Damn good stuff! A gift from a GOOD FRIEND! But that’s another story.)

Final thoughts:
Thank God every day for what you’ve got, and be content with it. For as it has been stated by many, you never know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Because if you don’t appreciate what you’ve got, God can show you in a heartbeat how good you had it!

And…
Tell the people around you how much you appreciate them, no matter who they are or what they do. The kind word you say may be the difference between them having a good day, or not. It only takes a moment, and can make all the difference in the world to them. You know me, and know that I go out of my way to talk to as many people as I can. I’ve gotten in trouble because of it, but in the Grand Scheme of things, it’s a small price to pay for the betterment of mankind. I figure that if I can make a person smile or laugh, that’s one less grump the next person has to deal with! But, that’s another story.

Y’all take care and God bless. Eh?

Damn! That Crown Royal is good stuff! I don’t know which is better: a few shots of that, or hyperventilating! Oh God, I’m having WAY too much fun here! G’nite all.

Oh yeah, one more thing: Pray for our country. As the article I forwarded to my E-mail list states, Obama is the best thing that has happened to this country in a long time. Pray that we regain the country our Forefathers created. I believe God put Obama in office to drive this country to its knees. He’s succeeding.

God bless y’all.

ME.

P.S. Damn! That Crown Royal is good stuff! No, wait, I erred. It should have been:
Dmna?LLA;2#L the at Crown rohoul is good shitl2!..

Lol

I kill me!