Yesterday was a long but enjoyable Tuesday.

The day began at the office, looking over the spreadsheets and the work that Elizabeth (my replacement) had done on Monday. Good job. Only one minor mistake, I think she will do very well. I had loaded fuel purchases but waited on her to arrive before tackling any driver settlements or payables. I gave her a brief overview of our intentions with the spreadsheet and threw her to the wolves. My Monday was spent in and out of the office and I was never more than a quarter mile away (at the fleet shop). Tuesday I demonstrated one lease operator settlement, supervised her downloading the fuel reports and walked out the door for the day.

KO and I went to the metropolis of Roscoe, Texas. Hagerman Automotive's Grand Opening! We were running a little late so we cut through the country and when we arrived we discovered a beehive of activity. NAPA had two large trucks sitting on the northside of the business and in the parking lot had set up displays of a small fraction of their wares. An army of NAPA personnel were on hand as they were having a big tool sale as part of the promotion. Roscoe is a small rural community and it doesn't take a whole lot to create a stir, but this small town was buzzing!

Chris had flown in from Arkansas and was fitting nicely in the role of entrepreneur. That small business administration class is paying off. He was in the middle of it all, selling, invoicing, and hobnobbing. Pat and Steve were both occupied with pulling off the noon meal. Grilled hamburgers, hot dogs and all the trimmings The Grand Opening was an event in itself but in Roscoe, throw in a free meal and it is a real happening! Excellent attendance, a top notch day for the new enterprise.

After two and a half hours KO and I tallied out at the counter and made our way to the pickup. We headed east with one more stop before driving to Abilene. Recently KO had seen an advertisement in American Classifieds about a mobile wash unit for sale. I had made the calls and retrieved the basic info and KO felt it was worth a stop and look. I made the call and arranged for the gentleman to meet us at his building in Sweetwater. We killed some time getting gas and finally parked at the front of the address. When the seller drove up KO and I got out and looked like "pros", we were armed with a portable battery pack as we walked through the door. After a thorough look, we hooked up the battery pack and KO fired the engine up. Smooth. Once we started the power plant, a leak was revealed on the pump manifold and we were unable to get the diesel burner to ignite. Both of these could be costly to repair, especially if they were the victim of improper winterization. I thought KO was going to walk right then. The seller must have anticipated this possibility because he immediately began modifying his asking price. It must have been a hundred fifty degrees in this building and here were two misers haggling.

"I'd make concessions if I can keep my trailer", the seller said.

KO replied, "Fine, I don't want your trailer."

"How much do you think my trailer is worth", asked the seller.

On and on it went. Finally they were two hundred dollars apart and I was approaching meltdown. I told them "Just meet in the middle and be done". They did and they were. KO made the deal, trailer and all. I drove into the building and we hooked it up. In the end KO had purchased the portable washer for less that fifty percent of the advertised price and he had assumed the "what ifs" of making it operational. The next couple of days will determine if this was a value buy! It definitely has potential.

After airing the trailer tires at a local convenience store, KO and headed east to Abilene. We had a short list of things to do, the most pressing of which was to pick up KO's four year old son. We fielded a couple of phone calls, truck drivers with problems, made a stop in Northwest Abilene to assess a trailer problem, went to West Abilene to pick up Justin and just made it all the way across Abilene to Ogburn's to retrieve trailer parts at five o'clock straight up. One more stop at Corley's (which was a dry run because the didn't have what we needed) and we had invested another hour in the day. KO was on and off the phone trying to save me the drive back to the office (forty-six mile roundtrip) and we headed to the Better Burger. The way things worked, LO was going to get to go home early, a rare treat, and KO and Justin were going to ride with him. We switched the mobile pressure washer over to LO's pickup and I began making my way to South Abilene and home.

Over all, a good day. Laid back. Almost fun.

Hump day! What will it hold. Surely some office time. More checking of Elizabeth's work. I expect a question and answer session. I figure a couple of trips to the shop at least. We gave Jason a pretty full plate of chores yesterday. There might even be some trailer repairs. We have three with issues. I know of some parts requisitions needing to be made in the metroplex from one of our suppliers. I need to follow up on some equipment availability and pricing. Lots of variety in today.

Well, "Let's git 'er done!" Be the real deal!

FATHER, thank YOU for the good day yesterday. I pray for the success of Chris's business, I am thankful for the support shown by the community. I pray for Chris's safe travel back to Little Rock to finish school. I pray for a blessed day. FATHER, I ask for continued healing and renewal for Krl and me. I ask for relief for her. FATHER, I pray for Adam's platoon in Iraq. I ask for their safety and guidance. Let them be beacons of goodness in a trying situation. I continue to pray for Kali and her situation. I pray for Addie, Memama, Pepa, Hag, Bets, B., Lillie, Aimee, Ashlyn Kate, Jess, Dr. Mackie, Jeanine, Verlin, S.T., Brenda, and Gran. I ask that YOU fill their needs of healing and relief. I pray for those sad and heavy hearted with grief. I ask comfort for them. I pray for those of us who struggle to follow YOU. Keep us centered. I pray for our spiritual family and our leaders. I pray for the efforts being made to expand YOUR kingdom. YOU give me strength.