Yuk!

Talk about nasty, it has been horrible out here. Wind and dust, followed by more wind and dust. Yesterday was out of the west, today we have a new direction but more of the same. I was kidding the burr contractor that by the time his trucks arrived at their unloading destination they were empty.

Little did I know when I was kidding him that a car tried to pass one of his trucks and was pelted with cotton burrs!

I am not a very popular man out here. All the in and out freight goes through me and this year, while the GM was in the hospital, the board sold half of their cottonseed to outside users. When they visited with me they asked my opinion and I told them they would never be able to deliver half because the truckers who haul for these users do not want to work weekends or nights. In fact they want preferential treatment. If they come in and there is a line they want to go to the front! These truckers think they are above waiting.

The plant dilemma is seed storage capacity. We have very little. Every night I put two truck loads of seed up in the overhead storage, and this is almost half of our precious capacity. The remaining capacity is the overhead storage we run out off with oil mill trucks. It is a very small buffer zone for one of the largest plants in the state. Should one of the trucks encounter a problem, this buffer zone would be quickly threatened.

The GM and I have talked and devised the program we are currently using. It is not a fix it all, but we have to keep seed moving to the mill in order to keep the plant up and running. He has asked me to address the board of directors tomorrow. I know that he has me in my position as a "buffer' between the board and the buyers. In fact he told me once this morning to plan on attending in order to defend my program. Kind of feels like I am on an island!

Oh well, it isn't like they haven't heard this before.

I had a call from one of the brokers for the entity that sold the seed on behalf of the plant. He is very obnoxious and has a very domineering personality. He kept trying to tell me what I was going to do and why what we were trying to do was not going to work. Funny thing is he has no solution. In fact I reminded him that they were aware of the storage capacity problem before they ever sold the seed. I think he is more concerned about protecting his job. They have sold 6,250 tons of seed with a margin of $15/tn. The seed is supposed to be picked up while the plant is operational, there are no penalties if the contracts are not filled. The only penalty will be less revenue for the stockholders. Outside of that, these brokers have their own personal reasons to want to move as many tons as possible.

On the subject of "while the plant is in operation", my estimate for completion is for December 7, provided we do get a killing freeze/frost tonight. We haven't got a wager board going but that should be a happening very soon.

Many times I get to sample different ethnic foods out here. Many I am familiar with, others I am not. It is a very politically sensitive issue. Last week, I was given some "tripeta". (I'm not sure of the spelling). It was served up on a homemade corn tortilla, complete with pico de gayo and cilantro and looked quite yummy. The center of the tortilla appeared to be filled with a meat and sauce mixture. When I took it and ate it, it was crunchy like cheerios with a gristly texture. I muddled my way through, thankful there was just one. My buddy Frank has always talked about this like it is a delicacy and his preference is to enjoy it with salt, beer and guacamole. My personal opinion is that any combination of the preceding would have helped. Much to the delight of the crew, I finished my treat and gingerly deflected the offering of more. Later in the day I had a horrendous case of heart burn and was bloated with gas.

One of the first things I learned is don't ask what is in something, but I do draw the line at menudo.

All I'm going to tell you is someone's goat got out and is missing.

Have a day!

FATHER, temper me. Help me to be wise and kind in dealing with others.