Hey, hey campers!

It is I. Let me tell you, the weekend show in Wichita Falls was a killer weekend. I thing next year I need to go in a week early and stay a week late to decompress!

The project performed flawlessly! I could not have hope for any better. We gathered a ton of data, and got to hook to some of the best equipment in Texas. Friday night they were all on our side!

After Chris and I returned to the motel, I showered and as I was headed to bed I looked at my phone. It was three in morning!

We had some run of the mill maintenance to do on our project which required a couple of trips to Lowe's for supplies. We finished early enough for a large group of us to go to El Chico's. The service was poor and the food even worse, but hey we didn't have to cook it.

Saturday night's show was as good as Friday if not better. Excellent show, with the promoter already signing on for next year. For the first time, the project came home in the black without a big change in the wings. But that doesn't mean we aren't talking about some changes, it just means none are necessary.

Saturday night Rian stayed in the room with Chris and I and when Rian emerged from the shower headed for bed, he said, "Dad, do you know it is four o'clock in the morning?" He still knows how to yank my chain. Problem was after he showered Chris showered and then me. By the time I went to bed it was almost 5. Yuk!

I woke about ten to a little snort of a snore that Rian has had since he was little. I couldn't suppress a laugh and he opened his eyes and asked me "What are you laughing about Dad?"

I told him I was thinking that one of us had grown some or they were making the beds smaller since he last slept in my bed.

Best part was the project was loaded and hooked to the big Peterbilt truck, pointed at the road waiting for us Sunday morning.

Rian left before the rest of us so we had a four vehicle convoy!

I wasn't worth much Sunday afternoon, or on Monday for that matter. My body has aches upon aches!

Kyle Patrick Henry came and picked Chris up so that saved me another two hours drive time. Krl and I had lots of catching up to do.

If I appreciate Krl for anything it is her devotion and dedication to her houndgirls. (I say that because currently all we have are the female variety). Prissy, going on 16 and a half is blind and deaf, she suffers from all sorts of age related maladies. Krl and I think she has Alzheimer's. Krl told me that lately she will watch Prissy go across the room and all the sudden a rock turd will fall to the floor (thank goodness for tile and spray disinfectant). Krl says that when that happens Prissy is like, "Where ever did that come from?" I had a talk with Prissy last evening and told her that if this trend continued I was going to change her name to IPOD!

Huh! And some people think I am technology challenged!

Actually, I catch myself thinking that all I have to do is be sure Krl outlives me and I can probably expect that same devotion and dedication she displays daily.

I woke early this morning (about four to be exact), got my bath, read a little and before six I was on the road. I went to Roscoe, picked up another travel trailer and headed west. By one o'clock I had been to St. Lawrence and back to Roscoe. I met Pat at my parents and had a burger and about an hour visit. Now I lack only one more travel trailer. The big Mama of 'em all. Mine and Krl's!

I have one truck in shop and when it is ready to leave, another will take it's place. Then I have to finish a deal on a third truck. I found an exceptionally clean older truck, only 284,000 miles on a major in frame overhaul (these are million mile motors) which I would love to have for a fourth truck.

I am having second thoughts about the Wall Street bailout. Why should the government, with us citizens backing it, reward gross negligence and wreckless abandon? Someone should be accountable.

Who woulda thunk "Dumbya" could screw things up so badly?

Tonight Krl and I were looking for a vehicle title and in that search I ran across a packet of pictures. They were from Memama and Pepa's fiftieth anniversary party. Nearly all the grand kids were there, Trace and her family being the only exceptions. It is hard to believe just a handful of years later both TJ and Fred are gone.

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for safe travel, for the successful weekend show. Guide us and direct us as we prepare for our move West.

Hey, hey. I'm still here.

It's been a little crazy lately. I feel that I am becoming hemmed in. Too much coming at me. But this is usually what happens when we are trying to get things in place at the seasonal work.

To complicate things, I had a call from the manager in Bishop. He asked me if I could have him trucks there this morning. Several of his producers want their cotton ginned so they can get some money. He and the GM talked and I got another call telling me to have trucks there Monday. Shortly after 5 I got a call telling me they are running this morning. This is going to have to be the last go round. Too much money has been spent deadheading trucks to and from there. Even my drivers were complaining.

I have been in Chris' parts store this week. I will be there again today and then he will accompany me home so we can leave for Wichita Falls. We will have to see how things go whether we leave tonight or in the morning.

For some reason I am becoming less and less excited about the trip and more and more apprehensive about the project. I guess we usually have been so busy working on the project that I didn't have time to worry about what might go wrong.

A quick report on the Kinoki foot pads. The first night Krl and I wore them, when we removed them they looked like new. Go figure. I was shocked. The second night I wore one on my other foot (one that my lower leg and ankle swell badly by day's end). The following morning I removed the Kinoki pad, and it was almost black. Since then, they have been apparently drawing out a lot of toxins and impurities. Krl's results have been very similar.

I don't know if it has made us feel any better though.

Have a day!

FATHER, I am struggling again. Forgive me for my wavering faith.

It's in the books. My first trip to St. Lawrence was yesterday. I took the trailer I had used in South Texas, brought it to Roscoe and unhooked it, then hooked onto the Nomad trailer. I know that sounds like a lot of extra work, but the way the B.J. Havlak Memorial trailer park is laid out, the trailers have to go in in a certain order. Otherwise, it just doesn't fit!

I had been apprehensive about taking this particular trailer out. It's tires are probably seven or eight years old and dry rot is a definite concern. Also this particular trailer does not pull very well. The new design eighteen wheel trucks with aero packages make the trailer react strangely. When a truck is coming from behind, all the sudden you begin to accelerate and pushes you away. When the truck is beside you it creates a vortex drawing you toward it. As it passes you, all the sudden you are decelerating and being blown about.

Needless to say, it makes for a pins and needles trip.

What cotton I saw looked pretty good. However I saw no cotton that had been sprayed. They do have an abundance of milo. All the failed dryland cotton was replaced by milo that is going to make a pretty good yield. Therein lies another dilemma. How the small elevator the Coop owns can handles such a large crop.

I didn't get to see the GM, he was in Midland, nor did I see Franks the Plant Super, he had taken Nancee to the dentist in Acuna. I did see the office manager and the farm store manager.

In the past I would talk with the GM to see when he thought things would start, but my true barometer has always been to talk with they guys in the farm store to see how much chemical is moving. They reported to me that yesterday was the first day they were moving chemicals out the door.

The brightest spot in my day was a quick trip to the Coop fuel facility where I found Road diesel at $3.689 and unleaded gasoline at $3.189. Needless to say I filled up.

I may have to accelerate my plan to move my remaining travel trailers and equipment to the jobsite. I also need to get some trucks into the shop for some minor repairs.

Through the grapevine I did learn that my bales will not be delivering to Big Spring, but to Sweetwater (as per usual). That makes my equipment requirements change again. I really need for people to get consistent. I go from having too many trucks to not enough, and it is the same thing with employees.

I did learn that one of my hands (for the last five years) had violated his work permit and was deported. Now he is wanting me to spend some money to get him a new permit. Worst part is his brother wants me to do the same thing for him (he has been with me only 1 year). I might be able to swing it for one (provided he reimburses me), but not for both.

So, lots going on.

Rian called this morning and reported "his project" was almost finished. He has really put in a lot of time. He said he got to bed at four this morning. (He has a workshop today and they had better not show a movie or someone could be snoozing.).

Have a day!

FATHER, help us to pace ourselves and keep our senses as things swirl about us.

My childhood revisited.

Last evening I was surfing through the channels and landed on one of the ESPN channels. they were broadcasting the pre-game ceremonies from Yankee Stadium. Last nights game was the Yankee regular season finale and also the final game to be played in Yankee Stadium.

Yankee Stadium made it's debut in 1923 and has been home to a number of pennants and World Series Championships. Probably the most frequent accolade refers to it as "The house that Ruth built".

The pre-game was awesome. They had brought back many of the players I had watched as a child. Whitey and Yogi, to mention just a couple. Others were represented by family members. Mickey Mantle, Elston Howard, Phil Rizzuto, Catfish Hunter, Thurman Munson, the list was long and distinguished. Many of the former Yankees ran or walked to their positions, some were seen raking dirt from the field into plastic bags. There was a long line, representative of late greats who once wore the pinstripes.

The first pitch was thrown by Julia Ruth Stevens (the daughter of Babe Ruth) who was escorted by her son.

I couldn't help but think back to many a Saturday afternoon laying in the floor in front of the television watching the Yankees, me being the guest of Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese. I couldn't wait to see Mickey belt one over the fence.

Over the years I have wondered why I liked Mickey better than Roger. To this day I can't tell you. Of course back then players off field antics weren't instant news. I don't know if it was because the reporters held the "heroes" of yester-year in higher esteem or if the veil of privacy was more sacred.

I think I'd trade my color television if I could spend one more afternoon in front of that old black and white set.

Oh, to be young again!

Have a great day and wonderful week!

FATHER, thank YOU for all the blessings we enjoy. Thank YOU for YOUR love, and thank YOU for the hope and promise we have in JESUS. Bless all the role models and help them to be worthy of their following.

I got Krl to go out and about this afternoon.

She had told me she wanted to go get her haircut, so we decided to make an afternoon of it.

I went to K.O.'s this morning to finish prep work on the project. I am happy to report that is loaded and pointed toward the road. A week ahead of time! All we need is a truck to put under it, give us a couple of hours and we'll be at Red River Raceway!

I had told Krl that I would be home around three.

On my way in I called her and she told me she wasn't feeling well. When I walked in the house we discussed it for a minute and I went to shower and change clothes. We went to Wal-Mart first and she signed in for her hair cut, she gave me a short list of things we needed to pick up. I had wandered from my list and was looking at belts when my phone rang and she told me her stylist was gone and she didn't want to wait. We met up and finished my list. From there we went to Bed Bath and Beyond. I really like that store. I could just wander around all day long. We bought some new sheets (800 thread count), some cashews, a new welcome mat, some grip handles, some texas decorating items and a few impulse buys. From there we went to Logan's to eat. It was pretty good, we both ate until we were almost sick.

Best part was Krl had a money clip coupon for Bed Bath and Beyond and Logan's! Woo Hoo!!

One item that Krl bought at Bed Bath and Beyond is Kinoki cleansing detox foot pads. You put them on your feet before you go to bed and it is supposed to remove all the toxins from your body. I told Krl we'll probably wake up with the two little hound stuck to our feet! I don't know if they will work, but they should show us how clean (or dirty) the floor is.

Hey we'll try almost anything!

Anyhow, I am really battling with myself. I am thinking about getting up early, cleaning the Holiday Rambler trailer in front of the house, taking it to Roscoe, leaving it and hooking up to the Nomad and taking it to St. Lawrence. Actually it would be one day ahead of what I originally planned. I don't know, we'll see how it looks in the morning.

I realized that Krl and I are supposed to be at the jobsite October 4th and 5th for the fall festival weekend. Officially we are supposed to be in place ready to work October 10th.

Krl and I discussed what all we have coming up in the next few weeks. She is dreading it while I am looking forward to it. Of course this is the time of year we make money, but more importantly I like it because Krl and I spend so much time together going and doing whether it is truck parts, forklift parts or combining a business run with a break for lunch.

I would appreciate you keeping us in your thoughts and prayers as we begin preparation and moving for our seasonal work.

Rian took the Texas Free for All to Lubbock. In fact tonight it is staying in the garage on 16th place. I feel for the neighbors should he get it fired this week. I am afraid that blown big block chevrolet engine might be a little loud. He drove to Roscoe last night and worked on it and after Roscoe's ball game Jason came to help. Rian told me he got in bed about 4:30 this morning and had to be back in Lubbock by 10 this morning. I asked him if tractor pulling was fun?

Oh to be young! (forget the foolish part).

And with that, I hope you had a day!

FATHER, I pray YOU will bless our preparation. For the upcoming weekend with the project and for the upcoming seasonal work. Bless our people as they begin to fill their slots. We pray for safety and that the work will be rewarding.

I really enjoyed watching America's Got Talent last evening. Kaitlyn, The Wright Kids, Queen Emily, and Strings, just to mention a few. But my favorite still is Neal E. Boyd. His forte is opera, but he has done a good job stepping into other arrangements during the competition. He brings a very pure, strong voice, that can rattle the rafters!


He was my pick early and and still is.


I couldn't resist looking at the top 100 High School Football Teams in the U.S.. A healthy sprinkling of Texas schools scatter throughout. Euless Trinity is number one, Southlake Carol made the list as did Odessa Permian. (I guess Permian found their Mojo).

By the way, Happy Birthday Coach. I tried to call but never got through (I didn't try too hard with it being game day).


I talked with Edwin in Bishop this morning. They have one module to haul. They have found they lack between 800 and 900 acres. May be next week they will finish up.

I worked on the "project" yesterday morning. Nothing technical, mainly just washing it down and getting it cleaned up. The last thing I did was put the hitch on it and pin it. I was looking back at the operators platform when I was stepping off the pan. I had my hammer and a pry bar in my hands as I started toward my pickup. I wasn't paying attention and stepped under and in a huge healthy tumble weed. Immediately I began to lose my balance as I struggled to free my feet and stay up right! As I stumbled closer to my truck I finally decided it would be better to fall than run head long into my pickup. I fell in short order. Luckily I was by myself and I wasn't hurt badly. My left knee has been giving me fits and the fall gave it more cause. By the time I had driven home, my back was telling me to be kind.

This morning my back is better but my knee is not as forgiving.

This past week Krl went to Doctor Brown, her foot doctor. We were optimistic that he would remove the air boot after our previous visit. They did new x-rays as soon as she went back and shortly the doctor came in to examine Krl and the film. Much to her dismay, she has another broken bone. How? When We don't know. I can't understand how this could happen with the boot on. Doctor Brown simply said her bones are bad. Worst thing is she is only two months into her bone building therapy and they have told us not to expect any noticeable improvement for at least six months. I visited with Pat a little and she thinks they can give Krl shots to enhance her bone therapy. I sure hope so.

Flashback! As I kid, I always brushed my teeth with Crest. That was what Mom bought and I used it until about twenty years ago when I revolted. I changed over to Colgate. I don't know why, my check ups will reveal a single filling from when I was about eleven or twelve years old. For whatever reasons I changed. I found I liked the Colgate mint very much. My problem is that by the time I buy a new tube, they have so many variants. "Cool Mint", "with baking soda", "with brighteners", "mint stripe", and the list goes on and on. A few weeks ago I inspected my tube before I went to the store. I wanted no room for error. When I arrived on the toothpaste aisle, I began eliminating variants that I knew I did not want. Finally I decided on "electric mint green". I thought they has just expanded on the mint green. Wrong. It is a lime green with brightening flakes and is about the worst tasting toothpaste I have ever experience. I'll use it, because I am not that wasteful, but I doubt I will struggle to get that last dab out of the tube. In the mean time I am going to look at what Crest has to offer.

Things were so simple when there weren't so many choices.

One other note, "what goes around comes around". Heh! Heh!

Have a day!

FATHER, heal my aches and pains. I lift up Krl for YOUR gifts of healing. Help us to be what we proclaim to be by our actions and not just by words.

O.K., $85B government loan to AIG.

Add that to that the Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailouts and you are talking major $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

If you spread it among all the men women and children, regardless of age, it isn't too bad. Limit it to working age and it is depressing.

Are we setting a precedent? I hope not, but I am afraid we might be!

What we do for one, others can expect the same. And that is not good.

I've been at the NAPA store the past two days, probably again tomorrow, and it has been fun. I know Chris has missed me, and all of us have laughed until we were blue in the face.

Pat and I were supposed to go to lunch today, Memama and Pepa had eye appointments in Abilene. Pat had a doctor appointment and didn't get out until after one. We ended up meeting at Memama's and Pepa's and they were already back. I got to see Steph and Chloe while Memama micro'ed us a black angus burger. Pat and I discussed some issues with the NAPA store insurance and some record keeping. I think we covered most of the things, but we have a few more we need to discuss.

When I was ready to leave Memama's and Pepa's I asked Pepa to drive me to Sweetwater to pickup the Peterbilt truck I had bought a few weeks ago. This was the first time I had heard or driven it, but it seems to be a solid little truck.

In the past two days I have had an flurry of activity from past drivers wanting to work with me at the West Texas location. To be honest , I am pleased as punch. Now I have to come up with enough trucks to put these guys in.

I am hopeful we can also place some trucks on the milo haul from St. Lawrence to Fort Worth.
They have a 100,000 acres of milo out there that should yield about 6000+ truckloads of milo!
Wow!

The farmers had planted dry land cotton and it failed due to lack of rainfall, then they planted milo and it rained on it and got it up, then rained and rained again!

Hope your day was a good one.

FATHER, Thank YOU for the gift of laughter.

Do you get the feeling that we have set all the dominoes in place and the first few have fallen?

I do.

Lehman Brothers. Gone. Rumor has it Barclays is making an offer on their ass(ets). Merrill Lynch has gone from being bullish to being bull sh_t on your shoe!

The Fed Reserve and the Fed Gov said no to any loan guarantee on the aforementioned, and now we have AIG on the horizon. As I type this there are threads running talking of negotiating a government load to keep AIG liquid.

If they are leverage heavily along the gulf coast, expect them to file Ch. 11., maybe even 7.

This is all really scary.

I was told today that the musical chairs game is playing but if the music ever stops, there aren't enough chairs. It is almost as if these financial institutions have been circling all this paper letting everyone get a cut of it and now the circle is flawed.

Reminds me of what my former Father-in-law used to tell me. He was reluctant to eat black eyed peas, and his excuse was "Black eyed peas got me through one depression and I would hate to be burned out on them if we had another one"!

Batton down the hatches. This could get ugly!

Thing is this administration is to dumbya to figure out what is going on.

FATHER, things are scary. Cornerstones of our economic world are shaking and folding. Help us to realize that hope based on anything other than you is in vain, and nothing else matters.

This is turning out to be a very tumultuous time of year for me. I can't seem to get everything in an established order, and that isn't me. I like to put a plan in place and let it roll.

I was supposed to be in Wichita Falls this past weekend for a "project show". Three days before "show time" we got a call telling us it was a rainout. It has been re-scheduled for the 26th and 27th of this month. That reminds me I need to call and make new reservations. I really had planned on winterizing the project and storing it for the winter.

The job in South Texas seems to be drraaawwwwwwing out. I thought that we would be done long before now. Thanks to two hurricanes, Dolly and Ike, it hasn't gone as it was planned. Surprisingly, Dolly provided much needed moisture for the crops, and producers who had planted late saw their crops continuing to put on squares and bolls. That meant the producers weren't about to defoliate or spray drop leaf on it. That was the case until Ike raised his ugly head. Producers began to try to rush their crops, figuring that what they had at that point in time was better than risking it all!

While the Bishop area was fortunate not to have experienced any of the blow or rain when Ike came ashore, rains arrived yesterday. Once the module yards are cleared, we will be waiting again.

It is usually about this time that I begin the move to the West Texas jobsite. It takes about a concentrated week to move travel trailers, flat beds, forklifts, and the service and supply trailers to St. Lawrence. Of course once we get there we have to set up camp, but as long as we can get the fence up at our trailer where the houndgirls can come and go, we can deal with a work in progress. Bale clamps will have to be installed, load straps unpacked, seed loading tolls unloaded and put in place. Then of course there are the clean up tools.

It doesn't sound like a whole lot but it takes time!

Since I have begun this entry, I have talked with Edwin. They will be caught up at Bishop during the next two hours. He said they had a big rain yesterday and last night so it will be several days before they can get back in the fields. Best part of running pickers is when they can muddle through, the cotton is dry enough for the machine to pick. Edwin told me he was going to give it one more try to have ALL the remaining cotton on the yard prior to cranking the plant up.

We can hope.

I am planning on taking Krl to get a haircut this morning and buy some groceries.

This afternoon I may bring the project in to the hydraulic shop to let them do some trouble shooting. We have not been able to make one hydraulic valve behave like we want it to. I have talked with the hydraulic specialists until I am blue in the face and I do not know if I have got my point across yet! Hands on may be the only way to them to understand what I am talking about.

Then if I can, I may take one of the Volvo trucks in for some minor items. Got to get the equipment ready to rock and roll.

Of course somewhere in this mix I have to clean the travel trailer I used at Bishop, and then bring Krl's and my big company trailer to the house to be loaded. That should take a few days in itself.

If things work just right, I may even go in to Chris's NAPA store for a few days. I think he may be feeling neglected. He was all primed to go to Wichita Falls this past weekend.

I talked with Pepa yesterday and he was telling me that Pat was getting ready to go to Palestine to pick up Stephanie and Chloe. Ike hit that area pretty hard and they lost power. If the reports I listened to were correct when Ike moved through their area it still packed winds in excess of 60 mph. Yesterday, Stephanie learned that it will probably be eight days before electricity is restored. So, Chloe is fleeing to the safety of West Texas.

Lucky girl!

Pat had told me that a few of Stephanie's friends from the Huntsville area had gone to Palestine to stay with her until Ike blew through. I don't think anyone expected Ike to do what he did inland. Knowing Pat, she may be bringing the whole crew back to Roscoe.

I am going to have to soak my hands in vinegar or gasoline. Last evening, Krl and I fixed fajitas and I had marinated the meat and peppers and onions. Even though I have washed my hands repeatedly, they still smell like fajitas.

But, oh were they good! Maybe I could wrap a finger in a tortilla with a little guacamole and sour cream and ........... maybe that isn't such a good idea.

They are really making me hungry though.

I'd better find me some breakfast.

Have a day!

FATHER, YOU have made me glad!

Same ol' same ol'.

I hadn't mentioned it, but for the last few weeks, possibly months, I had almost slept like a normal person. The last few nights have been flashes of the past and as you can tell by the post time, I'm already up and at 'em.

For the first night in a long time I woke with one of those episodes. Heart beating out of my chest and respiration very rapid. It's really kind of scary.

I spoke with Edwin late yesterday and much to my chagrin, he is planning on ginning cotton today! I was so in hopes he would wait to let the farmers finish their harvest before he started the plant up. The season down there has been long and drawn out for no more cotton production than they have had. As soon as I had the word I called K.O. so he could line up his drivers and I began to try to get hold of Mario. We had told the drivers if they chose to, when the plant shut down for the storm, unload in Harlingen and go West (inland) in order to avoid heavy traffic and possible outer bands of Ike. When I talked with Mario, he was still in Harlingen. He told me that when they stopped talking about Ike on his fm radio station he figured the threat had moved away from the area so he was in no hurry to come home. He told me he had just been sleeping. That saved about $400+ in fuel had he come to West Texas. As it turned out he only had a hundred miles to drive back to the plant. At the time I retired for the night, I had not heard back from K.O. as to his drivers status.

At the present time, I don't think I am going to take my travel trailer back there, if I go. Fact is, if I go I may have to take one of the trucks that is in need of a driver right now.

Yesterday I placed a call to an insurance adjuster I had been dealing with for seven months. The company had a truck that had an accident in February and in April the adjuster told me they were going to total the truck out. I think this man suffers from ADD because every time we have talked, he has promised me quick action, but with little to show for it. Yesterday he told me this next week he would be closing the file this week. I am optimistic. The biggest hold up had been the salvage value of the truck. Yesterday I made a deal for the company to buy the wrecked truck from insurance. This is going to be a pretty good deal I think because the company has one remaining truck that is identical to this one, so now we will have an engine, transmission, rearends, radiator, air to air, alternator, compressor, and many more parts. Fact is, if I could locate a similar truck with the engine out I could buy it and put this power train in it. Crazy part of this deal is that we drove the wrecked truck for another two months after it was wrecked, it is just a major inconvenience for the driver to get in and out from the passenger side.

I have done a lot of computer work the last two days. Trying to see what I can find to replace the above mentioned truck and looking around for a new company pickup truck. I've found two possibilities, one for each. The only thing I don't like is the pricing. I found one pickup on the internet and it had a price after all the incentives. When the dealer contacted me, they had added six thousand dollars to the price on their website. I went to a website called why pay sticker price and they gave me a price sixteen thousand dollars under the dealers pricing. I don't know what is going on.

I will say that it appears I am looking for something that is not in an abundance. I'm looking for a work truck. Tough, durable, rubber floor mats (no carpet), no trick wheels, no chrome bells and whistles, 2 wh. drive. The only splurge I do want is a four door crew cab (my existing company truck is an extended cab four door).

To be honest I have a real problem looking. I don't like to spend money, mine or the company's. I guess that is one thing about the roller coaster ride with the family business. I am gun shy. I talked with one truck salesman I have known for several years. Freddy did a lot of business with him. The salesman was giving me a run down of all the used big trucks he had and he told me the best truck on the lot was one particular make. I cut him short and told him I wanted nothing with that company's name on it and he could understand why. (It was the company that cancelled the contract they had with the family business that resulted in eight figure losses and finally bankrupted the family business). He told me he totally understood and "Let's move on".
He does have one truck I would like to have for the company but it is about double what I have been authorized to spend. Thing is the salesman will roll new bearings into the engine and the bottom end will have a one year warranty on it. (This is a 2003 Peterbilt). The best thing is, this salesman does not sell junk. Anything he has on his lot is usually pretty solid equipment.

I did find an '02 truck similar to the '03 at another dealer in Tennessee. The '02 is fourteen thousand dollars cheaper.

If I could only find a 1965 model the price might be right!

Another project I worked on was a contract for when we take "the project" to a show. We had always worked from a verbal agreement, but one show we did earlier this summer has made it necessary to get everything in writing. Everything is pretty well spelled out in black and white, complete with descriptions and disclaimers.

It is sad that today a man's word is no longer his bond.

A few have spoiled it for many.

Have a day.

Oh FATHER, there is much to do. Help me to be wise. Help me to be a good steward. I know my REDEEMER lives!

(Y)IKE(S)!

Ike packed a wallop! I have been intrigued by the weather channels coverage of Ike, and to be honest I have questioned the intelligence of the reporters and camera operators. I know for many their reporting has to be a relief, that certain areas held up well, while for others it has to be painful as they report areas of devastation.

I don't know about this new age "instant reporting" from storms to wars to battle skirmishes. When is too much information, too quickly, dangerous.

I find myself wondering what GOD has to be thinking when he sees a storm like Ike. Did he know storms like Ike would occur or did he give earth his best shot at the time of creation and turn it loose to see where it goes.

I like to think of it like that. I would hate to think GOD made devastating disasters, or diseases. Maybe GOD finished his creation and turned the day to day operation over to Mother Nature. Maybe this is where he knows what choices will be available but allows us to choose.

I don't like the thought of pre-determined-destiny. Otherwise why would he even bother with letting us play it out. Why not determine judgement right then. Up or down, good or bad.

I don't know. I'm glad GOD has that job.

FATHER, I pray for those in the storm stricken areas, for those in the path of the storm as it moves inland. Bless them and keep them. Be with the leaders making the determinations of safety and with the workers trying to restore order to the areas.

K.O. and I left Abilene yesterday morning about a quarter before seven.

Destination, Bishop, Texas. Reason, to retrieve my travel trailer I left at the jobsite.

Due to the building storm in the Gulf, Edwin, the manager decided to fire up the plant Tuesday afternoon and hopefully gin all the cotton they had been stockpiling on the module yards. He assured me when the "outer bands" made Corpus Christi, they would shut the plant down and let all the employees go home to deal with their families.

Edwin has grown up there and survived many storms. He says when the "outer bands" hit, there will be rain but no high winds. On his expertise we sent three trucks into the melee, hoping they will clear the yard and vacate the area long before Ike roars inland.

K.O. and I were both committed to the show in Wichita Falls this weekend with our project. That gave us a small window to make a mad dash South to bring the travel trailer back. (Edwin's recommendation was to insure it heavily). Tuesday as K.O. and I were finalizing prep work on the project, we decided Wednesday was the day for our trek. We put our plan together and headed to our respective homes.

We had decided to take K.O.'s new pickup, so he was scheduled to pick me up at my home at six thirty Wednesday morning. Six thirty came and went so I called him on his cell phone. He was running ten or twelve minutes late. Finally he arrived and we began to transfer a few required item into his truck. In short order we were rolling through the outskirts of Abilene headed South.

We arrived at Bishop after a brief stop at French-Ellison Kenworth in Corpus. The time was almost 1 pm.. We fueled and headed to the travel trailer. We went into the office and visited with the manager and the office manager briefly before beginning to unhook the utilities and store items inside for the trip home. We may have been on the ground an hour.

We had a quick discussion about what return route we needed to take and decided on the Interstate 37 route we had driven down. Just as we were making the sweeping turn from Highway 77 onto I-37, I looked ahead. Cars, just as far as you could see. Six lanes of them. K.O. reached under the seat and turned on his CB radio. It was crackling with inquiries about "Was this the evacuation or was there an accident?). Finally we got word that there was a three car accident and all lanes were blocked except the inside lane. Of course we were in lane six, the outside lane. We probably lost between a half hour and an hour, but once we cleared the accident traffic flowed very well.

I didn't say anything, but I was figuring the time line and we were going to hit San Antonio at prime rush hour. Yuk!

This trip was an educational one. On our way down we ran in and around National Guard convoys, many truck loads of plywood sheets, trucks hauling generators, DPS troopers escorting buses Southward, Emergency Vehicles flowing both directions. On our return trip we were passed by a convoy of DPS black and whites totalling about 18 with two "undercover" cars mixed in.

K.O. and I had taken a route from Abilene, to Coleman, to Brady, to Mason, to Fredericksburg, to Comfort, to San Antonio, to Corpus Christi, to Bishop, then reversed it coming back. 836 miles by the time we arrived back at my house, I projected 863 miles by the time K.O. arrived at his house.

As we meandered through the Hill Country shortly before twilight, we talked of our ancestors and the tremendous sense of adventure they had to possess. Along with that, they had to have a tremendous faith as they explored this vast country. I can only imagine what they felt as they topped each hill and saw land rolling before them for mile after mile. The adventure of crossing streams and rivers as they located them and filed them to memory for future use.

K.O. and I talked about how long our one day trek would have required a hundred and fifty years ago. Of course there would have been no need then to retrieve a travel trailer as "it" would be the bedroll rolled up behind the saddle.

I often find myself wondering what role I would have played in that time span. Would I be an adventurer, a cowpoke, a lawman, a gunslinger, an outlaw, a rancher, a doctor, a newspaperman, a bartender? The possibilities go on forever.

Daydream believer.

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for the safe travel yesterday. I pray that you will spare those residents along the coast the fierce blow that seems ready to launch. Bless them as they seek shelter, as they travel from harms way, as they try to protect their properties.

Whats good for the goose is good for the gander............

I walked in on a political discussion in the office the other day. It was the night after the Republican conventions was addressed by their VP nominee Sarah Palin. I realize that there has been quite the media storm since she "arrived" on the national scene.

In the course of this discussion, which was between the office manager, her husband (a career student) and another contractor, they were talking about how the Republicans had been bashing Obama and his small amount of foreign affair experience.

I think back to eight years ago when the Republican fair haired boy was George Dumbya Bush. Exactly what foreign experience did he bring to the White House?

Later in the discussion it centered on John McCain's time spent in a POW camp while a young Barrack Obama was snorting cocaine (by his own admission).

I can't help but think anyone who desires public office must have a huge ego to feed.

I looked at an internet article about the women's outfits at the Republican Convention. It said Laura Bush has developed a simple elegance. Her outfit cost $4100. Cindy McCain's outfit came in at $313,000. Wow!

I for one do not think the President makes or breaks our country. Thank goodness our fore fathers were wise enough to design our government the way they did.

I am sitting in my home office! Yep! I made the drive in yesterday afternoon. Five hours, one minute, and one full tank of gas. (My low fuel light came on just as I rolled into the driveway.). The houndgirls were excited! I have been licked and jumped on to their hearts content.

Yesterday morning none of the office regulars were supposed to come in. I was to take responsibility when Adan Jr. left. Much to my surprise, Edwin drove over and the office manager dropped in. Their stays were short as the office manager was crisscrossing the Coastal Plain for a large part of her day. Edwin was going to Victoria with Robyn to look at a car.

Robyn has been bitten by the new car bug. We've all been there. I would like to tell her about buyers remorse, but I don't think she would listen. Her starkest revelation has been that her insurance will cost about two-thirds of what her payment would be. Yikes! Robyn's "mentor" has told her that a car is not a luxury, it is a necessity. Basic transportation. But that necessity does not come without sacrifice.

I can remember in 1978 buying a new car one morning. Crops were looking very, very good. Late that night I was at a Jaycee meeting when a thunderstorm came through and left drifts of hail on the roads and ditches. Ended up that was a difficult vehicle to pay for. (By the way, that car was way more than basic transportation).

I am taking today off (except for office work and driver settlements). Tomorrow will be spent between the doctor office with Krl and K.O.'s doing some prep work on the weight transfer for this weekends show.

Edwin told me that it is his intention not to start the plant up again until the rest of the harvest is on the yard. Of course that is barring a storm (and Ike is eyeing the Gulf of Mexico). That could mean possibly next Monday, but the other contractor says it will take three weeks. None of the producers lack a large number of acres, but some areas are still standing in water.

Of course, my date to be in place in West Texas is October 10. Wow.

FATHER, thank YOU for the safe travel. Thank YOU for home comings. May we look forward to coming home to YOU.

I don't particularly like the shift change, but if I can make it one more night it may be a moot point.

They had a tremendous run last shift. In fact if they match it tonight, we will once again be caught up to the harvest. Meaning we could have off until possibly Tuesday.

Sweet!

I could be home Saturday afternoon!

I have things I need to do before next weekend, and this would be a grand opportunity!

Already I have been putting plans in place to be off next Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, possibly traveling back here Sunday afternoon. It means I will probably put one extra truck into the mix while I am gone. Hopefully, they could wind things up next weekend, but I think that is a wet dream.

I visited with Chris yesterday. The annual customer appreciation tool sale went well, although there were some glitches. It seems the NAPA rep who was supposed to do the computer prep work failed to do, so every ticket had to be voided and rerun. Chris said they fed about eighty burgers at noon. He was laughing saying the Mr. Chick went to Retta Mae's Thursday for lunch and the waitress told him that Wednesday she only made nine dollars in tips thanks to the feed down the street.

I talked with Pat this morning. Hopefully she is home for an extended stay. It has been five months since she was there more than a week. She took Steph and Chloe home Tuesday.

I have been talking with K.O. trying to develop a game plan for next weekend. Hopefully we have a new player coming on board that wants to train and learn the weight transfer machine. It would be nice to have a hired gun to operate it. I had committed to announce the show but begged off after the problems we had on Friday at Fairfield. I think I m more effective on the ground than in the booth.

The module hauler here thought it was humorous a few weeks ago when DOT was giving us fits. Today the shoe is on the other foot.

I had noticed he was is a foul mood today. He only arrived back yesterday from two and a half weeks at home in Oklahoma. This morning DOT had put two of his trucks out of service near Laredo for being over weight and no Texas registration (they run Oklahoma tags). I think he was looking for a DOT attorney in the phone books.

Just now his trucks have returned to the yard. As they parked, the owner was walking across the yard with several sheets of citations for each truck. I don't know what he did to get them to let his trucks return here with their loads.

Oh well, if you are going to be in this business, eventually your time is going to come.

So, don't make plans for the weekend dear, leave the porch light on!

And with that said, have a day!

FATHER, thanks for allowing us to expand ourselves through new horizons.

Aha! A new twist to the mix.

Edwin has been tracking the temperature inside the gin building during the day. It would be hot by any means but when you begin running electric motors and light propane heaters to dry the cotton, it becomes very miserable. Air flow through the plant is not good either. So.............

......... the guys are off today and come in at seven tonight. 7 pm. to7 am.

Night time running only. We are hoping this will alleviate a traffic jam at the oil mill as well. For the first couple of days my truckers could run in and out, almost at will, but yesterday and late on Tuesday they had to wait a couple of hours to unload.

We continue to try to decide on using two trucks or three. Yesterday we needed three. The plant kicked out 482 bales in fourteen hours. I had three loads of seed waiting here at the plant this morning. I told them they had all day to get it off, fuel their trucks, get a shower and hopefully nap a little. I had one farmer bring in his own personal truck wanting a load of seed so that is where the third load is going.

I decided with the new schedule, last night was probably the last evening I would have to take a peaceful drive into town and sit down and eat a meal without wondering who, what, and when the next problem would occur. So I drove into Kingsville a little before nine, ordered a cajun rib-eye and let the bartender brush up on making his President margarita. It was a nice laid back evening.

There were lots of college kids there last night, some were celebrating a birthday and they were very funny to watch. I figured I had better leave before them if they were driving. I am so glad I was never young and foolish!

I ran to Wal-Mart before I left town. I needed milk, potatoes, a couple of lunch-ables and a toilet bowl brush.

The last couple of days my trailer air conditioning has labored with very little cooling effect. I decided I needed to brush the coils out, thus the second toilet bowl brush. The many years on the job site have taught me that some things have uses they were never intended for. A toilet brush is stiff enough with long enough bristles to be a perfect air conditioner condenser brush.

Sure enough, when I climbed up the ladder to inspect the A/C, it had a solid coat of cotton lint restricting air flow.

I am happy to report it is very cool and crisp inside after I cleaned it.

I got tickled at myself last night. I wondered what I looked like pushing my cart to the checkout stand. Milk, potatoes, lunch-ables, toilet brush, house and garden Raid, and an air freshener.

I wanted a chip clip but thought that might put me over the top.

Oh well, who cares!

Hope your day and week are good!

FATHER, help me to be patient in this work.

What's the deal. I came down here to crack the whip and tend to business and get in and get out and finish this job.

But...................

it appears some people don't feel the same urgency. Yesterday about three in the afternoon the electric company beeped us and we had a handful of minutes to shut the plant down. Electrical demand was too high. Actually, the day before they had beeped us but no one heard the beeper. Edwin, the gin manager is trying to find out if the fine is for each violation or a one time deal. If it is a one time fine we will continue to run.

As of this morning we had enough modules to run into Friday, but not all day. Producers are trying to harvest but they are having a hard time staying ahead of us. This morning we sent module trucks to South of Laredo to begin hauling what we hope will be a thousand bales of cotton. That would be in the neighborhood of seventy modules. I think they will haul between six and nine a day so that would take some time to get them here. Crazy thing is our module hauler is home in Oklahoma and he left two drivers and three trucks here. I don't know where his other trucks are. He had five and the gin had two.

I know. Patience is a virtue. I have a problem being virtuous I guess.

I am kind of bored right now. With the plant running only one shift and with the electric company shutting us down in the heat of the day we have modified our hours to run five in the morning until they shut us down. If they shut us down. That could mean if they don't have a demand problem we could run fourteen hours.

I think they are trying to avoid a "brown out".

So, I am working on the employee roster and payroll report for the accident insurance and also working on the tax deposit. Good old office work. Don't we love it!

I drove to Kingsville last evening and picked up pizza for supper. Actually it will be last nights supper and probably a meal today.

I had a late night call from Krl. I had turned the lights out and already was studying my eye lids when my cell phone toned. She couldn't sleep so she was checking on me. She said Ollie has had a hard couple of days. She called upset about her rental car company wanting money she didn't have and the insurance company dealing with her wrecked car not tending to business. She reported that Addison's Dad was fired by TDJC last week for too many call ins, that her mother could no longer work where she was working because she didn't have contractor's insurance, that she (meaning Ollie) wanted me to sell her the S-10 (which she can't afford becaused the new motor sitting in the NAPA shop is $1900, if you want tires, a steering wheel, and a seat that is extra), and that she wants to relocate to Abilene (I don't think so).

I don't mind trying to help someone if they are trying themselves, but we have and she hasn't. Until she quits feeling sorry for herself and pulls herself up by the boot straps, it will never get any better. She and I had a deal, and she didn't own up to it.

So there!

I think the whole key is that we all can't be the boss and sometimes we have to do things that we don't like in order to keep going. I don't like being gone from home nine months of the year (over seven at St. Lawrence and working on two down here). When I return to Abilene I have until October the tenth to be in place at St. Lawrence for this years run.

I think maybe my biggest eye opener was when the family business, thanks to those unethical managers employed by foreign companies, began to have problems. It wasn't a fun ride, and we got to the point where Krl and I were selling lots of stuff because there wasn't money to make our pay. I finally realized that regardless, I could provide. More importantly, I had to provide. There wasn't a choice.

Those times helped form and forge the ways that I conduct business and handle money. Just because times are good doesn't mean they will last forever, and when times are bad we hope they won't last forever.

Here's to Happy days ahead!

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for not giving us more than we can handle. Thank YOU for life lessons learned the hard way.

Hello from the Coastal Bend of Texas.

I returned here yesterday morning. I left Abilene very, very early which made my day very, very long.

I only brought two trucks with me at this time. The plant will run only one shift. As of last night we had enough cotton to run today and tomorrow. We may have a day off before the harvest begins to feed cotton to the plant again. But that is O.K., my two drivers are stuffing money in their pockets!

There was supposed to be a third truck, and he was getting ready to head South when he remembered he had a court date this morning in Sweetwater. So, it is after lunch and I have not heard from this man. This is the one who was crying wanting to work and once he had a couple of good checks, he kind of lost his "want to".

I will probably leave him at home a few more days for disciplinary reasons. Kind of let him stew in his tracks. Thing is he is probably losing out on two grand a week because this is prime running if I ever saw it.

I have just made a jaunt into Corpus to return a parts core. While I was in town I decided to eat and buy some groceries for my trailer. (I had thrown all my bread, chips, anything that had been opened out before I left, even my milk).

I was looking for somewhere to eat when I ran across a Golden Corral. It seemed to be either that or Luby's. I went inside, went through the line and then found a place to eat. Now I really don't like eating out alone, so I found a booth on the fringe of one of the more remote dining areas. After I had fixed my plate I began to notice how ethnically mixed my dining neighbors were. There were Hispanics (the majority), Oriental (who barely were not the majority, Caucasian, and Black.

It was interesting to listen to the different languages being spoken and I instantly became jealous of a very small Asian American who bounced back and fourth between English and one of the oriental dialects. This young man was probably four years old and already had two languages.

It amazed me how his family spoke a blend of both languages.

That has always been a problem for me and my Hispanic friends, I will be concentrating on what they are saying in Spanish when they will begin injecting English and locks down my brain.

The restaurant may have made money on me, but they lost money on the three tables of orientals. They attacked that buffet with the same work ethic the display at their jobs.

Serious business. When I left, I noticed one young mother had gathered all the dishes in to a pyramid stack, largest to smallest.

I don't know how long this run will last down here. One to two weeks? Maybe. I visited with one farmer who said he has cotton that won't be sprayed until three or four weeks, if it is sprayed at all (he is trying to have it adjusted by insurance).

I was relieved to see that Gustav took it easy on the "Big Easy".

I heard this morning that the next hurricane that may have us in its sights is Ike. We should know by the weekend.

Have a day and a week!

FATHER, thank YOU for sparing those in the path of Gustav a horrible blow. Bless them as they re-gather their lives.