I continue to have problems posting. Sorry!

I have blogged, only for blogger to lose my post. Supposedly they have an auto save that "saves" your post in progress, but for whatever reason, it hasn't happened.

Thursday, when Rian was here to help with our Thanksgiving meal for all the crew, I had told him that one of the girls in the office had told me she and her husband had pigs they were selling to be slaughtered. Right now most of them are too small, unless you want to put a small pig on a spit. But by Christmas they will have multiple, prime size pigs.

I told Rian that I was toying with the idea of buying a pig to have processed to put in our freezer.

Friday Reid called his Dandy to talk. He began the conversation by relaying a message to me that his Dad wanted to go halves on a pig.

I asked him, "Which half of the pig do you want?"

He got quiet before I heard him ask his Dad.

In a moment he gave me his reply. "The back half", he said.

I told him, "That is the end that always follows."

He became quiet, and I could tell this five year old was mulling it over.

Finally he changed the subject and we concluded our visit when he handed the phone to his Dad.

Saturday I had run an errand and on my way back to the compound I called Rian to visit about the outcome of the TT/Baylor game. They were getting ready to sit down for supper and I could hear the boys in the back ground. I asked Rian if Reid had decided which half of the pig he wanted, so Rian relayed the question.

Reid shrugged his shoulders before finally saying, "I just want a pig that plays in the mud!"

That might be another pig for another story. But ............... it comes at a good time of the year with Christmas coming up! I love getting gift ideas!

The Thanksgiving meal was a big success. We had a ton of food. The first part of the week was full of shopping and meal parts being prepared. Monday we shopped, and Monday evening and Tuesday was spent boiling eggs and cooking cornbread. 7 dozen eggs, and 36 mixes of cornbread, followed quickly by boiling 23 pounds of yellow squash. Krl diced and browned two bags of onions in our trailer (it still reeks).

Wednesday saw us return to the store and pick up 5 chickens to boil for broth and meat for the dressing and giblet gravy. We also picked up 25 assorted pies and ten tubs of Cool Whip.

Rian was preparing the turkeys and hams in Lubbock and would bring a finished product Thanksgiving morning along with corn and potatoes we had him requisition from Sysco Foods.

The boiled eggs made a trip to Becky's house where her kids made quick work of peeling them.

We began browning dinner rolls (36 dozen) at two locations, let them cool and returned them to the plastic bag they had come in, less cardboard.

Thursday morning saw an early start as Krl and I assembled the dressing and got it on to cook. Somewhere between 65 and 75 pounds of dressing.

We then turned our attention to the giblet gravy.

Rian arrived and began unloading and setting up. We were using nine broaster roasters and one crock pot to warm and serve the meal.

The GM had asked me to fluff the meal supplies as we had anticipated an onslaught of milo truck drivers being added to our usual numbers. We prepared for 150 hungry mouths. Much to our chagrin. All of these men went home.

We cut down of some items we had yet to cook. We hd 48 pounds of creamed potatoes but only prepared 32. We cut back on the corn, and fruit cocktail as well. The meat was already cooked and the pieces for the dressing were prepared as well, so we were locked in.

We did feed either 83 or 86 people, and at six in the evening we began bagging all the leftovers. Some went to the night shift in the plant (they were very weak in attendance) along with five or six leftover pies. Others who worked on the meal bagged leftovers for future use. A multiple serving full course of the meal was left in the office "fridge" for the girls to eat Friday.

The GM's wife prepared a broccolli and rice casserole, a big tray of deviled eggs, and a roaster pan of oyster dressing.

Many of us had never had oyster dressing so it garnered a lot of attention. The first bite I took, I thought it was very tasty and shortly after I swallowed, the afterburners kicked in! It had a little kick. I thought it might be cajun seasoning, but when I asked Sandy, she said it was the jalapenos! That makes sense.

In a test, we once again had prepared a small tray (1 each) of green bean casserole and sweet potatoes. These were met with the same rejection they had received four years ago. These men like their meat, dressing,potatoes, and bread!

Rian did take a small bag of squash dressing back to Lubbock. That was all he wanted. He told us he could eat that dressing every day of the week. Saturday when I talked with him, he told me there is one other in his family who loves Meme's dressing. It seems that Drew consumed an entire bowl of Rian's treasured dressing!

That made Meme smile!

Delfino left last Thursday to go to Guanawhato. His baby girl was getting married Saturday night. He will return Tuesday.

That fits very well considering we are planning on running to the house to meet the Windows USA people who are installing our windows Wednesday.

They agreed to a Wednesday install and despite their attempts to move us we have held fast. They guaranteed us they will install all the new windows in a single day.

They had better because that is all we have allotted.

Last night was the night I have been dreading all season. Rene', my lead nightshift forklift operator knocked on my door just after midnight. His primary machine had a problem and when he began using his backup, he encountered a problem as well. I made a quick trip out and got his backup going. It seemed as though I was barely back in bed when I heard a knock again.

I returned to the dock and diagnosed the new problem as a blown internal o-ring in a cylinder of the bale clamp. Meaning it was only working on one side. We had little choice, so I asked Juan the night ginner to call Frank, the Plant Superintendent. When Frank arrived with keys to the farm store we made a new hydaulic hose for the primary machine, and once it was going I got another of my nightshift, Jose, to assist me as we removed the faulty bail clamp from the backup machine. Luckily we had another clamp waiting at the ready. Before it was all over, I had spent most of my night on the bale dock.

I returned to my travel trailer to try to regroup and salvage what was left of the night. In a wind down measure, I posted the afore mentioned blog which was lost in cyberspace forever.

Oh well, if my luck persists, this one will be gone as well.

In a couple of developments, Friday morning they changed destinations on us for our bales from Sweetwater to Big Spring. 73 mile round trip compared to 216 before. We have trucks waiting for loads by days end.

On the other end of the plant the GM decided to start warehousing cottonseed at night. That meant we had too many trucks there as well, so in a three way deal I flipped two seed trucks to the milo haul.

The main thing we are trying not to do is to not put anyone out of work.

Well, settlements are printed and checks are written with only one exception, and I am waiting on a load weight for a single load to complete that one.

Hope your Turkey Day and weekend were good!

FATHER, may we show our thankfulness every day! Bless-ed be YOUR name!

I am going to try my yesterday post one more time. When I told it to publish, there was a google error and all was lost. This will be reyped from my feeble mind.

Let the record reflect my guess for this years plant production is, (Drum roll please) 64,000 bales. Don't ask me why. I have no rhyme or reason. I have talked with many producers who tell me the '08 crop is better than the '06 crop. We did 56,000 in '06.

The GM and the Plant Superintendent both guessed in the patron guess box and in a freak occurence, their guesses are only a few bales apart. I don't know who cheated off of who! (Just kidding). They were both in the 51,000 range.

The average guess by the patrons is 47,800. In the past this has usually been conservative.

One sure fire way to know is to wait until we are through.

Yesterday morning the GM proclaimed he belived we were half way through. The daily total board showed 25,294 bales. He went farther and said he believed we would be done just prior to Christmas.

I told Krl I much prefer finishing the week after Christmas than a few days before. We would return home to no tree and no decorations.

In fact if memory serves me correctly, Trc "borrowed" our tree last year.

I visited with Rian yesterday and he told me we had another opportunity. If it is something that moves you to contribute, you can contact him directly or myself, or you can even contact me through this blog.

Friday was very cool and crisp in Lubbock, and as Rian was leaving school he noticed one of his young students walking with no coat. Rian asked him if he would like a ride. The boy climbed in Rian's truck and they began talking.

Rian asked, "Where's your coat?"

"I don't have one", came the reply.

The boy continued telling Rian his family was doing much better, that they had recently moved from a small motel room into a small home rental unit. The boy further explained that they were now trying to get enough money to have the gas turned on.

This is a single parent family, and Rian is researching it, but knows there is a sister also attending Dunbar.

Rian inquired as to how they cooked.

"We eat a lot of TV dinners", came the reply.

"Do you get enough to eat?" Rian asked.

"Sometimes I go to bed hungry", the boy explained.

Rian paused, and then told the boy, "Our church is having a Community Thanksgiving meal Sunday night after church, do you think you might like to go to it?"

"Sure", the boy said before asking, "Is this one of those meals where it is all you can eat?"

"Yes", Rian said.

And a deal was struck.

Rian told me he had been given a turkey earlier that day at school and he started to give it this family until he thought about how they would cook it.

I told Rian with all the food he is preparing for us, as well as other catering customers, it wouldn't be a stretch for him to cook the bird for this family.

I put Krl and Rian in contact. He is going to do more research to be sure that help would be accepted, so I will let you know.

I do know that this young man will have a new winter jacket in just a day or two.

Over the years, we have been blessed to participate in student challenges, and other opportunities to help Rian's students, (like when one's family's home burned).

I have not gone to bed hungry, but I have been closer to being destitute than I have ever admitted before. At one point it was a blessing that all the kids were gone, and we had only to worry about providing for ourselves.

I will admit today that I cheered for the Red Raiders in my blog that did not publish. I will also admit that I was sorely disappointed in their game with the Sooners. I do know the stadium environment is very hostile in Norman. But elite teams overcome, week in and week out.

I think the loss is a wake up call that Tech is close, but not quite there. I am also afraid that Graham's perfomance (or lack there of) did not help his Heisman hopes.

Hope your weekend is going good.

FATHER, thank YOU for allowing us opportunities to help others. May our hearts be happy in sharing, may it please you. Pass it on.

Yesterday was a splendid day out here, IF you like gale force winds with blowing dust! My eyes still feel like sand paper!

Today is totally at the other end of the extreme! It is crisp, it is bright, it is lovely!

We didn't get as cold as they had thought we might. They had predicted upper teens for us. The lowest I heard this morning was mid-twenties! Thank goodness!

Things are going pretty well. The harvest continues, as does the ginning. We are now ten days behind. That doesn't sound good, but it is a little insurance just in case we have some inclimate weather to prevent us from getting caught up and just staring at one another!

I have one forklift operator living in one of the other travel trailers here. So far he is a real work. He can't light a water heater. He wanted to know how he lights his cook stove. And has had several issues that most people wouldn't even mention to someone else. This morning he told me his water was cut off. No I explained, it is not off, it is frozen. Three of us had gone by to tell him to leave a faucet dripping when he went to bed, but he was not at home.

Krl and I have already whipped out hourly payroll. We are just about normal working hours now. These guys ranged from 83 to 86 hours. 84 would be the norm. I am glad because the last few weeks despite the big checks some were making, I was afraid I was going to burn them out!

We talked with Rian yesterday and finalized the order for the Thanksgiving meal. He is buying the turkeys (8), hams (10 spiral halves), the whole kernel corn, sliced jalapenos, and deluxe creamy potatoes. We toyed with the idea of buying the dressing but when Rian researched it, it was a mix that required mixing and cooking. I was pretty sure Krl would say if we had to do all that, we would just fix her special squash dressing. She concurred.

Rian helping with the meal has made it a lot easier. We have steamlined the process over the years. We know we can count on Frank and Nancee. Any other help is a bonus.

So we will probably begin buying cornbread mixes and other supplies if we go to town this weekend. I have had a couple of volunteers to cook some cornbread. In the past I have cooked all of it in the meeting room of the office in my BIG cast iron skillet (it does six mixes at a time).

I made my rounds this morning, drank coffee and visited in the office for a while before I returned to the trailer. When I returned, I cooked oatmeal, biscuits, and warmed up left over bacon. It was delicious on this cool morning out here!

Well, truck and driver settlements are waiting. Have a good weekend.

FATHER, thank YOU for a beautiful morning. I pray for safety, for productivity. Lead us on!

Hopefully, we are on a roll.

Things continue to go pretty well. No major problems, just a little routine maintenance, a tire here, a tire there.

We did get stopped by DOT for the first time. Received a warning for a tailight and a tire, but no ticket. They have both been tended to. The tire was on one of the spread axle bale trailers, and they do take a beating. Lots of scrubbing and sliding as trucks make their turns. Of course the big plus for these is the increased weight allowance for a spread. I had been watching this particular tire, and had already checked on availability, so it was no big deal.

The little "Gambler" truck is running from here to Fort Worth hauling grain.
Josh, the driver, said the other guys who were running down there really gave him a lot of lip talking bad about his little truck, and how he lagged behind. He said when he unloaded a 56,ooo pound payload it shut them up. In about nine loads it will be just like he got a free one!

They don't pay for pretty!

This little truck is not a whole lot to look at, but it has been a pleasant surprise. If it keeps itup, I will feel compelled to remove the Peterbilt nameplates and put Timex or Everyready in their place.

Josh was the second truck stopped by DOT. It turned out the officer was a friend of mine. He went over the truck and didn't find anything, then as he was returning the truck papers to the driver he noticed a scratch on the driver side window. He asked if the truck had window film on it and Josh told him he didn't know, he had just got on it, but that he hadn't put any on it. The DOT man decided to get his gauge and check it out. Turns out, the windows were two percent to dark.

I'll have to take my "bud" to task next time I see him. That is picking at straws. Of course he had to be a little
embarrassed when he discovered the truck was empty. After that he "had" to find some violation.

I have had a dilema out here. Our contact calls for settlement on Monday. With the previous two office managers, I could walk in with a bill and walk out with a check. It might take a maximum of an hour. The current office manager seems to have a real problem with generating these checks. She has procrastinated so much I told Krl you would think she is paying the bill personally. Each Monday she has gotten progressively later, even though I have presented my bill earlier in the day.

This past Monday I waited and waited, figuring I would make a trek to the bank, on to Stanton, Odessa, and Midland. At twelve minutes to three,the office manager generated the checks. It ws too late to get to the bank by three, so I left the check with Krl and began my parts trek. I made the drive and completed two stops before stores were closing.

What really miffed me was the parts run would require a second attempt Tuesday. If I had only received the check mid-morning I could have completed all my tasks in one trip.

Krl decided to go with me yesterday. We made two stops in Odessa, and three in Midland. It seemed that each one was progressively more expensive.

My first stop was a Volvo Truck for two light bulbs. $61. Yikes! And it only went up from there!

We made it back, and began unloading and dispersing parts. I kept one forklift operator from the dayshift on a couple of extra hours so Delfino could service machines.

For the first time this season, the plant encountered it's first extended breakdown. They broke a drum roller on the module feeder about four this morning. At seven they completed replacing it and cranked back up.

I had an interesting conversation with the burr contractor Monday evening. He is handling the dispatch of all the grain trucks out here this year. I knew my boat would be loaded so I was not even interested. He told me that he has watched over the years at the ease with which I move the seed, bales, and motes. He says it is with an all new respect after his brief experience with the grain. He told me, he handled 100 loads last week, just over half of what we did.

I reassured him and told him it would get easier with each week.

I have had one driver who refuse to communicate. If he wants to do two loads he will haul two and park the truck. He was off six days and called only after I was looking for him.

I no longer have a driver who refuses to communicate. He failed to show up yesterday and didn't call so now he is replaced. I didn't think he deserved a call either. He just no longer has a truck to drive.

By the way, in keeping with my ex-forklift operator, and George "Dumbya" Bush. White boys just ain't no good! Now we can add truck driver to the list.

Back to the grindstone.

I have computer data to enter, and tax deposits to complete. So while I am not covered up, I have enough to get my day going.

Hope yours is a good one!

FATHER, thank YOU for the good days which make the hard days bearable!

I know you're tired of following my elusive dreams and schemes,

.............BUT........................

I've found my groove! And it is groovy!

Wow! I've needed a day or two like I have had! Extremely productive! In fact I have completed all my settlements and out of 171 loads I dealt with Krl told me I had one wrong load number!

I know, why would I be thrilled with near perfect? Because that is as good as it has been this year out here!!

I need to explain a quick thing. My blogger is not acting correctly, and even on a good day the spell check is only a "C" service. Lots of times I r-read my posts and I am embarassed by some of the corrections.

I got a college edecation. Bought it outa de Sears and Roebuck catalogue!

Speaking of catalogues, this use to be one of my favorite times of the year. Christmas Catalogues.

Sears, Wards, Speigels, J.C. Penney. By season's end the pages would be dog eared and worn!

What are going to be those special memories for the children of now?

There is a definite chill in the air today. Fifty-five has been the high. Thankfully we don't have gale force winds blowing today!

Krl and I are kind of dueling over the thermostat. The "dry" heat gives her breathing problems, but I have been cold all day long! I know she has too because she has "retired" to the bedroom and hidden under the electric blanket when she has taken an extended break.

Best part is, She is ahead of the curve, too. Building off my having the settlements done early!

Krl is beter I think, even though she probably won't own up to it. Earlier today, we sucked on a lemon trying to cut through this thick drainage!

Rian and Erica are in Abilene at a West Texas Christian Girls retreat. No Rian didn't attend. He just drove them there. Reid stayed in Roscoe. It wll be interesting to see how his first medicated visit goes. On earlier visits he would get cross ways with Pepa and Riley and then run for Memama,yelling "Memama will save me!

Krl and I had sent the boys an "Alvin the Chipmunk DVD and beanie baby. Reid called us yesterday to thank us for the gift we "sended" them!

Hope your day and weekend are gong as well as ours!

Later!

FATHER, thank YOU for the tremendous two days we have had! Keep 'em coming! YOU are the GOD!

This is the day the LORD has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.

But I don't have to like it!

I don't know where you are, but out here the wind has been blowing at gail force, swirling cotton and dust all around the compound.

It kind of makes me wonder what has got GOD's dander up!

Oh, I hope he has a sense of humor.

We have rocked and rolled in the travel trailer, all day long.

Anyway you look at it, it has been ugly.

My day has been filled with payroll and payroll tax entry. Finally I made a trek to the bank to make the October deposit. Monday I will catch up November and after that we will go to weekly deposits.

For the most part, today has been on of the best this season, weather withstanding. I know how tough it is for the guys on forklifts and poking seed to be in the elements. I am thankful for everyone of them.

Of course it does help that they are compensated quite generously. Bucking a trend, the most hours this week was 93, followed by 86, so we are getting everyone pulled back in the vicinity of twelve hours per day per each employee. Still several of the guys were toying with the four digit paychecks (to the left of the decimal).

I am a true believer that you get what you pay for!

In my laptop, I have loaded all but about sixteen loads of seed, bales are spread. So I am cruising toward a very good productive weekend.

I just hope we don't have something go wrong that will pull me from my computer before we get through!

I can' believe it is already the weekend! Even though it makes no difference to us. Each day just runs into the next.

Have a good weekend!

FATHER, Please turn down the wind! Thank YOU for each of our crew. I lift up Krl for YOUR gifts of healing.

Looking for our groove! It seems like we are really struggling to find our groove. So far it has been elusive. But rest assured, we will find it sooner or later.

Today I worked on accident insurance rosters and pay history. What a crock! We went through fourteen people to fill five spots. That is a lot of extra book-keeping for me!

Monday afternoon I had a trailer with a light issue. I was running errands so I commissioned Josh a new driver prospect to trouble shoot it. (We were waiting for his pre-employment drug screen results). When I was finally able, I went to help him. This went on until about ten-thirty at night. Cowboy came on and quickly found something Josh and I had overlooked. We thought we had it and early Tuesday Josh set out with the problem trailer. He got between Coahoma and Westbrook when he lost all his lights except his headlights. He pulled over and slept until it was good daylight. When he called to report this to me, I began a trek to Midland to get wiring supplies. When he returned to the compound I was waiting and we snipped all the wires from the main wiring cable, taped a new cable to the old one at the front of the trailer (we had set up the reel to spool cable as we pulled the old cable from the trailer. Finally I backed my pickup to the rear of the trailer and tied the old cable to the hitch and idled away. Two hours later we had everything wired and working.

Sometimes the best solution is a total rework!

Tomorrow I plan to work on data entry and also to prepare the 941 tax deposit. I have only two more months to enjoy the monthly depositor schedule before we go to the twice weekly.

Dang it!

I hads one driver who was a no show today. No phone call or anything. He told me yesterday he thought he was getting sick with what I have had. I told him to work twenty hours a day and he would know how I felt. I called in a relief driver to make one run on his truck. Then the truck is going to Pepa's and I will make a decision on what role the "sick" driver plays from here on out. He can be a good hand be but when he has a little money in his pocket his judgement gets blurred.

From my persective, everything out here depends on communication and everyone doing their part to carry the load. When someone doesn't do their part it makes it hard on everyone else!

Of course as luck would have it, I had taken on a little extra project to help out some friends out here. That didn't help as it took one possible truck from my possibilities.

Best news is that the cab enclosures for the forklifts came in today. Delfino was glad to hear that news! He said it got a little nippy last night. Our weather says it is going to get cold Saturday! Maybe in the twenties!

I am not ready for that!

I have had two truck drivers get tickets in as many days for speeding. Both of them proclaim their innocence and say they were running six to nine miles per hour slower than the trooper said! Of course both of them want me to help them fight it.

If you live by the sword you die by the sword. One of these guys is a hellion, the other is usually a happy go lucky guy who goes with the flow.

I do have my doubts about their stories though!

I got the word from the new GM today that the Thanksgiving meal is on. I commissioned Rian to begin requisitioning all the stuff we need! We have learned so much about making this meal easier to prepare. Of course the main ingredient is Rian! He has volunteered once again to cook the turkeys and hams.

We are going to use a "boned" turkey this year. Rian did a test and said it was wonderful.

So now we begin buying all the pies and other ingredients!

Hope you had a good day!

FATHER, we are struggling and searching!

Farewell to Motorman!

I would be remiss in my blogging if I let the passing of Motorman go unannounced.

He was 57 years of age.

Motorman and I went back many years. He had driven a truck for the family business, then ran as a team driver with me hauling cotton strippers.

You live in a truck with someone and you get to know them pretty well! Motorman and I were pretty much exact opposites. I like to drive with the seat aired up where I can see any and every thing. Motorman liked to ride with the seat as low as he could get it to deflate to, usually putting his line of eyesite just at dashboard level.

I use to kid him that if a lawman saw us he was going to think midgets had stolen that big truck.

With team drivers, one driver is usually asleep while the other guides the big rig down the road. That is the advantage of "teams", double the miles, double the productivity of a single truck. It takes a great deal of trust to put your life in another's hands while you sleep. But I trusted Motorman explicitly.

Later he owned his own truck, and at the time of his death he owned two.

I will never forget one time when we were hauling the oversized cotton strippers, we were going to be caught on the road when darkness fell, which means you have to stop and get off the roadway. We weren't too far from Motorman's Mom and Dad's house, so we took a detour. When we arrived (O.K., we stretched the thirty minutes after sun down rule), their home was dark. As Motorman manuevered the big truck on to their property, the porch light came on.

We were greeted warmly by his Mother and Dad, in fact his Mom had already turned the stove on. No one would go to sleep in their home hungry.

There was lively conversation as his Mom and Dad caught up on happenings. We ate like Kings.

Later, Motorman showed me where I would be sleeping (a long narrow room which housed four double beds), and he showed me where I could shower. I still remember when I crawled in bed, it was one of those big soft feather mattresses. I slept like a baby!

Motorman's Mother was blind, the result of years of battling diabetes. I was amazed watching her tool around her kitchen as she cooked our meal.

Motorman slept on the floor at the side of his Mom's bed, just in case she needed anything in the night.

The following morning, when I awoke, their home was filled with the smell of breakfast on the stove. The meal was served with laughs and lively talk, and it was with heavy hearts that Motorman and I had to leave.

A few years ago Motorman moved his Mom and Dad to Brownwood to live with him so he could help care for them. Not too long after that his Mom passed away. I am not sure if his Dad is stll alive or not.

The last time I visited with Motorman was in May. He was needing a trailer and we were trying to work out a lease agreement.

Motorman loved life, and he loved his family.

Goodbye Jesse Orosco. Tell Fred, TJ, and Sam hi!

FATHER, thank YOU for allowing me to know Jesse and his family. I ask YOUR blessings on his family. Surround them with YOUR angels and comfort them. Fill their void.

Don't touch that dial! And don't give up on me either!

I have been on the phone with our ISP tech support trying to figure out our problem. Hopefully we have and it is modem related. This modem is only a few years old, but Marie says it is acting worn out! I told her I had been pleased with our DSL service here in the past but this year it is a nightmare!

I hired two more guys last night, meaning I did get some sleep although it wasn't a full night. The Plant Superintendent and I worked a trade on another. Hopefully a former employee will be in later today.

Krl posted on the TWC website yesterday and within a few minutes we had calls coming in! About nine last night three cars pulled into the compound!

How about the election?

I think it will be O.K.. We are moving forward, and every day closer we get to moving "Dumbya" out of the Whte House, the happier I am!

I think Barrack and John showed a lot of class in their messages.

The Republican party is definitely at a crossroads.

Already the jokes have started. I heard this morning that workers had begun removing the rose garden to make room for planting watermelons.

Someone this morning told me they could not believe we have elected our first African-American President. I told him things will be all right. He asked why I was so sure. I told him that last week I hired a white guy to run a forklift for me. This man would be making ovr $900 per week, yet lasted only one shift. I told this man that white guys never work out, so maybe our new President will!

Krl and I are both under the weather. I am sure she caught my bug.

Have a day!

FATHER, I ask YOUR blessings on all the newly elected officials. That they will be worthy of the votes they received. I lift up Krl and myself for YOUR gifts of healing. Thnk YOU for blessing us with more employee possibilities, lead the ones to us that we need. YOU are good!

I'm going to try this one more time. There is a chance however that my laptop may land in the middle of the parking lot where I can access it to run over it time and time again.

Since our arrival we have had nothing but trouble. Either with our ISP or my laptop. Either way, it has not been very enjoyable.

Currently the only way I can be online is by using my neighbors wireless network to access the internet.

Part of my problem is with the factory installed McAffee anti-virus. I hate McAffee. I hate Norton. If I ever meet up with either or both I have something to share with them.

I am intending to install Symantec but I have to disable some windows firewalls before it can be done. So I am reading up on "how to".

It has been the week from hell. Employee issues. Communication issues. You name it.

We have ginned over 4000 bales. That is the good news.

The crop is better than most producers anticipated. That too is good news.

Monday morning I laid in two more "on the ground hands". For the first time this season our crew was complete.

Tuesday I went to Roscoe to pick up a stack of trailers. They weren't ready so I decided to get the grain trailer Pepa had sold some farmers out here and they had asked me to deliver.

During my trip in I received a phone call telling me immigration was at the plant, and they were interviewing one of my guys.

When I returned I only found Delfino. The rest of the guys were MIA. I had a mess at the seed box and was cleaning it when a familiar vehicle drove up. It was my missing employees. They jumped out and began jabbering at a speed I could not understand so recruited an interpreter. Long story short, they had come with their friend who was now a guest of immigration. They told me since he was gone they were leaving too. So they wanted their checks. Problem was they hadn't turned in their paperwork so I didn't even have their names. It took them a brief while but they retireved their paperwork and completed it for themselves and their friend. I came to the trailer and figured their time so Krl could write checks. A brief while later they were gone.

Delfino and I were very sad because there were just the two of us and the plant was going around the clock that night.

We formulated a plan. Delfino would get a break from seven to eight in the evening then return to run until twelve thirty. I would relieve him and run until seven in the morning. I think I got an hour an half nap before I went back on duty. I think in three days I had seven hours sleep. I was running down quickly and even worse had been fighting a cold or the flu.

Luckily, we had another prospect come by and begin training. Friday night I took a turn for the worse, so Krl, Delfino and an ex-employee, who works for the co-op now, formulate a plan for me to be off. The new guy had around the clock supervision yet it allowed me to sleep all night and also allowed Delfino the same luxury.

I must have been quite entertaining during the evening because Krl is telling tales on me. She said she was scared to go to sleep, that I was out of my mind, shaking and shivering, burning up with fever and delirious. She said I even thought I was in a different locale and I can talk on the phone without a phone! She went so far as to tell me she thought she was going to lose me. (That would be hard since we are living in this travel trailer.)

Anyway, I am much better, although I am not well by any means. I am so sore.

I don't even want to talk about how the work is going but if I had to vote on renewing my contract right now, I would vote no! I am not a happy camper.

It has led me to beleve that as fickle as the old GM was, I was blessed to have worked with him for so long.

The new man is extremely squirelly. He hs told me one thing repeatedly and then done the exact opposite with absolutely no warning.

I have my doubts if I can work with this.

My first observation is that the board did not hire a gin manager, they hired an elevator manager. He has spent some serious cash on equipment for what may be a one time milo boom.

The one thng I learne down in South Texas is that managers love having cotton gins in place to cover the losses incurred in the volatile grain markets.

I've got to get. Settlements are calling.

Have a day!

FATHER, heal us quickly!