This was not the Monday I had hoped for.

I hadn't posted my day goals, and I am thankful for that. That would have been a huge disappointment. As it was, it was big enough.

I began my day doing a corrected invoice in the office, I will admit it was my mistake. I found it when I was proofing them. Then it was to Fed Ex Office (formerly Kinkos). Copies, back to the office. I placed all the billing into the appropriate envelopes, which Krl had already put labels on. Then I handed them off to Trc as I needed to get out the door and do something!

I stopped by a friend's who owns a repair shop here in town. The Little S-10 is going to a new home and it has a couple of small issues. He told me to have it to him Wednesday and he will take a look at it!

Then it was to Roscoe for a late lunch with Memama and Pepa, then I inspected the truck that had a spindle issue a couple of weeks ago, then I went to the barn.

My main goal for the day was to unload and transport bale clamps (also known as bale squeezes) to the NAPA store. There I will go over them, inspect and replace hoses before installing them on forklifts I have leased out for the up coming ginning seasons.

What should have taken a half hour, took three. The bale clamps are in a supply van we ferry from job to job. When we completed the seasonal work last December, the bale clamps came off and the forks and side-shifts went on before the forklifts even were loaded to come home from the seasonal work. The bale clamps are placed on pallets. The two we were using at the completion of the season were place on a pallet I have used for many years. It was heavily built with four by fours instead of two by fours. The remaining clamp was at the repair shop in Midland and it rested on a pallet of its own. The single unloaded easily. The second pallet was not so good. I guess when the guys were loading the pallet, the cracked some of the boards. As I tried to move the pallet to the back of the trailer where I could get the forks fully under it, I could hear creaks and cracks. When I began to lift the pallet to remove it from the trailer, the pallet began to slowly self-destruct. Luckily as soon as I cleared the trailer, I immediately lowered the forks to near ground level. As the pallet broke totally in to, the clamps rocked, but remained strapped together. Now my dilemma was getting the clamps separated and picking them up and placing them an new pallets.

These clamps weight in at between 1500 and 2000 pounds, so this was a real struggle, even with the barn forklift. After three hours, I had all the clamps up and on pallets.

While I had planned on having all of them to the NAPA store by days end, I only had one by five thirty.

Pepa had asked me about a flat on one of his trucks so while I had the service trailer with the compressor I went by there to air up his flat. After I finished and killed the truck and compressor engines, I could hear a rapid leak. A quick inspection revealed the head of a large rivet, lodged in the edge of the tire tread. This tire was going to require a patch.

During my afternoon at the farm shop, I fielded a call from our commercial insurance agent. I had been expecting it. Our annual policy renews in nine days. This is a major expenditure to the tune of about $4000+ dollars for each power unit for liability and comprehensive, and about $600 for each units cargo insurance. Then there are the fringe policies for comprehensive, general liability and for extra trailers and such. I am very leery to cancel any of it the way thieves have been working in our area.

It is at this time of year that the insurance companies run all the drivers licenses, checking for violations and accidents.

Earlier this month, the little wild man had an accident. So far he hasn't received a citation, but all the new paper coverage pointed towards an at fault accident. Today's call was to inform me that our current carrier has chosen to exclude this driver.

I had been fearful of this, and had taken some other precautions to increase the leverage we have with our agent. I have two other companies quoting the same insurance. If they come back the same, there is nothing I can do. I one or both elect to cover this driver, I can negotiate with our current agent.

After he call today, I let the cat out of the bag and told her there were other carriers quoting. I could tell she didn't like it, but that is the way the cookie crumbles.

May the best agent and quote win!

A very distressing event occurred this past Saturday. It involved two "friends". And I use that word very loosely. One of these men sold the other some pulling equipment he use to compete with. In the course of the deal, he also sold a tractor chassis that did not belong to him. It belonged to Fred, and now belongs to Jason. Everyone in the country and in the pulling fraternity knows and knew this. However this one man must have thought with Fred gone, no one would question it. Probably the saddest part of this is the purchaser knew. He just chose not to acknowledge.

In my books, both parties are guilty.

I have had dealing with one of the parties before, and I know first hand they have been guilty of theft of fuel and equipment. In fact I have been told by another person who actually witnessed this thievery.

I guess you can't change your spots. Once a thief always a thief.

You can go down to First Badist Church Every Sunday, sit on the front row, run the lights and television cameras, and sing in the choir, but you're going to need a lot of help to get through those Pearly Gates! (Maybe you can steal them!).

This particular family owns a business here in town and like to portray that they are pillars of the community.

I vote for pillars of salt!

Well I ahd better get, I am doing the Cowboys no good tonight and now they are trailing.

Hope your Monday was better than mine!

Have a day!

FATHER, I need a lot of help!