I talked with Rian yesterday afternoon. He was headed home to get into another vehicle to go to Amarillo to the Greenlawn Elders Ministers retreat.

He told me the original plan was to leave his pickup on the north side of Lubbock at some friends house, to expedite the get away to Amarillo. As it turns out, the elders and ministers wives are going as well. Rian said this is the second year they have included the wives. When Rian called to coordinate the timing for meeting Erica and the others they were riding with, Rian learned that Reid was having a meltdown kind of a day. With Erica trying to calm Reid, Rian decided to make the drive to their home and leave from there.

Anyone that knows me would know I can't pass up an opportunity to tease, so I told Rian I was surprised that they were taking the wives on the retreat. I told him I figured this was a little like going to the deer lease, a male bonding activity comprised of beer, pizza, and watching lots of football!

Rian knows his dad pretty well so he just laughed and told me there were probably a couple of elders that needed to loosen up a little!

Nothing like dipping into the communion wine!

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist!

My Friday didn't take the shape I had in my mind. It was probably my minds fault.

I had planned on going to Roscoe to work on forklifts and trucks and trailers. There is a good possibility that the ginning season will begin this week, that means I need to have at least one forklift delivered and at least one seed trailer ready to go.

I am doing some preventative maintenance. Hopefully the machines we lease out will live less stressful lives. I can't imagine they could have it any worse than where they have worked in the past. Instead of being run 24 hours a day seven days a week, I expect three hours a day would be the max handling two to three hundred bales instead of the twelve to fifteen hundred they have had to handle in the past.

I did some office work yesterday morning while waiting for a ride to pick up the S-10 from the shop. Once I arrived back home I made a call to the engine re-builder the engine in this little truck was purchased from.

I hate calling these people. It is a maze getting where you need to go and then they will take your number and the technicians will call you back. I waited most of the afternoon for the call back. I have a plan in mind for this man named Richie. It seems I call California and they transfer me to him in Grape Vine, Texas. He has been a little shorter every time I have talked with him. A little more brusque and abrupt. He has already quizzed me about whether I was credible enough to do the removal and installation of the engine. I told him I had a lifetime of working on engines, transmissions, differentials, brakes and other components of vehicles trucks and tractors. I topped it off by telling him we had done warranty work for Case and John Deere in our shop. Yesterday he changed directions asking about whether or not this shop was a certified shop. I told him I asked for no certification, but the shop has been on going for at least two generations and over fifty years.

Finally this technician told me to have the shop call him. He wouldn't take the time to call them.

I am trying to go through all the correct channels, because I don't on them defaulting due to a technicality. I did get my warranty information out and it is three years, unlimited mileage.

I figure the first time this man gets a little testy with me, I will tell him to give me an address and I will bring the little truck to him. I am sure it is one thing to have the truck a few hundred miles away separated by a telephone connection. Me, I am an up close and personal kind of guy.

Of course, if he refuses, I can always use that favorite line, "Let me talk with your supervisor!"

I guess I had better back up to give you a better idea of my Friday's demise.

The first phone call of the day was Max from the parts store in Roscoe. He said Pepa's truck driver was there needing a brake valve. This is the same valve this man turned in ten hours work on last weekend. Fact is, this man called Carol late Thursday night telling her the valve had malfunctioned and was applying pressure to one of his brakes. (My problem with this scenario is that if this particular valve malfunctions, it will apply all the brakes on the trailer.) This would be no major problem for most truck drivers, they would back off their brakes and get to somewhere they could get parts or help.

Not this driver. He told Krl he had no flashlight and was putting out his emergency triangles and going to sleep.

For me, the problem is bad enough, especially after he alleges he worked on it for ten hours last weekend. But the unforgivable sin to me is the fact that this man did not have a flashlight with him. In fact, a few weeks ago he and I had a major lecture series about you don't go off in a big truck without black tape, a flashlight, a screwdriver and a pair of pliers. This is an absolute minimum.

Of course this man wanted someone else to fix what he had screwed up. And for me that is another major offense. Actually I figure this man decided he didn't want to go back to Laredo. He had come by the parts store earlier Thursday and was lolly gagging around. I asked him where he was loading and he told me he had plenty of time. My problem is he works on the bare minimum of time allotted instead of having a cushion. When he called Krl he was two more hours behind where I figured he would be from the time he left the parts store.

If what I am hearing is correct, this man was down the country when he encountered this problem and drove back to Roscoe on Friday morning. If that is true, this might be enough for me to terminate him. He has exhausted all the excuses.

My other problem is that I called Pepa to see if he could check on the driver when he was in Roscoe (since he is Pepa's driver) and Pepa said they were on their way to Brownwood and didn't even offer. We may be dispatching his truck but there has to be a line somewhere.

And to wind up my day, I had sent out an e-mail asking all those who were intending to quote on the annual insurances for the company to submit them by e-mail or fax them to me by days end. All but one did. Some are high, some have exclusions. Probably the worst proposal is from our current insurance agent. I had asked her specifically to quote a certain way, yet she quoted mileages that I had not given her and with one company it is one number of power units and with others it is a different number. It isn't like I am comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges. She has mixed the entire proposal. I am very disappointed.

It appears it would cost between $1500 and $2000 dollars for us to keep the little wild man. I guess it will be up to him, if he wants to pay the difference.

Well, I have dawdled long enough. I need to go to the post office and then put some money on a fuel card.

Have a day and weekend!

FATHER thank YOU for all blessings of any size!