Friday at Pepa's house. Saturday at the farm shop working on trucks. Sunday a combination of working on billing and settlements and going to look over a truck, then to the truck stop to set some stuff up. Monday, back to the farm shop to work on trucks.



Piddly work wears me out.



The majority of my day yesterday was spent replacing an I-bolt and attaching a spring on Pepa's big truck. Got it all on and the hood would not close. After another two hours I had finally achieved my goal. The thing that makes this difficult is these springs are designed to assist in tilting the big hood, and also to help keep it from crashing when you close it.



I would love to meet those engineers.



I had not mentioned it as details are sketchy, but the oldest granddaughter had a car wreck Thursday night. A single vehicle accident while talking on her cell phone, late, late at night. Broken jaw, several teeth broken out, a ruptured ear drum, a fractured elbow and a fractured hand. They did surgery yesterday to set her jaw and to repair her ear drum.



Poor choices.

Rian completed all his revamping on the pulling equipment last night. I can tell he is so excited. I sure hope when he and Jason and Devon and the crew hit the track they can see some improvement! I can't see where what they have done will do anything but help!

The season begins a week from Friday!

I am trying to figure out how to deal with two truck drivers who don't think rationally, who constantly screw up costing money! It would be possible that less is more.

Hopefully, it will all work out.

Have a day!

FATHER, a little help here!

Did you hear that crunch? That was my wrist. You can imagine what the rest of me sounds and feels like.

I had a productive day yesterday. I put the parts on the truck that had been waiting for the last week. I put a wheel seal in a trailer. I put a hime joint on a clutch linkage in another. Started a truck that is waiting for the dollars to accumulate enough to have repairs done to cycle the charging system. Went through tire inventory and found some "prizes".

I got home a little before eight last evening.

Once again, I stripped down in the utility room. I was filthy. I've had more oil and grease on me before, but I think this was a record for dirt and grime!

Krl was in the kitchen, and as I walked through she handed me two percogesics. I asked if these were the biggest she had. She assured me they were. I went directly to the shower without collecting $200 and emerged a half hour later, a new man.

I went directly to the computer to see how my Saturday NCAA picks had fared. Not good. I lost another position inn the rankings. Oh well. I had been aggressive early on and then got pretty conservative. Some of these guys are really aggressive in their picks.

My today picks are wild guesses. I am pulling for Baylor though.

What is with the computers and financial institutions? I went in last night to print truck drivers fuel card reports. There were about four or five days that were O.K., but then there was a ten day window that was absent. I also went to reconcile my checkbook (personal). My balance is way up, yet it shows no deposits.

I should go cash a big check!

Thing is, if these folks ever make a mistake, eventually they will find it.

Yesterday when I finished loading tires from the supply trailer I drove back to the east door on the shop. much to my surprise, there sat Pepa in his pickup. I bet it has been six months since he has made that trip on his own. Rian took him two days after Christmas and a while back he couldn't get out of the car so he and Memama drove around for a while.

Well, I had better get. Have a day!

FATHER,thank YOU for a good day yesterday.

I am ache-y this morning.

I had gone to Roscoe yesterday with plans of putting the one truck I have been waiting on parts for. I finally made it to the shop about six last night.

I ended up working with Hag at Memama and Pepa's. When I arrived, Hag was working in the front bathroom, trying to determine what the problem is with the tub, sink and toilet not draining properly.

It was a train wreck. All day! I won't go into details. You can imagine though if we were on the roof and in the attic, it was a strange project. I would also be tempted to tell you what roofing company not to use in the future!

Well, I surrendered my #1 March Mayhem ranking last night. I missed one game, yet lost the lead by two points. Syracuse messed me up night before last, Tennessee messed me up last night. So, I am #2 with 3 rounds left. Man it gets difficult from here on out. Baylor looked good. They take on Duke. Michigan St. takes on Tennessee. The other two match ups are Kentucky/W. Virginia and Butler/Kansas St..

A guy could go from hero to zero in a blink!

Well, I had hoped for one day off this weekend. Doesn't look like that will happen. I am going to try to reclaim my Friday today, my today will shift to tomorrow and that means I will be a Monday, already behind.

Oh well. Have a day!

FATHER, help me to make good choices.

My head is filled with lots of blog material, yet I am prohibited.

It is pretty bad when someone begins a conversation, this is not blog material.

This has been a difficult week. I am frustrated. I am mad. I am at wits end!

I am almost at the point where the only good truck driver is one that is working for someone else!

Two out of three of Krl's have taken a double dose of stupid this week. That would convert to Krl and I needing to take a quadruple dose of patience.

Krl had one driver who decided to go around a weigh station after he saw the station. Odds are if you can see the weigh station, they can see you! He was stopped, couldn't produce paperwork that I had given him Sunday. This man gets really loud and whiny when he gets frustrated and that is exactly what happened. They kept him three hours.

I would have opted for capital punishment.

Crazy thing is, if the driver is telling the truth he didn't receive any citations.

Then, then same driver began a phone call assault wanting his paycheck he is to receive Monday, today. Last week he wanted it on Saturday. Then he wanted to know if we had direct deposit, ach, wire. Krl told him Monday at 3. The end. But he continued to call. Monday at 3. Final answer.

Today the other problem is calling. He has had more problems than you can shake a stick at. Ever heard of misery loves company. This is a love affair! This man loves to wallow in it!

My goal is to get through the weekend. At least to tomorrow night.

I need to bring a step deck over to pick up forklifts at Anson. My friend K.O. finally got through at the gin. I told him to wash the forklifts down, getting all the mud from the under carriages before I take them back. They are supposed to be returned in the same condition as they were delivered. I am hopeful this isn't where our business goes bad. I leased the forklifts to him at a discounted rate, saving him $400 per month. The other company he leased from in past years required three months in advance. Yikes!

I am so disappointed in Syracuse. Dang the luck. That was the only game I missed last night on my March Mayhem. Luckily, I maintained my #1 ranking in the big country. I also moved up 80 positions in the national rankings. Tonight is so iffie!

Well, I had better get.

Have a day!

Oh FATHER. I am still so struggling.

My momma taught me if you can't say something good don't say anything at all.

See you tomorrow.

Have a day!

FATHER, you know!

A personal note to begin with. I have played the Yahoo Sports Fantasy Pick 'Em the last few years. When the 64 team field is set for the NCAA tourney, you can pick a winner for each contest for every round until you pick a national champion. If you have the perfect bracket, you win one million dollars. If you have the best bracket, you can win $10,000. When you make your picks they are in black print. As each game is played a correct pick turns green and an incorrect pick turns red. My bracket looks like Christmas. I just need to hang a few ornaments and stick an angel on top!

I also played a March Mayhem bracket on the Big Country Home Page. This bracket is a lot more forgiving. You pick round by round. Once again the grand prize for a perfect bracket is one million dollars.

Saturday afternoon I looked at my bracket on Big Country Home Page and I was ranked #11. Saturday night I had moved to #10. Sunday night I checked and was totally surprised, I am #1 in the Big Country. I have already received e-mails from the tourney prize committee telling me I have missed too many picks to qualify for any of the cash prizes. Please realize, for someone who the only other thing they have ever won was the draft lottery, I am still giddy! If I can keep it up for four more rounds, I can retain my ranking. (One note, my number 1 big country rating ranks only 461 in the national contest. Still, 461 our of over 100,000 is still pretty good!).

Autographs are available on request.

I went to lunch today at Memama and Pepa's. I walked in the back door to the aroma of chicken fried steak. Yum! When I walked in the kitchen I was greeted by Memama sitting at the table and Pepa, sitting at the table perched on the electric scooter he acquired over the weekend.

Imagine if you will, a Little Rascal electric scooter parked across the end of the table. Visualize a man sitting in the seat facing forward, his plate at a ninety degree angle from the direction he is facing in a chair that does not swivel. Now imagine the challenge this man would have trying to eat in this geometric malady.

I did not say one nice thing about the acquisition. I still contend it is the last thing Pepa needs. To me it is a statement saying, "I don't want to get better!".

I did have opportunity to ask Memama what role, if any she played in this drama. She said she played none, she made no phone calls. For this I am glad. I asked Memama who she thought would be responsible for loading and securing the scooter while some one else sat on their fat asthma!

I told them I sure wished him luck with the scooter because if he has a problem don't call me!

I did tell Memama that now that Pepa has transportation she can send him to run errands.

Gorgeous day if we could just bridle that wind.

FATHER, I continue to struggle.

Well, my pick 'em bracket is doing much better today. My March mayhem bracket is doing even better because it is more forgiving. you pick round by round in March Mayhem, the other pick 'em you pick all the way through and if one of your main picks goes out in the first round you are so screwed!

I am currently watching Baylor and Old Dominion. Baylor sure is tall! I am cheering for them after all the bad their program has had to recover from. I don't think they will win it all, but I am glad to see them do well.

Pepa had called me yesterday wanting me to go look at a car (actually 3). He has decided he wants to trade their Cadillac. He told me he has to do something before it lays down on them! This statement kind of made me suspicious. When I called the salesman to see what I was going to look at, my suspicion was confirmed.

"Yes, Mr. Freeman, your dad is interested in a Volkswagen Jetta Sports Wagon?", the salesman said.

"You have to be mistaken", I said.

"No sir, he was very specific. Even asked for diesel power. I have three, two silver and one red", the salesman replied.

Immediately, it hit home. Aunt Robbie has offered on several occasions to let Pepa use Uncle Jesse's "little rascal electric scooter". Pepa is scheming and conniving, trying to get set up to haul it.

I told the salesman, "My father is 81 years old. Their car was driven about 500 miles, MAYBE, last month. I am not going to be very supportive of him buying a new vehicle".

I have told Pepa repeatedly the last thing he needs is transportation that requires no effort on his part. He is already too lazy! That is why we were in the hospital. That is why Hag and Kyle just finished a wheelchair ramp at his house.

Bottom line (I think) is, Pepa doesn't want to get any better!

I have said repeatedly I am not sympathetic to someone who doesn't try to help themselves. I am re-enforcing that now.

We may have to have Pepa appointed a guardian. (Heh, heh).

Seriously, I can just see Memama trying to load and secure a scooter while Pepa sits on his fat asthma! Not going to happen. I may get thrown out of the will, but it is not going to happen. Memama is in much better shape than Pepa but needs to do nothing to hasten her becoming more toddly.

Let's compromise. Let's let Memama drive Pepa's pickup pulling a stock trailer and Pepa can mount up and sit on the scooter inside the trailer while in transit. We could have a "western saddle" tooled, complete with seatbelt! We could fit the scooter with a horn that would go "Mooove Over", and paint the scooter like one of those California happy cows! We could give them both CB radios so they could communicate.

They already have the pickup and they have the ostrich trailer (but no ostriches now). Hey, I should be a mediator, negotiator!

Don't say I wasn't willing to meet in the middle!

I called Pepa and told him the car he was looking at is too small to do what he is thinking. It got very quiet when he realized he had been outed. The phone call was very short and to the point.

Krl and I returned from the grocery store amid blowing snow and sleet. And today is the first day of spring?

Yuk. If I find that groundhog I am going to poke it's eyes out so it will never see it's shadow! Enough is enough!

Stay warm and have a day!

FATHER, you certainly surprised me with this weather. Bless this day anyway!

It has been quite a while, but the B.S. meter has tripped again.

I am tired of drivers who can't read (resulting in deliveries or attempted pickups in the wrong towns), and their supervisors who can't follow a plan.

Line 'em up and sell 'em. No reserve.

I would rather live on the street than spend one more day in the misery that so many others apparently revel in.

Add to this a call from the Tom Green County Probation Department looking for the youngest daughter, and I say lock 'em up.

Have a day.

LORD, if you have an excess of lighten bolts .... . . . . . ... you could sure put me out of my misery.

I took the day off yesterday from blogging.


I should have taken it off from everything.


Once again, I want there to be no doubt, I hate daylight savings time. I have not slept good since Saturday, usually spending a large portion of my night tossing and turning. I hate looking at my clock as the alarm goes off. (I set the alarm because I am afraid if I do go to sleep I won't wake up.).


We had a visitor at the parts store yesterday. It was the widow of one of Hag's high school friends. She came in looking for Pat. She had what she called "the amwand". This is a device that appears to be made of machined surgical steel, comprised of minerals and elements of the periodic table. A company in Singapore spent six and a half million dollars developing this wand. She made some statements about the wand bringing "wand-ed" parts of your body back to a base point of zero where a body can heal itself.



I was skeptical, as were most of us in the room. Then she asked me if I had something hurting. My first thought was of my ankle that I twisted when I was thrown from the hydraulic jack this past Saturday (after a day working the counter at the parts store, it is a constant dull pain). She began a clockwise "wand-ing" pattern over my ankle. Although she never touched it, I felt some twinges and by the time she finished with both sides, I felt no discomfort. She worked on Hag's shoulder with the same result.



Pat and I laughed about the true test would be Pepa's knees. The lady volunteered to go wand Pepa's knees and he was so impressed he bought one of these. Even this morning he contends he has relief.


Yesterday Pepa didn't have a very good day. He is in Abilene today for his monthly shots. Pat took him, because Memama went to get her hair cut.


Kyle and Hag began construction on a wheelchair ramp at Pepa's house. Memama got him an extra wide chair and it will only go through the front door. (I think for father's day I am going to the truck stop to buy him some "wide load" signs).


Rian and his family left yesterday for Roaring Springs. Their plan was to spend four days. They were taking the motorhome. Everyone calls Rian "Cousin Eddie" and yesterday he even confessed that he looked like the character from the movie. He was such a red neck he had his gas grill strapped to the back of the RV.


Just minutes ago I got a call from Rian's phone telling me they were headed home. Everything that could go wrong had gone wrong. The plug burned up on their RV electric cord. If I understood correctly, Rian was attacked by a cat, and also if I understood correctly, he had backed into a tree with their gas grill (strapped to the back of the RV). Lubbock by mid-day.

Remind me to never mention the trucks doing well because that was a curse. One driver delivered to the wrong location and another had an alternator belt problem and only had a pair of pliers to try to do the repairs. A third driver is trying to position himself to be home for a long weekend tomorrow so he can go to San Antonio for a Mexican music festival.

Interesting evening at the house. Trc came back after working there in the office all day. We had purchased a couple more WalMart "shared" pre-paid Visa cards that we use for fueling the trucks. She went on-line to activate them while I was in the office to help her. Turned out she couldn't do it on line and had to call them to activate. When they asked if she wanted a second card she told them, "That would be the reason I bought the shared cards". The customer service rep asked what names Trc wanted on the card. Trc told her, "lynlee 242". No numbers said the lady. "Then spell it out", Trc said, "two forty two". The lady acknowledged and completed the transaction. Before the rep could get off Trc told her I have another card to activate. When asked what name she wanted on the second card, Trc said, "lynlee two twenty-two". The rep could not help but ask Trc whose cards these were and why they would name their kids with numbers.

If I had been on my best game I would have told Trc to tell her, "just feel lucky that we already have from #223 to #241's cards!

I am dreading my tomorrow and Saturday. I have much work to do.

Have a day!

FATHER, I am struggling today. Forgive me.

Pepa report.

I had lunch at Memama and Pepa's today. First time in over three weeks. Pepa got out of his chair with no assistance, not even his lift chair, and he walked with his walker to the kitchen table, and sat down and ate lunch. After lunch he got up, walked through the living room to his bathroom, returned to his chair and sat down.

Excellent.

Things have been interesting lately. More on this when I decide what to say.

I talked with E in South Texas today and he told me he was through planting and that everyone else was either planting or done. It appears cotton acreage is up due to new numbers released last week. Milo carry over is bigger, cotton carry over is smaller than anticipated. Milo acres and price settled lower and cotton prices and acres rallied higher.

E told me the potential is definitely there for a good year.

I am hopeful.

Pat is puny today. Apparently a stomach bug. Yuk, I don't need that.

The trucks are going so well I am afraid to mention them.

And, Rian got the econo tractor fired today. New heads, lifters, intake, and carburetor. He also threw in a starter after the engine kicked back and broke the snout of the old one. He is ordering a new magneto, but now it is scheduled to return to Roscoe where Jason and Devon will swap tires and do the weld on hubs. The new engine combination has clearances so tight he is already indexing his plugs and may have to use washer spaces to keep from closing the plug gaps.

I have to tell you a story about Rian's day yesterday. He called, telling me he had too much help. All three boys. Reid, the oldest, was running around the pickup and slipped and fell int he mud and water. Holt, the middle one, thought it was funny to lock his brother out of the pickup. Drew, the baby, rolled down the off-side window with out his Dad's knowledge and the seat and carpet got soaked. All this while Rian was trying to put the started on the tractor. He called me to vent, telling me, "Too much help is worse than not enough!" Just as he said this I could hear Reid. "Dad, Holt peed his pants!", he said. "Holt Ryland Freeman! Did you pee your pants?", Rian asked loudly. There was a very feeble affirmative answer by Holt. "That makes me so mad!", Rian said.

Today when Rian called he had just left the eye doctors and was heading home to change clothes before going to work on the pull tractor. I asked him if he had any help today. He told me he did, but it wasn't the same help as yesterday, it was good help. His friend Kyle Brown.

Without Rian knowing, I called Kyle and propositioned him. "Kyle, you are aware of Rian's day yesterday with the boys helping him?", I asked.

"Yes", he replied.

"When you meet Rian, tell him I offered you $20 to pee your pants. Tell him for $50 you won't", I said. He laughed and told me O.K..

When Rian called me he still failed to see the humor in our little inside joke!

Have a day.

FATHER, thank YOU for YOUR gift of laughter, and for all blessings, big and small.

What happened to my weekend?

I hate the time change.

Do I have an attitude problem?

You betcha!

Towards Sunday morning I had dragged my aching body to my bathroom where I scrounged for some type of pain relief. Tylenol, Advil, Aspirin, Percogesic. I did not care. After a while I got comfortable enough to go back to bed and to sleep.

My Sunday was consumed by driver settlements and billing. To be honest, I am not through. The printer ran out of ink. Everything is done, everything is saved, when I go get ink it should take maybe thirty minutes to print and assemble the billing.

Did I mention I hate money?

Well add that to my list!

I had promised to go the grocery store. By the time I finally did it was after seven in the evening! by the time I had done the shopping and hauled the groceries into the house, my ankle (from my Saturday stunt) was really bothering me!

Did I say I hate this time change?

That may be a mild statement.

I have a Monday list. Darn it.

Ink. Print billing. Go to Peterbilt to check on parts. Meet a truck driver at the farm shop to replace a wheel seal. And that is before my phone has rung even once.

I am sure that list will change and expand.

I talked with Pepa. His line is everything is good. Conversations with Pat and Memama revealed that while Pepa is doing pretty good, he could do much better.

Home health care came by Saturday and re-enrolled him. They will check on him and do rehab work with him three days a week.

Sources tell me Jason and Devon go by there each night and put Pepa to bed. Of course this revelation has been omitted by Pepa.

I can't help but think Pepa has only bought a little time. If he doesn't "work" (meaning rehab) he will end up exactly where he was four weeks ago. And, odds of him rebounding again are slim.

I talked with my sister in Indiana and she told me she was a grandmother again. That would make me an uncle again and Pepa would be a great grandfather again.

I did my NCAA men's basketball pick 'em this morning. I picked Syracuse to win it all. A few months ago I would have stuck with the orange color but it would have been Texas.

I guess Yahoo buys an insurance policy for a perfect bracket. They say you can win a million dollars with a perfect bracket. $10,000 for the best bracket entered.

I don't expect to win anything, but it is fun to do. I find myself too sentimental on some picks and cheering for David to knock off Goliath on others. Yep, I am king of the upset picker.

It would have probably been more productive if I had picked my nose.

Oh well. You know what they say. You can't win if you don't play. And if they knew who was going to win they wouldn't play it.

Have a day! Here is to getting Monday over with and hoping there is only one in this week!

FATHER, I Pray for relief. I pray for healing. I pray that I will make good decisions. Bless this day and this week.

Ouch!

I am hurting all over.

I went to the north side yesterday to do some work on a truck. It all started out as a simple air brake chamber R & R. Of course nothing is simple in my life.

The faulty brake chamber ended up being a long stroke, long rod chamber. The one I had in my vehicle was not. After a trip to the east side and three stops, I had the parts I needed. I returned, only to find the chamber was clocked wrong. It is not a problem if you have access to the correct tools (which I didn't). I drove to Roscoe to the farm shop where I helped another truck driver do some tire work, I clocked the brake chamber, and I changed vehicles into my pickup and hooked up the service trailer. I returned to Abilene with tires too!

Two hours later, we were doing simple checks and preventative maintenance.

I'm not as young as I once was. That is for sure.

I think it even hurts to type today.

My biggest flub of the day was after the majority of the work was done and we were picking up tools and parts. We had pulled the jack from under the trailer and I stepped on top of the ram to force it down. The jack was not sitting level and rolled out from under me, flipping me on my head. If I had landed any where else it might have hurt me.

Actually, my left ankle is telling me it rolled under when the jack fell over.

I'll live. I may not want to, but I will.

On Friday Pepa came home from the hospital. I called mid afternoon just to check. I talked with Pat and I could not tell if she was laughing or crying. I asked and she replied, "a little of both". She said Pepa's new lift chair had "thrown him".

Have a day!

FATHER, rest and renew me.

I was really snoozing when the telephone began ringing this morning.

Krl is busy looking for two return loads from Houston.

I have been reading the newspaper, retrieving voice mails and talking on my cell.

While the day has jumped off to a quick start, my first two phone calls yielded very good news.

The first was to Memama to check on their night at the hospital. She told me Pepa was eating breakfast and the doctor had already been by and told them he was sending them home.

Hooray! 22 days is enough!

The other call was from Memama's tax attorney. For those of you who don't know what is going on, Memama had innocently signed a quarterly tax report as "book keeper" several years after they had ceased participation in the family business. I am not sure why, but she did. The United States Treasury had sent agents to see her and they were pursuing her for some taxes that had been sent for deposit at Transportation Alliance Bank in Ogden, but the bank did not deposit them. (I have always said the banker was the one at fault. I still do.). If anything will get your attention it is a Treasury agent at our doorstep trying to collect $1.3M.

Memama's tax attorney told me that this week he had gone to a hearing on the final part of the Treasury case against Memama. At that hearing, the only pending item was dismissed.

Thank goodness.

I gave Memama's tax attorney the hospital number so he could call her. I thought since he did the work he deserved to be the one to tell her the news.

I still can't believe that we had snow in the panhandle yesterday.

I am so ready for spring.

I also can't believe daylight savings time begins Sunday. Yuk!

Have a day.

FATHER, thank YOU!

Update.

Pepa refused to work with the physical therapist today. He walked to his hospital room door and quit.

That makes me so mad I can't see straight.

I have decided the man doesn't want to go home.

Memama said if the doctor didn't let them go home tomorrow she would just cry.

I told her to go home. Pepa knows what the doctor wants and expects before he will release him to home.

I vote for the nursing home.

Is this week over yet?

I am so tired, yet I have so much to do.

Yesterday I left the parts store early (I did not leave the store at lunch). I stopped by the hospital to check on Memama and Pepa. Then I went to Rush Peterbilt to get some parts for Jason. Then to Abilene Regional to check on Donal Wayne. Then to Walgreen's. Finally I headed home but got a call before I got there that made it necessary to go back to the truck stop at Tye.

When I walked in the door and sat down in my chair, it was 8:44.

Krl had prepared my favorite meal. I always appreciate it any time, but I bet it would have been much better earlier in the evening. It is also proving to be more difficult to get Krl to eat late.

All I am going to say is truck drivers are worse than small children.

This morning is the day we import donuts to the store. (O.K., I pick them up in
Abilene at AM Donuts and Croissants). I picked up croissant kolaches for Memama and Pepa, then stopped and got a golden arches coffee for Memama. If they stay in the hospital much longer I expect to see her looking down the hall for her morning coffee and treat!

As it stands right now, the doctor is planning on letting Pepa go home tomorrow! After a horrid Monday, Pepa has put together two really good days working with therapy. They removed his catheter yesterday and all his plumbing is working normally, so that is good.

I think it finally hit home with Pepa that he was going to have to work to get to go home.

Donal Wayne is looking much better. They have moved him down the hall in order for him to do more therapy. He has always recognized me and always asks about the parts store. It appears some of his motor skills have suffered from his time in ICU. I think everything will be all right, it just is goingn to take some time.

I do know that Memama and Maretha look tired.

Cousin Tim was there last night, taking care of his Dad. Donal is not eating very well so Tim had brought tacos, hoping they would be a breakthrough.

When I left, I told Uncle Donal if he continued to improve I would entice him with "Ma Allens". (That is one of his favorite places).

Krl went to bed before me last night. In fact, I really don't remember pulling the cover up when I lay down. I slept like a rock until 4 this morning and woke with one of those episodes. First one in a while.

Have a day!

FATHER, bless this day. Bless our efforts. For YOUR love FATHER, I am thankful!

As poor a day as Pepa had Monday, he had that good a day Tuesday.

I am sure he felt beat up and abused. Pat and I both had been very blunt with him.

Memama's description of Tuesday was "Pepa has out done himself all day long!"

The last two days I have taken Memama coffee and a sausage burrito and or a sausage biscuit from the "golden arches dinner club". She seems so tired.

I talked with Rian last evening and he and the two oldest boys were on their way to a horse auction. This morning Holt wants to buy a goat to put in their backyard so Sadie will have someone to play with.

I can remember when Rian was little I brought a calf home that the momma cow would not let nurse. It was about thirty miles to the pasture and I was going there to feed it twice a day. Finally I brought "Bruno" home and put him in the back yard of our house at Roscoe. I think Bruno thought he was a dog.

You know, it could be the Bruno influence that made Rian what he has turned out to be. Ha!

March. West Texas. Wind! 'nuff said.

I can't wait for April.

I have had two fitful nights this week. Last night it was 1:41 when I woke. The last time I allowed myself to look at the clock it was 3:31. I did finally go back to sleep, dreaming some of the weirdest dreams you can imagine. One involved the physician's assistant at my dermatologist's office chasing me through their complex trying to extricate more biopsies.

I told you, weird.

I talked with Pat for a moment this morning. She was arriving at Pepa's room, I was leaving. We talked briefly about Facebook and I told her I was amazed at the time you can put into maintaining your page.

Rian has tried to explain some of the things about Facebook but I have much to learn.

Have a day!

FATHER, I could use just a little bit extra "Umphh" today!

At 1:38 yesterday I got an inspection sticker on the truck I had been working on.

It was bitter sweet.

Ironically, the inspector who rejected the vehicle last Wednesday passed it yesterday. He walked by the steering linkage and said, "I am sure glad you replaced that joint!" I hadn't. It just goes to show the inconsistencies.

We are in the process of becoming an inspection station here at the parts store. I don't intend to be a push over, but I also intend to inspect with a little common sense.

Safety is safety. But excess is still excess.

I guess what I am trying to say is I don't intend to abuse my position.

The truck I had been working on off loaded in Pasadena this morning. Outside of a couple of things the driver was pretty pleased. Of course he has a brief wish list (which I knew he would). He wants an am/fm radio CD player (this truck still is equipped with cassette player). He needs a sight glass for an oiler, and he needs a plug for the trailer pigtail on the back of the truck.

I am hopeful this satisfies him and the truck can run "uneventfully" and make a little money to pull back in the black. After last week's repair bill for the little wild man working on it, it is in the hole $591 and some change.

Yesterday was not a good day for Pepa in the hospital. He went for his morning walk with the therapist and came back riding on his rolling walker. In the afternoon he flat refused to walk.

When I stopped by the hospital this morning Pepa was having breakfast. I had stopped and got Memama a cup of coffee and a sausage biscuit. I told Pepa I did not reward him because I don't reward non-performance.

Pepa told me the doctor was not happy with his work yesterday and told him if it continued he would have no choice but to release him to a nursing facility.

I think Pepa thinks the doctor is bluffing.

Pepa told me his feet were swollen and he has aches and pains. I told him these were the parts we were going to have to work with so it does no good to gripe.

I think I was wrong in my calculations previously. Pepa is 18 days into his total possible days (hospital and swing bed days) of 34.

I told Memama this morning that there were several people she would car pool to and from the nursing home with. Even a couple of near widowers!

Pat says she is afraid that if Pepa goes to a nursing facility he will never come home.

I say what transpires next is up to Pepa!

I had a message from Holt yesterday wanting me to explain why he couldn't go hunting when it was raining. I guess he thought I was the proper choice to deal with his Dad because I use to be the boss of him!

Holt sure is interested in guns. He may grow up to be a criminal. Just kidding.

Have a day!

FATHER, I am thankful the truck repair is complete. Thanks for giving me the patience and guidance to do the work. I ask that YOU refresh and renew me. Help us to make good decisions. YOU are good!

For whatever reasons, I have seemed to struggle lately. It seems my emotions are a roiling brew in a big pot. Fred, Terri, work, the other work, money. You name it!

I had an individual last week that had met two of Terri's off-spring and was asking me some questions about what Terri was like. I finally told him Terri was like the biggest baddest belly laugh you would ever experience.

Since then I have thought about it often and I am very comfortable with that description or maybe I would just modify it to "laughter". The girl loved to laugh and have fun. She was an "impulse buy" marketeer's dream come true. Middle of the night excursions to Abilene and the all night stores (when they lived in Roscoe).

No matter what her kids get into, they come by it naturally.

As unconventional as she was as a parent, her family never had to doubt her love and affection for them.

Let's all have a big belly laugh today in Terri's honor. She would be pleased.

I spent a large portion of my night fighting muscle cramps in my leg. It is like when I relieved one side the other began to cramp. Yuk.

I did make one observation during the night. As I watched the little houndgirls as they positioned and re-positioned, I discovered I am the little fat hound in the box that all the others crawl over and around and cuddle with for warmth and comfort.

I'm wondering if I should be flattered.

Have a day.

FATHER, I could sure use some help today. I ask that YOU lift me and guide me. Inspire me. Fill me with YOU!

For those of you who know I have made a foray into the social web pages, bear with me. I will figure it out. Who would have known you have to confirm someone to be a friend?

I guess I have matured with age. At least enough to know that I can sometimes be my own worst enemy.

While working on Pepa's truck, I would love to hop in there and go "hell's bells" and be done with it, but most often haste makes waste. Projects like this can't be rushed.

First of all it is underneath a oily, greasy, nasty, big truck. It is close to the ground and everything is so tightly placed you can't reach every bolt or nut you need to access. On Friday it took 7 hours just to get the exhaust pieces out from under this truck. It may not mean anything to most of you, but the exhaust is routed between the cab floor and the chassis and runs parallel to the frame between the fuel tank and the frame rail.

I found I am either top tall or too short and my arms are way too short.

I knew this project would be a challenge. That is the reason When I first arrived at the scene I petitioned the master mechanic upstairs for patience and insight as to how to best do the job.

Twelve hours after starting, that part of the project is done.

I was so thankful that late yesterday Jason's driver Kenny was at the shop, and Jason arrived later in the afternoon. My last project "under" the truck was to re-install the drive line. I would say the drive-line probably weighs three hundred pounds. I was using a jack to lift it as I bolted the u-joint back in place. Then it should have been simple to jack the carrier bearing into place and bolt it. Not so. The jack was about four inches short. Finally Jason got me a jack stand and we sat the drive line on it and scotched the jack with boards to lift it in place.

Jason got underneath and helped me start the last two bolts. It was extremely sweet to toss all my tools out from under the truck and crawl out for one final time.

The we moved to a vertical muffler located behind the cab, which had two mounts broken (they are required). If I can find the parts Monday I think it will only take a hour or two to finish.

I can now admit that at times it became very claustrophobic under that truck, especially if the air suspension was leaking down.

I may never be the same.

Krl may not either. Both nights, Friday and Saturday I was marched directly to the utility room where I stripped down. My clothes were so greasy Krl would only grab them from the inside.

Pretty bad!

I was talking to Memama and she was being sympathetic to my plight but I told her I felt it was a blessing to have the aptitude to fix something. It would be a waste not to use it.

I will admit I am so sore. My back. My hips. My shoulders. Even my head! (O.K., that one is my fault, I raised up at the wrong time and busted my head open. It is so sore I can hardly wash and comb my hair).

Time marches on. And so does age. I am beginning to think arthritis is setting in.

I just saw a piece on television about the Varsity Drive-in in Atlanta. It is the world's largest, accommodating 600 cars at one time and making over two miles of hot dogs daily. The clerks taking your order at the cash register are like carnival barker/auctioneers rolled into one. It is an experience, one that I had with the Boys Club many summers ago. It actually resembles a multi level parking garage. (I am not sure but they used to only serve Coca Cola, which is also home based in Atlanta.).

And finally, Happy Birthday Memama. #79. I talked with her earlier this morning. She continues to sit with Pepa at the hospital. Not my idea of a perfect birthday. Robbie and Wade and Judy came in Friday for the annual birthday visit (Wade's is on the 14th).

Pepa continues to do better. This is day 17. Currently they are trying to strengthen him so hopefully he can go home mid week.

Pat was a hostess for a baby shower in Lubbock this weekend so we had called and asked Coach if he or some of his family could relieve Memama for a couple of hours Saturday (To allow her to go home and bathe and change clothes). Coach was busy but Jani and Kelsi came in, in fact they spent the night at Memama and Pepa's.

Rian has 90 kids at a spring retreat this weekend.

Have a day!

FATHER, thank YOU for blessing me with skills to fix things. Thank YOU for the patience you have given me on my project. Thank YOU for the progress I have made. I lift up Memama for YOUR blessings as we celebrate her birthday today. Bless-ed assurance!

This entire week has been frantic, on edge, and stressful.

Employee problems marked the first couple of days. Equipment problems marked the last couple.

The little wild man lost the clutch in his truck and right now the funds are not available to have the clutch put in, much less buy the parts and us put in in. I figured the easiest fix was to put this driver in one of Pepa's trucks.

The man who had driven this truck for a couple of years was a junkyard mechanic. Although he didn't complain, he would usually try to "fix" whatever needed fixing, however unorthodox that repair might be. This truck needed an inspection sticker and I figured a couple of hours, a half day at max would get everything into compliance.

Wrong. The little wild man has worked three days on it non-stop and it still wouldn't pass.

I am currently waiting on exhaust parts, then I think it will pass.

I will admit I was a little embarrassed when we did present it for inspection and the inspector went into the pit under the truck, then returned to summon the driver. "Come look at this", the inspector said.

When the truck driver and I talked, he told me there were patches made on the exhaust with beer cans and hose clamps!

I was surprised. Actually this is very dangerous. I would hate to have a driver lay down and be overcome with carbon monoxide.

I am hopeful that repairs can be made and the elusive inspection on by days end.

Pepa's doctor is very pleased with his ambulatory improvements. However, he is very concerned that Pepa doesn't have the strength to get out of bed or out of a chair by himself. The doctor has said if at the end of the swing bed days Pepa still can't get out of bed or out of a chair by himself, the doctor will have no option but to release him to a skilled facility or Memama and Pepa would have to have an around the clock nurse who could "physically handle" him.

Pepa starts shaking his head no the minute his physical therapist walks in the door. He tells me she is little, but stout as an ox and meaner than a rattlesnake! She took Pepa on a 135 step walk.

Rian called me yesterday evening (while I sat with Pepa for a couple of hours while Pat took Memama to wash and do her hair). I could tell something was wrong immediately. He told me they had just concluded a mandatory staff and faculty meeting where they announced that Rian's friend and mentor, Jimmy, was being moved to an assistant principal position at Estacado High School.

I asked Rian is this had anything to do with Dunbar's being deemed un-acceptable. He told me he didn't think so. However, Estacado and Dunbar both share that distinction. If I understand correctly the new Estacado Principal is retiring as a deputy superintendent but agreed to take the building principal job to turn the school around. Rian said this man is extremely strong in academics and instruction.

The new Dunbar Principal is coming from one of its feeder elementary schools that has held an exemplary rating.

Rian is a little un-settled because Jimmy is who recruited and hired him to join his team.

Town hall meeting began yesterday at the elementary school and the first domino fell, then moved to Dunbar before finishing last night at Estacado. Rian said last night's meeting really placed the new superintendent on the hot seat as many parents attended and had questions for her. The lady must know what she is doing because when she was a deputy superintendent in Houston they went from 24 exemplary schools to over 200.

My advice to Rian is to keep his eyes and ears open, he can probably learn a lot!

Well, my parts man just called me. I gotta get!

Have a day!

FATHER, please bless this day. May my labor be productive, may my solutions work. To YOU is the glory!

Two Mondays in this week so far. The second was worse than the first.

Yesterday was a day emphasized with "stupid".

At just minutes after six I had a message from a driver telling me he had lost part of his equipment, yet he did not know where or when. This is the same truck driver who I had caught in a lie last week. Although I quizzed him about checking his equipment, his answer was less than believable.

This same driver off loaded and was scheduled to re-load in Rule. The next time he called Krl he was telling her they had no record of the load number she had given him. Turns out he went to Ralls.

Stupid.

He drove 222 miles to get to Rule instead of 68, and he missed his load time and had to lay over. He was dispatched for the week so he has majorly screwed up!

The woman I live with was so mad. And rightly so.

This driver has evaded talking to me because it may depend on how penitent he is as to whether he keeps his job. If he wants us to accept stupid he will own his walking papers.

It is crazy, but the equipment I had serious questions about going back on the road has been a very pleasant surprise. Best part is, the driver is extremely happy with it!

Yes!

I had an interesting thing happen on my way to work today. I was driving the Explorer and was between Trent and Merkel when all the sudden I felt my seat belts tightening and I was coming closer to the roof of the vehicle. I had slightly re-adjusted myself in the seat when this occurred. Immediately I began searching for the seat control but could not locate it. Finally I discovered that my seat belt had perfectly covered the control switch and caused the malfunction.

I couldn't help but laugh! I wonder if my eyes had begun to bulge.

Pepa ran out of medicaid medicare days yesterday so the doctor had to make a decision. He chose not to sent him home but to move him into the swing bed side of medicare medicaid billing. That gives Pepa 20 more days of confinement possible.

Needless to say Memama was frustrated. Pepa was pissed. He told that doctor "a grown man should be able to do what ever he wants to". The doctor agreed but added, "as long as that grown man can do what he needs to do".

The doctor told Pepa that he could not let him go home in a condition Memama can't handle him. In other words, "get off your butt and walk!" Pepa is back to complaining about his knees and of course being flat on his back has not helped his knees at all. No mobility has made it even more painful for him to walk.

The ball is in his court. No one can do it for him.

I checked on Donal Wayne. He has a blood clot in one leg. They had thought they were were going to do surgery on it yesterday, but for some reason they omitted him from the surgery schedule. So they are doing the procedure today. I was very pleased last evening as I got to visit with Donal and he was quizzing me about the parts store.

I am hopeful the improving trend continues.

Have a day!

FATHER, I pray for relief. I pray for rescue. For I know who I have believ-ed.

I had told Krl's new truck driver (She refers to him as my new truck driver. Apparently neither of us wants to assume any blame for the next time he messes up.), to meet me at the farm shop at Roscoe at 8:00 this morning. I will admit I had dragged my feet a little, just to make sure he had no trouble getting the big Kenworth truck motivated. I was stopping at Bruckner's to pick up the little Peterbilt that had been last weeks project truck.

Just as I stopped at a light on Buffalo Gap Road, my phone rang. It was this driver. I was afraid he was having a problem, however he was already at the shop. "What do I do while I wait on you?" I think this is going to be this man's big problem. He doesn't listen. He reminds me a lot of the little wild man a year ago. He decides what he wants to happen then tries to make it happen.

I picked the truck up at Bruckner's then stopped to fuel it. What a blessing it turned out to be when it only held 52 gallons. The way my luck has run lately I expected it to only have 52 gallons and have to be filled with 248. For those of you who didn't figure it, that would mean close to $700 to fuel it! I didn't hardly flinch when the clerk told me $147.01.

Just call me crazy.

For some reason, this is the little truck I always end up driving. When you are the supervisor or boss you usually end up driving the oldest equipment of something no one else wants to drive. However, I have always enjoyed driving this little truck. Last week the little wild man had driven this truck to the shop to have windshields put in it and he told me he would not drive that truck. He said it bounced and rode rough. I wanted to drive it myself to see what the deal was. The truck rode like a truck bob-tailing with no trailer. Very few of them ride good bobtail. I was pleasantly surprised to find the little wild man cried wolf once again.

I arrived at the farm shop just as it began to snow. Dang the luck. We swapped the trucks out and put the Peterbilt and it's trailer in the shop to install a bulkhead on the trailer and swap a tire out. In short order we had him back on the road.

Keep your fingers crossed for me. It has been a year since this little truck was on the road. It has always been a pleasant surprise and I only hope it continues to be.

After that driver left, the little wild man and I developed a plan to get Pepa's Black Volvo truck to the farm shop. Since the little wild man's truck is down I figured I would put him in this truck. Recently Pepa had Jason put new batteries on this truck but for some reason they have failed to keep a charge. First order of business was to pull the batteries off and put them on the battery charger.

When we arrived at the truck, the little wild man got busy while I got in Pepa's pickup to go to the hospital and check on Pepa. I ran a couple of errands, then met "TLWM" and he drove me back to Bruckner's to get my explorer. From there it was back to the house to get my tax reporting in envelopes and in to the mail.

Pepa is doing well. They put him back on a solid diet, and Memama read what the doctor said to mean they might go home Wednesday.

We will hope.

Hope your day was a good one!

We'll have another one tomorrow!

FATHER thank YOU for bringing my day together. Help me to make good decisions. To YOU be the glory!