Attention all units. We have a missing thumb drive in our house. Put out an APB!

I have a USB thumb drive (storage device) that I have had since 2008. It is sizable storage, being the equivalent of nearly 1800 floppy discs. On this disc, I have billing, payrolls, contract proposals, tax deposit info, wage reporting, W-2, 1099, and all sorts of other info. For a long long time I carried this device in my pocket, but earlier this year I began leaving it in a small basket on Krl's desk.

We have not needed it since we lapsed our authority and leased the trucks on with my friend until yesterday. And it is no where to be found!

With the DOT audit Thursday, this is a major handicap. I have had to do estimates on miles and earnings, as well as separation dates for employees.

I know it will show up. I keep telling Krl to take a break, and come back to the search that it will appear and is probably in broad daylight!

I don't want to admit it, but I am stressing about the audit. This will be five of these I have been a part of and none of them are fun. Thing is, when the auditor walks through the door, they know exactly what they are looking for. It usually takes them a while to put you through the wringer and ask for it! At the family business we went through a week long audit and it came down to the last day that they lowered the boom.

The biggest problem with this business is tremendous exposure through employees. Not only on the roadways, but through their paperwork. The carrier is held accountable for vehicle inspections and daily driving logs of the drivers. One of the many perils is what they call a false log. A driver puts down where he wanted to be instead of where he was. When auditors come in they look at fuel times, loading and unloading times and cross reference all the above. They haven't invented a truck driver who can fool the system for very long on all the fronts.

But that doesn't keep them from trying! Try as I might, I don't catch all their indiscretions.

I am going to Roscoe today. Maybe a little R & R is in order. (Along with some banking).

Four days in the Ollie count!

Good reports for Betsy and Ellen. Betsy has walked with a walker and is working with her occupational therapist while Ellen attended the winter formal. I sent Ellen a message asking her, "Hey hop along how u b?" I was setting her up to ask her if they played hip hop music! (That would be fitting with her hip hopping around.).

Well, I'm going to try to get a nap.

Have a day!

FATHER, lift me up!