After 4 weeks on the road, it feels great to be back at home. Watching FOX news, watching all the bad weather in Texas, Illinois and the Northeast, I can sit on my little porch where it is partially cloudy and 87 degrees. The smell of the orange groves being carried by the warm gulf breezes is marvelous. I would be in the pool, but we are in the initial stages of remodeling and many things around the house will not be usable for some time. I once asked an editor of one of those "travel center" magazines if he ever took a shower at one of his truck stops. I never got an answer. I only bring this up because having the ability to jump out of bed into your own hot shower is truly a luxury. Not having to wait until your "number" is called and told to do this and that with your towel is a very welcome change. Normally, I don't post to the blog when I'm home, but I have some thoughts I want to share with you.
Item #1 - The NJ Governor not wearing his seat belt. NJ hates trucks. The news reported a "truck" ran him off the road. It was a "pick up" not a truck. I don't care what Ford, Toyota or GM says, a pick-up is not a truck. The NJ state police - the ones that looks like "storm troopers" - need to issue the Governor a citation for failure to wear a seat belt. He is lucky to be alive.
Item #2 - As a kid, I could not join the Boy Scouts because of my religion. The same thing happened when I wanted to become part of the Civil Air Patrol. When I moved to NJ, I was told it was too bad I wasn't put in the Nazi ovens in Poland. I was told "my kind" was not welcome when I wanted to be part of the local volunteer fire company. When my wife and I were in Malaysia a kid tried to sell us Nazi jewelry. People I know cannot live their lives as they wish and are treated as second class citizens all in the name of Jesus. Good people in other parts of the world are murdered in the name of Mohammad.
When I open a magazine and see a "member of clergy" write about Jesus and Easter, avoiding the fact that many of their readers don't "celebrate" or believe in Jesus, I get really pissed off. When I was coming home over Alligator Alley (I75) from Ft. Lauderdale to Naples, a car overturned. The road was shut down for over an hour and a medical emergency helicopter had to transport the seriously injured driver to a trauma center.
While waiting, drivers got out of their vehicles to stretch their legs, walk their pets and talk. I looked at the "composition" of the drivers. They were Asians, Mexicans, Cubans, Canadians, Europeans, African-Americans, Jews, Muslims and many others. Next to my truck was a Cadillac Escalade driven by a lesbian couple. All these folks stop at Pilot, Flying J, T/A and all the rest of these "travel centers". They all deserve to be recognized and appreciated. They all don't believe in Jesus or recognize Easter. For a "travel center" magazine to avoid this fact is racist, irresponsible and just plain arrogant and stupid. It is a back handed slap in the face to all other religions and lifestyles. Shame on them and the "editors" who are both prejudice and narrow minded.
Item #3 - Truck driving is a serious business. There are many complicated issues that need to be talked about and resolved. It's not all NASCAR, hunting and Jesus. I will endeavor in this blog - soon to be a website - to continue to address many of these issues. One of these topics is depression. It is not clear how many truck drivers suffer from depression, OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) or severe anxiety. I believe the numbers are high. I will be spending a lot of time attempting to educate my readers about this. If you are having trouble sleeping, eating and concentrating, please talk to your doctor. If you don't have one, get one. Hopefully, you have health insurance - many don't. You or your significant other need to made an appointment. And you need to read the following item, compiled and edited from various sites on the web.
Item #1 - The NJ Governor not wearing his seat belt. NJ hates trucks. The news reported a "truck" ran him off the road. It was a "pick up" not a truck. I don't care what Ford, Toyota or GM says, a pick-up is not a truck. The NJ state police - the ones that looks like "storm troopers" - need to issue the Governor a citation for failure to wear a seat belt. He is lucky to be alive.Item #2 - As a kid, I could not join the Boy Scouts because of my religion. The same thing happened when I wanted to become part of the Civil Air Patrol. When I moved to NJ, I was told it was too bad I wasn't put in the Nazi ovens in Poland. I was told "my kind" was not welcome when I wanted to be part of the local volunteer fire company. When my wife and I were in Malaysia a kid tried to sell us Nazi jewelry. People I know cannot live their lives as they wish and are treated as second class citizens all in the name of Jesus. Good people in other parts of the world are murdered in the name of Mohammad.
When I open a magazine and see a "member of clergy" write about Jesus and Easter, avoiding the fact that many of their readers don't "celebrate" or believe in Jesus, I get really pissed off. When I was coming home over Alligator Alley (I75) from Ft. Lauderdale to Naples, a car overturned. The road was shut down for over an hour and a medical emergency helicopter had to transport the seriously injured driver to a trauma center.
While waiting, drivers got out of their vehicles to stretch their legs, walk their pets and talk. I looked at the "composition" of the drivers. They were Asians, Mexicans, Cubans, Canadians, Europeans, African-Americans, Jews, Muslims and many others. Next to my truck was a Cadillac Escalade driven by a lesbian couple. All these folks stop at Pilot, Flying J, T/A and all the rest of these "travel centers". They all deserve to be recognized and appreciated. They all don't believe in Jesus or recognize Easter. For a "travel center" magazine to avoid this fact is racist, irresponsible and just plain arrogant and stupid. It is a back handed slap in the face to all other religions and lifestyles. Shame on them and the "editors" who are both prejudice and narrow minded.
Item #3 - Truck driving is a serious business. There are many complicated issues that need to be talked about and resolved. It's not all NASCAR, hunting and Jesus. I will endeavor in this blog - soon to be a website - to continue to address many of these issues. One of these topics is depression. It is not clear how many truck drivers suffer from depression, OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) or severe anxiety. I believe the numbers are high. I will be spending a lot of time attempting to educate my readers about this. If you are having trouble sleeping, eating and concentrating, please talk to your doctor. If you don't have one, get one. Hopefully, you have health insurance - many don't. You or your significant other need to made an appointment. And you need to read the following item, compiled and edited from various sites on the web.
Item #4 - John Winter, 1967-2007, morning meteorologist for WFLA-TV, was found dead today at his home in Lithia of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's office reported. Sheriff's deputies and fire rescue responded to his residence on Tealwater Place around 3:30 p.m. when authorities received a call requesting them to check on his welfare, a sheriff's spokesperson said. The deputies knocked on the front door and, when there was no answer, forced their way into the residence. They then heard the sound of a gunshot coming from the garage. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A sheriff's spokesperson said a note was found, but they did not divulge its contents. Winter, who is married, was home alone at the time, the spokesperson said. "Longtime friend Robert Fontaine said that the meteorologist struggled with depression for years. Fontaine wouldn’t discuss further details of the suicide, but he did say he had accompanied the weatherman to visit doctors a few times years ago, noting there was at least one other time he was concerned the forecaster might take his own life. “Individuals need somebody to listen to them, and I think that’s what I was for John,” said Fontaine, an 18-year employee of WFLA (Tampa, FL) who works as a director on the station’s morning and midday newscasts. “I would tell him how I felt … I would share with him my faith … I think that would help John through the dark times … Sometimes, people at work may be smiling and laughing, but inside, they’re hurting.”
