Date: Tuesday, July 20, 2004 7:27 PM                          

Subject: Ramblings of an Ole Log Trucker

Hey Everybody Biskit here how ya doing...

We was sittin at the truckers table down at the coffee shop the other day. Ole Toe and a Half and Jimmy Sturgeon and I, we was havin a cup of coffee and buttern up a nice fat biskit, an the subject of money came up, Ole Toe and a Half said, Biskit you remember the good ole days when a guy could make a good livin hauling logs with out half killin him self to do it? I said yea dem were the good ole days had a few bucks in the ole pocket, but now days you gotta do 1 of 3 things to make it or you just plain ole outa luck. 1st of all you gotta haul heavy to make up for the low rates, that way you makin the money you should be gettin. 2nd ya gotta drive 70 miles an hour so you can get that extra trip in. Extra load a day means maybe you can get a new tire come payday. 3rd ya gotta work 16 hours a day to get that extra load in. Jimmy chimed in and said, I just ain't as young as I used to be, It just gets harder and harder to make it. I said yea you ani't tellin me nothin. Me and miss kitty been runnin up and down the same road so long we got our own groove wore in it. Ole Toe and a Half just sat there shakin his head, he knew what was goin on. They just keep workin us harder and harder till were all used up, but ya know what, there ain't no youngins out there to take our place. They too smart for that theres better work for more pay and benifits too. You got a youngin or two thats a big deal with the Missus. She don't under stand when you say, the ole truck needs a new set of brakes and she says the kids need school clothes. I just sat there rememberin those days and thankin god me and miss kitty were in our prime then. Hey Marge how bout another cup of joe and bring me another biskit I still have a little jelly in this little plastic thingy. Marge has been waitressin almost as long as we been haulin logs. It's nice to sit down after a long day and have some one say well Biskit howd your day go. Well thats about all I gotta say on the subject. Saw that web site for the Log truckers association and thought I'd e-mail ya and give my two cents worth on whats going on, down in our part of the country. May be next time I'll tell ya how ole Toe and a Half got his name. HEE HEE thats a hoot of a story. Till then it's just been the