What an interesting week this has been. The news media says we’re all demoralized. Are you demoralized? I’m not. Well, maybe a little. But, I think I can get over it. Winning the lottery would help. Knees without pain would be nice. Of course, a $50K a year job that I love would also be just peachy. I would even consider going back on the road, if the deal was right. Hey, I’d be really happy if Oklahoma would start sending me my unemployment checks. Now that would be great.
But, everyone else, hum, I don’t know. It’s very different when you’re working versus when you’re unemployed. I remember tooling down the highway with a load of something on my trailer and listening to the depressing news thinking, wow, gee, at least I have a job. I may not have liked the job, but I had a job. But, not having a job is obviously something very different. Having no money coming in, now that’s demoralizing.
I woke up yesterday having my usual morning panic attack. The alternator in my wife’s car burnt out just after we had dinner at CiCi’s (cheap pizza buffet) and that $250 “expense” kind of put me over the edge. But, here’s what I decided. The best way to deal with this is simply to decide to be successful. No details, just successful. Yes, I’m now going to just reek success. How I intend to back it up, well, I’m not just sure yet. I do know this however, everybody around me is just going to have to start to get their act together, because they’re now dealing with a successful person.
As a success, I think I’m going to have to change what I eat for breakfast. Ever hear of Medjool dates? The “king” of the fruits. Supposedly high in fiber and potassium - fat and cholesterol free – no sugars or sweeteners. Have them with a banana and some coffee and you’ve got yourself one heck of a successful breakfast. I haven’t figured out what successful lunch and dinner I’ll have, but I’m working on it and I’ll let you know.
Let’s forget about me and talk about the nation. We lost our AAA credit rating, we still have no viable national health care program, our troops are getting their butts kicked around in Afghanistan, we launched a supersonic aircraft/missile prototype and it crashed, we are deeply in debt, we have a President that is about to go on vacation, the Congress is useless and Project Runway is in its 9th season. Offshore, China launched it first aircraft carrier, the European economy is a mess, London is recovering from “social media” riots while their police did nothing, children in Somalia are starving, and Al Qaeda is reportedly trying to build biological weapons.
So how are we all feeling? What about trucking you ask? Hum. Well, let’s see. What’s this. My TWIC card. I don’t have much use for it now. FOX NEWS reports that, “In the 10 years since the Sept. 11 attacks, the Federal government has spent $2.5 BILLION on a sweeping security overhaul at U.S. seaports from Seattle to New Orleans to Eastport, Maine, paying for everything from perimeter fencing to motion sensors and training for security officers. Federal agencies with a direct role in safeguarding seaports, namely the Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection, have added whopping sums such as $420 MILLION for a unified ID card system for 1.6 million truck drivers, longshoreman and other port workers nationwide.”
Do you pick-up freight from ports? I used to. It was terrible. A ship full of cheap lumber ripped from the rain forests of Brazil, loaded on a rusty old Liberian freighter, comes into a port South of Tampa. It’s a one ship pony port. The cargo is less than a 100 yards from where you pull in and it takes hours to get. It was always a disorganized mess, and is even more so now.
That’s because, the port authority got boo-coo bucks – our tax dollars – to erect a security building that was unnecessary, hired security people that are clueless as to efficiency and installed a useless TWIC check system – all to get a load of cheap Brazilian lumber that undercuts U.S. businesses and puts local people out of work.
Now there’s a reason to be demoralized. Do you know what FUBAR is? That is the state of our union right now. But, I promised to be successful, despite it all. Wow, did I really say that? It’s a tall order. Listen, before I close, a word about what’s going on in Iowa. I said on Facebook that the circus has come to town. Let me quote what The New York Times said yesterday, “In full public view, the (Republican) party’s mainstream jumped the tracks of reality on issues of spending and taxes, brightly illustrating the ruinous magical thinking that has led to the downgrade of the nation’s credit and invited a double-dip recession. When asked if they would reject a deal to cut the deficit that had 10 times the amount of spending cuts as it had tax increases, the hands of all eight candidates went up. Even a tincture of new revenue, though mixed with huge cuts in government spending, would be too much for the modern Republican party.”
Bottom line, both the nation and trucking need new leadership. God knows where it’ll come from and when.
If you liked that post, then try these...
No comments:
Post a Comment