Bob Sleasman's Blog, June, 2008

Bob's Blog

Blog entries are posted five to seven days after they are written.

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June 23-30, 2008. I had to have an outpatient procedure done at the hospital on the 23rd which turned into an overnight stay. I have a partially blocked coronary artery which my cardiologist has been treating. At my semi-annual office visit he decided he wanted to take a look to see if the blockage had increased over the past five years.

During the procedure while looking at the artery with the scope, he noticed one side of the artery was kind of fuzzy. He couldn't tell if it was an increase in the blockage or not, so he erred on the side of caution and decided to put a stent in my left coronary artery. All went well, but because of the insertion of the stent I had to stay overnight, which was no big thing. The next morning came and I was checked by the doctor and cleared for discharge.

The downside to this is I can't drive for two weeks, that’s how long it will take for my femoral artery, where they inserted the scope to heal enough to drive full time. He also wants to see me in two weeks to see how I'm tolerating the stent. He gave me an appointment for July 7th.

It’s been a boring week; I've just been hanging around the house. After I got home, Donna and I decided that she would go out by herself; it seemed like the best thing to do. There wasn't any real why she needed to stay with me, I was fine.

Sunday, June 22, 2008. It seems like every trucking magazine I've ever picked up has had articles on how the general public has little respect for truckers. I've also seen the same thing mentioned, and complained about in the letters the truckers send in to the magazines. Let me put my two cents worth in. If you don't like what I have to say, tough, this is my blog, not yours.

Like the rest of our fellow truckers, and yes, expediters in straight trucks are real truckers. We travel the same miles per year you real truckers, with your 18 wheelers do. And we do it in class 8 trucks as well as class 7 trucks. My wife and I do it in a 2007 Western Star. Here is what we see when we stop for fuel, and layover at truck stops. It’s also what we see at service plazas and rest stops.

There are a lot of truck drivers who take pride in their job, and the truck they drive and/ or own. They also take pride in how they look and dress. This tirade is not for them, they are the true professionals in this business. They are also slowly becoming the minority in the trucking industry.

I do a lot of people watching at the truck stops, it’s a very interesting way to pass the time while waiting for our next load. Here are some of my observations and thoughts.

Let’s start with the trucker who gets out of his parked rig wearing a filthy tee-shirt, with grease, dirt, the past weeks food on it, and full of holes. The shirt is not large enough to cover his very large protruding stomach. He is wearing a pair of sweat pants just as dirty as the tee-shirt; the sweat pants also have holes in them. To complete the ensemble, he is wearing flip flops, which are black in color, to match his dirty feet.

This trucker most likely just finished unloading at a receiving dock somewhere, or will be picking up a load at a shipper shortly. When he makes his pickup or delivery, the general public sees him, as well as the shipper and receiver. How about when he stops at a service plaza on the interstate, or a rest area, do you think people don't see him? What kind of image do you think he projects to Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Public? Not a pretty sight is it. And you can't tell me you, a fellow truck driver, haven't seen this person. A nice representative for our image he is.

How much does a tee-shirt cost? Maybe $5:00 at the truck stop, I've seen them cheaper than that at some truck stops. And do you think he only owns this one shirt, or maybe all the shirts he owns are like that. Even if he had to stop to make a quick repair to his truck, it might explain the dirt, how about last week’s menu that’s on it, and the holes. The man might have a large stomach, but they do make shirts to fit large people.

Now the sweat pants. I personally would never drive in them; I think they are very unprofessional looking. But filthy dirty, with holes in them, no excuse. If the driver likes them, at least he could wear clean ones, without holes. And usually the sweats are tucked under his protruding stomach, which the tee-shirt fails to cover. Come on; adjust the sweats to fit over your waist. Sweat pants are inexpensive also, and again he only has one pair?

The flip flops. Do I really need to say more about them? Sandals are bad enough, but flip flops. Come on driver, clean yourself up.

There is no excuse for the condition of the attire this “professional” driver has on. If he likes to wear tee-shirts and sweat pants at least he can wear clean ones, without holes, and that fit properly.

Being on the road for weeks at a time is no excuse for looking like a slob, which is exactly what he is. We are all on the road for weeks. We bring clean clothes with us, and if they all get dirty the truck stops have these new fangled things called washing machines. I am willing to bet this same person will spend a good portion of his money playing arcade games. I have seen drivers dressed like this do just that. But washing his clothes, never, they would probable fall apart in the washer anyway.

If a driver could not actually afford a clean tee-shirt and/or sweat pants, I would gladly give him the money for new ones. The fact is, and you all know it, this person has no self esteem, and no pride in how he looks. Again, I have to say there is no reason for a person looking like this. He might not be able to control his weight, but he can control the clothes he wears. This person is one of the prime reasons others look down at truckers. Can you blame them?

I personally like to wear tee-shirts, except when making our pickups and deliveries, it’s all I wear. I also wear jeans; I carry at least five pair with me. Donna also wears jeans, and those skort things. When we start running low on clothes we find us a launder-mat, or use truck stop washers and dryers. There is no excuse for filthy, food covered clothes with holes in them.

Moving on. How about the driver who steps out of his truck, and the skunks make a run for it. You know what I'm talking about. Pepe LaPue has nothing on him. He has a semi clean shirt on, and is wearing semi clean jeans or work pants. He hasn't shaved in about ten days; his hair is plastered to his head and needs to be cut. Most of all you can smell the very bad body odor just oozing from every pore on his body. This driver’s first visit is to the truck stop restaurant for a bite to eat, then to the drivers lounge to watch TV.

Most of us don't have showers in our trucks, but we are seeing more and more sleepers with them. Showers are free when you fuel x number of gallons. Or cost what, $9:00 at most truck stops. Can you imagine what ordinary citizens think, when they see this poor excuse for a “professional” driver, or should I say smell. Maybe we can't shower every day, but we can keep clean. You can carry a jug of water, soap and a wash cloth with you. Donna and I use the pre moistened body wipes that come prepackaged. You can take them out and put one in a micro wave to heat them up, or use them as they come. We also use the pre moistened baby wipes. There is just no reason a person can't keep clean on the road. Some loads, especially coast to coast loads, where we can't stop to shower, we make use of the above items very often during our trip. As soon as we deliver we head for a shower.

There just is no reason to smell as bad as some of the drivers do. They just have very bad personal hygiene, and no respect for their own bodies. I can understand being in need of a haircut, but to just plain stink, no excuse. It’s just another example of why the public looks down on truckers.

These things are not just for the male truckers, I've seen some female drivers that are just as bad.

We are our own worst enemies. We need to police ourselves. You all know what I have stated above is the truth, we see these so called drivers every day, and we are not seeing the same person over and over again. One has to wonder about just how many of these drivers are out there, and I believe their numbers are growing.

This next part is a compiling of some of the habits of the” professional” trucker that the public must just love. Here we go folks.

Let’s start with the CB radio. Though not as popular with the civilians as it was in the seventies, there are still a lot of folks out there besides truckers that have them. I feel sorry and must apologize to the public for the most foul mouth truckers there ever was. What kind of upbringing did you bunch of idiots have. If your mamma ever heard you use the language you use on the CB she would be sticking a bar of soap in each and every one of your mouths. You are the vilest mouthed, sorry excuse for a man there is. Why do you find it necessary to use the most profound nasty language over the open air waves? Do you think it makes you a man? Wrong. What is does do is it affirms what the majority of people already think, that we are low life second class citizens, who can't hold down a regular job. They just might be right about some of you. Ok, I'll wait until you look up the word affirm. I'm no stranger to foul language, I have, and do use it, but not over a CB. Tell me, does cursing and using the most foulest of four letter words make your testicles grow, maybe you are just compensating for that small penis you have, ok, look up penis. You gutter mouth truckers do the most harm to the real professionals on the road. Maybe if you read a book now and then you would learn new words, besides the ones you find on truck stop restroom stalls. You have absolutely no class; you are the lowest of the low. I spit on all of you nit-wits.

Now for you pee bottle cowboys, what’s up with throwing them out the window, and/or just leaving them laying on the ground at service plazas and rest stops. What if people started leaving pee filled bottles on your front lawn, wait, sorry they wouldn't be able to. The junk cars sitting in front of your house trailer in the trailer park is covering all the grass, or is it weeds. Do you bunch of jerks expect people to pick up you bodily waste, yeah, I guess you do. Maybe if you had any kind of upbringing you would know better. You jewels of the trucking industry are the number two reason the public has such little respect for truckers. If I could, I would leave a nice turd on each of your truck hoods. It would probable make your truck look better. You bunch of hair balls are even lower than the CB foul mouths, or maybe you are the same people. Makes sense to me.

Shame on the whole bunch of you. Do all of us true professional truck drivers a favor, get out of the business. We have put up with you long enough; you do nothing but drag the trucking industry through the gutter. Go back home and marry your first cousin, wait, I forgot, you already did that. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

June 19-21, 2008. Because of my impending procedure, Donna and I decided to remain out of service until we get the thing over with. We plan to go in service on Wednesday the 25th.

We will be out of service longer than we expected. We hate to off the road for this extra time.

I forgot to mention something. When we returned home, we found a letter from the District Manager of Atlantic Detroit Diesel. After our little visit to their Albany shop, they sent us a follow up survey; we sent it back with very negative comments. The District Manager sent us his e mail address and wanted to know in detail what happened at the Albany Shop.

Donna and I spent a day composing a letter, going into great detail about our experience with the shop. Included was every lie told to us, the very poor service, lack of customer service, the lack of knowledge we felt their techs had, and a few other details. I included my thoughts on how they could better service their customers, including doing a house cleaning, and putting people in the shop that knew what the hell they were doing. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page

June 1-18, 2008. On Sunday I nursed my back as much as possible, Donna said I shouldn't have tried to lift the bike, even with Dyche’s help, I mostly helped Dyche lift it, he is about 6” 1” and goes about 220 lbs. Still, I did my share of lifting, and look what happened. I should have known better, my back wasn't really healed yet, I guess it’s a man thing.

I went to the chiropractor on Monday. He said I really over extended my back muscles, as well as the muscles connecting my ribs on my right side. He did some stretching things to the injured muscles, and jumped up and down on my back a little (that’s what I call what he does to realign my spine). He then used some ultra sonic heat therapy. I made appointments for Tuesday and Wednesday. I was also told to use heat and ice to help with the spasms and pain.

I did discover some great stuff for my back. I found it in my medicine cabinet, it is a spray for your back and joints called Kool-N- Fit, it has camphor and menthol in it. I found it relaxed and eased the pain in my muscles. I had a four once bottle of it, I used it about four times a day. I went online and ordered a sixteen once bottle of it.

While I was nursing my back, Donna did the packing and stuff for our trip to California. We, I mean Donna, packed light, just two carryon bags and our laptops. We had some clothes already there, and figured we could buy anything we needed out there.

By Wednesday my back was feeling pretty good. I brought my F150 up to Capital District Truck Center and had the front end leveled, so it sat straight instead of the nose down look most 4X4’s have. After that I called Chris, I don't know his last name, he has a custom graphics business. I arranged for him to do some custom striping on the pick F150. I told him the colors I wanted, and that I would be back in town on the 13th, so he had enough time to get it done.

Wednesday night we were all set to go, we were packed, had printed out our boarding passes, arranged to leave the Funkmaster at a park and fly place, yup, we was all set. Our flight left at 0730 on Thursday, so we planned to be at the airport by 0530.

After going through the farce the TSA puts on at the airport, we went to our gate. Our flight left on time, we had a stop in Chicago and San Diego, and we arrived in Sacramento at 1345, local time. Donnas’ sister Pam was due in from Oklahoma at 1600; we had already planned to wait for her at the airport.

Everything went well; we met Pam, collected her luggage, and grabbed the shuttle to the rental car place. We rented a full size vehicle, it was a Chrysler 300.

It was a very joyous reunion for Donna, Pam and Christy. They haven't been together in four years. Pam hadn't seen the rug rats in four years either. It was a good thing unfolding in front of me. I couldn't have been happier for them.

My job for the duration of our visit was supervising the rug rats. Amanda, the oldest, is not really a rug rat anymore. She is now eighteen, and graduating from high school on Friday. To me she will always be a rug rat, a very special one.

Christy had to work Friday, she works at a bakery and gets up at 0400 for work. Donna and Pam went shopping for Amanda’s graduation party on Saturday. I should mention that Sam had to work also. Anyway, the rug rats were mine. The first thing I told them was, what happens in the Focus, stays in the Focus, and nobody know nothin’. The Focus is the Ford Focus Amanda drives. Let’s just say we did our own thing for a week.

While Donna and Pam went shopping, I took Amanda down to the Western Warehouse, where we got her some new stuff to wear. I also managed to find the work boots I have been looking for.

Graduation night went well, with one hitch, my back went into spasm for no good reason. I sucked it up, and enjoyed seeing Amanda graduate.

After the ceremony, Sam took us all out to the family’s favorite Mexican Restaurant, the meal was very good, and the company the best.

Saturday at 1500 the graduation party began, in the morning I was able to get to the chiropractor in woodland, it helped my back a great deal.

The party was really nice. It was a BBQ affair, and lasted until about midnight. Pam and Donna got Amanda a pair of diamond studs. Amanda wore the clothes I had gotten her on Friday, all the clothes, don't ask me how many times she changed, I lost count pretty quick.

I kept looking at Amanda. How could this little five year old girl (that’s how old she was when I married Donna) grow up to be this beautiful young lady? Where did the years go? I saw the confidence in her smile, and the hope in her eyes. I saw a woman, ready to face the world on her terms. I felt sad for a second. I thought to myself, where is the little girl who would grab my hand and hold it as we walked down the street, and put her head on my shoulder and give me a hug. That little girl is now a woman. It was at that moment that I realized that I thought of her more as a daughter, than a niece. I held back a tear, and at the same time smiled to myself. I have no words to express what I felt. Sam and Christy did one fantastic job of raising all four of the girls

Sunday morning the three sisters jumped in the rental car and pointed it in the direction of Lake Tahoe. What happened in Lake Tahoe stayed in Lake Tahoe.

The rest of the week past by pretty fast, filled with adventure with the rug rats. Donna, Pam and Christy enjoying their time together.

Before we knew it we were on our way home, memories tucked away in our hearts. In two short years, another rug rat will be graduating; she is Samantha, on her way to becoming another beautiful young woman.

We arrived home at about 2345 on Friday. We dropped the luggage in the living room and went to bed.

Saturday morning I picked up the F150, Chris did a great job with the graphics; I'm very pleased with the look. I plan on getting custom wheels and new tires with a more aggressive look to them. But that will have to wait.

On Sunday we had a cookout. My two daughters, Sherry and Tricia, and her husband Nat came over. My grandson Corey, my mother, and my cousin Janie also came over.

Donna and I both had doctor appointments on Wednesday, so we will be out of service until then. I went to the chiropractor from Monday through Wednesday. My back is slowly improving. Wednesday afternoon Donna and I went to our cardiologist for our biannual checkup. We both have high blood pressure, controlled with medication. I also have high cholesterol, and my cardiologist likes to keep on top of it. I also have a partially blocked left coronary artery. After talking with my doctor, he thought it best if I had a cardiac cathateration. The procedure was scheduled for June, 23rd. Blog Author Top of Page Bottom of Page