Magazine / A Likely Story
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Teenagers And Trucking
A lifetime member of OOIDA, I’m eligible for parole after serving a third of my sentence. That means twenty more years of listening to the controversy regarding teenage truck drivers. Personally, I don’t see a problem with it. After all, we alr... -
Funeral Humor
Back in the early eighties, I moved into a metropolitan funeral home that had a small apartment. In less than a week, I had my first remarkable experience. It seems I had left a back door unlocked one night, and my boss had forgotten to advise police... -
My Lucky Number
An old timer’s story. The new paratrooper had never jumped from a perfectly good airplane and was just a bit apprehensive. “Don’t worry!” said the jumpmaster, “the static line will deploy your chute!” But the recruit wasn’t convinced.... -
Giving A Shirt
I was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana a couple years ago delivering a cooling tower to a university. It was July and that means hot and humid. It also means shade is a precious commodity. When the job site foreman arrived, I stepped out of the truck wearin... -
Covid19 And Russian Roulette
An editor I greatly respect recently penned an interesting, if inflammatory article. Well, okay a lot of what he writes is combustible. But this time he described Americans wanting to resume daily routine as ‘playing Russian roulette’ in a game w... -
A Likely Story
I’ve been to court a few times in my life, and it’s not like it is on TV. But then, nothing is like it is on TV, including hospital rooms, baseball games, the legal process, and trailer trucking. Just to remain grounded in reality, in fact, I�... -
Warning Labels Part 2
Trucking and country music have always been tied together, and no one knows, actually, which came first. And while rock & roll is sub-divided into doo-wop, rockabilly, bubble-gum, and novelty tunes, country music has always been, well, country. B... -
The True Trucker Story
You ain’t gonna believe this, but the company I work for has only three rules: Stay out of the left lane. Stay out of the left lane. Stay out of the left lane. This works well in computer models, training videos, and safety bulletin... -
When It All Started
I started my trucking career in 1978 the way we all did back then. The agency manager of a Minneapolis moving company casually tossed me a set of keys. “These belong to a Ford cabover out back,” he said, “hooked up to a 40-foot furniture van ... -
A Likely Story - Covid19 In My Neighborhood
Like so many others here in flyover country, we’ve been ordered to shelter in place while the Corona virus wings its way around Kansas. We have also been instructed to avoid gatherings, wear masks, and put gloves on. Authorities are issuing these o... -
A LIKELY STORY - WARNING LABELS
When I get our lawn mower out, pull the sidearm from a holster, or unpack my wife’s hair curler, I always see the warning labels. I’m not a dummy, of course. I know better than to put my feet near the blades, finger on the trigger, or hand around... -
A Likely Story - DMV, The Great Equalizer
Recently I had the opportunity to see my state taxes hard at work, when I went to renew my CDL. The Department of Motor Vehicles is a study in discrimination. There isn’t any. Whether you’re a minority or majority, rich or poor, CEO or See You La... -
A Likely Story - You’re All Heart
A heart attack was not on my radar but, like many people, I work too hard, walk too slow, talk too loudly, and wait too long. Folks like me spend too much time watching TV, playing the ponies, picking out donuts, and making up our mind at the Golden ... -
A Likely Story - Freeze, You’re Under Arrest
As the severe winter weather plowed through the entire nation during the final week of January, police departments across the country were forced to take drastic action. Who could blame them! Everywhere we looked, coffees got cold and donuts were fre... -
PHANTOM 309
I know a lot of music. I don't know a lot ABOUT music, and didn't major in it, but do enjoy a wide variety of genres. My interest ranges from Big Band to bluegrass, and Doo-Wop to New Age.Recently I came across a YouTube list of the fifty favorite... -
NOT OUR REALITY
As an owner/operator solely responsible for supporting the welfare recipients of Kansas, there are a lot of boxes to checkoff on our tax returns. The state wants to make sure single moms, illegal immigrants, fast food workers, and slow-witted politic... -
SAFER IN BED
Everyone has days they should have stayed in bed. Mine was last Sunday, and it revolved around multiple new technologies drivers love to hate. The first, of course, was the ELD, and the second was something called 'nautomatic deceleration'.Every Last... -
" Dont Answer That"
Lawyers learn never to ask a question unless they already know the answer. Husbands learn just as quickly not to answer, unless they already know the question on. Interrogators often hit pay dirt, not from what they ask, but what people volunteer. Pa... -
Employee Of The Month
Not long ago I viewed a security video from a downtown Dallas alley. It showed a young man about 20 years old parking his car on a lightly traveled side street. Emerging from the ten-year-old vehicle, he carefully removed his cellphone, cigarettes, a... -
A LIKELY STORY - KNIGHTS OF THE ROAD
Truck drivers have a bad reputation, and many have certainly earned it. From speeding to blocking, and drugs to drinking, drivers in the big rigs often become a big story. They are sullen, defensive, obnoxious, and self-centered, becoming more brazen...