AS TIME PASSES

Well it has been about a month and a half since I had to have Kipper put down. It is still hard to think about and I still find myself having dreams of having him put to sleep. It is getting a little easier these past few weeks but I miss my friend. The only good thing of this whole ordeal is that he is suffering no longer. He was getting old and was in pain. That is all gone now. I just never realized how much I loved my dog and how much he touched my life and my heart. I guess that is what old people feel about their pets. Your pets become your new children and we treat them like kids. How silly old people get. I guess I am about as silly as you can get. Getting old isn't so bad but it sure hurts when you lose something you love.

SAD DAY IN MY LIFE

Well, I have not been on here for quite some time as so much has been going on but nothing really worthy of reporting. Well, that all changed on September 23rd. I got home that afternoon and had to make a delivery in town the next day. All was well until we got ready for bed. When I bent down to pet my oldest dog Kipper and give him a silly kiss (as all old people seem to resort to as they get older), when he bit me under the chin just a few inches from my throat. I knew what I had to do when I got home the next day. Well, after making my delivery, I went home to take him to the Vet. The Vet informed me she could not put him to sleep because he had bitten me. She said he had to go into quarantine for 10 days.

I have been having an extremely hard time with this even though I knew it was the right decision and something I had to do. I have small grandchildren just starting to walk. I could not have lived with myself if he ever bit one of my grandbabies and I had to look at a scar for the rest of my life with the knowledge that I could have prevented that if only I had made the right decision.

That has made me feel a little better as the days go by, but already I can only remember the good things Kipper brought to my life as we grew older together. I will miss him very much but I know he is better off and will never hurt anyone again. God bless you Kipper and may God watch over you in Doggie Heaven and I have your pictures on my sun visor in the BIG RED TRUCK. You will always be my Co-pilot as I travel these long and lonely roads and I will never pass a sign that says rest area 1 more mile without fond thoughts of the excitement you showed when I uttered those words to you. Farewell my friend. You are in good hands now and forever.

REFLECTIONS OF MY LIFE

    Wow. Where to start. I am sitting here in Omaha, NE, having just got my A/C fixed. Thank you Lord. Last night was a very miserable night, with the temperatures still in the 90's at 11pm and no a/c. They got it fixed first thing this morning and I am sitting here waiting out some bad storms before finishing my trip to Norfolk, NE. 125 miles up the road from Omaha. So much has been running through my mind as I listen to some great music. My whole life has been passing through my mind, from my childhood days with my parents, into the Navy, where I met my 1st wife Patricia. She was good for me as she demonstrated every attribute I did not want in a wife. That last 2 years 9 months and 21 days.  A very hard divorce. I went to Hawaii for 2 years of a 3 year tour. The Island started closing in on me and I asked to have my shore duty terminated and wanted to go back to sea, out of Norfolk, VA. Crazy you think? I think not. It was the best decision I ever made. I met this very special young lady shortly after arriving there. She was amazing. So young and vibrant. She made me feel great and added meaning to my life again. 10 short months later, I married this wonderful lady named Debbie. my life was forever changed. Only ten months into our marriage, the first of my 3 beautiful daughters was born, Mary, then came Theresa and following the rear, Rebecca. Wow, how wonderful my life has been. Me and 4 women in the house. I learned real early in my marriage to lift the seat or squat, so I just chose to Squat. It was much easier that way. Then I woke up and my babies were all grown and gone. Where did the years go. I know we had rough times, but I can't remember them hardly. Only the great times run through my head. Maybe that is God's way of helping us cope with life. Out with the bad and in with the good. Anyway you look at it, I have been blessed many times over. I have 2 wonderful son-in-laws, a wonderful future son-in-law. A beautiful grand daughter and a very handsome Grandson. What did I ever do to deserve such blessing. I must have done something right somewhere along the way.  I hope this will help let others look back at all the great moments in there lives and thank God for all the blessings in there life. We must also thank him for the trials he has put us through to make us better in the overall scheme of things. Have a wonderful day and may you all be as blessed as I have been. To all my family and friends, I love each and everyone of you. Have a great day.

GREAT DAY IN BLAND

     Today has been a wonderful day at work, with a mixture of rest and relaxation, built into the middle. It was nice being able to stop in Bland and visit with Allen for about 3 hours. We had lunch in the little town grill, followed by some picture taking of the garden and various other things that I thought I could send to Matthew and make him even a little more homesick. Mean of me, hugh? I then got to taste some fresh cooked mushrooms picked from the local woods. They were fantastic. At least I wasn't worried about being poisoned as they were picked by world renowned mushroom hunter, Allen, or should I say bland renowned. lol. I was convinced it was safe, after Allen broke out his national audubon book on North American Mushrooms, and showed me the mushrooms that we would be feasting on. They were quite tasty cooked in butter. Here it is 10 hours later and I am still alive, so I guess I am out of the woods. lol. It was a great day and it is always enjoyable when you can take a break from the normal routine and add some substance to your life. It made me miss Matthew, Becky and Wayne but somehow made me feel closer to them at the same time. Kind of weird hugh? I guess I will close for now with warm thoughts of another good day in my life. Every day I get older, I learn to appreciate each day much more. I feel that every day God sees fit for me to wake up is another good day.

My love to all and good night.

UPCOMING VACATION

     Hello everyone. It has been a while since I have posted because my life on the road is so boring. I just never seem to have anything new to say or talk about, but now I do have something to talk about. Our upcoming New England vacation. Come travel with us the Griswalls. Oops I mean Daly's. We will be embarking on an adventuresome week to New Hampshire. There will be 4 adults and 2 infants crammed into a Dodge Quadcab pickup. What are we getting ourselves into. It would normally take 2 ten hour driving days to get there but seeing we will have 3 women and 2 infants, it will most surreally  add 2 to 3 hours to each day with extra stops for bathroom breaks and diaper changes. I would rather stop then have to smell them dirty diapers. I am sure when we finally get to New Hampshire, we will all want to spend the rest of our vacation sleeping and resting up for the return drive home, which will be longer as we are taking a different route home to spend a couple days with the other grandparents of little Wayne who they have not seen yet. That will be nice.  I will at least learn on this trip weather or not I will ever want to cram that many people in one vehicle again. It will be fun, challenging and definitely a learning experience for all of us, if we survive and keep from killing each other. All kidding aside, I am very much looking forward to getting to spend quality time with my family. That is what is the most important thing to me. My family will always be the most important thing in my life. I love each and every one of them. It would just be complete if my eldest daughter was able to go with us, but then I would have to strap someone on the hood like a deer. Oh well, I have bored you all enough for one evening. Take care and I will send more later. 

SAME BULL DIFFERENT MONTH

     Things have been so uneventful that I haven't really had anything to write about. There still isn't anything interesting to write about, I am just bored stiff. I have been sitting in Coopersburg, PA. since Tuesday evening at 7pm. I have to pick up a load tomorrow, Friday at 1pm. Do the math. I have been doing absolutely nothing for 2 1/2 days. It will take be about 6 hours to get to Wintersville, OH. and then I will be able to sit for another 2 or 3 days.  I think I could do better on unemployment. What you think? I just wanted to say hello and let everyone know that I was still alive. 

     My daughter Becky is coming to town next week for a month and then the end of June we are going on vacation to New Hampshire for a week. Theresa and Mackenzie will be going with us. It will be myself, Debbie, Becky, Wayne, Theresa and Mackenzie all packed into my Dodge Ram Pick-up. It is going to be so crowded. It is going to be great. I am looking forward to it. The total trip will be about 2800 miles. Maybe I should fly. lol. 

     June is going to be a busy month and hopefully I can put it in words for this blog so I will always have memories of this vacation. Well until next time. Have a great evening.

BURNT OUT

     Hello everyone.  It has been a while since I have posted any thoughts but my mind has just been a blank. It has been really slow out here and anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. I have had problems getting miles as freight is slow as usual, and just as my miles start to pick up, my equipment starts giving me problems. First my truck, get that fixed, then my trailer, then my truck again. I just can't seem to get ahead. I must say I have been really bummed out, burnt out and any other word that comes to mind to fit the situation. I am so much looking forward to vacation but wonder if I need to send the family and stay out here and work. These economic times are hard on everyone and I am not looking for a pity party, just for some sound advice. I just don't know what to do anymore. Just keep trudging along, inch by inch, mile after mile. There must be an end to this madness somewhere.

     Enough is enough. I have bored everyone enough with all this crap. Send me your comments and let me know your feelings on the state of affairs in this wonderful country that our government is so set on destroying. Have a good night everyone. It is 3:45 am and was unable to sleep. The old mind going a mile a minute. My love to all my friends and family. God Bless