Again, trying to show

broker · Mar 12, 2009

Sorry, not going to give up. Things are not as bad as they "could" be. No doom and gloom the sky is falling stuff here.
I'm determined to try and help some feel a little better by sharing the bad times from years past in the frieght business.

It was the early 70's and just like now, low rates and high fuel prices. Add to that, we had fuel shortages in some areas.
Calls for a nation wide truck strike were started.
To my surprise and many others, it happened. More important is what happened to those drivers who did not shut down.
Drivers were beat up, trucks destroyed and some drivers were murdered.
I was one of those drivers who did not shut down but was forced to.
I was living in Santa Rosa (north of San Fran.) California.
Stopped at the old Ontario 76 (Los Angeles) truck stop after getting unloaded.
All of a sudden 4 cars come flying in full of men. Two blocked the entrance and exit to the truck stop. The other two pulled up in front of the T/T's and 8 men with clubs got out and started going from truck to truck stating we weren't going to be leaving the lot.
I opened my trailer to show them I was empty, showed them my liscense, that I was from Santa Rosa and that I was on my way home to honor the strike.(Sometimes you are forced to lie)
Still, no deal, I'm staying put.
I waited for them to get as far away as possible, fired up the truck, threw it in gear and headed out the lot. What I did next must have caught them all off guard. By the time I got to the exit I must have been doing 20 mph and they all started running, thinking I was going to ram into the car blocking the drive. Instead I took a hard right and mowed down the shrubs lining the curb. Tires on the trailer must have been 5ft in the air coming off that curb and dragging 3 or 4 bush's along with them.
Drove as fast as I could and never looked back.
Arrived home late at night and parked the truck in a friends business lot.
Next day while looking for any damage I found two bullit holes in the sleeper cab.
I'm pretty sure this happened on the way home, as trucks were getting shot at from overpass's on a regular basis.
Yes, after that I did park it for 2 weeks. By then law and order was restored.
So, being threatened, shot at and forced to shut down for two weeks, while dealing with low rates, high fuel and fuel shortages, makes what is going on now very survivable.

So you see fellow business owners (truckers) this really isn't the end of the world.
We have many options to help us to survive this time of economic unrest.
We are not being forced to do anything.
Hang in there, we will come out stronger.
BIG JOHN

ATeam · Mar 12, 2009

broker said:
Sorry, not going to give up. Things are not as bad as they "could" be. No doom and gloom the sky is falling stuff here.
I'm determined to try and help some feel a little better by sharing the bad times from years past in the frieght business.

In good times and bad, there are happy people in the poor house and sad people in mansions. If you go back a few years in the Open Forum posts, when times were good, you will see people both happy and sad, just like today.

P.S. If I wanted to cheer truck drivers up by telling them a story, I would pick a story different than one in which truck drivers threaten, lie to and shoot at each other and that use their trucks to mow over other people's property. I might instead tell a story about law-abiding truck drivers that are succeeding in challenging times.

More to the point, might you share the details of your own success (as you define it) and how others can emulate it? Personally, I enjoy reading success stories more than trucker horror stories like the one you offered above.

broker · Mar 12, 2009

Starting to feel like I'm being stalked by the ATeam

Guess I need to explain in more detail what I am doing.

SHOW HOW THINGS COULD BE A LOT WORSE.

Then I gave an example.

No I will not tell how I have made it for over 35 years in the trucking industry.
For two reasons.

One: as I have many times explained to you (or tried to), everyones situation is different. I would hate to have someone duplicate something I did and fail. Remember, I'm one of those who don't care if I'm ever debt free.

Two: I don't want to, as some say on here, look like I'm "tooting my horn".

I can tell you one of the keys to success in anything in life is a positive attitude, not a doom and gloom the sky is falling mentality.

Vey smart man told me something once, that I have lived by all my life.
A job is what you make it to be.
That man was my Father. RIP Daddy
BIG JOHN

layoutshooter · Mar 12, 2009

I never had a horn to toot, I played drums and guitar. My brothers both had horns. One a trumpet and the other a clarinet and sax. They tooted, I banged and strummed. Layoutshooter

broker · Mar 12, 2009

Layoutshooter,
I always love your sense of humor, thanks.
BIG JOHN

layoutshooter · Mar 12, 2009

I try. No use being grumpy all the time, eh? Layoutshooter

ATeam · Mar 12, 2009

I said above that in good times and bad, there are happy people in the poor house and sad people in mansions. If you go back a few years in the Open Forum posts, when times were good, you will see people both happy and sad, just like today.

Let me add that what the happy people seem to have in common, whether they happen to be in a mansion or poor house is the ability to count their blessings. I'm not happy all the time but prefer to be. When I want to lift my spirits, I count my blessings. It works every time.

The best part is you can do it at will. You need no entertainment, food, drink, money or other people. You do not need to change your location and often not even your activity. Just turn your mind to the things you have going for you and dwell on those. Your heart will follow and your mood will change.

Positive mood changes lead to changes in perception and motivation, which open you to opportunities you cloudy mood did not allow you to see or act on before. Things "out there" do not change. The way you see and feel about them do.

In these recessionary times, when many expediters find themselves with a lot of spare time on their hands, an attitude of gratitude can be an important resource indeed.

broker · Mar 12, 2009

ATeam, are you messing with me?

Pretty sure that is what I just said "positive attitude"
BIG JOHN

ATeam · Mar 12, 2009

I don't see it. Entertaining us with stories about truckers doing the worst to each other do not cheer me up. If I am laying in the hospital for some serious reason, I am not likely to feel better if you were to tell me how much worse others had it.

We are hauling right now, our second load this week. We do not know if we will haul a third but remember fondly when three, four and even five loads a week were the norm.

I have heard stories from people who have been through previous hard times in which they (teams) hauled one load a week and in one case, one load a month. They had it worse. They lived to tell about it. They are still in the business. But those stories do nothing to cheer me up when the hours turn into days while we are waiting for a load.

Counting my blessings does cheer me up.

davekc · Mar 12, 2009

Know the feeling from many years ago Phil. Start finding your own freight and you won't have that problem.
I'm as happy as a pig in poop.

broker · Mar 12, 2009

Phil, if I may call you that (now that we are becoming so close),
am I getting you confused tonight?

Read real slow.
With this "true" story, it is ment to help some see that things are not as bad as they could be.
I was showing how I survived the above mentioned and that if a person could survive all that, this should be survivable as well.

I never used the word "cheer", that is the word you inserted.
So, ATeam was false, when he used the word CHEER.

Sorry Phil, this has been very entertaining but we have our 5th load this week tomorrow and have to get some sleep.

Dispatch said they would work on getting us a $5,000 cross country load for Friday.
Just messing with ya "Phil'

Have a great night.
BIG JOHN

ATeam · Mar 12, 2009

DaveKC,

Not to change the subject as there is no need, since this topic has been kicked around many times in many threads. If Diane and I wanted to, we could run the wheels off our truck but not at rates that are acceptable to us.

Your strategy and ours differ and I thank you here for previously acknowledging the legitimate differences.

We are experiencing our current activity level only because of our considered choices. The only thing that stops us from doing something different is the choices we make. We did not get into this business to be happy. We were happy before we got in. We are in this business to be properous and free. Even in these times, we continue to be both.

Back to my point. I do not think DaveKC means to imply he is happy all the time. I don't know any human being who is. My point is counting your blessings is a helpful technique that is in anyone's power to do in those times when the clouds cover the sun.

termite289 · Mar 12, 2009

running over the car would have been far more exiting. i think maybe backwards so that you were pushing with the trailer, so as not to damage the truck.
the way i see it, a strike is simply setting the curtains on fire, and then everyone involved is going to try and urinate on them to and keep the house from burning down. i don't know bout you guys, but i don't think i could get that high.

davekc · Mar 12, 2009

My only point was if someone reaches that area in which they are continously unhappy, there are always options.
Being thankful for what someone has or where they are at isn't a bad thing either. I think that is the theme of this whole thread.

XTeam · Mar 12, 2009

Big John,
I found your story about what happened in trucking at that time,very interesting.
The message that you conveyed needed no explaining, it was a story that you were relating. Your words of positive thought have been understood.
Linda