FINALLY - A Certificate of Authority from the FMCSA

It's about two months later than I was hoping but, as the saying goes, 'better late than never.' The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issue a Certificate of Authority so that I may now conduct interstate transportation of common goods. YIPPEE!

We have also begun the search for another driver with his own truck to pull my old trailer. The idea is to have a P/T person available here locally when I am out of town. I placed an ad on Craigslist and had probably 70 calls in just a few days. I think we will be able to find one person to fit our needs.

I gripe about how long this has all taken but in reality this maybe working out quite well, other than the drain to my bank account not working very much for the past five months. I am a very big believer in Karma - if you DO good things then good things will happen to you; and vice versa. I try very hard - at least in my own head - to do the right thing most of the time. So the timing of all of this - getting our authority, finding another driver, etc. - seems to be lining up with the improving weather (I hope) and the rebounding economy. Let's cross our fingers.

So what else has happened in the last week? Oh, I had this really cute chica cook dinner for me last weekend. If I were more technology inclined, I'd figure out a way to get the pix off my camera and onto this post. (Nathan -- HELP!) Anyway, to make a long story longer, last Saturday I took my oldest son Nathan and my niece Paula to see Avatar 3D. What an amazing movie! 3D movies have come a long way since I last saw one. If you haven't seen it yet - GO! Don't wait for the DVD. You need the big screen and their sound system for the full effect.

As a 'thank you' I was treated to dinner the next day - Sunday - at Paula's. She is quite an amazing cook at 16 years old. She did have a recipe for the Chicken Tettrazine (sp?) but it was only a guide as she ad-libbed her way thru. It was GREAT, except for one small thing. (remember this is the long story)

Sunday was also a football wild-card play-off day. Paula has the insensitivity to serve dinner with 4 minutes left to play in the highest scoring play-off game EVER and the score is TIED! (That would be the Cardinals vs Packers game for you football enthusiasts) Now how am I suppose to walk away from that? But in keeping with my 'do-the-right-thing' attitude I did.

I inhaled dinner in about 2 1/2 'football' minutes (approximately 7 minutes in real time) and only got up twice to go peek at the score. The game ended up going into overtime where, incredibly, the final score was on a DEFENSIVE play. The Cards forced a fumble and returned for a touchdown.

I don't feel too guilty about my divided attention because Ms. Paula was out the door with her friends before the sauce had dried on our plates leaving her poor sister - Lindsay - to clean-up. Actually 'poor' is an exaggeration since everyone knows the cook doesn't have to clean-up. Regardless, dinner was outstanding in all areas - quality, ambiance and entertainment. It was an excellent night. Hey, the Cards won!

This was also a pretty decent week work-wise considering it's the middle of winter. I had a few local trips and then took a load to Kansas City, KS yesterday. The temperatures have been above freezing since Tuesday so our snow has begun to melt. I washed the salt and schmutz off my truck Wednesday. That lasted for almost three hours. All the plowed snow (and salt and schmutz) on the shoulders is melting and drains back across the roadway.

Kansas City got twice as much snow as we did here judging from the 'mountains' formed in the plowed parking lots. Accordingly, the melting run-off was significantly worse so today my truck looks as bad as it did before I washed it. That's okay. I'm doing my part to stimulate the economy and help the Car Wash industry.

This weekend is the RV Show in St. Louis. I am in the market for a 34' fifth-wheel. I do not intend to buy a new one; there are too many like-new, used ones around at a deep discount. Like most vehicles, RVs depreciate 15-20% the minute you drive it off the sales lot. But the RV show is a good place to see alot of different things all in one place.

I find it interesting (ironic?) that I spent a lot of my younger days living in a house on wheels and here in my pre-retirement I plan to do the same thing. The big difference is this home I can pull around the country with my truck. And it will have a fireplace (I hope).

p.s. - why is the time stamp below different than my clock (9:30)?