Team Driving: "Not for the faint of heart!"

Sometime around 1996 or ’97 our regional director received word that seasonal extra help was needed for a national account customer. Their business involved transporting fresh cut floral greens and wreaths throughout the country to retail outlets. The Christmas season was their busy season and they were asking for volunteer drivers to spend six weeks running team to support their operation. The drivers would be guaranteed $1,000 per week minimum to those that would commit. I had just completed the orientation of a new young driver named Dave. I was going to be riding with him for two weeks training anyway so I asked if he was interested and he said yes, without hesitation. He was trying to save up cash so he could move his wife and kid to Salt Lake City from Grealy, Co. He had left them at their apartment to come to Utah for a decent job as she was still employed at a meat packing plant in Colorado. 

There were four of us drivers that agreed, making up two teams and off we went, getting a couple Ryder rental tractors and heading up to Belfair, Wa. We picked up a couple of Ryder refridgerated trailers from a Ryder shop in Tacoma and went over and got loaded. Leaving out, Dave and I decided on running a 5 on, 5 off schedule. Being the first extended time for me running team, it was quite an experience. I hardly got any sleep the first couple days bouncing around in the sleeper. We had decent conventional Freightliners with air-ride but that made little difference. It was a real struggle until finally, I was so dead tired that my body had to sleep. Once past the initial couple days it was better, but still, team driving is a hard life. I don’t know how they can do 10 on, 10 off with the new regulations. 

After a couple weeks we were back up in the northwest getting loaded to go to Tennessee and I could sense that my partner was getting homesick missing his family. I had been thinking about running back through Salt Lake to get home for a couple hours but decided to go through Colorado so he could stop and see his wife. Well, we drove up to their apartment and he introduced me to her. I could sense a palpable tension between them so I decided to go outside, telling Dave I would wait for him in the truck. A couple of hours later Dave comes out and announces that he was quitting! Just like that. The dude just walked off the truck on me, his wife telling him to either stay or not come back. It’s about midnight and I was pretty pissed off. He packed his stuff out and I just started driving, not wanting to wake my boss up, knowing she could do nothing at that time of night. 

The next morning I called Michelle to tell her what happened. She called the account manager and they came up with a plan to fly another driver from Oklahoma into Kansas City where I could pick him up and he would finish out the commitment with me. Late that night I pulled into a truckstop near KC where he had taken a cab from the airport and met Doofus. He got his stuff on board and I told him I would drive the first shift, 5 on, 5 off. One of the first things Doofus said to me “I don’t know how you can drive all night, I have problems staying awake”. Not a good way to start off with me and I informed him what “team driving” consisted of. A short time later he says “ I hope we don’t go to New York, I’m wanted there”. Needless to say, Doofus and I didn’t start out on very good terms. 

We made it to the Nashville area where we delivered and then got stuck for three days while they looked for a load. That wasn’t so bad though as we got a motel near the Nashville truck stop downtown and I was able to get away from my "partner" and tour the downtown honky tonks over the weekend. Being guaranteed $1,000 per week meant we didn’t have to worry about getting the miles. By Monday, they still couldn’t find us a load so we were told to dead-head to DeLand, Florida for another load of “greens”. That load took us to Houston, the location of the customer’s headquarters. I had driven in and my "partner" was up for the next driving shift. We spent several hours unloading and reloading for the northwest and I told him several times to jump in the sleeper and rest so he could be ready to go. I might as well have been talking to the wall as the jerk didn’t listen to me. Late in the afternoon they finished loading and I could tell he was tired. I was pretty irate and told him I would drive for a couple hours so he could sleep. 

After we switched out it was dark and I went back into the sleeper and dozed off. A couple hours later I was startled awake with the truck running on the gravel shoulder and violently veering off as dipshit jerked on the steering wheel. I tore open the curtain and asked him what the hell is going on with his response being “I got tired”. That was it for me as my adrenaline took over telling him “pull over, I’m driving”. We were out in the middle of nowhere so I took the wheel until I could find a truckstop and payphone. I called my boss, told her what happened and said “either he gets off the truck or I will”. That was it for Michelle also as she told me to take him to the Albuquerque airport, saying they would fly him back to where he came from. I never let him back behind the wheel and drove all night to get rid of him. When he woke up I told him what I had done, what I was told to do, and he remained quiet as a mouse the rest of the way as I was in no mood for conversation. 

After getting rid of him I called Michelle and found that the other team from Salt Lake wanted to split up and that Jim was willing to jump on my truck to finish out the six weeks. What a relief! Jim was another driver trainer from our Salt Lake City account and a true professional. We got along great and finished out the time together. But, ever since then, I’ve had no desire to ever run team again! A note about young Dave: About a year later, he showed up at our office wanting to know if he could reapply for a job. “Ummm, no!” was the response. He had definately burned his bridge. If I had been there when he came in, I would have asked him if he was still married.

Driving Miss Daisy? No, it's Mrs.Pritzker

Every time I heard or read the name Pritzker for the last couple of years, it seemed so familiar. That name is often in the news as the current governor in our neighboring state of Illinois is JB Pritzker. Now, the governor and I are on very opposite sides of the political spectrum, as you would correctly assume. But his name seemed so familiar, like I heard it before. The name is distinctive. But why? It’s been bugging me for a long time.

I was thinking last week about my late father. He retired in 1979 after 30 years at Chrysler/AMC and he and mom moved to Florida with my three youngest siblings. During the 1980’s mom would work part time for a firm that provided services for the elderly. I remember my dad telling me that he would occasionally drive a woman around on errands and appointments when she needed him. On the couple occasions he talked to me about it, he would always refer to her by name, Mrs. "So-and-So". He had also mentioned she was a wealthy widow from Chicago and said the family was in the hotel business. Suddenly, it clicked, Chicago? Illinois? Distinctive name? Wealthy family? Could she have been a Pritzker? Last week, I even asked my younger siblings if they remembered the name of the woman that dad used to drive around. They all said no.

That made me even more curious and led me to look up the Pritzker family. Well, I’ll be! I discovered a Rhoda Pritzker that had lived 10 miles from my parents home. She had married Jack Nicholas Pritzker, who was a great uncle to the current Illinois governor JB Pritzker. The family indeed built the Hyatt hotel chain and family members still have a large holding in the company. Jack and Rhoda bought the home on Casey Key in Florida in 1970. Her husband died in 1979, the year my parents moved To Sarasota.

So, my dad had his little “Driving Miss Daisy” job helping a Pritzker widow. He would drive over to her house when she called. She also wanted her car “exercised” as she didn’t drive. So dad would get her big station wagon out of the garage and off they would go. Mystery solved!

Rhoda Pritzker died in Casey Key in 2007 at the age of 93. Her funeral was held in Chicago. The latest sale of her old house was in 2016 for $1.75 million.

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Sobering News on the State of Trucking in the US

This Texas crash occured in March, reported by The Gateway Pundit:

"A Travis County judge on Tuesday slashed the bond for Solomun Weldekeal-Araya — a foreign national and 18-wheeler driver — from $1.2 million down to a jaw-dropping $7,000, despite his role in a tragic crash that left five people dead, including a child and a baby.

The deadly pileup occurred last month on Interstate 35 in North Austin, involving 17 vehicles and 17 people, resulting in fiery devastation and multiple injuries.

Adding fuel to the fire, Araya, who is reportedly on a visa from Ethiopia, was previously cited for going 63 in a 30 mph zone, an offense that should have jeopardized his CDL. Records show he had a court date scheduled just a week after the fatal crash.

Independent journalist Sarah Fields reported that Araya is an asylum seeker on a work visa who barely speaks English and is employed by a network of questionable LLCs currently under investigation by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported that according to public records and whistleblower claims, Araya was driving under a Texas-based company called ZBN Transport LLC. The company shares a physical address—9180 Forest Lane, Apt. 202, Dallas, TX—with at least a dozen other transportation LLCs registered in the same North Dallas apartment complex, each under slightly different names or unit numbers.

One of those names, Bay Area Lines LLC, even appeared on a truck inspection record just a day after ZBN was flagged—suggesting a pattern of companies swapping names daily to dodge regulatory scrutiny.

Industry insiders claim that while occasional business name changes aren’t unheard of, daily swaps signal red flags. “This kind of name-flipping is used to reset inspection scores, hide violations, and continue operating dangerous equipment with impunity,” one trucking compliance expert noted."

This infux of illiterate steering wheel holders and illigitimate trucking companies has been going on for years! It's about time something is done!

I've gotten responses from a state trooper and a current Illinois DOT officer. They both included their names but I won't post them here:

"I'm an a Illinois DOT officer and have been since 2008 i agree 100% . Then we have state law which is even more ridiculous. All CFV (commercial farm vehicles) farm plated are exempt with 150 miles from CDl, D & A testing,medical card and HOS, everything but maintenence. Had a farmer tell me he hires alot of people from Somalia. They then come here work for him for dirt cheap with no qualifications at all and need nothing. Makes you feel really safe on the roads. I deal with it daily people can't speak English even worse laying under their 80000 pound truck yelling for them to brake only hoping and praying they don't run you over. Even when we could put them OOS for non speaking they would get a relief driver get down the road and switch back anyways.

State Trooper: "I see tons of foreigner truckers that we stop that speak ZERO English and all conveniently have a birthdate of Jan 1 of some random year. Huge number of them come through Minnesota, wonder which “squad” congresswoman is responsible for that?"

News Credit: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/05/outrage-travis-county-judge

Automotive Backup Cameras - Early Aggravation to Tolerance

2022 Ford Escape

I guess this post certainly shows my age (72). It’s been getting close to ten years now since I first started driving a car with a rear view camera.

2016 Nissan Altima

I bought a slightly used 2016 Nissan Altima in early 2017. As standard equipment it featured a backup camera with a 5 inch display in the dash. Those early units were a far cry from what they have in today’s new vehicles. The Feds began mandating rearview cameras in all new automobiles starting in 2018. I can’t remember the Altima having any type of audio alarm or sensor warning if you got too close to other objects or pedestrians. In fact, before long I was thoroughly fed up with it and never used it. At night, trying to back down a dark driveway, the view from the camera was useless and there was not enough illumination from the camera to see more than a couple feet behind the vehicle. And the glare from the interior screen impaired my ability to visually see out the windows or mirrors leading to very unsafe consequences. I actually remember having to roll down the windows in order to use my mirrors and cut the reflective glare. I couldn’t find a way to dim the screen or shut the damn thing off. The only thing I found useful was in backing to an object in daylight hours, such as up to a trailer or parking. You could see with confidence how close you were. Otherwise, I completely ignored the thing until it got me angry with the night time issues.

So, on to 2019 when we bought a new Ford Escape SE. We didn’t have all the bells and whistles on it and it came with an eight inch LCD screen. The rearview camera was a big improvement especially at night. I didn’t notice any problems seeing out the windows after dark with the camera on. Still without sensors for audio warning, I seldom used it except in rare parallel parking scenarios.

In 2023, we traded for an unsold new 2022 Escape that the dealer made us a great deal on. This one featured many more options, including a large eight inch high definition display for infotainment and backup camera viewing. Included with the camera is cross traffic audio alert to warn of pedestrians and cars crossing as your backing, in addition to a fixed object warning. I haven’t really noticed any issues seeing out the windows at night with the camera on. I must say it’s a vast difference from what I had in 2017!

We've had this car for about two years now. But, thinking about it, I still hardly use the camera! After 56 years of driving I just can’t make myself use that camera to back out of a parking space or back down a driveway. Other than quick glances at the screen, I use my mirrors and keep my head on a swivel while backing. Previously, driving trucks for 37 years, using my mirrors is too instinctive. Looking forward at the center of the dash while backing is just so unnatural. So, I guess, that’s the way it’s going to be until I’m gone. I do appreciate hearing the audio warnings of cross traffic however. It does have a reassuring effect. It’s such a different world these days since I first got my driver’s license in 1968.

Happy Easter!

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Crime Story TV Series - Vintage Las Vegas and Cool Cars!

Do you like to see Las Vegas the way it was in the late 1980’s? Or, how about seeing the really cool cars of the late 1950’s and early 60’s?

We ran across this TV series starring Dennis Farina called Crime Story that ran for two seasons starting in 1986. The series setting starts out in Chicago in the early 1960’s. Farina plays a Chicago Lieutenant cop chasing down mob figures and transfers his team to Las Vegas after a few episodes. Before Dennis Farina started his acting career he spent 18 years in the Chicago police department advancing from a patrol officer to detective.

In Las Vegas, a lot of scenes were shot inside the old Bob Stupak’s Vegas World that eventually became the Stratosphere, now named The Strat. About 1989, my wife and I went to Vegas World using one of Stupak’s promotion club deals. They would give you $1200 in slot play tokens, vouchers for table game play with a room and meals for 3 days for $400 per couple. We actually broke even on one trip out there from Wisconsin. Since the series was shot in the late 80’s, it was cool seeing all the original decor, layout and even the same carpeting in the TV show! Lots of action on Old Fremont St. downtown before all the changes and great scenery.

And then, the cars! So many late 50’s and early 60’s pristine classics! Farina had the best set of wheels, a jet black 1957 Chrysler 300C convertible. It had a factory 392 hemi engine with 2 four-barrel carburetors producing 375 hp. In some scenes you can clearly hear the powerful engine as the car accelerates. No wonder Farina wanted to drive that car for both seasons. It's like watching a vintage car show. They didn’t abuse the car too much in chases, as I’m sure the owner would have had a problem with that. Too many cars to list from an early 60’s Corvette to T-birds, Cadillacs, late 50’s Fords and so many others.

With the TV show produced in the 1980's I was unaware until finding it on Amazon Prime a few weeks ago. There’s about 40 episodes over two seasons and we just started the second and final season. The show has enough action to be entertaining. There were quite a few guest stars in the first season including Debbie Harry, Paul Anka, Gary Sinese and Julia Roberts among others. It’s available to stream on Amazon, Tubi, Peacock and others.

And, I just was sent a recent photo of the original car this afternoon (Edit 4/3/2025), after posting to another group. The original car is in Chicago (Pic on the right)! The friend of the owner said he has had it since the 1970's! I asked if the car was for sale and was told the guy will never sell, has two of them, and his two daughters will each get one when he passes. Guess I'll just have to own it in my dreams!

Message received from a car owner, "I owned the 1959 Cadillac used in the filming in 2 seasons in Vegas. At first it was white, and the next season it was painted brown. They paid me $50 per day, and kept it 2 months! When I got it back, it was full of 30 MM spent cartridge rounds. They wanted to blow it up in the final episode, and I refused to sell it, so they had to change the ending of the show."

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My Truck Driving Life

In 1980, I didn't just need a job, I needed a new career. Throughout the 1970's I was a franchised gasoline station dealer for Clark Oil and Refining in Milwaukee, WI. After a long legal battle, which we won in court, the oil company's main mission became forcing the dealers out and taking back control of the stations with salaried managers, thereby eliminating franchised dealers.

Seeing the writing on the wall and also wanting to relocate to a small northern Wisconsin town I needed to do something to support myself. Factory jobs in the rural north in 1980 were few, far between and didn't pay very well. With frequent layoffs due to varying economic conditions, I needed something steady, reliable, with the ability to make decent money. Being 28 years old, I didn't have a lot of time to waste.

My decision was to get myself qualified to drive tractor-trailers and start a driving career. I had been trained as a straight truck driver in the Army Reserve, which provided me some familiarity with diesel engines. I knew I was a decent driver, but was worried whether I could do it all day, every day for a living. So, while I still had the gas station, I signed up for the Diesel Truck Driving School in Sun Prairie, Wi and started training.

So began a successful 38 year career that I retired from in 2018. It wasn't all sunshine and roses, but after a couple stutter steps, I managed to make a decent living througout and was able to put away enough to enable a comfortable retirement. In 2020, I published a book about my experiences which is available by linking to the author link below. Available as an inexpensive eBook, paperback or hardcover.

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My Truck Driving Life

Pioneer QX-949 Quad Receiver - The Cat's Meow in the 1970's

For a few years in the early 1970's 4 channel quad stereo receivers became all the rage. in 1973, Pioneer came out with their top of the line QX 949 that was capable of Discrete 4 quad. I was young, single and able to purchase one around that time. The receiver was huge and weighed about 50 pounds, costing around $800 without extras like speakers and turntable. Of course, if you wanted the ultimate quad experience, you also had to buy albums that incorporated the technology. I think that's what ultimately led to failure in the marketplace, as the equipment needed was quite expensive back then. Also, you would certainly lose some of the advantage unless you were seated near the center of the surrounding four speakers.

But that set could put out amazing sound at 40 watts per channel, 160 total. I bought a reverb, and 4 big speakers, having that setup for more than 30 years! Those were the party days!

Also, you would certainly lose some of the advantage unless you were seated near the center of the surrounding four speakers. But with the super cool display, you could custom tune the output of the individual speakers!

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Where Would We Be Without Drug Companies? Consider This!

Why? Why all the hate for pharmaceutical companies?

I know a guy. Well, it would be more accurate to say that I know of a guy, or that I used to know a guy. I didn’t request permission to identify this guy, so I won't. But this guy's story should be told. Why? Read on.

This guy, in his mid-teens in the 1980s, was at a crossroads. Grades were not that great in school. He, and his entire family, had an extremely traumatic experience earlier in his life. He kind of grew distant and quiet. But he picked the right friend, who had a great family that surely helped inspire him. He became a really good athlete in high school football. Got a summer job at a cheese factory but seemed to quickly figure out that was not what he wanted to do with his life.

Soon after, there was an amazing change when he hit the books in school and his grades came way up. After high school, he and his buddy went off to college. He received a Bachelor of Science Chemistry degree at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in 1993 and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1998 at the University of Utah. After earning his Ph.D., he accepted a Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of Utah with Prof. Gary E. Keck.

While studying in Utah, this guy met his future wife, a great gal from Ohio, who also got her Ph.D in chemistry. They have successfully raised two daughters.

After his education, this guy was hired by Pfizer Pharmaceutical with he and his wife moving to Connecticut, where she was also hired. He began his industrial career as a Research Scientist at Pfizer Inc. and was promoted to Research Fellow in 2012. He then was promoted to Drug Discovery Design Lead. During his time at Pfizer he received numerous awards; the most notable was the W.E. Upjohn Award for innovation. He has over 90 patents, publications and external presentations including two most cited articles, one in the journal of ACS Chemical Neuroscience (2010-2014). He has authored nearly 40 scientific papers. Beyond developing new medicines targeting Alzheimer's disease, this guy has developed compounds to treat Schizophrenia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy and allergic rhinitis.

After Pfizer cut back funding of his department, he was hired away by a competitor, Aquinna Pharmaceutical, as Vice President of Research for a couple years. In 2020, this guy and a fellow Ph.D friend from Pfizer co-founded a new company Rgenta Therapeutics, Inc. with his title being Chief Scientific Officer and his partner Chief Executive Officer. They currently have a new drug, a potential treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in Phase 1 of a clinical trial.

Which brings me around to the point of this story. This doctor worked his way through advanced degrees on his own. Whatever grants, scholarships, loans he could get, he would also work. His education took him until he was close to 30 years old before he started making real money. I don't know how long it took him and his wife to pay off their debts. 

The survival of their new company is dependent on investors paying to fund their research, which is ongoing. Research and development costs are enormous. With drugs in clinical trials, if successful, could be life saving to many. Researchers and scientists need to be paid for what they do. Their investors take risks and need to be compensated if and when their products get to market.

Drug companies? Of course, there’s bad actors out there, as there are in any business or profession. The opioid scandal involving some drug companies was shameful. But, also shameful, was the lack of oversight from the Federal Food & Drug Administration and their failure to safeguard the public. There needs to be oversight, but, come on, thank God for the good they also do.

The many thousands upon thousands of dedicated guys/gals that work hard every day trying to cure disease. Many spend a third of their lives before their education is complete, which it really never is, as they have to continue to study throughout their working lives. Which is what they do, like this guy. And we should appreciate all the great work that these guys and gals do every day, for all of us.

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A Landmark Moment in Motorist Advocacy

I am a member of The National Motorists Association, believing in their cause for more than 50 years. Having written several posts about them, I am re-publishing this info I received in their New Year's email. I hope you would consider joining the fight against the war that is still being waged on the motoring public.

On January 2, 1974, President Richard Nixon signed the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act into law, which included a key provision: the National Maximum Speed Limit (NMSL) of 55 mph on interstate highways. The stated goal of the law was to conserve fuel during the oil crisis of the early 1970s, but it soon became a source of frustration for American drivers. While the government aimed to reduce energy consumption, the NMSL quickly proved ineffective, leading to longer travel times, massive ticketing, and more driver frustration without achieving the desired results.  And so was born the Citizen’s Coalition for Rational Traffic Laws, eventually to be renamed the National Motorists Association.

As people who are deeply committed to motorists rights, we take great pride in the role that the NMA played in the effort to repeal this unworkable and unpopular law. Under the leadership of Jim Baxter, the NMA launched a tireless campaign to overturn the NMSL. Jim understood that speed limits should be determined by road design, safety conditions, and reasonable drivers’ decisions—not by a one-size-fits-all federal mandate. The NMA worked relentlessly, organizing grassroots campaigns, reaching out to lawmakers, and rallying the public to join the cause.

Our message was simple: speed limits should be based on rational principles, such as the 85th percentile speed, not arbitrary rules that make the vast majority of reasonable and safe drivers into violators.

Our efforts culminated in 1995, when the National Highway System Designation Act was signed into law, effectively repealing the NMSL. This victory was a monumental step forward for the NMA and for all Americans who believe in the freedom to drive responsibly. By returning the authority to set speed limits back to individual states, we were able to restore common sense to the way we manage our highways and roadways. States could now set speed limits based on engineering, road design, and local driving habits—factors that made more sense than a blanket 55 mph limit.

The repeal of the NMSL was not just a win against a bad law—it was a victory for the principle of rational traffic policy. It demonstrated the power of grassroots advocacy and the importance of organizations like the NMA in protecting the rights of drivers.  And we couldn’t have done it without the tireless efforts and financial support of our members and donors.

But our work didn’t stop there.

Since the repeal, the NMA has remained vigilant, advocating against unnecessary restrictions on motorists and continuing to fight for fairer, safer, and more reasonable road policies. Whether it's pushing back against speed traps, opposing unjust traffic enforcement measures like red-light cameras, or advocating for better highway infrastructure, the NMA has always been at the forefront of protecting motorists' freedoms.

As we look back on January 2, 1974, and the signing of the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act, it's important to remember the legacy of the NMSL repeal and the ongoing fight for motorists’ rights.

The road ahead may be long, but together we’ll keep pushing for common-sense policies that protect the freedom of the open road.

TAKE ACTION:

If you're not yet a member of the NMA, we encourage you to join us in this important mission—because the fight for motorists' rights is never over.

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