1st Dan

It's been a few weeks since my last post and truckers still rule. I tested for my 1st degree black belt in Bushi Ban on Saturday. The test went really well. Black belt and 1st degree used to be the same thing in Bushi Ban until about 12-18 months ago. Now we have to keep attending class and teaching the lower belts to earn 1st degree, which is also known as 1st dan. Next year I will fly to Texas again to test for 2nd dan. Martial arts has made a big impact in my life. I plan on practicing for the rest of my life. I don't see any reason to ever give up. On 9/10/01 a brown belt elbowed me in a drill and split my eye open. I ended up with 18 stitches and a black eye. He claimed I walked in to a block, but he purposely threw the elbow. I don't know why he did it, but he got his black belt and quit. I now have my revenge. He was only in it to say he was a black belt, but he is a quiter. That means nothing five years later. I started with the intention of continuing throughout my life. I practice every day, and I know I could drop that punk like a bad habit.

10-4

Today is Trucker's Day. If I have to explain it to you then you aren't a trucker. I got my Class A license in 1996 when I was working for Mountainland Supply. I didn't get a nice Peterbilt, Kenworth or International like the picture above. I drove a GMC Brigadier like the picture below, but mine wasn't as nice. It felt older than Methuselah and didn't have AC and the engine case exuded heat. It had a cassette player, but I could barely hear it over the drone of the engine. I did several runs a day when I was on a local route, and I had to unload the pipe, cast-iron tubs and water heaters myself. When I got on the Brig I was carrying heavy pipe so it had to be offloaded by a forklift. I went to Price about twice a week, so I would be gone all day on one run. I wasn't sure that it would pass the safety test at the Point of Entry, so I often spent a lot of time talking to the UHP officers in hopes that they wouldn't inspect my truck. It worked most of the time. My dad's neighbor petitioned the city of Orem until they restricted engine brakes on University Parkway approaching I-15. He wanted to be able to sleep with his window open and not hear trucks. Engine brakes slow down the truck without frying the brakes, and they don't make that much noise. Everything that Nancy Boy had was transported on a truck, but he was upset he had to listen to an occasional Jake Brake. I guess that's what happens when you marry in to money and never hold a real job. Nancy Boy. I've kept my Class A license current in case I ever have to fall back on it. Truckers rule and we should make October 4th a national holiday.