Toxic masculinity and white supremacy

There was a huge semi parked in front of Marc's today--full of potted mums. All had been unloaded by the time I walked in. There must have been hundreds, every color and size. I kept thinking about the time and physical effort to drive that massive truck, and to load and unload. When I came out I saw the truck had moved ahead a little so as not to block the store entrance. I could see someone moving around inside, so I stood by the truck's tail gate for the driver (and I assumed a helper) to come out. He finally appeared. Only guy on the truck. He was white, fair skin, about 20, slight build, with a huge smile, blue eyes, and neatly dressed. "Can I help you," he asked. "Did you do all that by yourself?" I asked, motioning to the racks and racks of mums. He still had a load of flowers inside the truck and was moving them. "Oh yeah, it's not hard, and now I have another stop for the rest of the load."

Maybe there's a slender woman out there who could have wrestled this load and driven the truck and still be pleasant and polite to a stranger, but I haven't met her.

Trick my Truck

I've been enjoying watching truck makeovers on CMT this week-end. Nice personal interest stories with the Chrome Shop Mafia working their miracles. I don't know if the writers' strike will affect them or not--the banter seems pretty standard from show to show. Trick my Trucker, a weight loss and make-over show (series) for the drivers was even more fun. Seeing overweight smokers with hair and beard styles stuck in the 70s get into good nutrition, exercise get a shave and a haircut was awesome. Took 25 years off their appearance.

Eugene Jackson's Lifeline, a semi that rescues stranded big rigs got spiffed up.

3761

Unintended consequences of emissions control

In my opinion, the most sensible gas saving regulation ever to go into effect was the 55 mph speed limit back in the 1970s. I'm sure it cut into someone's profits, but overnight it saved many lives--thousands a year--and miraculously, it seems to cut down on travel time because there were far fewer accidents holding you up on the roadways and interstates. One benefit never measured was that on the cardiovascular system of the drivers and passengers who weren't driving at 75 mph in a moving parking lot with their heart in their throats.

Now there are hearings for new regulations on emissions control of heavy trucks, which really are the life blood of this country. Virtually everything we eat, or wear or use one square of each time we go to the rest room, is shipped by truck.

Stricter emissions:

Worse mileage will mean more fuel. 1 mile less per gallon

Worse road conditions for other vehicles. Longer, heavier trucks will need to make up the added costs for everything moved by truck, tearing up our asphalt and concrete, causing more fatal accidents when we hit them.

More unsafe trucks. Current trucks will be kept in service longer because they will not be covered by the new regulations.

Hotter trucks. Engines need to burn at a higher heat with the new standards.

Reduced competition. New standards hurt independents and small truckers, and some will go out of business.

Stockpiles. Larger companies have stockpiled new trucks built before the new standards, raising costs for independents.

Add to this the cost of gasoline blends we're going to be forced to burn in our cars, and we're going to have a huge increase in food prices, hurting the poor who spend a larger percentage of their dollar on food.

I like clean air as much as the next gal, but green air costs you the green.

3655

Old trucks are popular

I saw this old Ford parked between cottages at Lakeside yesterday. Seems to be in the middle of restoration.


Then at Florida Cracker (a librarian), I saw this truck, apparently new, for about $58,000, made by Southern Motor. But you can choose your color.