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Re: FW: little Triumph convertible sportscar - LBC Warning

To: "Graziano, Michael" <michael.graziano@csfb.com>
Subject: Re: FW: little Triumph convertible sportscar - LBC Warning
From: Larry Macy <macy@bblmail.psycha.upenn.edu>
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 12:18:23 -0400
LMAOTIMEPRDML

Larry
On Tuesday, September 26, 2000, at 10:46 AM, Graziano, Michael wrote:

>  
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> >From :http://www.roadstaronline.com/2000/08/072a0008.html 
>  
>  
>  
> What A Flashback  
>  
> By Dave Sweetman 
> Contributing Editor   
>  
> Recalling my initiation into the world of 'shrooms back in 1969. 
> I get letters. Some rake me ov er the coals for my slanted view of the 
> world, as though a sense of humor is foreign to them. Some are 
> complimentary, leading me to believe that perhaps it is the world that's 
> slanted and not me. 
>  
> Some letters ask for direction in how a new driver should aim his career 
> goals. 
>  
> Many newbies want it all right now. Forget paying your dues and working your 
> way up the ranks: Some want instant seniority, only the newest and best 
> equipment and the gravy runs, all just for showing up. A good gig if you can 
> get it, but that's not how the real world of trucking works. 
>  
> In my case, I learned from the best: Uncle Sam. Joining the U.S. Army at 17 
> was one of the best things I could have done, considering that I was too big 
> for my britches and headed nowhere with the wrong crowd. 1969 was a turning 
> point in many lives, mine included, and for the next three years I learned 
> to handle just about everything with wheels as part of an interesting "Olive 
> Drab World Tour." 
>  
> Upon re-entry into civilian life, I found myself armed with a shoebox full 
> of awards and decorations, which, along with 25 cents, would get me a cup of 
> coffee at Peggy's Truck Stop. Getting a trucking job with one of the big 
> carriers was all but out of the question, but I had to start somewhere. 
>  
> Living in northern Delaware, not far from Kennett Square, PA, you couldn't 
> help but notice all the mushroom farms. All those 'shrooms need to get to 
> market somehow, so checking with one farm after another, I got lucky and was 
> hired on as a driver. With a 3 a.m. start the next morning, I was to be 
> "taught the ropes" by senior driver Jesse. A line of International 4070A 
> Transtars awaited. 
>  
> Dark-thirty the next morning, I was ready to roll. Jesse pointed me toward a 
> red cabover hooked up to an odd-looking, wire-mesh-sided trailer with a 
> rolled-up tarp in the nose. I had no clue but fell in behind Jesse as we 
> took off down Route 41 headed for New Jersey. We didn't have CB radios, so 
> Charlie Douglas kept me company as WWL Radio New Orleans faded in and out on 
> the AM. 
>  
> Jesse, being the total professional, blinked his trailer lights when 
> approaching a red light, making sure the rookie was paying attention. 
>  
> Just as daylight arrived we pulled into Monmouth Racetrack in central 
> Jersey. Snaking between the rows of stables, we came to a stop in front of a 
> loader with a claw that made quick work of loading the trailer with hay, 
> straw and, uh, slightly used oats that had already been through the horse. 
>  
> Horse manure! Now I had to ask, "What are we doing here?" 
>  
> "Stage One of the compost process for making mushroom soil," I was told. 
> Truck it back to the yard where it gets mixed with bulk gypsum powder and 
> other ingredients to form "Ricks" to ferment, before being taken to the 
> farms for the spores to grow into the finished product. Now before you start 
> snickering, you should know that this is an important process in the 
> mushroom business and without Sea Biscuit's contribution, I would not have 
> had a job and thousands of people would not have mushrooms for their salad. 
> In my own small way, I felt a minor accomplishment for supplying part of the 
> food chain. Besides, I was trucking and it was a paycheck. 
>  
> The first day on the job nothing ever goes right, and this day was no 
> exception. Because the straw was dry, the loader at the racetrack put more 
> in the basket trailer than normal, as it would settle in transit. Making our 
> way back down the New Jersey Turnpike and over the Delaware Memorial Bridge, 
> all bridges had 13 feet, 6 inches of clearance or more and the trailer 
> contents cleared easily. Taking the Route 41 cutoff up through Newport was a 
> left-hand sweeper that dumped you into a four-lane that quickly narrowed to 
> three and then two, just before going under the old railroad bridge at the 
> DuPont Plant. Jesse had put me up front so he could keep an eye on the 
> rookie, and I thought I was doing pretty well. In my mirrors I watched as an 
> impatient motorist in a little Triumph convertible sportscar passed Jesse 
> and had to duck in behind my trailer just as the road turned into two lanes. 
> Considering the contents of my trailer, I thought him a foolish but brave 
> individual with bad sinuses. 
>  
> As the railroad underpass was at the base of a small hill and the old 238 
> Detroit was groaning under the strain, I mashed on the throttle to keep up 
> momentum. At least until that 13.6 load hit the 13.2 bridge. You would have 
> thought a bomb exploded. There was hay, straw and "road apples," as my 
> grandfather used to call them, everywhere. Hitting the four-way flashers and 
> the parking brake, I bailed out to survey the situation. Right on my ICC 
> bumper was Mr. Convertible Tailgater completely covered in fresh, steaming 
> manure. The car was full to the top of the doorjambs and the mesh trailer 
> cover draped over him like a pup tent. Jesse sat at the wheel of his rig, 
> hands over his eyes, shaking his head. 
>  
> As if the morning weren't going badly enough, a local Newport town cop, who 
> had been sitting on a cross street watching the whole episode, now appeared, 
> lights and siren going full tilt. All I could think was, "I hope Barney Fife 
> doesn't have a bullet for that gun or I'm dead." Within minutes a city dump 
> truck showed up and I was presented with brooms, shovels and a rake and was 
> told that if one piece of manure was left on the street, I was going to 
> jail. 
>  
> Barney Fife followed my every step, ignoring the honking car horns and the 
> Shadow Traffic helicopter flying overhead. I could tell he secretly wanted 
> to lock me up for my sins. I figured explaining to my new cellmate "Bubba" 
> what I was in for -- "too much manure" -- would not be good for my health. I 
> kept sweeping. 
>  
> After retarping the trailer, I escaped the threat of jail, Officer Barney's 
> single bullet and the wrath of Bubba for trashing his town, and I rolled on 
> to the yard. The news of my adventure had preceded me, thanks to Shadow 
> Traffic's eye in the sky. I wasn't fired but they wouldn't let me forget it 
> for a while. Other drivers would "duck" in the hall to make their point. 
>  
> I learned a lot in my time in the 'Shroom Biz. Like check your overhead 
> clearance. And never , ever tailgate a load of manure if you drive a 
> convertible. 
>  
> Happy trails and seven-thirds, drivers. I'm back out. 
>  
> Dave Sweetman is a contractor with Horseless Carriage and is RoadStar's 
> driver correspondent. 
>  
>  
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>  
>  
> --_-==15CE694C5163==-_ 
>  name=wssinfo.txt 
> Content-Disposition: attachment;  
>  filename=wssinfo.txt 
>  
> "WSS <Credit Suisse First Boston>" made the following 
>  annotations on 09/26/00 10:46:30 
> 
> 
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
> This message is for the named person's use only.  It may contain  
> confidential, proprietary or legally privileged information.  No  
> confidentiality or privilege is waived or lost by any mistransmission. 
> If you receive this message in error, please immediately delete it and all 
> copies of it from your system, destroy any hard copies of it and notify the 
> sender.  You must not, directly or indirectly, use, disclose, distribute,  
> print, or copy any part of this message if you are not the intended  
> recipient. CREDIT SUISSE GROUP and each of its subsidiaries each reserve 
> the right to monitor all e-mail communications through its networks.  Any 
> views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender, except 
> where the message states otherwise and the sender is authorised to state  
> them to be the views of any such entity. 
> Unless otherwise stated, any pricing information given in this message is  
> indicative only, is subject to change and does not constitute an offer to  
> deal at any price quoted. 
> Any reference to the terms of executed transactions should be treated as  
> preliminary only and subject to our formal written confirmation. 
>  
>  
>  
> 
> 
>============================================================================== 
>  
>  
> --_-==15CE694C5163==-_-- 
>  
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