I don't know how to put this, but for a condition that I wish I could reverse, I'm in Wyoming and about to loose much that I have worked for, most of my life. It all started in mid 2013, through a future employee met this gal, who as it turned out was willing to sell to me a used broadcast control console. It was inexpensive enough, and then got a blip from an old school friend in Utah move the radio side of the club's radio network to Utah. So I put my tow truck in storage and moved to Utah. All I did was media. Got all too many promises from all too many people who never Did what they promised. Through other associates found an office that was inexpensive enough in Woods Cross Utah. So moved the radio gig there, tried to reside in Ogden. trouble is my personal company was in suspension. So I was living on simple Social Security and a mild stipend from the club. Then in 2014 in November to be exact, got a clip from a news guy that said that the AM radio station in Evanston had gone dead. So Hey a Over the Air station available the winds under the wings from the club through HazzardAyre Radio here I came. After looking at the area, and really needing a place to hang my head with a shower at the low end and needing to boost my income through the radio gear, moved to Evanston. Resided in an old trailer that should be condemned and through many blessings from on high gained an apartment here and started to climb out of a very bad situation. Then through an associate and all got together with a guy who said he'd go into partnership with me in a shop here. Well thought was go tow. Once I listed the company on Yelp amongst others we started getting calls, trouble was no truck, LexiBelle was in Twin Falls. Couldn't find one person to go over and haul LexiBelle here to Evanston, just for the cost of fuel. Remember LexiBelle had been in storage for near two and a half years, hoses decay, tires get flat spots, belts weaken, but by early December LexiBelle was here in Evanston. Then I started hearing about a major company in Utah invading Wyoming, infringing on the incomes of not only myself but that of others in Green River, Rock Springs, and Afton. So I joined into the fight after all the business I was protecting was in part my own. With all of that and a few media contacts I have a way to run up some ads, promos and yes the upcoming movie. Trouble is in two and a half months, cable/internet bill got behind, rent on the shop rent got behind and that's the short list. I have been poking at both Shawn and Sheridon of Green River for a bit of money to help me right the boat here, but like me they are tapped too. I heard about a cat from California that did business loans so I poked Dom, and he said he could maybe get me $10k in a business loan. Thing is just got the paper work, and with my credit rating at the bottom of a buckey of a fico score of 530, I don't see that as anything although I made out the paper work. But here's the thing. In towing I have see the good, the bad and the fugdugly since I started, in 1974. I did well until my Mom passed away in 1983. However at the time the trustee's of mom estate urged me to move to Boise. Where I found the rules for going towing were a bit more strict. Even then the California influence had started in Idaho. All for the big companies with multiple trucks and us with one or two, trucks were going to have trouble. The condition came where a roll over happened right on west State Street between Boise and then the tiny town of Eagle, Idaho. Road blockage and all yet here I was in my drive way, but the city needed to wait for a tow truck from mid city an hour away, to clear the wreckage. So I went to the city council, after I read in the list of requirements to get on rotation, that you had to have at least 3 trucks to get on rotation. But I fought. Then Mayor eventually Governor Dirk Kempthorne Vaghn Kileen Sheriff, I set up a Vicinity list where if there was an urgent need , the truck closest to a accident scene could be called. By doing that I was taking in $1,000.00 a day and that was before lunch. I mention that because I can fight and I can win, but I couldn't have then except I had the financial support of a heavy hand of Tommy N Thompson of TNT Towing of Boise. I can't fight without financial help, and I can't fight without being online and on the air on radio, and that's why again, I'm pleading on bended knees to Shawn and all for a short loan of $500.00 or so, and I need it by Friday. I'll get into this further this evening, but I'm begging and while I'm usually not begging, I need the help out of pocket money to keep my radio operation of the club, as well as staying on line that $500.00 is needed in 3 days.
Hope ya'll will help.
TTYLY
Today was a Monday all the way. Going around collecting for road service jobs and all, I stopped by the shop, chatted with the crew, and all intended to do some work on LexiBelle, when I got Dizzy as hell. So decided to roll home and check my sugar level, hitting near 400 took my Metformin , some Goody's headache powders and fell asleep. So woke up tried to prep for the radio show this evening, but , and its getting worse on that front, but body said no even though the mind was yelling yes. I don't like taking medication for anything, and I mean anything. Primary even basic healthcare in Wyoming is more miss than hit. There aren't many Doctors here, and the few that are , are reluctant to take on VA or Medicaid patients. So you muddle through. The results are always some that wonder why don't I just unplug, fly summer, quit towing and winter do nothing but radio. Thing is to take my butt out of a tow truck and stop being active in the industry, would flat kill me. Its not for being in the air, or on the air that I wake up for every morning its the idea of having my butt in a tow truck that I live for. Found out that the fuel tank repairs I paid Magic Valley Transmissions of Twin Falls Idaho that I shelled out near $500.00 for is sub standard. While few want to do low cost repairs, still if you take it on for damn sake do it, for the price you quoted and do it with pride and precision. Or don't take on the job at all. Honesty goes a helluva long way. Fortunately I found a pair of tanks over in Green River at Toew Bro Prospect member Shawn's so will be out of service for the week, but hey gotta fix what needs fixed. Then there's the feud going on with a large company out of Utah invading areas of Wyoming. There's too few regulations on one side of going towing in Wyoming and yet too many elsewhere. One of the things that the Toew Bro's Club is working on legislatively is to get uniform regulations in all three Mountain West states of Idaho, Utah and Wyoming,. The least of which is overhead light coloring. Having to cover your overhead lights to go into one state from another is a real pain. While Wyoming pretty much mandates red and blue lenses, amber is the main color in Utah, Idaho and Nevada. This is just the top of the tow snow pile. To spotlight these issues and promote a better image in towing in our region, the Toew Bro's Club, is working with two screenwriters and a production company to create a movie of us going towing, which is why Highway Hooker was changed to SpeedWrench Toewing, as Highway Hooker Toewing will be the in movie tow company.
See you on the radio in the morning, my eyes are heavy and need to go back to bed.
Oh and ya'll say a prayer to my associate Rick at the shop, Rick hurt his back cutting fire wood, and is in deep pain, so put him in your prayers.
TTYLY
Of course it's not uncommon and practiced heavy in the club, to have new prospect members pay a weekly or monthly dues to demonstrate loyalty, as well as dedication to the club. However in the realm of business, can a business charge a new employee, or associate a training, probation fee? More over is it legal? We all know that employment services , like SOS , and others makes their new recruits pay a fee for them finding someone a job, usually 10% of what ever they make, each pay period. But can a independent business charge a fee for having to put up with the bullstuff of training and all that? I'd like to know. This month I'll be away from the keyboard and internet, as well as be off air on the radio, as budget just does not cover paying shop rent, apartment rent and still get internet and cable TV, and since the main focus for a few months has to be the shop, and going towing, the fancy crap of Internet/Cable TV had to go. So That's how that goes.
TTYLY
It was 14:30 hours, woke up to see the world and decided breakfast out. So went to Jodies Diner here in Evanston, the only place to eat a fair tasting meal. So after I filtered into a table where it wasn't so cold that the food didn't freeze before you ate it, and where the gas fumes coming from my hoodie from a service call night before dang it I do need a washer and dryer, so there twuzz, and I think there is a drastic decline of the population of the nation of Mexico was sat at a coupling of tables. There was this one mid twenties aged taco male there that couldn't be ignored. Now as to that . I'm not saying that I'm being bigoted or racist, and there are tasks and vocations that could not function, if it were not for Mexican workers, ever try to get a White teen or person to go pick rock, move sprinkler pipe, or any of those kinds of jobs? But when the entire food supply at Jodies is being consumed, and I'm nearly being ignored , it begs the question , couldn't Jodies, hire more back up employees? There is Becky, who lives down in Echo, Utah that treks up here on the weekends to slave at Jodies, but the weather was such that she had to thaw a bit, so here was the afternoon rush, and no Becky, and the weekend service crew there at Jodies needs to be improved a bit.
We will be on the air later in the morning starting at 06:00 on www.livestream.com/speedwrenchradio
See you all then,
This is one of the few nights that this old Wolf is taking the night off of radio and taking a few hours to myself and catching some sleep and doing some serious thinking. There are changes coming and they are welcome changes. While I may or may not be in Wyoming or not depends on weather, budget and/or attitude, and it wont be for a few months. However I can tell you that the exit light is about to get lit and I'm getting my butt out of Evanston. I'm not saying Evanston is all bad, and there are some fine people here, but the industrious momentum is just not here. Somebody after the oil wells and all blew out of here a few years ago, the economic blanket got pulled out from under this town, and between, reputation that is undeserved, to a Planning and zoning Commissioner in city government, I'm drowning in seas of debt and such that the shop and all might just be a thing I got to get out from under or I'll drown.
As such my vision is dimming and getting really foggy when it comes to Evanston, and while an immediate retreat to Idaho might be an option, perhaps a advancement might be to move east instead of West, where past mistakes and all are not known, and reputation, not as tarnished if known at all.
I need a place to drop anchor of at least 50k population, not these dinky go nowhere mini towns. I need to be able to go snag food in a cafe or diner at 23:00 to 02:00 hours if I want to , get Skoal at 04:00 and so on, not have to drive to 3 places if one is out of Skoal, and where if I want and have the money to go and blow money at a bikini bar, or see a stock car race.
Now one last thing, we are moving towards refiring SpeedWrench Toewing back up as such, you will begin seeing and hearing a new channel of ours on Livestream, called SpeedWrench Radio. www.livestream.com/speedwrenchradio
See ya'll in the morning, I'm horizontal
There are many people out there that post things on Facebook and other social media websites that are just copies of someone else's work. Whether that's a pic of some gal in hosiery from some porn or near porn site, to those of articles and such that are taken from either TV or a blog or such.
The fact is and the Stinky Truth is, we here at HazzardAyre, don't. Everything we publish, post and blog and air is done by our MC (motorcycle club) or the Wolf-Pack(The AyreWolvez) or by myself, usually one in the other. Never do we just pirate somebody's stuff and repost it as if it were our own creation. It's not just Facebook either,. Movies and TV do it as well. redoux's of old TV series' to movie remakes, to airing of a article on a blog as original news copy or at least the written part of another's blog entry. No wonder the copyright police are out in force. Damn it if your going to use somebody else's music, lyrics, etc at least be willing to pony up some cash and pay the people that you robbed from. I have seen postings from everything from some hot gal who put their image or images up on dating sites, like www.pantyhosedating.uk to runs on Star Trek. I saw a posting earlier this evening from some body trying to do a smooze on the original series of Star Trek, that now CBS Paramount Studios are going after them for violations of intellectual property and establishing a theatrical showing of their TV thing called Star Trek Universe. Really and their surprised. I have also started to see some decaying on some online radio stations as well as broadcast radio stations and those producing TV ads, for using music of an artist or music publishing company. If you don't pay, you don't play. HazzardAyre Radio, through our media subsidiary SouthernSteele Media, pays roughly $50k to $200K a year in play out rights. Its done just everything shy, of killing the streaming service Live365. While I too think that TV stars, musicians and all make 300% more money and all off of royalties, from their works, but still it is THEIRS so if ya'll want to use it, pay for it. If you post it at least say its from somewhere else not post it as your own creation.
My Opinion I could be wrong.
TTYLY
Looks like shit has hit the fan and you know who has to clean it up. Got a call this afternoon from Rocky Mountain Power , usually its not a big gig to fix the problem, but past power bill that has been past due is now very much due. Come Monday, lights off at the shop. But this is just the tip of the poop pile. Last May, this old fart named Delbert through an associate of mine, said he'd go into business on a tow basis and do half the rent on a shop if it were in town. So it just so happened I found one , a bit pricey but since my domicile rent went down to $200.00 a month figured I could handle it. Come June though this Delbert says he wasn't interested any more. Then this hippy named Joey said he'd go half on the shop. See I knew at $1,000.00 a month and me making at take home pay a mere $800.00 a month I couldn't do the shop myself, so needed a partner, although I felt skiddish I did it anyway. Thinking that one of these jokers would honor their agreement, one that I should have had in writing. But hey Hazzard County trust I went in on well trusting, but in today's world trust is only of the MC, the Wolf-Pack and God, past that trust is not only earned but demonstrated. By July, was in the thought bug out of this shop, tend to doing what it was I ventured here to Evansgone Wyoming to do, come after that move back into Idaho, and leave the radio gig, in the hands of two club members, one still here the other moved out long ago. But I was getting out of the shop. So I was in that mode, sold some old crap of Joey's but same guy who bought that crap of wood, said he wanted in the shop. Fine we try again. This went on for July and August, but besides the rent was the power bill Nathen's old lady said she'd take care of that, then the phone/internet bill, she says she'll take care of that since they were using that more than me, mostly as a hot spot, for their wifi toys. Add to that Rocky Mountain Power never did mail the bill to me at my residence like I asked them too but neither did CenturyLink. Thus if they had, could've paid the power and phone bills. But so came mid August, Rick steps in, we agree to push Nathen out, and we'd fire the shop ourselves. Thing was trying to catch up, became too much. And now here we sit on the verge of loosing it again, thing is just like Pappy Boyington, told me once, sometimes there are situations that you have your back against the wall, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it. Add to that, None of MY rigs have had a wrench turned on em, but fixing your own rides is not a course of action that generates income. For the shop, for the shop expenses, nor for me its just sucking the financial life out of both Rick and I, so how long this goes on is anyone's guess. The situation, is now there's 3 of mine in the shop, LexiBelle is still not functional, LiL Wolf still needs work, Subaru still needs fixed, and even the General JaXson, needs some wrenching. Which means outside of the Subaru, which I'm just going to put out in the impound yard strip it, sell the good parts off it, pull the plates and say good bye to it. LexiBelle, The General and LiL Wolf are going to have to go elsewhere to get repaired, so that come mid June as soon as the winter melts, and it warms up, I can gather myself up and get out of this place, before it sucks my completely dry. Got one guy living in the shop, can't pay a little rent, or something, but helps in the shop, why can't he help on LexiBelle, or LiL Wolf? Everything the lease says I'm violating but the landlord is being kind, but he ain't going to be kind much longer., Made arrangements with AllWest so radio station including but not limited to HazzardAyre Radio will still be running, but even that, why can't some of these people that Rick knows that visit the shop, and he pals around with work off Shop bills and what they owe us, by busting some shoe leather selling ad time for HazzardAyre? If they did we could be making enough out of HazzardAyre to finance the shop each month. Sure I'm still working with Dom, on getting some operating money but that's going to take time. Bottom line? This bullstuff needs to stop.
I can tell ya'll this too, come April, this old Wolf is heading to Lost Wages Nevada for the NAB(National Association of Broadcasters) Convention, since the only thing generating even a few dollars is HazzardAyre Radio. Any mile need to grab some sleep to be on air in the early morning.
TTYLY
