Just When I Thought California Couldn't Get Any Worse!

[Tony Ingram]

Don't know if much of you watch Fox news but there were four high school students that were threatened with suspension on May 5th which is Cinco De Mayo for wearing t-shirts with the American flag on them. They were pulled into the principal's office and were told to turn their t-shirts inside out because it was disrespectful to the Mexican students who were celebrating Cinco De Mayo. The students refused to do so because they thought they were showing patriotism for the U.S. They were then sent home for refusing to comply with the principal's request. Maybe I'm the only one here but I've always thought that if people have come here from another country then obviously they would be patriotic towards America since they have the opportunity to have freedom and chase their dreams. I have no problem with them celebrating their heritage but don't knock the U.S. The fact that people have come here in search of something better would tell me they weren't content where they had come from. Be proud of your new country and for all of the opportunities you now have. Next they'll be taking down the American flag on those days I guess. Still proud to see a certain court Judge here in my town still makes people stand and recite the pledge of allegance every Friday morning when I'm in there. Sure he'll be getting some flack for that in the future.

[Muladzh]

There are fools in this country who have given away everything to the minorities, and immigrants. If they don't stop soon, there will be no US left to live in for the rest of us. I am proud of this country, and it's heritage, and will display patriotism until they drag me away, screaming.

[GreenGiant2]

Don't know if much of you watch Fox news but there were four high school students that were threatened with suspension on May 5th which is Cinco De Mayo for wearing t-shirts with the American flag on them. They were pulled into the principal's office and were told to turn their t-shirts inside out because it was disrespectful to the Mexican students who were celebrating Cinco De Mayo. The students refused to do so because they thought they were showing patriotism for the U.S. They were then sent home for refusing to comply with the principal's request. Maybe I'm the only one here but I've always thought that if people have come here from another country then obviously they would be patriotic towards America since they have the opportunity to have freedom and chase their dreams. I have no problem with them celebrating their heritage but don't knock the U.S. The fact that people have come here in search of something better would tell me they weren't content where they had come from. Be proud of your new country and for all of the opportunities you now have. Next they'll be taking down the American flag on those days I guess. Still proud to see a certain court Judge here in my town still makes people stand and recite the pledge of allegance every Friday morning when I'm in there. Sure he'll be getting some flack for that in the future.

AMEN. I AGREE 100% WITH YOU. THIS IS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, NOT ANOTHER COUNTRY. BLESS THE 4 STUDENTS FOR STICKING UP FOR OUR COUNTRY.

MORE PEOPLE NEED TO DO SO.

GG2

[vision386]

Don't know if much of you watch Fox news but there were four high school students that were threatened with suspension on May 5th which is Cinco De Mayo for wearing t-shirts with the American flag on them. They were pulled into the principal's office and were told to turn their t-shirts inside out because it was disrespectful to the Mexican students who were celebrating Cinco De Mayo. The students refused to do so because they thought they were showing patriotism for the U.S. They were then sent home for refusing to comply with the principal's request. Maybe I'm the only one here but I've always thought that if people have come here from another country then obviously they would be patriotic towards America since they have the opportunity to have freedom and chase their dreams. I have no problem with them celebrating their heritage but don't knock the U.S. The fact that people have come here in search of something better would tell me they weren't content where they had come from. Be proud of your new country and for all of the opportunities you now have. Next they'll be taking down the American flag on those days I guess. Still proud to see a certain court Judge here in my town still makes people stand and recite the pledge of allegance every Friday morning when I'm in there. Sure he'll be getting some flack for that in the future.

When did it become a crime to show pride in being an american? i saw this story too, and it really made me mad! the united states is still the greatest country in the world,and we ALL came from somewhere else at one time, but if you are living here,you are an AMERICAN FIRST ! not a "mexican american" or "english american" etc. i am an american of german ancestry, proud to be! i want to know when it became wrong to want to be a part of this counrty legally and by the books ie: citizenship,learning english etc. my ancestors are indeed proud of our heritage, but we are above all americans first!I am so tired of hearing stories like this its not funny! there is no other country on gods green earth that enjoys the freedoms and priveleges that we as americans do, and its about damn time people should stand up for what we have earned in this country! god bless america! mark

[Gambi80]

Makes me glad the other day I stumbled upon a 'Welcome to America, now speak ENGLISH or get the hell out!' sticker for my back window.

[hatcity]

No comprende

BTW-what are you doing in court every Friday?

[jaysm35a2]

Just as you guys said, what else could come from southern ,Cali? Nothing at all surprises me from there. -

[Tony Ingram]

I'm a lowly public servant, that's why I'm stuck in court alot. I'm not there due to breaking the law, trust me I'm on the other side.

[Tony Ingram]

I'm a lowly public servant, that's why I'm stuck in court alot. I'm not there due to breaking the law, trust me I'm on the other side.

[hatcity]

Are......are.... you.....Deputy Dog? j/k

[Gambi80]

Tongue in cheek...

[Tony Ingram]

I'm a California "Bear" is what I hear them calling me on the c.b. all the time. I have a soft spot for trucks though, as you can tell I've got my work cut out for me on my ol' H-63. Not too many of my co-workers are fond of my restoration project but like I've told them, I've driven hot rods and sport bikes long enough, I drive fast at work everyday but I've had the most fun driving that ol' rust bucket, blowing black smoke with my little boy ridin' shotgun. Wouldn't trade it for the world. Hopefully next year she'll be all dolled up and back on the road. There's not very many Macks out here, unfortunately it's Peterbilt country. We also have plenty of bleeding heart liberals like the pics posted above, I get to deal with those kinds of people on a daily basis and people wonder why we're not so warm and fuzzy all the time. Only 19 more years until retirement, wooohooo!!!

[other dog]

AMEN. I AGREE 100% WITH YOU. THIS IS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, NOT ANOTHER COUNTRY. BLESS THE 4 STUDENTS FOR STICKING UP FOR OUR COUNTRY.

MORE PEOPLE NEED TO DO SO.

GG2

they should fire the principal.

[vision386]

I'm a California "Bear" is what I hear them calling me on the c.b. all the time. I have a soft spot for trucks though, as you can tell I've got my work cut out for me on my ol' H-63. Not too many of my co-workers are fond of my restoration project but like I've told them, I've driven hot rods and sport bikes long enough, I drive fast at work everyday but I've had the most fun driving that ol' rust bucket, blowing black smoke with my little boy ridin' shotgun. Wouldn't trade it for the world. Hopefully next year she'll be all dolled up and back on the road. There's not very many Macks out here, unfortunately it's Peterbilt country. We also have plenty of bleeding heart liberals like the pics posted above, I get to deal with those kinds of people on a daily basis and people wonder why we're not so warm and fuzzy all the time. Only 19 more years until retirement, wooohooo!!!

A bear with an H-63? now i have seen it all lol! thats great! nice to see that someone in california has an interest in something besides a peterbilt.I liked reading about you taking you little boy for a ride, my son sure gets a kick out of riding with me, especially when i let him "drive". I for one could'nt do your job, not in cally anyway.Im always curious where the interst in trucks comes from outside the industry........mark

[Tony Ingram]

I took an interest in trucks when I was a little guy. My grandfather worked for a Kenworth dealership in Sacramento from the 50's until he retired in the early 80's. He built heavy duty wreckers and was a shop mechanic. I remember going to see him at work and looking at all those big ol' trucks inside that shop. He had a 73' Ford pickup all dressed up with lights and I remember riding with him in that truck listening to some C.W. McCall and the other trucker singers. Some of the fondest memories I had with him. He passed away in 87' and I remember my grandmother asking me if I wanted anything of his. He had this old Mack ashtray that he'd had for years and it had the bulldog on a pedastal in the center of it. I told her that's what reminded me of him and I've had it ever since. A little DeJaVu that I ended up getting a Mack 20 years later. Needless to say the bulldog from the ashtray went on the front of my H-model. When I was in highschool my dad and I restored his 64' Vette and my first car was a 65' Chevy II. Had lots of fun in those but the neightbor behind us had just restored his old B model Mack. I had never seen anybody restore an old truck and thought it was the coolest thing. He took me for a ride in it and I think that's what planted the seed. Well a long time had passed and after I had my kids needless to say I wanted to get myself a project.My youngest boy who is 4 1/2 is blind and has always loved big trucks, I'm assuming because of the noise and size. I thought how fun it would be to do this project with him. I didn't think there were much to trucks as far as work restoring them but little did I know. I'd never turned a wrench on a truck but found it's basically the same as a car, just alot bigger and heavier. I found the old girl down in Chino, Ca and had her brought home. I got alot of funny looks and "what the Hell are you thinking" from everybody as they saw her come in on the lowboy. I stuck to my guns and now all the hotrod guys are making excuses to come and give me a hand on the Mack. I've told them all it's an addiction and I've already got a few ideas on the next truck I can add to the collection. Shhhh, just don't tell mama, she doesn't know about that yet. This site has been a godsend because without all of the posts and help i've gotten from everybody on here I may have given up. Not now, I figure I'll be an H-63 expert by the time I'm done. Looking forward to next week and some time off so I can go outside and get my hands greasy and some diesel on my clothes.

[Doug Maney]

Wow a Mack in California! It looks like you have a great project going there and for all of the right reasons. With all of the environmental regulations that are born in California, how does that coal black smoke go over? How is the elimination of older vehicles affecting the hobby? Talk about getting worse in California, from what we were hearing all of the older stuff should have been small chunks on a slow boats to China.

[Gambi80]

So are you a CHiP?

I was watching "Dangerous Drives" on Speed channel the other night...they had the CHP on I-15 from I think Bakersfield to Vegas. I couldn't even imagine dealing with that...but that's coming from a 'flatlander' here in IL who's buried in a cornfield town has a whoppin 1300 people.

[GreenGiant2]

So are you a CHiP?

I was watching "Dangerous Drives" on Speed channel the other night...they had the CHP on I-15 from I think Bakersfield to Vegas. I couldn't even imagine dealing with that...but that's coming from a 'flatlander' here in IL who's buried in a cornfield town has a whoppin 1300 people.

WAS THINKIN THE SAME THING ABOUT BEING A CHiP

[vision386]

So are you a CHiP?

I was watching "Dangerous Drives" on Speed channel the other night...they had the CHP on I-15 from I think Bakersfield to Vegas. I couldn't even imagine dealing with that...but that's coming from a 'flatlander' here in IL who's buried in a cornfield town has a whoppin 1300 people.

Man that drive can be"interesting" to say the least! especially friday night and sunday night, all the drunks and speeders are headed back to L.A. theres been a time or two when its taken me 8 hours to drive from vegas to los angeles (little over 200 miles)......mark

[Tony Ingram]

Ya I'm a Chippy, I work on the Grapevine which is the I-5 corridor between Los Angeles and Bakersfield. I've been with the department about ten years and have been up on the hill since I started. I was pretty much born into it, my dad was a 37 year veteran of the department and I have an uncle who is a commercial officer in northern California. He started out in Central L.A. in the late 60's and moved us up to a small town called Glennville in the early 80's when I was getting ready to start grammer school. It was up in the hills and a great place to grow up, only had 131 people in the entire town. Mostly cattle ranchers were up there so that's how i got exposed to this hobby you could say. I latched onto one of the ranchers and used to help him gather cattle on the weekends and during the summers. Got my feet wet running heavy equipment with him on the ranch and was fortunate enough to haul cattle with him in his early 80's cabover Freightliner. Times have definitely changed even the short amount of time I have been on the job. People aren't as respectful towards law enforcement or even each other as they were some years ago. I think most of the younger generation feels they're owed something but that's got to be a reflection of how they were brought up. People seem to be in a big hurry to nowhere out here, it's definitely fast paced but I don't know any different having been born and raised out here. I've been to other states like Colorado, Utah, Idaho and such and everybody seems to be more easy going and not in much of a hurry. A much slower paced lifestyle, I like it much better but am tied down here with my job. I do my fair share of commercial enforcement don't get me wrong, but it seems like the majority of the truck drivers I end up dealing with are youngsters who have just started with some of the larger over the road carriers. They don't seem to take as much pride in their trucks as owner operaters and the pee bottles strewn about the shoulders of the highways is a sign of the younger generation who just don't care. I know there are quite a few drivers out there that don't care for us Bears out here but we're just doing our jobs like all the rest of the people. I can't speak for everybody but the majority of the people on my department do care about people and take pride in what we do. Enforcement is a critical part of the job and it does reduce traffic collisions. Nobody is ever happy to get a ticket so therefore someone's only experience with law enforcement may be construed as a negative one if that's there only contact with us. My goal every day I go to work is a simple one, not to write a bunch of tickets or take people to jail but to simply make it home to see my family, bottom line. Some of the best help I've ever gotten from passing motorists during situations has been by truck drivers. We need to work together since we're always going to co-exist. Times are especially hard now with the economy and many people I stop are upset thinking that we're "revenue rats" for the state. The fact is my department receives no revenue from any citations issued, it all goes to the local county or city. My department is completely funded by the vehicle registration fund, and since 1929 our department has always come in under budget every year. Not many organizations out here can say that. Anyway, I've been searching for other folk out here in my neck of the woods that are involved in the truck hobby but with "Macks". Needless to say there aren't many but that's ok, guess I'll have to represent for all you guys on the East Coast. I've had a ball working on this old truck and it has definitely been a good experience for my son. I don't see myself ever getting out of the hobby, it's become an addiction. with all of the research I've done I can honestly say that Macks are truly unique and no other truck manufacturer can compare with what Mack has done. I would like to get back and see the Mack museum someday and maybe I can drive the old girl back there with the family in tow.

[bullhusk]

16390, Back when i was a kid in the early 60's there was a guy who hung around my dad's shop his name was Joe Yurakie he had a H Model with a Mack 205 HP Turbo Motor ( Factory ) That's the first time i ever seen a turbo! Well he used to haul Stella Dora Biscuits from N.Y. C. to the west coast and haul back what ever. Ther wern't to many truck's that could could run with those Mack's 205 TURBO CHARGED HORSE POWER !! BULLHUSK

[RowdyRebel]

So are you a CHiP?

I was watching "Dangerous Drives" on Speed channel the other night...they had the CHP on I-15 from I think Bakersfield to Vegas. I couldn't even imagine dealing with that...but that's coming from a 'flatlander' here in IL who's buried in a cornfield town has a whoppin 1300 people.

Population 1300? That's danged near urban!

[bullhusk]

Where was the principal of that high school educated???? He sound's like a Sand-Blasted Mexican too Me!!

[DMorgan]

Ya I'm a Chippy, I work on the Grapevine which is the I-5 corridor between Los Angeles and Bakersfield. I've been with the department about ten years and have been up on the hill since I started. I was pretty much born into it, my dad was a 37 year veteran of the department and I have an uncle who is a commercial officer in northern California. He started out in Central L.A. in the late 60's and moved us up to a small town called Glennville in the early 80's when I was getting ready to start grammer school. It was up in the hills and a great place to grow up, only had 131 people in the entire town. Mostly cattle ranchers were up there so that's how i got exposed to this hobby you could say. I latched onto one of the ranchers and used to help him gather cattle on the weekends and during the summers. Got my feet wet running heavy equipment with him on the ranch and was fortunate enough to haul cattle with him in his early 80's cabover Freightliner. Times have definitely changed even the short amount of time I have been on the job. People aren't as respectful towards law enforcement or even each other as they were some years ago. I think most of the younger generation feels they're owed something but that's got to be a reflection of how they were brought up. People seem to be in a big hurry to nowhere out here, it's definitely fast paced but I don't know any different having been born and raised out here. I've been to other states like Colorado, Utah, Idaho and such and everybody seems to be more easy going and not in much of a hurry. A much slower paced lifestyle, I like it much better but am tied down here with my job. I do my fair share of commercial enforcement don't get me wrong, but it seems like the majority of the truck drivers I end up dealing with are youngsters who have just started with some of the larger over the road carriers. They don't seem to take as much pride in their trucks as owner operaters and the pee bottles strewn about the shoulders of the highways is a sign of the younger generation who just don't care. I know there are quite a few drivers out there that don't care for us Bears out here but we're just doing our jobs like all the rest of the people. I can't speak for everybody but the majority of the people on my department do care about people and take pride in what we do. Enforcement is a critical part of the job and it does reduce traffic collisions. Nobody is ever happy to get a ticket so therefore someone's only experience with law enforcement may be construed as a negative one if that's there only contact with us. My goal every day I go to work is a simple one, not to write a bunch of tickets or take people to jail but to simply make it home to see my family, bottom line. Some of the best help I've ever gotten from passing motorists during situations has been by truck drivers. We need to work together since we're always going to co-exist. Times are especially hard now with the economy and many people I stop are upset thinking that we're "revenue rats" for the state. The fact is my department receives no revenue from any citations issued, it all goes to the local county or city. My department is completely funded by the vehicle registration fund, and since 1929 our department has always come in under budget every year. Not many organizations out here can say that. Anyway, I've been searching for other folk out here in my neck of the woods that are involved in the truck hobby but with "Macks". Needless to say there aren't many but that's ok, guess I'll have to represent for all you guys on the East Coast. I've had a ball working on this old truck and it has definitely been a good experience for my son. I don't see myself ever getting out of the hobby, it's become an addiction. with all of the research I've done I can honestly say that Macks are truly unique and no other truck manufacturer can compare with what Mack has done. I would like to get back and see the Mack museum someday and maybe I can drive the old girl back there with the family in tow.

Hey, I'm not too far from you myself. I'm about 20 miles East Of Lake Isabella, Past a little town called Onyx. I got a few Macks& I think I talked to you before about a Thermodyne & Triplex. Do you know if it is with in regulations to use aluminum saddle tanks for gasoline instead of diesel? Thanks for your help & good luck with your truck and your job. Thanks, Daniel

[Gambi80]

Population 1300? That's danged near urban!

Hey...we've got a Casey's, 5 bars including bowling alley and a grade school that's only a couple years old. First class all the way.