Some Railroad terms you should know

Since my business is booming, I am going to keep this post brief.

In my next post I am going to discuss in detail, my thoughts on the Hi Speed rail proposal by the O Bama administration.

Since I am a rail fan and this blog is dedicated to the my friends on Facebook and SOC, I thought it best to give you a brief look at some railroad terms.

Rairoading as a whole is divided into two major sectors, passenger and freight.
Freight railroading is simple. Everything that you own or use travels by rail.
Railroads do their best work when handling bulk commodities, whether it be coal, steel, automobiles or building materials.

Freight railroads are divided by classes

Class I are the majors, Union Pacific, Furlington Northern Santa Fe, CSX, Norfolk Southern, Kansas City Southern, Canadian National, and Canadian Pacific. They handle the bulk of cross country traffic. Here in New England, CSX controls most of the market as a result of the break up of Conrail. Norfolk Southern is making a move into this market in partnership with the regional line, Pan Am.

Class II are the regionals. In Southern New England, the major regional is the Providence and Worcester. It serves part of Mass and Ct. as well as R.I.. Northern Bew England is dominated by the Guilford lines, now operating under the Pan Am name.
There are other regionals also who serve parts of New England.

Class III are the little guys, the guys who bring the freight to your door. Examples include teg Connecticut Southern and the Pioneer Valley Railroad. Most of these short lines are owned by larege holding companies.

Passenger rail has three major components

Amtrak is the nation's only large passenger railroad. It was formed in the 70s to provide passenger service when the freight railroads could no longer make it work.
On the Northeast corridor and on the West Coast, ith has seen some success, however the road still requires a heavy subsidy from the US government to stay in business.
They are now reaching out to the states they serve for more money, as it seems that they cannot turn a profit regardless of the ridership. I have seen cost figures that indicate each ticket sold cost the taxpayers $50. Can you say LOSER!!!!!

The other components of the passenger system are the commuter rail operations, like MBTA and the Light rail systems, AKA Subways!

Now before you think that this next post is going to be a total slam, let it be known that I am a railroad fan. I have used both passenger rail and commuter rail with good results. M Even my wife knows about my railroading. She lives with the Springfield Southern, my HO model railroad..

Welcome to my new vistors from Sound Off Ct. More to come soon! John

An Open letter to President O Bama and Govenor Deval

Gentlemen

I am writing to you this time in the hopes that someone just might be listening to the American people by now.

At this point in time, I am fighting to keep my home from being foreclosed. I will not go down without a fight. I am lucky enough to stil be working, although both my wife and i are disabled. I am putting everything I have into my work, often putting in 12 to 14 hour days. For me, having work is not the problem, rather the problem is one of disposible income for both me and my customers.

I am a pizza delivery person. I am one of those little people who you look to for goods and services. Most of my income comes in the form of tips. People give tips for good service and a good product, both of which I provide. However they are facing severe constraints.People tip from disposble income which is in short supply as of late. If they feel good about where they are, they tip better. I make more income and the cycle continues.

The way I see it the main problem is too much government and too many taxes. In addition, business is uncertain as to where government is going in the future.
I have been told that there is no inflation in the economy. If so, prove it!
Recently my employer has had to raise prices to cover increasing costs. As a result, my tips took a hit. The state of Massachusetts raised the Meals tax, by .75percent and gave the local communities an option for.25 percent. Again, my tips took a hit. Both my wife and I are smokers. My pipe tobacco saw a 10 percent increase, while her cigarettes have increased 1.50 per pack. That netted a 15 to 20 percent decrease in our spending money.

Here are my suggestions to cure what ails the economy. Cap taxes on the local and state level. Cap all taxes, not just income and sales. Reduced meals taxes would have a direct impact on the Mass. economy as would a sales tax reduction. In addition it would make us more competitive with surrounding states and the internet.
Scrap plans for tax credits at all levels. Put money where people will spend it.

I would like to be able to pay my mortgage, keep my home and maybe, just maybe, buy a car. (I do not even have one!)

This may require government to cap or reduce spending. It may require pension reforms. It may mean killing off unneeded programs. If so, so be it. Take action now or face the rath of many people, who like me are sick and tired of making sacrifices at the altar of government.

I may drive a PT Cruiser, but I support the guy who drives a Truck. I think that Scott should take the truck, load it with cow manure and park it in front of the Capitol. It is time for someone to go to D.C. and raise a stink!

Let's Hopethe New Year is Better! Could it be worse?

Warning!!! Rant in progress!

Hope all had a pleasant Christmas and on behalf of the stafff here, I wish you all a Happy and successful New Year.

Three years ago,I was on top of my mortgage, I had two cars in the driveway and was spending large chunks of disposible income on trips to my local hobby shop. Today we have burned up all of our credit cards, we are at serious risk of foreclosure and the only car in the driveway belongs to my boss at Dominos Pizza. The next time I visit my local hobby shop will in hopes of selling, not buying.

What happened? A number of things. First we had the oil spike. This house is a real pig on oil. We started renovating with siding and had our storm windows removed on hopes of buying new windows later. Later never happened. we burned up all of our credit cards trying to keep up with the heat. Then the mortgage. Slowly we got later and later. Then we missed one payment. A change in ownership of the franchise meant I had to travel more to keep cash flowing in. A problem with one company, meant a new job and a longer commute. After four years of abuse and 203k, the engine blew in my Cavalier. Two weeks later I was down to one part time job and one car. It was a struggle just to keep food and lights. Just after we recieved our foreclosure notice, a former employer offered a job. Just things started going positive for a change, I was rushing to work, looked down and did not see the mini van until it was too late. the wife's car was totalled.

Here I was ready to panic. No car and thus no job. Everything was on the line. I called my boss from the wreck site. After getting the wreck home, I sat here and started praying. A few hour later, I got a call. Not from an angel, although I was ready to put wings on him. It was my boss, someone who I had had many bouts with in the past, and who had taken me back under strict conditions. He told me not to worry and that he would get me a car to drive. It would be something that I could use to take Janet to her doctors and do some other local stuff.

Unfortunately the worst was yet to come. Over the next several weeks, Janet would be hospitalized several times. Once, due to my own ignorance,she nearly died. But for the help of her friend and a breakdown of the car, she might not be here today.

I was a basket case to say the least. Working as many hours as I could, getting to the hospital, taking care of the house and animals, while trying to figure out which bill to pay next. It was at that point some very special people stepped in.

My boss Anthony Patalano and my co workers at Domino's Pizza, cut me a lot of slack at work. Often they would let me visit Janet during working hours, if only for a few minutes. My friends at Sound Off Ct were a great help. They put up with my somewhat off the wall behavior in the chat room and offered support. A member even offered help with the birds. Even the show host, Jim Vicevich offered support and prayers. Last bu not least, I give credit to the God of my understanding and my friends at e-AA.org. Some of you do not know this, but I am a recovering alcoholic and have been sober for some 27 yrs. I firmly believe tha God works through people and when it comes to helping this drunk stay sober, he has enlisted the help of my friends on line.

As I finish this blog, it is a Saturday night in Springfield. The PT Cruiser which is my work car, got towed away with a broken fuel pump. I will have tomorrow off without pay. The car should be back on Monday. We have food in the fridge, oil in the tank and everyone is safe and warm. In the end that is all that really matters. So this is it, the end. Thanks for reading.

It is time to Just Vote NO!!!!!!

We need a new position added to every political ballot in our nation. Caal it none of the above. Yesturday, I along with over 85% of Massachusetts voters failed to cast ballots on the primary to fill the seat of the late Senator Kennedy.

All four of the candidates on the Democratic side were names from the Boston area.
Few west of Worcester have ever seen or heard from them before, and with the exception of the winner, we will never see them again. On the Republican side, we had a party insider facing up against a person who was given little chance. Voters like me saw no real choice on either side and we stayed away in large numbers.

A "None of the Above" place on the ballot, would give many people a chance to have a real say. It would force both parties to be more accoutable to the people that they represent. Should that position win an election, the process would start over. We the people would come out a winner. Now before you start talking money, why not spend a bit more and get the government that you really want. Is that too much to ask?

A Tibute to Our Parents

The gang I hung around with in the 60s and 70s are all well into adulthood now. Several of the guys are now grandparents. This week I recieved word that one of the parents of a friend had died. This week his funeral will be held in the church tha I attended as a child. The same church which sponsored the Boy Scout troop where I made the rank of Eagle Scout in 1970. Seems like some of us stayed behind.

This gave me pause to think about how lucky we were back then. I do not know if our parents saw each other socially, but I do know that they cared about us. They cared enough to be good role models and to show an interest in what we were doing. Several of them served on the toop committee. One of them served as our scoutmaster for a time. Even my dad, who was no great woodsman, came out camping with us on occasion. The important part was that they cared and it showed.

Outside of our group, we had many other adults that we could look up to. At the high school, Gerry T., the gym teacher who was also a Scouter helped this handicapped youth get several important merit badges. At the Police station, the Juvie officer, Al Costa, had a smiling face and an easy dispostion for the good kids. Heaven help you if you ran afoul of the law. Your parents would most certainly hear about it. In the house next door to ours, lived Florian Marquis Jr.. Everyone called him Junior, but to us kids he was Mr. Marquis. He ran a service station that was just across the tracks. At one time or another, he fixed every car in the area and knew all of the adults. During the Blizzrd of 78, we made a total neighboorhood effort, just to get his tow truck free of our street. He was already playing a role in my life, but more of that another time.

I am not saying that we had it good, or that we had perfect childhoods, but in the 60s and 70s in Woonsocket R.I. Our neighborhood was a good place to grow, Our parents saw to it.

Please do not forget to tip the Pizza Guy!

I know all about the economic woes that we are facing whether it be here in Springfield, with my friends in the Numeg state or our nation as a whole.

There is one favor I would like each and every one of you to do for me, please do not forget to tip the pizza guy, the waiter or waitress and your newspaper carrier.

Your favorite waitress, the guy or gal who brings your pizza or your other takeout foods and your newspaper carrier all depend on tips for a good part of their income.
I know because I deliver pizza for a living. There are several sites and chatrooms where I am "The resident pizza guy". I say that with pride. Although some may consider it a humble job, I enjoy it and have made a decent living at it for the last several years.

What a lot of people do not think about is that we in these businesses rely on you to pay us. In many states we make a sub minimum wage and count on tips and run allowances to make up the difference. With the economy in trouble, many folks see a cheap meal out or delivered foods as an afforable luxury. Where they tend to cut corners is in the tip.

I speak from hard experience. Whether the economy is good or bad, I am my co workers still have our costs. We have to pay our bills, the same as everyone else. In addition, delivery drivers often have to buy their own vehicles, pay for fuel, insurance and maintence. Your tips go a long way to help.

We do not expect tips for bad service and or poor food quality. As a driver, I take every possible step to make my customers happy. Often I will make a call to resolve a customer complaint. In some cases, the order gets the discounted or free. A good driver will do that and more to make you happy. Please keep that in mind the next time you order out.

I am going to close this log with a website http:www.tipthepizzaguy.com It is a forum open to the general public as well as the industry. It is funny and serious.

Thanks for your continued friendship and readership. Comments to kokoracer@gmail.com

Don't forget to tip the Pizza Guy

A tribute to My Brothers and Sisters in Uniform

With the passing of Veterans Day, the killings at Ft. Hood and the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I had a chance to reflect on both what is going on today and my own attempt to serve our country.

While I am still proud of having served, I am not proud of how I served. In truth, my service was barely worthy of mention compared to the trials facing our troops today. I was a Cold War soldier and a piss poor one to boot. I never saw combat. the only time I ever handled a live weapon was out on a firing range. When I signed up with the Rhode Island National Guard, I had no idea of what I would face. I was a pipe smoker, I was overweight, and I showed all the signs of an alcohol problem.

It started at the very beginning, getting drunk at the first opportunity, missing a formation and being disciplined. An accident in training, due to my poor conditioning resulted in a fall from a 40 ft tower, injuring me and putting an NCO in jeopardy. I completed basic, only after restarting training and being put on an extreme conditioning program. That would prove to be one of my few successful moments. I then completed my skills training and returned home without any major issues.

I spent a short time with the RIANG. Only enouggh to prove that I was having increasing problems with alcohol. I looked forward to drill weeknds for low cost alcohol. By the following summer, I was on my way to Ft. Polk La.for my first active duty assignment.

My 13 months at Polk were marked by a discipinary actions due to alcohol. A barracks accident with involved alcohol and resulted in severe burns and time in a psycho ward, all due to alcohol abuse.

Somehow I made it through my time at Polk and got assigned overseas. I would complete my tour of duty in West Germany. Shortly after arriving in country, alcohol reared its ugly head again. I was on a downward spiral which ended with a determination that I was not fit to serve. That was in May of 1982. I put down the drink at that point, leaving the country and then the military, clean and sober. While I did get a General Discharge under Honorable Conditions, my service was no where near honorable. I feel like I am not worthy of polishing the boots of today's soldiers.

The soldier of today is a far cry from the one I was. Reservists and members of the National Guard face call ups to serve under hostile fire. Members of the regular Army face long tours far from their homes and families. Even in their stateside bases, they cannot feel safe. They face an enemy who may reside within their own ranks. It is not right nor is it fair.

Today I live in an area near Westover AFRB. There is are many military personnel both active and reserve in the area. I serve many of them in my job and never forget to say thanks. Not because of what I once did, but because of what they are doing today to keep us free.

When you see a soldier, sailor, Marine or airman, have the courtesy to say thanks. It is the least we can do.