Rex Rains is now offline

As February comes to an end, most of us here at the OOIDA headquarters will think of it as the month we lost an extraordinary friend and staff member – our peerless Webmaster Rex Rains. Rex died Feb. 17 after a long and wretched battle with cancer. He once described it to me as hand-to-hand combat with a – I will omit the expletive – invisible enemy.He was born in Wichita, KS, and was a veteran

TWIC gives the mule skinners blues

Maybe this story will bring a smile to one trucker who has spent hours traveling, applying and paying more than $100 to enroll in TWIC.It’s not uncommon to see state workers dressed in colonial-era clothes helping mules pull a canal boat through the National Canal Museum historical park in Easton, PA.Unfortunately for those clad in velvet, ruffles and buckled shoes these days in Easton, PA – that

Phat times for TWIC workers

News that a Transportation Worker Identification Credential enrollment office in Mobile, AL, was closing its doors for Fat Tuesday raised a few eyebrows in our morning news budget meeting today.Everyone associates Mardi Gras with New Orleans. Mobile, apparently, is even more serious about their pre-Ash Wednesday revelry.The idea of TWIC workers enjoying the last moments before Ash Wednesday isn’t

Paul Abelson honored at TMC

I got a proud call this past week from a good friend and OOIDA member Darrell Hicks, aka “Uncle Darrell.” He was in the Atlanta airport after attending the spring meeting of The Technology & Maintenance Council of the American Trucking Associations in Orlando, FL.Uncle Darrell was headed home to California and had to share the good news that another OOIDA Life Member and Land Line Senior

Feeding the chief meter reader

One year Gary Stone deposited $217 in parking meter revenue at New Castle, PA.Another year it was closer to $100.In the meantime, Stone – then director of the city’s parking authority – was taking buckets worth of change across the Ohio state line to a grocery store change machine and converting the coins into cash. He’d later spend much of the loot at an out-of-state casino.In the past week,

Texas tea

The negative headline reads like so many others we’ve seen lately.“Martin Petroleum files layoff notice, just in case.”The Pompano Beach company has filed notice with Florida that it may soon lay off 207 employees in March.Across the country, many smaller and mid-size fuel-related oil companies are hurting less than a year after some companies posted record profits.Flying J seems poised to shut

LoneStar stars in ‘Wired’

It’s not often that seemingly (and deceptively) mundane technology makes an appearance in Wired, the digital world’s go-to magazine of what’s cool and hot. But that honor belongs to Navistar’s signature large car, the retro-futuristic LoneStar.In an article titled “An 18-Wheeler That Feels Like Home,” writer Keith Barry describes the design planning that went into the tractor’s spacious interior.

Dazed and confused about the stimulus?

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are tossing around some staggering numbers these days. It’s no wonder that people are feeling frustrated or confused about the sheer size and intent behind the proposed economic stimulus package.“Is this a bailout?” “Who gets the money?” and “Where’s mine?” are among the many questions received by OOIDA, Land Line Magazine and Land Line Now and we appreciate them.While