ARD German Radio - Television Network and Me
May 31st, 2008 . by Pat| Today was the last of 3 days of working with the wonderful people from ARD. That is the German Radio & Television Network I had the great privilege of working with.
They were kind, and very considerate people that talked and filmed me for the last 3 days here in Florida. The compassion these folks showed to the truck drivers they interviewed over the last few days was as genuine as it gets. The stories the drivers told them were hard to listen to at times. How they are all trying to keep their business’s going and feed and care for their families, has become a real challenge for many. |
Let me tell you how all this got started. Dan Little received a call from Ms Audrey Stimson from ARD. She told Dan they were making a documentary about how the truckers of the USA are doing during these times of outrageous fuel prices. Dan told her about me and my situation and it was the next day that Audrey called me. She is a kind woman with a good heart. We talked for a while and after hearing her explain the interview, I agreed to do it. |
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The crew arrived in Orlando Sunday <May 25th>. We met for the first time on Monday. I met Audrey Stimson, the boss lady, lol. She was the woman that put this all together. A beautiful woman with a soft spoken voice, that got things done. She spoke several languages and probably has a passport thicker then the grease on a fifth wheel, lol. She was kind and compassionate and made a lasting impression on me. Even with allof her experiences all around the world, she was a humble and well spoken woman who you’d be proud to know. |
| Then there was that crazy Frenchman, Matthew who was the camera man. A man with a great sense of humor, and a head full of stories to tell. A worldly traveler and a man that promised me my butt wouldn’t look big in the pictures, lmao! Such an interesting job he had. The only draw back I could see was holding that 35-40 lb. camera on his shoulder all the time. He would often use the tri-pod to give his poor shoulder a break. He had the patience of a saint. Thank God for that, cuz he had to work with me, a truck driver from Florida, lol. I know how I am sometimes, lol. |  |
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Last but not least was Stan who hails from Maryland, on the sound equipment. A big man with a gentle heart. Stan was the man that had to hook me up with a wireless microphone. He’d make me laugh every time he said he had to “turn me on”. lol. Then I’d laugh again when it was time to turn me off, lol. He was so darn nice. He had a smile a mile wide, an a deep voice that reassured you were doing a good job, even if I didn’t know what I was doing, lol. A good man for sure! |
| The crew consisted of Udo Lielischkies, the correspondent, and producer of many films. He had a soothing voice and a way about him that totally took the fear out of me in an instant. I feel most honored to have met him. He rolled his own cigarettes with a style and speed that was unequal,lol. He was a man that could picture things before they’d happen. We rode together a lot during those 3 days, and we talked about anything and everything. He made me feel at home even with his heavy German accent. Udo is a wonderful man and I am proud and honored to say I worked with him. |  |
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These were professional people who did their jobs very well. They made me feel comfortable 2 minutes after meeting with them all. I was more then a little bit nervous at the thought of being interviewed. I am also one of those people that hates to have her picture taken, let alone be on camera. All my fears went out of my head, as they introduced themselves to me. These were good folks.
I don’t want to ruin their story, so I will tell you these wonderful people worked with me and many others to get the real view and raw feelings that we are all feeling since fuel has jumped to record high prices. They wanted to see how we, as American’s are being effected by it all. I honestly believe they got what they were seeking. Interviews with hard working men and women of the trucking industry. From drivers, to drivers that carried their families with them in these hard time. They saw the people in the truck repair business that is closing his doors because the lack of trucks to repair is so down. Thousands of O/O parking their trucks because it is no longer profitable to run them anymore. They saw what was happening at the dealerships and even more when I showed them the used truck lots over flowing with used trucks. One company told us that a lot of the excess trucks are being shipped to Russia |
| Even the company drivers are feeling the pinch. Many have all ready been told that the company will no longer hand out bonus’s or be getting a pay raise any time soon.
One O/O in Tampa told us that he talked to a friend in the banking business. He, like myself was interested in knowing just how many trucks had been turned back in to the dealers, or were repo’d or broke leases because they could no longer afford to run their trucks. He told us the bank person told him that 91,000 trucks had been given back! I can’t say if that is a true figure, but just by looking around and seeing trucks parked in yard after yard, it could bear some merit. I am working with my local Kenworth dealer to get a figure from him. I’ll let you know what I find out when he gets the list compiled. |
Audrey & Udo spoke with truckers pulling every type of trailer out there. We are all in the same desperate situation for all of the same reasons. When I was asked who I was mad at, I told them there is plenty of anger to go around. The oil companies, the government, congress, every elected official that pretends they don’t hear us. The states, the cities, the list goes on & on. There is no ONE place to place the blame. Not even that knot head that lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, in Washington DC. Don’t get me started on that dumb ass! GRRR! |
| Regular people in restaurants would walk up to us and ask what the story was about. Udo & Audrey would tell them fuel prices. That’s all it took to get these every day people involved in a conversation. Telling of the hardship they were enduring on a day to day basics. Construction workers that were drowning in debt because their heavy equipment ran on diesel fuel too. Angry customers that didn’t want to pay a fuel surcharge, but had no choice. Every single one of them had a story about how the high gas & diesel prices are hurting them & their families. Large trucking companies that didn’t want to go on camera and talk about their dire situations, maybe because they were to embarrassed or was it because they had something to hide. I don’t know? Does it even really matter now? Not to me. I just want to find a job so I can pay my bills. |
I try my darnest to keep a positive attitude, but even that is becoming a task lately. I did my best to get the crew to buy my horses and horse trailer, lol, but they said it would be to hard to get them on the plane, lol. I told them every thing I have is for sale! That’s exactly what it has come to with me. My house is going to be one big yard sale here pretty soon. I hate it too!
Okay, I can’t give anymore away about the film, but as soon as they tell me when it will air, I’ll be glad to pass that info along to you. I was blessed to have met these fine people that are truly interested in what is happening to people all over the world. They too are looking for a solution. I to have met these fine people that are truly interested in what is happening to people all over the world. They too are looking for a solution. I them all. I miss them all ready! The last thing I am going to say is directed to Matt, the camera man. If my butt looks big, buddy, I will hunt you down! <wink> Thanks y’all for a fun 3 days of working with super good people. God bless y’all! A special thanks to Dan for making this all happen. It has enriched my life more then you could ever know. Thank you Dan! Pat |
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| ARD German Radio & Television Network. This is us after finishing up another hard day of interviews and filming.
From Left to right..Audrey Stimson, Udo Lielischkies, Matthew, camera man & Stan the man doing the sound. Yeah, that empty seat with the Bud on the table is mine, lol |
Here we are at the end of the day. Looking for that cold brown bottle. My kind of friends! We had stopped at a restaurant in Polk City that I used to work for after Jerry passed away. It’s called Country Angels. It was worked into the story as me going there to ask if they needed any help, cuz I was looking for a job. It was a lot of fun. I got to see a lot of my old customers while we were there. It was really nice. Too much fun! |
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Love the story..Pat,God Bless you for doing this for all the truckers out here also a big THANK YOU to Dan….
Hey tese guys are great, they had a short ride with me from tampa to lakeland and shot film footage of the ride and loading of my truck. Iwish I had more time to spend with them I really could have gone deep into my thoughts of this situation in our country. Good lokking out Dan.