My Handle or name has taken many changes over the years but has basically remained Okie.
I picked up the nick-name Okie in the Marine Corps. That was the beginning. For a long time I was the only Okie in our outfit, one bright and sunny day lo and behold another appeared. At this time they just added our first name, mine became Okie Joe. It remained Okie Joe for several years, in fact when I first met my wife I dont believe she knew my full real name until we signed the marriage license. After I got out of the Marine Corps, I basically screwed up, I joined the Army. I was still OKIE JOE. Even after I got my last discharge in January 1960, it hung in. I hauled cattle out of Okie City for .03 cents per mile it still hung in, and when we left and went to Missouri and back to Oklahoma it remained.
In the late 60's I wound up in Del Rio, Texas. I went to work for an outfit called Agri-Serv A Texas Co-Op. After the Co-Op broke up I went to work for one of the ranches in the co-op located between Encinal, Tex. and Laredo. I was just Okie or whatever the Mexican Cowboys could think of. I finally went back to Del Rio and went to work for Bill Taylor, Bill was the original founder of Agri-Serv. Bill is gone now and it will be a long time before another like him gets here. Anyhow I was called Joe or Okie or whatever until one fateful day.
I don't remember if I loaded in Laredo, Eagle Pass, or Del Rio but I was loaded for California. Things went great until I crossed the Arizona state line. I got to Wilcox, Ariz and my life changed.
In Arizona at that time there was a division of the MVD (Motor Vehicle Dept) Called the ACC (Arizona Corporation Commission) which was the forerunner for their modern day DOT or Department of Transportation. These are the guys that only have fun when they are picking on poor defenseless truckers. Their resident ACC man in Wilcox was known as Fritz. A few facts bout Fritz, he did not like chicken haulers, one of em got upset with him and when Fritz crawled up in his trailer to inspect his load, the driver shut the door and didn't let him out until they reached what is known as the Salton Sea, which is a large lake in the middle of the desert in Calif.,and he didn't like Texas bull haulers, one of which is an old friend called BJ, who run him off the road one night, cost him $100. Then along came me.
Fritz stopped me supposedly for a routine check. He was the rudest cop I ever met and I've met a few. He would shove me against the truck with his shoulder, push me and whatever, when I think about it years later it was as if he was trying to start a confrontation. He had me open my sleeper door (the old trucks had em) shine his flashlite in, saw my shaving gear on the bed, asked what it was, I told him Personal gear. He then opened the truck and climbed in and started to go thru stuff, I grabbed his belt and pulled him out. Asked him if he wanted to do a truck inspection or search the damn thing. If he wanted to inspect I'd help him, if he wanted to search go get a damn warrant and don't bring back no john doe's. He said we would inspect, then asked where was my fire extinguiser. I told him it was under the other seat I would get it. As I leaned over to get it he pinned me down and tried to reach into the sleeper for my shaving bag. I put both hands on the other seat and pushed him back. At this point there are differing stories. He claimed I doubled up my fist and used ungentlemanly like behaviour to remove him forcibly from the truck. I claim that I responded as any good Texas cowboy would at this point-- I gently shoved him backwards. At any rate he very quickly exited my truck. I shut the door and before I could put that old 4x4 in gear he reached in to get my keys and again I gently and without malice pushed him away this time accidently brushing his chin rather solidly. I now had enough time to get in gear and moving, Fritz jumped back on the running board and then fell or jumped off not sure just know I didn't run over him cause I didn't feel no bump.
Had that old 335 howlin headed west up Texas Canyon when all of a sudden I saw red flashin lights on my tail, that means stop, so I put the skids to it, what kept my cattle from coming thru the nose of the trailer I'll never know, old Fritz was fish tailin and having hell trying to keep from kissin my ass with that car, he fell back and let a string of cars come by then pulled alongside and turned every damn light he had in my window, hell wasn't my fault he got run into the median, I couldn't see nuthin.
About that time I got to thinking that when I come off Texas Canyon there was going to be the damndest ambush I ever participated in down at Benson.
I got to the top and turned around and went back to Wilcox. Took my cattle to the cattle rest, unloaded and went to the truck stop and called Del Rio. Bill Taylor told me to get a motel room lock the door, put a chair under the knob and wait, cause sure as hell they was coming for me.
Got up next morning and went to the truck stop and waited and waited and waited. Finally about 5 that afternoon I walked over to a state trooper that was there and asked him if he was there to get me. He laughed and said "Nope we don't want you but the ACC does." "Well, I says, would you call him and tell him I need my log book, drivers license, and ticket so I can go on and take my cattle to Calif." He looked at me kinda funny and said "Is that all you've been hanging around for." I said "Yes". "I'll be damned," he says, "Fritz came in about midnite, went home and has been there all day. He just lives about 3 blocks from here. We thought you was going to go up there and shoot the bastard and we would have to arrest you." "Your shittin me," I says. "No, you've been under survellince all day. Haven't you noticed there's been a cop of some kind, city, county, or state in here at all times today? Tell you what, Why don't I call him and let you talk to him." "OK" I says.
Got Fritz on the phone and he told me he had called Del Rio and talked to Bill. Told him I would be allowed to take my cattle to Calif. and come back empty. BUT I would never be allowed to enter the state of Arizona again, I would never drive a truck again and Bill better damn sure fire me when I got in or he would never have a truck in Arizona again. He said Bill Taylor said "Well, now that we know what he can never do again, just what did that crazy damn okie do?"
When I called Bill he told me the exact same story verbatim. Only one problem, in his office at the time of that phone call from Fritz, was a Texas DPS officer and several drivers and or cowboys, if you worked for Bill you better damn sure be a cowboy or you didn't last, more on that later. Any how at that moment, unbeknownst to me, I lost my identity, for in the tradition of cowboys if you ever done something and it was found out they hung a handle on you and forgot your name.
All this happened BEFORE the cb radio came to be popular. Unlike 99% of the drivers out there I did not get to reach up and say this is what I want to be called. But I did earn that handle fair and square.
Oh by the way the ticket was $100 for disobeying a lawful order, seems there was no witnesses to anything else.
Monday..Febuary 12, 2001.
Couple of months after this I had taken a set of double-bottoms(thats two trailers) down to Eagle Pass to load. On the way back I was stopped between Eagle Pass and Quemado by the weight man' Cannt think of his name right off keep thinkin of Smitty or something like that, it was the one before Triple-T. Any way he stopped me and he said "we might better check this truck real good, I have been hearing stories about it."
I looked at him and told him, I says, "Well if your going to weigh this thing you might as well call first and have your replacements sent out here."
He steps back, puts his hand on his pistol and says "This aint Arizona."
I start waving my arms and saying "Hey, the scales, I mean the scales, I'M heavy, I mean replace the scales the scales."
"Are you tellin me your overweight?"
Sir I aint admittin to nuthin but this here truck weighs 36000 empty and I got a minimum, bare minimum, of at the least 40000 and that makes 76000 which is already 4 grand over. So you can see Sir I am thinking of your equipment and the preservation and upkeep of it."
He taken his hand off his pistol and grinned and said "In other words you wouldn't cry one little bit if I wrote you a ticket for say 80000 which would be about 7 grand over."
Oh no sir, I would be right proud to take it, and thank you very much for understanding Sir."
He started laughing and said "Here's a warning ticket and don't ever forget...THIS AINT ARIZONA.."
"Arizona?? Arizona?? Where's that? Never heard of it."