A little about myself. I'm a 20 year old who loves dogs and has a passion for mechanical things. When I'm not sitting at this computer I can usually be found tinkering with one or more old engines which my surprisingly tolerant parents (yes, I still live at home. Sad aint it?) have allowed me to drag home and put in a corner of the back yard. I drive a Ford Ranger pickup truck, and I USE it. I'm one of those guys who comes home from the junk yard with more than he takes. I'm six feet tall, have dark brown hair which I keep short, and have a deep tan from spending nearly all the daylight hours outside. I'm always in jeans, a t-shirt, and a baseball cap. Like my character DJ, I wear a lock back folding knife in a leather case on my belt. (I don't think it makes me look cool or dangerous, it's just a tool) Aside from Road Rovers, I enjoy working on classic cars, trucks, tractors, and steam engines. One of these days I'll get around to finishing restoration on a 1937 John Deere that I've been toying with for a few years. About the only thing in this world that I love more than big trucks is steam engines. Don't ask me why. Steamers are often uncomfortably hot to operate, they're labor intensive, you're always stinky and sore after a day of running, but geeze I luv 'em. I'm a licensed steam engineer and operate a turn of the century traction engine for a local museum. I'm originaly from Galt California, a little dot on the map along state highway 99. Yeah, so it's just a redneck farming town with nothing to see and nothing to do, but geeze I miss it. All this concrete here in SanDiego county makes me feel closed in. Ambitions... Getting hired by Disneyland as an engineer / fireman on one of their steam trains. (yes, they use REAL steam) But, since the odds of that ever happening are slim, I'll be happy with my current job as a short haul truck driver. I'm not a big fan of cartoons but for some reason Road Rovers hooked me and has never loosened it's grip, I've been a die hard fan of the show ever since I stumbled across it while channel surfing back in '98. I have to confess to being a dog lover, maybe that has something to do with it. I think Road Rovers is just about the perfect animated production and why it was discontinued I will never know.



I just have to say something here... Many people deney this, but as a driver I see it first hand every day. Truckers get no consideration out on the road. People cut us off, crowd us, get impatient with us if we are moving slow or taking a while to make a trun or get moving from a stop light... A big rig doesn't handle like a Porche folks. We cannot stop quickly or easily. We sure as heck can't turn sharp and manuver easily in tight spaces. Please give us a break folks, we're doing the best we can. Hollywood paints us up to be loose cannons who drive like maniacs and have extremely low IQ's. We're professionals. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a commercail drivers license? Granted, there are drivers out there who do their job poorly and are safety hazards, but please don't base your whole opinion of us on the few bad apples in the barrel. Reckless truckers are a disgrace to the profession. In addtion to stuff on the road, we're often jerked around by our employers (Myself included) and harassed by cops if we look "suspicious". I was once pulled over right on a freeway onramp, after having committed NO moving violation. The officer asked me if I spoke English, then played 20 questions with me regarding where I was from and what I was doing there, then smiled and said "have a nice day" I didn't get a ticket, but it was still no fun. I guess what I'm saying is that it's a tough job, but for some people (like me) it's the only way we can earn a living. So next time you're out driving and you're stuck behind a trucker who's moving slower than you, or you have to wait or maybe move your car slightly so he can make his turn, before you honk or think nasty thoughts, put yourself in HIS driver seat and give the poor guy a break, we really do appreciate it.


Here's a not so good pic of me running a 1920 vintage 0-4-0 type steam locomotive. Now THAT'S what I live for! :-)


I am a proud member of Sumpter Valley Railroad Restoration Inc. This is our pride and joy, #3, a Heissler logging locomotive. I took this pic when she appeared at Railfair '99 in Sacremento CA.

Heros of mine:
Steve Shannon. This guy has kind of been a big brother to me since I was a highschool freshman. He taught me how to drive trucks when I was 16 years old, I had barely gotten my regular license. We went out to a rarely used country road and he put me at the wheel of his own personal rig, and was patient with me through all the rough stops, mis-timed shifts, and poorly exicuted turns. "I don't care if you're under 18." he'd said, "The ONLY way to learn it is to do it." I owe him a lot.

Raymond Faulsin. My first employer. I was an 18 year old, just barely squeaking through highschool, and with NO practical trucking experiance what-so-ever. He had every reason NOT to hire me. But he gave me a chance, and I was successful. I gained a lot of experiance driving for him and I know I'm a better driver and probably a better person because of it. Hope you enjoy your retirement Ray.

Dean Alling. He is another one of my "extended family." He adopted me onto his steam engine crew when I was 15 years old. I learned a lot from him and am learning from him still.

Cecil Morton. My mechanical mentor. I don't know how many times I messed up when working on stuff with him, but he was tolorant and I gradualy got better.

Steve Mathews. Another truck driving mentor. He took me under his wing I hired on with my current job and has given me nothing but encouragement. Hauling heavy equipment is something I am completely new to, and he takes time out to show me all the tricks of the trade, as well as training me to drive our "heavies" 9 axle semi rigs made for hauling truely tremendous construction machines. I promise I won't kill you Steve. Really! ~L~

Luke Trickett. Never says "Die". Gives me moral support when I don't know what to do with myself.


Personal Preferences and other useless info.

Car or pickup? Pickup.

Automatic or straight shift? Straight shift.

Gas or diesel? Diesel.

Ford, Chevy, or Dodge? Ford!. (seen on a bumper sticker-------> I can drive a Ford farther than you can haul a Chevy! *LOL*

Stock cars or dragsters? Stock cars.

Music? Country.

Favorite group? Alabama.

TV shows? Dukes of Hazzard, ROAD ROVERS!!!

Political affiliation? Republican

Favorite mode of transportation? Driving.

Cat or dog? Dog.

Breed? Collie, Austrailian shepard, German shepard, or good ol' mutt.

Cell phone or CB radio? CB.

Hobbies? Writing RR fanfics, pretty much anything that involves grease and rust.

Favorite movie? "Black Dog"

Favorite food? Ribs.

Favorite drink? Pepsi or coffee.

Favorite non-cafinated drink? Orange juce or plain ol' water.

Favorite junk food? Anything containing large ammounts of chocolate.

Anoying habbits? I constantly chew gum. My language is horrible. Every other word is **** or ****. I try to curb it, really I do, but it still gets the better of me.

Own anything strange? LOL, yes. As part of my "old iron" collection, I have a 1930's Maytag gas powered washing machine. It's really kinda cool, I'll hafta get a pic of it posted here.

Nicknames? Yea.. DJ, Deej, Jakester, Jake Brake, Hakay (Pronounced Haw-kay. It's the spanish pronounciation of Jake. Given to me by a Hispanic friend at work.) Highwater (long story, it has to do with my steam engine hobby)