Profile For Mama Bear

This posting is different to me so please excuse any grammar issues and posting issues. Thanks :-)

I'm proud of Buffalo and not embarrassed at all.

My point exactly.

You didn't really make a point. You tossed out some general negatives that you see, then imply we are to dumb to realize what is going on. We are all entitled to our own opinion but I don't want someone to walk away seeing your (IMO) post and assuming Buffalo is crap and we are sheep.

The worst part is that in my opinion, the people have now accepted that. "We're just Buffalo" seems to be the pervasive attitude people have. We're nearly dead last in every metric - economy, real estate, health - everything. They've accepted being last at everything, they've come to expect it.

I'm new with posting so I'm not sure how to edit my last post but our real estate is booming. We don't have enough houses for the amount of people. Some of the updates they are trying to do is like putting lipstick on a pig but the waterfront is actually beautiful now. This place is so rich in architect and history and hidden gems that you can't help be proud of this place. This is Buffalo, and it is its own place. I have been to far worst plus we smell like Cheerios, no funky smell in the air. Niagara Falls is ghetto so I'll join your opinion on that but I have been to far worst places, once the Casino became the main money maker it trashed it. Just like Reno, lights are shiny and bright to blind you from what is around it. South Buffalo is changing fast but you will not find a better community of people, churches and a sense of family. Even our weather is its own, sunburn and frostbite all in one week. City living and country living and a trip to a new country for Chinese or fries and gravy if you want. Yes our football team needs to get it's act together but the fans? Win or lose we support our boys and we still have hope. We don't care what others think of team and we let them know. Voted proudest and loudest fans many times. We have a lot of messy parts but we have a lot of amazing things in Buffalo. You have to look beyond what is on front street and see what truly makes Buffalo a great place to live. Community is what makes a great place to live and I'm been Buffalo proud for 40 years and besides the cold, I wouldn't change it. We're are Buffalo.

When I started OTR I never been outside CA, not even to NV. I loved CA back then, but now that I have been outside it I realized this state is a dump.

Well I'm from New York and the politics and the taxes and all that are terrible here, like they are in California.

What I love about California, though, is that the people tend to be go-getters more than in most places. It's a lot more dynamic culture, almost certainly because you have such a variety of activities and such great weather all in one place. You can go surfing and snowboarding in the same day. You can ride the dunes in the desert and then return to your lovely vegetable garden in The Valley. You have the world's center of technology, music, and movies, and you have some of the most pristine mountain wilderness you'll find anywhere.

Keep your nose out of the newspapers and turn off the talk shows and California is an amazing place. There's nothing comparable anywhere in this great land.

I actually moved from Western New York to the Adirondacks for the summer, and I'm considering staying here permanently, because I wanted a lot more diverse wilderness, and a lot more diverse people. I love the personalities of the people in Western New York when it comes to being friendly and genuine. Super great people. And in fact for about 100 years or so Buffalo was a thriving city. We were on the main shipping route from the Atlantic to the Midwest and we had a gigantic economy built on the steel mills and factories and trade.

But in the 70's and early 80's a lot of the factory work began to dry up and the city, and the region, started a downhill slide that never stopped. Now we're part of what is referred to as The Rust Belt:

The Rust Belt is a term for the region of the United States from the Great Lakes to the upper Midwest States, referring to economic decline, population loss, and urban decay due to the shrinking of its once-powerful industrial sector, also known as deindustrialization.

And I promise you, that's no exaggeration. Economic decline, population loss, and urban decay describes Buffalo perfectly. The only part that hasn't declined is the number of neighborhood dive bars that people frequent. Our waterfront was completely neglected scrub brush. Now after 50 years of ignoring it they've planted grass, and people are actually excited, as if we've done something. Have you seen Chicago's waterfront???

And Niagara Falls, one of the 7 Great Natural Wonders Of The World, is a ghetto. Seriously. The city is a crime-ridden ghetto, and the shops in the area are either vacant, or useless garbage. We've completely squandered Niagara Falls. But have you seen the Canadian side of the Falls? It looks like a mini Vegas!

The worst part is that in my opinion, the people have now accepted that. "We're just Buffalo" seems to be the pervasive attitude people have. We're nearly dead last in every metric - economy, real estate, health - everything. They've accepted being last at everything, they've come to expect it.

Even our sports teams have become the place that great athletes go to decay. We bring in $100 million dollar superstars and it's like the gravity in Buffalo is double what it is anywhere else, and they disappear from the map. The University of Buffalo is the only one of the 63 elite universities in the country without a football team in a top 5 conference. The only one. And even in the tiny little MAC Conference we go 3 - 9 every year. It's beyond pathetic. It's downright embarrassing.

I know the mountain wilderness here in the Adirondacks is astounding, and there's no shortage of adventurers here. So that's a great start. But I haven't been here long enough to know if the culture and the mindset is really that different than in Western New York or not. I'm in the process of finding out. If I don't find more exciting and ambitious people here I'm gonna start commuting to NYC just to find some action!

So you might not like California, but it isn't because there's nothing to like. Your economy is larger than many small countries, you're the center of technology worldwide, you have a diverse and incredible wilderness, you're the center of music and movie production in LA, and the people are go-getters. So it's not nearly as bad as you make it out to be.

I'm proud of Buffalo and not embarrassed at all. 40yrs and this is truly the city of good neighbors.

Thanks Bud. I made a note to look them up. :-)

Hi everyone. I am more of a lurker and love the information I find around here.

My question is does anyone know of companies that have a Dump Division? Many moons ago when I first drove with a CDL I went with Bulter Trucking Dumps (yes, black and yellow trucks) and loved it. I can't seem to find many big companies that have a dump division. I have toyed with flat bed but I think going back to Dumps is something I really want. I have applied to most of the big companies for my pre-hire but I'm hoping to find one that has that division.

To give more information. I held a CDL and drove Dumps for a couple years, I then decided to return to college and during that time I (unwisely) decided "I will never drive again and I'll just use my license renewal money for books. Fast forward to now. Kids are off, I'm a grandmother, two college degrees and I went back to truck driving school to go back to the road. God and skill willing I will pass June 8. NEVER give up that CDL even if you never plan to drive again.

Thanks for any replies. Sheila

I noticed my post was moved to Ladies of trucking which is a big deal but this question wasn't just for the ladies? I also don't like being linked into one group. Do I have an option to post in general for everyone or does being a female force me to post in one section?

Hi Sheila! Thank You for your reply. That makes me feel better about the anti-depressant and I did get myself a little worried from listening to others. I have a great doctor who I can get any medical notes I need. It has been a long time since I had to even about a DOT physical just wanted to be prepared. Thanks again :-)

Hi! Quick bio with me. 40 year old women who drove for a large dump company WAY back in 2002 for about 1 1/2 years. Even though I loved it I decided to come off the road to raise my kids after my divorce. I went back to college and graduated which (for some crazy reason) I believed I didn't need to keep my CDL and let it go. Fast forward to now. Kids are grown and now it's time to get back to what I love and miss. Silly me thought it would be a cake walk HA! Decided to go to a school to brush up on the ever changing rules. Here are some questions about the DOT physical that I'm unsure of and I hope you good people can help me out. I had had a back injury and was on a opiate pain medicine for a few years. I decided it wasn't something I wanted in my life so I quit taking it about 4 months ago. There was no rehab or addictions or anything like that. I just found it messed with my mood and I found other natural ways to deal with pain like exercise and better eating. My question for that is How far back do they want medication information? I'm not ashamed of it. I took what I had to for pain under the doctors care but I have heard from a few people they make you feel like you had a problem if you had taken pain medicines. I also take a low does of Prozac because of a eating disorder and sometimes just feeling sad and bla that I have dealt with my whole life but NEVER suicidal or mental issues. Just a normal human who gets a little stressed being a full time mother and wife just doing her job till she can live how she wants to. I am just ready to go back to the only job that made me feel excited to be in it. I don't even mind starting at the bottom again. I appreciate any replies to this. Sheila