Video about my friend's trucking company

speeder · speeder's Garage

This is a little long, but still good. My buddy started a trucking company up in Oregon that runs loads mainly up and down the west coast, 3 semis and maybe 3 PU trucks for "hot-shots", (unless he's bought another since this video).

That in and of itself is not particularly fascinating, but the proprietor is. Donal is one of the most interesting people I've ever met in my strange life of meeting interesting people; he's been homeless, Harvard graduate, sometimes movie star, farmer, hard-core Irishman, amazing story teller and about as eccentric as they come on this planet. Maybe on any planet.

He owns a 400 acre farm in Oregon and was driving down the road one day and saw a billboard for an OTR truck driving school. In his signature, spontaneous fashion, he thought it would be cool to learn how to drive a semi. He eventually decided to start a small trucking company with the owners of the school, a married couple with decades of OTR experience. He was so impressed with their work ethic and good character that he just had to do it.

We've been talking for a while about doing some business together, if I ever get my act together and realize my dream of owning a used car lot, (yes, I'm a weird guy myself). He would haul the old cars I buy in the PNW down to SoCal for me. In the meantime, he's just a great guy with a trucking company, part-owner of a pro soccer team and a hotel in South Carolina + a farm in Oregon and a house in L.A.

Hopefully someone will like this:

kaisen · 10-09-2012, 10:42 AM

I remember him best as "Jimmy the Cab Driver" from MTV back when they actually played music videos. Cool dude.

craigster59 · craigster59's Garage

I worked with Donal on a Reese Witherspoon/ Mark Ruffalo film "Just Like Heaven". Nice guy, I liked him in "Tao Of Steve" which was a cool movie.

Nostril Cheese · 10-09-2012, 05:14 PM

Goddamn, everyone knows Donal!

speeder · speeder's Garage

Donal gets around.

speeder · speeder's Garage

He's such a funny guy. When he's climbing out of his truck at a truckstop on the 5, sometimes someone will go, "wait a minute...weren't you in 'Blade'??" And he'll answer, "yeah, the first one. I got my arm cut off, etc., etc..."

I've known him since he moved to L.A. about 20 years ago, he'd never done a movie and he was just another broke but interesting guy. His dad was in the oil business and they moved around a lot, from Canada to the east coast to eventually El Centro, CA., which is a real schit hole of a place along the Mexican border. Just barren desert and hot sun, and he's a pale pink Irishman like me. To go from ElCentro, where there was nothing to do but hang around with the local stoners at a Circle K, to Harvard is a bit of a story in and of itself.

He majored in intellectual history, (basket-weaving according to some PARFers),

, not exactly the most linear thing for a career path but a popular study with the smart boys and girls. That landed him in Los Angeles with a band that he eventually got kicked out of and abject poverty. Being a "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" kind of guy, he decided to be a successful Hollywood actor. I'm not making up any of this.

L.A. is filled with interesting characters like him. That's why I could never really live anywhere else. Or should I say, the other places like it are too cold and expensive. Donal is best friends with Danny Trejo, another friend for 25+ years who was basically an ex-con and former bank robber who became a major Hollywood actor. This world is so small that Donal was driving too fast in the rain up near Santa Barbara a while back and spun-out on the 101, (in a car, not a tractor-trailer), when the car stopped spinning and he got out, Danny was walking up to see if he was alright. He pulled over when he saw the car spin out. 100 miles from home!! I guess you'd have to hear him tell it, it's a lot funnier.

If you have time to play the video, there is some good humor and just wisdom in it, IMO.

speeder · speeder's Garage

What's up with all the spambots on this site lately?

McLovin · 10-09-2012, 07:05 PM

Goddamn, everyone knows Donal!

Laneco · 10-09-2012, 07:46 PM

IITR has a campus down here. They would have the students drive through the scale houses. I always stopped them, hopped up on the running board and asked the instructor if any of the students needed a dose of harassment today!

Usually there was at least one in the class who did and the instructor would point them out, much to the delight of the other students. Alot of students go through the IITR schools, they do a good job with them.

Small, small world. Especially if I ever met Donal (and didn't know who he was at the time). Then I too could say - ******** EVERYONE KNOWS DONAL!!

angela

Dottore · 10-10-2012, 03:57 AM

I don't know Donal, but he's wearing my Persol sunglasses.

gr8fl4porsche · gr8fl4porsche's Garage

Looks like he scored a recurring role on Sons of Anarchy.

speeder · speeder's Garage

Yep. Him and nearly everyone I know, I'm going to try to weasel my way onto an episode just because I feel left out. He's about the 23rd friend I have on that show.

gprsh924 · 11-21-2012, 10:25 AM

Too bad terriers got cancelled.

kaisen · 12-20-2012, 12:47 PM

Donal! And some friends....