I'm coming back.  It may take a while to get back to feeling normal and posting as though I haven't been abused. But I'm coming back.

I walk the streets of Savannah and I take in the history and the scenery.  Yesterday, I stopped to talk to three young men from China.  Exchange students at SCAD  (Savannah College of Art and Design).  Wow.  What an experience.  In their amazingly good English, for those born in China, aged 21 to 24. 

They have been led to believe that they are getting more freedom in China.  But as we talked, and as I asked them about the things they were seeing all around them, did they still think they had real freedom in China?  They laughed.  They looked around nervously.  I asked about freedom of speech.  More of the same.  Then I talked about how I could speak blatantly that the asshole who currently resides in the big white mansion is a genuine communist and I was a bit more colorful with my language.

At that moment a man in a crisp white shirt and tie was walking through the park with a coffee from Starbucks and heard what I was saying.  He gave me a thumbs up and a "You got that right!" and kept walking.  The young men laughed. 

"You don't have that kind of freedom in China, do you?"

"Not at all."

All of this felt good.  We talked for about an hour.  I talked about real free enterprise and how the media had distorted what capitalism is.  They understood me.  I'm sure there was much more they wanted to say and to ask.  But a family of Chinese looking people walked into the park from the far end and everything suddenly got very awkward.  The looks of fear were pretty amazing and I just knew that it was time to walk away.  Don't know if there was anything to that or not.  Paranoia?  Who knows.  But I could see in the eyes of my new found friends that they were not about to risk finding out if they were doing something frowned upon.

I hope to get back to blogging and uploading pictures again.  I have a feeling that things are going to keep getting a lot more interesting.

I am in Savannah, GA

Never thought I'd be here.

It's been a strange trip getting here.

I love the song by Kenny Chesney:  Pirate Flag and an Island Girl.

I will get back to blogging in the next few weeks, I hope.  I have been rode hard and beaten hard and put out to pasture with the expectation of dying.  But that's the way the world sees me.

There is so much to say, and I'm exhausted.  Today is May 8, 2013, but I intend to keep coming back here and posting or re-editing this post until I get out what I need to get out.

Get something firmly fixed in your mind.

At any point, people can turn on you and seriously screw your life up beyond all recognition.  Yeah.   You. 

Think it can't happen? 

Think you are a fine, law-abiding, upstanding citizen?

Got nothing to hide?

Do you know anybody who is on psychotropic drugs?  Has feelings of persecution or mildly bipolar, or thinks they have various diseases that nobody understands?

Run now.  Take the nearest exit.

Views From The Road

Believe it or not, I am enjoying some down time at the home base in Atlanta.

Turns out that my host's computer reads the card from my digital camera just fine, so I get to share with you some pictures from the road.

This first pic is of a roadrunner that walked by the passenger side window of the rig.  This is just a short distance from the industrial park in Laredo.  Roadrunners are about the size of a raven, which I wasn't really expecting.  They seem to forage all their food from the ground, hence the name.  I didn't get any pictures of them, but the cowbirds in Texas are prolific and they are pretty much a scavenger similar to seagulls.

My temporary teammate and I went to Laredo, TX.  It was my second trip there in six days. This time we had loaded some aluminum sheeting product from Fairmont, WV, and on the way there from Cumberland, MD we ran into the leading edge of that snow storm that caused all the power outages in Connecticut.

I took this pic sitting on the top rack (bunk) in the sleeper cab of the tractor.  My partner is driving.  We are headed south on I-35. This is a company truck that has been abused by some previous drivers.  It's a 2001 model Freightliner Colombia.  Notice the lovely color matching duct tape on the edge of the dash.  Not knowing how long I would be in this rig, I duct taped the mounting base for my Garmin Nuvi 465T on the dash.

I didn't see it as it was passing us, so I don't know exactly which model tank or armored artillery piece this is.  Maybe somebody out there knows?  We were almost to Little Rock, AR when I saw this.

We parked out at the farthest corner of the truck lot at Flying J, just north of Laredo, TX.  The lot probably holds about 150 rigs.  On the other side of the street just off the exit ramp is a Travel Centers of America or TA.  Why it's not TCA, I don't know.  But unless you are making a purchase of fuel or other stuff of more than $20, you have to pay to park in their lot.  It also holds about 150 rigs. 

To say that there are lots and lots of raccoons out there in the brush would be an understatement.  You have to start getting really close before they see you as a threat.

Beyond the tarmac, facing the setting sun and the Mexican border.  I am always fascinated by the various forms of plant life from region to region.  Believe it or not, as dry and desolate as most of southern Texas is, there is marsh and cattails not far from where I'm standing.  The indigenous rocks and pebbles on the farmroad are all smoothed from having spent time in a river bed.  Next time I'm there I'm going to take better close-ups of that.

There is beauty everywhere you look, if you are willing to look.

I met a husband and wife trucking team out walking their dog, "Diesel", near this spot.  They were having some time trying to get Diesel to behave.  I couldn't help myself.  I asked if I could show them some things.  They eagerly agreed.  In about ten minutes, I had Diesel walking properly at the heel position.  Ten minutes more and I had him sitting and staying.  Then I was dropping the leash and having him obey me on voice command.  This couple was stunned.  The husband offered to pay me something.  There is just something incredibly cool about doing something so well that you strike people with awe.  Yeah.  I can admit that.  And you know you feel the same way.  I explained how I did it and how they could do it and keep getting better results.  They both understood it and were grateful that somebody explained it so well.

I've heard the name "Sagebrush" but I'd never had a chance to look at it up close.  When I have the chance, I investigate as much as possible.  I picked some leaves off of this bush and crushed them in my fingers.  The smell of sage greeted my nose.  I tasted.  Something like a cross between sage and rosemary.  Interesting.  I might try to cook with some of this on the grill the next time I'm out there.  Any plants growing on the high ground that are designed (yes, I said "designed") to live more than a season, the perennials, have dense, narrow, waxy foliage, just perfect for desert conditions.  I don't know why, but there was no prickly pear in the area around the truck stop, or at least not close to where I was.

Don't know how long it will be before I get to blog again and share pictures, but now I will make it a point to take a lot more pictures and try to make this a lot more interesting.

We grilled ribeye steaks behind the truck and enjoyed our downtime while waiting on directions for a load going back east.  It's kind of a modern day version of being a cowboy on the open range.  Not many people could stand such a lifestyle.  Life as you know it in America would come to a screeching halt if trucking stopped.

Shalom, Y'all

Thanks for stopping by.  Your comments are welcome.

All You Need To Know

. . . about the Occupy Wall Street people is summed up in this picture.

I really don't need to say anything more, do I?   Hat tip to Theo Spark.

What Do I Hear?

There are times when I feel deep in my soul that I should just tell her everything.  Trust that she gets it all.

I'm tired of being judged by those who never should have been in the jury box.

Back from Laredo

It's been some grueling days out there.  Okay.  Today is the 26th of October, 2011.  The past few days have been kind of a blur trying to make up for problems on the road.  Had a major problem with a trailer axle pin in Maryland.  Had to leave that trailer in the shop and go pick up a different trailer at another location.  Go to some town south of Pittsburg and get a load headed to Laredo, TX.

I would write more, but I'm exhausted. I picked up a load of canned food coming back to Atlanta, and I have a few hours to sleep before I have to wake up and go deliver that load and head back out. 

Over the road trucking is a hard, hard life.

I've driven a couple of thousand miles in just a few days.  I've had one shower in four days.  You people have no clue how cheap your food and supplies are considering how far they have to travel.  If you like what you are paying for the most basic necessities of life, thank trucking. If you hate what you are paying for the most basic necessities of life, curse the government.

This Trip

At first I was told I was going to North Carolina.

Plans changed.  Now I am going to Tennessee and from there I will stop in Virginia and then from there I will be going all the way to New Hampshire.

Everything North of Pennsylvania will be completely new territory for me.

I'm going to actually drive through some states where the majority of the people are so incredibly stupid they voted for Ted Kennedy, Mitt Romney, Chuck Shumer, Hillary Clinton and some other power grabbing, elitist scum. 

Wish me luck.