On the Road with the original florida kid Week 19

"On the Road" with the original florida kid WEEK 19
Hello again fellow truckstars! Week 19 is in the log books...........or not...........
and you're on the road with the original kid..............
Grandma and everyone here at the ranch say - "Hey!"
KITCHEN TABLE TALKIN' -
I've been on the road for a few weeks, that's why you haven't heard from me. I just got back at 4:00am yesterday from an almost 20,000 mile trip hauling boats, haul - backhaul - that kind of thing. I was on a roll and I rode it till the end since I'll probably be off for a couple of weeks because of the holiday. That's okay.... Needless to say I'm tired but I have so much "home" stuff to do I can't lay around and stare at the tv. I still can't get over how much I feel like a stranger here at home after a long trip....how 'bout you truckstar?
Barbie and Grandma did a beautiful job decorating the house for Christmas, the tree and lights on the house looked so nice, she left them on all night when she knew I was on my way home the other day. I have to tell you, my eyes got a little misty when I pulled up.......then, of course the whole house burst into an uproar - at 4 in the morning - and Barbie made me her famous spaghetti while Pup and our cat Wolfie went ape all over me. It was kind of cool to know they missed me as much as I missed them. It was good to come home..........
I'm 52 but I still get homesick like a little kid, I can't help it....
This trip, I took along a few audio books. I like the best seller action-adventure kind of stuff. I thought at first they might be boring, but they weren't, just the opposite in fact, the time passed much better while I was driving since my mind had something better to think about than how much I missed everyone at home and trying to find and keep a radio station. I borrowed them from my local library - for free. I'm not going to do the sat radio thing since I'm saving for a mobile internet laptop and I can listen to my own hometown country music station when I want to, I can watch dvd's, tv on it too and check regional weather. I've talked about the laptop thing in recent blogs and I still urge everyone to think about it, that is, getting a mobile internet capable laptop, not a Wi-fi, but a mobile web - pci slot laptop. Check out Laptop magazine, the best source for laptop info. Mine is going to be on the passenger seat - turned on at all times. You can even check for truckstops and gas prices on the road ahead of you....The modern driver should have an onboard media and comm. system - standard issue, in my opinion. We're not talking about a lot of money either, and don't forget you can turn off the cable you've had at home and use the mobile pci card in the computer when you're at home too..... I know a guy who uses a web phone service called Skype.com He called me from France and the call was as clear as if he were across the street, he said it was only costing him pennies to make the call......I have a cell phone but I can see myself consolidating all my media and communications through a good laptop. I bought a headset to plug(usb ports) into the laptop I'm getting. I hope I can get an HD and Blue Ray 17' or 19" model(I like the bigger keyboard) with 2 to 4 gigs of ram and at least 200 gigs. This last trip should pay for one, and my new website set-up too(thetruckstar.com)That's where my column and radio station will be..........soon......
So - I drove through those two weather systems that brought snow to the entire country in the past few weeks. I've seen and driven through enough snow and freezing rain, lately, to last me through the holiday season Thank you very much........I got out of my truck after a sleep the other day in Flagstaff, Arizona into 2 feet of snow in the Pilot parking lot....lovely......of course I had on only a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.......don't forget........I'm from Florida.......nothing like a fresh hot cup of coffee and a Krispy Kreme chocolate covered donut....okay...three donuts dammitt......to get your motor runnin'.........I see more and more Subways at truckstops and that's a good ting mon'. Even Arbys has a good grilled chicken salad.
Keep in mind that all the crap we eat determines how we feel, and when we sit still for a long time our body can't process the bad stuff through so it lines the intestines and arteries. Give yourself a chance to be healthy by eating lots of roughage and vitamin laced foods. You'll see what I mean, right away you'll notice the difference. Stomach and intestinal problems will go away too as will high blood pressure, more on this soon.
I want to comment this week, also, on one of truckings dirty little secrets.....which one you ask?
I was at a rest area for a pit stop and this trucker, a flat bedder, starts talkin' to me, bein' a writer I always talk to people wherever go, and, about 3 minutes into the conversation he starts talkin' about sex, I changed the subject two or three times because it's not something I talk with people about, generally, but he kept going back to sex and said something about going to a truckstop for a shower. Now, I'm a little slow so it took me a few minutes to realize this guy was looking for a "friend" and he wanted to go into the bathroom stall area for....whatever... Now, first, let's be clear on this - I'm not gay, (and this is not a gay bash session either, I don't care if you're gay or not,) but even if I was....the last thing I would do is hook-up with some pathetic, desperate moron who probably has a family of his own at home, at a rest area where soccer Mom's and Dad's on the road were bringing in their kids! Sex in public places in general is a really bad idea because it's not only un-professional AND perverse, it almost always brings in a bad element, like anything else that's wrong......not to mention the fact that trucking dosen't need anymore bad press by this kind of thing getting into the papers or on the news, and someday it will. I'm still pissed about it too, not so much because I was personally offended, I've been approached by gay men before, but because it's a black mark on a trade I love, and, a trade that has a lot of decent hard working pros in it, both male and female, who work hard to keep a good reputation in the eyes of the public.............any advice from anyone out there on what I should do about it? Stay away from the rest area at mile marker 225 on I-95 in Florida.......the one near Macon on I-75 in Georgia too.........
This edition is going to be shorter than usual too I apologize for that.
The next few issues will bring back all the different departments everyone seems to enjoy so much, including the Wanted:Heroes, Health Department, Cowboy Corral, Jukebox, and Truckstar Tech. and a few new dept's., like The History Book. I like history, not just trucking history but American history too. I found out there are a lot of Civil War relic hunters, for example, and I find this kind of thing very interesting. Also a new story feature about a couple of kid detectives on the road with the one kids Dad.....
Nascar and the PBR are off for the season.
Don't forget about abused kids and our neighbors in West Virginia !!
Write down the following web addresses, bookmark em' and make it a regular part of your web surfing! To find your Representative - www.house.gov ( just enter your zip)
To find your Senators - www.senate.gov - scroll to your home state.
Write them often, tell your friends to write them often....and tell them too that prices are not going to go down on Mexican shipped goods either......just more dope, crime, junky trucks and bad drivers, accidents and public costs.....Keep it going!
Remember - no paycheck and no load is worth dyin' for......
Don't forget about National Truckers Prayer Day -
contact Billy Mack on Bozo Radio, or the other radio trucking shows!
Billy Mack on(XMchannel171) Bozo radio's Open Road Phone Line,
12noon - 4:00pm, mon thru fri - call him at 817-451-6055

Don't forget too, truckstars - if you're lookin' for a critter - I highly recommend you start lookin' at:
www.aspca.org and www.hsus.org (humane society) I see lots of drivers with little buddies on the road, I like the Jack Russells......
Well alright - that's it for this week truckstars!
Pray for us all, our nation, the world and the lost..... and try not to worry!!
God hears prayers, trust me........I know......
Watch what you eat and watch the road !!
As always I want you to remember - I love ya and I'm prayin' for ya!
Play nice, drive safe and pull it on home...........you're on the road with the original florida kid......we gown..........