Once upon a time people held common courtesy in high regard. Gentlemen addressed each other as "sir" and women as "ma'am" or more commonly as "lady". Gentlemen held doors open for ladies as well as other gentlemen and a person who failed to abide by the commonly accepted rules of civilized society was considered a cad, undesireable, and an unwelcomed sort. Somewhere between McDonald's and iPods courtesy died without anyone noticing. Today rudeness appears to be the norm and is not only ...

I've noticed a change in Little Whip's posts since she returned from her self imposed exile from JU. In the past I rarely posted a reply to her articles nor did I normally respond to her replies in other articles. Why? Because I felt that she was unnecessarily harsh, cruel, mean, or vulgar in her posts. I never reflected on possible reasons for this, I just assumed she was either a disgustingly crude person or she was maintaining some internet persona. Either way I had little use for inter...

I decided to not stay at the casino today and instead moved to Albequerque,NM and parked at the truckstop there. I really wanted a cold beer and since there wasn't an adult beverage establishment nearby I took a walk. I found a bar about a block from the truckstop. I made friends with the two guys working the bar there and commenced to endulging in a few adult beverages while engaging in discourse with the patrons around me. I have having a pretty enjoyable time for a while. At some point ...

I've stopped yet again. I drove about 100 miles and stopped again. I just really don't feel like it today. No motivation at all. I'm about 22 hours from my stop in Chicago and can't deliver it until Monday anyway so I'm kind of dragging my feet. I may just loaf around here at the Sky City Casino for the rest of the day even though it means having to do some steady running Saturday and Sunday to make it up. But sometimes ya just have to say to hell with it and goof off for a while. Know...

I stopped here in Gallup, NM to enjoy brunch before making my way across the state. While I was sitting at the counter enjoying my food this younger driver who was sitting there started a conversation with me. It wasn't long before he began bad mouthing the indian population of the area. Many of the things he said would have been offensive to anyone with even a modicum of civility about them. And all of his comments were said within earshot of our waitress who happened to be Navaho and a very...

A few pics of my travels through the Southwest so far. The California Imperial Dunes Some Volcanic debris in Arizona Typical Arizona Vegetation More Arizona The view from the parking lot of the Little America truckstop in Flagstaff, AZ

I've been fairly dehydrated the past few days. It's pretty common among truckers and can sneak up on you without you noticing. Between drinking too much coffee, working out in the heat, and just not taking in enough hydrating fluids while cruising down the highways, dehydration becomes a problem pretty quickly. So today I decided to make a point of getting rehydrated. During the course of the day I have consumed 96 ounces of Gatorade (three 32oz bottles) and am sipping on another 32 ounces...

As I walked out of the truckstop earlier I noticed a large sign that reads "Begging is illegal. Do not encourage or contribute to this problem" and lists some local ordinance. I thought it was a bit odd at the time but after sitting here in my truck for a little while I understand. I've had several people come knock on my door asking for money. One guy was so stoned that he was barely able to stand or speak and a couple of times almost fell down. Must be a big problem around here for them to ...

I made it out of California this morning after spending the night at the Golden Acorn indian casino. It seems they are exempt or simply ignore California's absurdly strict anti-smoking laws as I was able to sit at the bar and enjoy a smoke with my cold beer. There are worse ways to pass an evening. I am now parked in Winslow, AZ for the evening, that small town made famous by the Eagle's song Take It Easy. There doesn't seem to be much to do here, at least not anything around the truckstop...

I think trucking is probably one of the few occupations/lifestyles in which getting a shower can be the high point of the day. Most folks take it for granted that they go home after a day of work and have the option of a nice hot shower to wash away the day's residue. For the trucker, a shower is something that has to be planned for and scheduled just like every other part of the run. For many truckers it's a simple matter of planning their shower for where they plan to stop for the night....

My newest meerschaum arrived about a week ago but I've been pretty busy so haven't taken any pics of it until today. It's a fairly long pipe, not quite churchwarden length but not far from it. The combination of the wonderful smoking qualities of meerschaum combined with the nice long stem produces a very nice smoke indeed. I think it's also a quite attractive piece of work as well.

I delivered the Bushmaster to Camp Pendleton fairly early this morning. I actually arrived too early and had to wait around a while for the Gunny Sgt to come on duty. I called in after delivery to let them know that it was delivered on time. I was planning to go find a room after that. Instead I was told that they have a piece of machinery they want me to pick up in Corona, CA to bring back to IL on my way. And of course it needs a tarp. Grrrr. So I called the guy in Corona to get directio...

I am spending the night tonight near the New Mexico/Arizona border on I 40. I am well within reach of my stops in Tempe and Phoenix for tomorrow so now I can relax for the evening in preparation of an early start in the morning. Today's drive reminded me of how much we take for granted when we see it every day. I spend the majority of my time driving through the Eastern half of the U.S. as well as the northern states from coast to coast and pretty well know it all like the back of my hand....

Time for bed, hopefully I'll have time and opportunity to log on some time tomorrow. Have some serious driving to do tomorrow, gonna be a long day.

I'm spending the night in Oklahoma City on my way to AZ and ultimately CA. It's very humid here this evening and there's been some light rain off and on, but otherwise it's not too bad here. I stopped at a truckstop just outside of the city. I could have gone on through and stopped at one of the ones on the other side, but I need some rest tonight. There are bars there and I know I'd just wind up in one with a couple of other drivers and end up sleeping late in the morning. Plenty of time ...