Snow = money

When we receive snow (or it is even mentioned) in Arkansas, people go crazy. They buy all the "milk and bread" in the stores (it is a known fact that in Arkansas people can't survive 2 days without milk and bread).

Most of the state received snow this week with some getting up to 18 inches but here in Little Rock we received about 2 to 4 inches.












My brother-in-law (about an hour away) sent pictures of their 10 inches of snow. This was taken on their patio by the pool.

Snow means extra work in the milk business. From just extra milk on my loads, to extra drops from my trailer, to extra loads.

Extra milk on the trailer doesn't pay extra, extra drops pay a small amount, and extra loads play very well. This week I had extra drops, extra small runs and working on my off days.

Thank you "Mr. Snow Man"















The B-I-L (the one that looks like crap)
The Snow Man (the cute one)
The niece ( "a real honey" [must take after her mother] and 18 today)

Ratings

From the seat of my truck I have a nice view inside the vehicles that pass. Though the years I have watched the "little movies" (only recorded in my mind) that appear in my drivers door window.

These little clips can last a few seconds to just a quick blink, depending on how fast the vehicle is passed by. City stop and go traffic can produce longer versions of these little movies. Just like the movies at the theater, mine can be rated as G, PG13, R, X, and even XXX.

After dark when I see a vehicle with the interior light on, I usually see someone eating, reading, or selecting a compact disc.

All this looking is just not voyeurism but also a safety issue, as a car passes the air disturbance caused by my large truck can suck the passing car toward my truck ( that's my story and I am sticking to it).

Wednesday night as I was driving from from Texarkana, I noticed a car approaching and as it reached my side window, the interior light came on. The car contained two college aged girls and the the passenger put on a little show for me, I was obligated to look (can you imagine the years of therapy she would have to endure if she couldn't get an old trucker to look) and after a few seconds they both waved and off they went after turning off their interior light.

So, how did I rate the show? Differently a "D" and quite possibly "DD's", hehe.

March Book Review

"Pretty Boy Floyd", by Larry McMurty (of "Lonesome Dove" fame) and Diana Ossana.





The true facts of any famous person will always be disputed and the life and times of Charley "Pretty Boy" Floyd has many that can not to proven and this novel is written with the known facts, innuendos, and a certain amount of artistic license.

One fact is certain, times were hard in depression era Oklahoma. The novel conjours up the "Joad" family in "Grapes of Wrath". Charley helps enough poor people with food and tore up land mortgages at banks that his was often refereed as the "Robin Hood Bandit".

Pretty Boy Floyd had a wife and a son, a steady girl friend, plus an older woman (lover and mentor in his criminal live), and George Birdwell (his partner in crime).

Charley and George robbed so many banks in Oklahoma that the bank insurance rated doubled in a year.

This a not a book for the prudish but I found it a very intriguing read. After reading the book, I checked out some of the other facts and legends of Floyd online as I knew very little about him before I read the book.

Not much happening

I know it has been a nearly a month since my last update but not much is happening to write about.

My weight is steady at 222lbs.

My schedule has changed and I am no longer driving to Texarkana on Mondays (I still go on Wednesdays and Fridays) and my Mondays are filled with "what-ever" they need me to run.

I have read several entertaining books with month ( have you ever seen TV as crappy as it is right now?).

If you have cable or satellite tv, are you watching "Mad Money" hosted by Jim Cramer? I highly recommend it. It is on CNBC or channel 208 if you have "Dish Network". He pulls no punches when talking about the stock market and his picks are great. I like the "lightning round" where people call in and ask about a stock they are interested in. You can also check him out on the internet.

Watching any financial business show will keep you thinking about your financial future and as with anything, "the more it is on your mind the more you want to follow through on those thoughts".

I will be back over the weekend with my monthly book report about a colorful and infamous man of the 1930's. No, not Al Capone.

Poor Baby

222 lbs.

I have caught the "crud" from getting wet Thursday (or DW gave it to me). I wish I had the day off but Saturday is one of my longer days.
The weather here has really been crazy, winter one day and spring like the next. Hell, I might as well get of the computer. When you start talking about the weather, you know you have nothing to say.

Sir Alex

Several years ago we lived on a short dead gravel road by a small AG&F lake. Our neighbor owned "free range" chickens and one of his roosters would wake us up in the morning by crowing.

It was rather funny, if we were already up when he came over, he would just walk around the yard. If we were not up he would crow until we started moving around and making noise or just yell at him.

We named him "LUTHER" and made a game out of him coming over to wake us.

We how have a new "fowl friend", he is a Guinea and I have named him "Sir Alex". He stands by the tires on the Dodge truck all day and he "fusses" when we drive it. Nice to have him around as he will eat any ticks in the neighborhood, now if I could get him to eat ants. Could there be an Aardvark in my future?

222lbs.

One pound gain for the week.

The El Dorado Promise

Hearing grumbling about $3 a gallon gasoline. That is not the case with the El Dorado, Arkansas school students. El Dorado is the home of Murphy Oil Corp. so naturally it provides a large number of high paying jobs in the area, but that is not what has the students excited.

The El Dorado Promise is sponsored by Murphy Oil and it guaranties that every graduating senior ( read the story for the facts) at El Dorado High School that wants to attend a college or university will have their tuition and fees paid in full.

The tuition money is capped by the highest tuition charged in Arkansas but can be used at any school in any state up to the Arkansas cap.

The best students usually receive scholarships at most schools but this program covers any student that gets admitted to a college or university.

A student from a poor family will now know he or she CAN attend a college or university. Students will try harder through their school years because they know there will be a big payoff for them.

If this story doesn't make you feel good about America, I don't know what will.

See ya down the road

I met another backpacker this week but he was not what I would consider your usual (if there is such a thing) vagabond.

He had his backpack off and taking a break near our yard on hwy82 west of Texarkana, Tx. He asked that I not take any pictures and we had a short chat.

He was eager to talk but was hesitant to give real details. He appeared to be in his late 40's or early 50's. When I asked where he was from he just answered "all over" and then his destination was "just heading down the road".

His clothes were clean and he was clean shaven and his back pack looked fairly new.















His setup was similar to the one above and he was carrying a tent and ground pad. He appeared to be equipped for backpack traveling.

I just wondered if he was "running away" and had not made it far enough from home to give any personal information. Maybe he was just wanting to leave for awhile or perhaps attempting to make a fresh start down the road. Maybe he was just off for a weekend (it was Friday afternoon) hike, but it was one of you coldest (in the low 30's) days this year.

He was very intriguing but I just could not get him to open up. I would like to meet him a month or two down the road and hear his story.

Same-o same-o

221 lbs. and holding.

Robbing Peter to pay Paul

"Robbing Peter to pay Paul" is generally referring to taking money from one bill to pay another.

My "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" has to do with my job and my health. The harder my job (loading trucks, not the driving part) the more my heart rate rises and therefor the stronger my heart becomes and that in turns lowers my blood pressure, but the harder I work the more damage I do to my knees.

For years I have used a hook to just drag the stacks of milk. We stack milk crates five or six high and the stacks can vary greatly in the overall weight. I will use gallons of milk as an example: 4 gallons to the case, 8.5 lbs. per gallon= to approx 35 lbs. when you add in the weight of the case. Now a 5 high stack is about 175 lbs. or 6 high is 210 lbs. While your body is not carrying the 200 lbs., the weight is transferred to your knees.

The average stack is dragged about 50 feet multiplied by the number of stacks in the load (70 stacks in a really small load to over 200 stacks in a large one) and one starts to see that it can be quite a workout. A milkman's knees really take a beating but his heart is better for it.

Dragging the milk is faster than rolling the stacks on a two wheel dolly.

With a hook, you just hook the bottom case (while using the other hand to grab the top case to steady the stack), drag the stack (walking backward) and when you get it where you want it just sling it in place.

With the dolly, you have to pull the stack forward enough to tilt it backward so the dolly will go under it, then you have to turn the stack and dolly around and push it where it needs to be (you could walk backwards with it but you have to turn around when you get to the destination anyway), when the stack is where you want it you have to lean the stack forward to pull the dolly out, now you have to push the stack forward into its place tight against the rest of the stacks.

Walking with the stack on a dolly or dragging the stack takes about the same time as "walking is walking", but the extra steps with the dolly adds up. The real difference is the amount of energy between the two. One uses less energy but takes longer.

My knees are not what they used to be so I have been using a dolly for several months ( I am paid by the run so time is not a factor to the dairy). While helping my knees, my heart is not getting the workout several times a week that it needs.

My blood pressure has always been about 117/ 70 . By not exercising my heart my blood pressure is all the way to 147/83 on the high side and 142/76 on other days.

I think a trip to the doctor is close at hand.

221 lbs

One half pound is not much but at least I'm headed in the right direction again. I was a little surprised I hadn't gained this week ( I will let it go at that).

My blood sugar is fine @106, but my blood pressure is still a little high @ 136/76. I need to get back on by bicycle but I just can't seem to get motivated.

My disposition is much improved and I am starting to enjoy my job again.

Fan-Tastic

Actually that is the brand name of the vent fans in the ceiling of our rv. Fan-Tastic fans are the standard by which all other fans are judged.

For my non rv readers I will explain their use. They work the way "attic fans" work in an ordinary home. All rvs have a vent fan in the bathroom to pull the steam from the shower.






Most are just a small single speed fan in the 14"x14" opening the will not do a great job. The vent is cranked open and the fan automatically starts turning.







Our Fan-Tastic vent fan in the bathroom is full size to the opening and has 3 speeds plus "off". Select any of the 3 speeds and open the vent and the fan starts or you can place the switch to off and open it without the fan running (more on that later).










All controls are manual. I can reach them but the short one of the family has to use a pair of kitchen tongs to open it by placing the tongs on the black star shaped knob and turning it.









We ordered an automatic fan for the kitchen vent (the stove also has a vent-a-hood). It has a "rain sensor" that will automatically close it if it rains and it will reopen when the sensor dries.













This fan is controlled thermostatically by this wall unit (it can also be manually operated). In "auto" mode you can set the desired "temp and humidity" and the fan will open and run on high until it is reached. In "manual" mode the fan opens and runs on low until you choose to turn it off.

When using the kitchen fan, you can open a window or a door to receive a nice breeze. When the awning is out you can draw in the cool breeze it creates. Also you can just open the bathroom vent with the fan turned off to receive a breeze if you want to keep the doors and windows closed.

These are 12volt fans so they can be used (rvs have 12 batteries attached) even when you are not hooked to regular 120 volt power.

These fans are very powerful and really move a lot of air inside a rv. Roughing it in an rv with the comforts of a attic fan.

Putnam Hitch

Back in August when I bought my 2006 Dodge 2500 diesel truck, I knew I wanted to install a better trailer hitch.

The stock hitch was not heavy enough ( I didn't want to max it out) for our 32ft travel trailer. After doing some research I decided on this hitch. The Putnam 25211 is rated at 16000 pounds when used with a weight distribution system.













The hitch arrived with part of the nuts, bolts, and washers missing (the box had a hole in it). The first thing was rounding up the missing parts before starting.


























These are the nuts, washers, and bolts needed to install the hitch. Also these pipe bushings were needed. Only 2 bushings are needed for my truck. A Dodge 1500 requires the other two.














This is the hitch and the 2 mounting plates.














The two mounting brackets are installed with 4 bolts per side. Depending on your truck (longbed or short), you use the front or rear holes.

I now turned my attention to my truck .














First I removed the spare tire and unclipped the wiring harness for the lights.













The receiver part of the stock hitch ( also serves as on additional rear frame crossmember so only the receiver part is cut off) has to be removed. This picture also shows the part of the original hitch that the new hitch ties to.














I torched it off and then cleaned it a little after this picture was taken. The rest of the stock hitch is left in place because the new Putnam hitch ties into it.














These 2 bumper bolts (one on each side with the tab attached) need to be removed.














Push the clips that hold down the plastic in the bumper upward and it reveals the holes that will tie the two hitches together. This is the part of the original hitch where a regular trailer ball is attached.















These are the bolts that are used.

I used a floor jack to lift the new hitch in place and then reused the 2 bolts I had removed earlier (pipe spacers were already built in on the 3/4 top truck). One additional bolt per side is added to the provided holes.














The front holes on both the hitch and frame are elongated.














These bolts, washers ( I added and additional washer inside and out to beef it up) and bushing are used. The bushing fit inside the frame to keep it from collapsing.














After every thing was in place I started tightening all the bolts.














Starting with the 2 bolts that tie the two hitches together. After everything is tight, I plastic z-tied the wiring harness snug.














Here you can see both hitches tied together. My R265/17 spare tire fit but not sure if a larger tire would.














The finished product looks great and I now have all the hitch I need. It took about 3 hours but I really took my time and that included rounding up the missing parts. Without a floor jack or a helper, the hitch would be difficult to hold in place to start the bolts. This thing is very heavy.

How I came to have my name

My mom lived around Sparkman, Arkansas as a girl. She would tell stories about the dances that everyone attended. Often they would last all night long and it was quite common to wear out the soles of a new pair of shoes in one night. Inexpensive shoes and wooden dance floors with sawdust to makes them slippery had a lot to do with this.

These were not dances at fancy "dance halls", but were often in the homes of the musicians with people dancing in the parlor , kitchen, and even the front and back porches.

This was the days of the Model T Ford and every man wore a hat. When a man arrived at a dance and part of the brim of his hat was missing, it could mean only one thing. He had used part of his hat brim to line the clutch of his Model T.

One of the musical families of the Sparkman area where my mom attended dances was the Brown family. Their son and two daughters would later form the country music trio Jim Ed, Maxine and Bonnie known simply as "The Browns".







They had several hits in the mid 50's and Jim Ed went on to a very nice solo career before forming a duo with Helen Cornelius.







One of their aunts was Magee Brown and she married a local boy named Sam. The rigors of touring was hard on Bonnie as she had married and had young children. When Sam died in the late 50's, Bonnie asked her Aunt Magee to be her nanny.

Dang Squire, I thought his was a post about your name.

Well the Aunt Magee and Uncle Sam that Jim Ed, Maxine and Bonnie knew was known to me as Uncle Sam and Aunt Magee. Uncle Sam was my dad's brother.

"And now you know the rest of the story".

Heck you really didn't think my name was Squire, did you?

On a side note: My weight remains at 221.5 pds.

A new year

The new year started with me having a better outlook and a renewed quest to accomplish all the things that need to be in place before I retire. Retirement for me means , "not having to take a cut in pay".

I am not one to make resolutions for a new year but I would like to make a few changes in the coming year. Besides trying to eat better, I need to get my eyes checked (a first for me), and have all the tests an "old man" should have.

My new extra heavy duty (16000pd) hitch has arrived for my truck and I look forward to installing it and having one less thing on my "to due list".

Also this year I would like to sell our motorhome and Flintstone (my Pontiac Fiero), neither is being used and taking up space in our driveway.

One more thing that is high on my list is to again seek out people to talk to as I have been very lax in that department for the last couple of months.

I hope everyone has a safe and productive year.

January Book Review

For a couple of years I have been reading a blog about a female taxi cab driver in New York City. I have not linked to her before because I try to keep this blog family friendly and she is not afraid of the "f" work. I enjoy her blog very much and when she wrote a book, I knew that I wanted it for Christmas. Zac (who told me about the blog) gave it to me and I dove right in and read it cover to cover.

"HACK, How I stopped worrying about what to do with my life and started driving a yellow cab." by Melissa Plaut.




She tells about getting her "hack licence" and her adventures in the cab as one of the few female New York City cab drivers. She is college educated and took this job because she was not handling the office politics of the corporate world very well.

Drop by her blog and start at the beginning for insight into her book.

Snowbirds

On Thursday after Christmas, I started seeing more rv's heading south and on Friday I decided to count them to see just how many I was actually seeing.

"Snowbirds" are people from the colder parts of the US and Canada that head for warmer parts in the winter. From the looks of it two things came into play for the high number of rvs I counted on I-30. The snowstorms in the mid and northwest had lightened enough for people to hit the road and Christmas with the grandkids was now over.

Most traveling rvers are on the road by 9am and stop for the night before dark. About 10 am on Friday morning I was heading east on I-30 and counted rvs for 50 miles.

I was afraid I might lose count from long periods of no rvs but boy was I wrong. In those 50 miles I counted 66 rvs. Most were large 5th wheels pulled by 3/4 and 1 ton diesel trucks. Second on the list were class A motorhomes with a few travel trailers and 2 c-class units in the mix.

Most were probably heading for south Texas and other parts of the Southwest. Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona attract large numbers of rvers and several return to the same location year after year.

For my non rv readers, "Google" Quartzsite or Slab City to gain a glimpse into some of the more adventurous.

Moral Victory

Another week that my weight stayed at 221.5 pds. With the holidays I should feel fortunate I haven't gained more. Over this week maybe ALL the sweets will be gone and I can get back with the program.

Wrong Way!

My weigh in this week was another disappointment. I gained a pound and my weight is now 222.5 pds.

Too may Xmas parties ( another excuse, I see a pattern developing here! Blame everything except me ).

On a brighter note. Zac is home for the holidays. Nice to not have him half way around the world this year.

A new year is just around the corner and hopefully there will be progress made on some of things I would like to accomplish in the new year.

Corny Car

Why are we feeding corn (ethanol) to our cars. Most of that ethanol is corn based. One estimate is it takes 1 gallon of fuel (gas or diesel) to produce 1.8 gallons of corn based ethanol. Not to mention ethanol delivers less mpg.

In the process, we lose valuable corn production that should be used for our food supply. A nice "catch 22", corn prices are rising and more land is being farmed for corn that takes away from other grain farming. Corn and wheat production are needed to keep our food prices from skyrocketing. Don't just think of higher bread prices but all our foods (beef is fattened on corn) are ultimately going to rise.

"Grow our gasoline" sounds great if we do not look past the surface of the issue. I for one would rather know I can get food at the market even if I have to walk there.

Your mileage may vary.........haven't I heard that before?

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Week three weigh-in.

The GOOD,
my way too tight jeans are now a comfortable fit, my sugar levels are lower (about 100) , and my blood pressure in coming down (129/72), but need to be lower.

The BAD,
my weigh is the same as last week (221.5pds). !#!$#$%, Christmas cookies.

The Ugly,
my depression and disposition is only marginally better, but still better.

It has been a year

It is hard to believe it had been a year since I wrote about my new truck . I have been the only one to drive the truck, but it is not the only truck I have driven in the past year.

On 4 or 5 occasions I have used another truck so it could be swapped out during the run or just used a bob truck for a small delivery. I also have taken three weeks in vacation, so I guess that leaves about 48 weeks of driving my truck. I have racked up 77,500 miles on it.

That is not a lot of miles by trucker standards but I also have to off load my truck when I arrive at my destination. Also as I have mentioned before, I am home every night.

This truck should still be in great shape when I retire. It has been a pleasure driving it this past year and I look forward to a couple more years.

High school football

I mean good old American football. Don't get me started on soccer or the metric system and this whole "one world" thing. America is the greatest country in the world BECAUSE we are different than the rest of the world.

Our ancestors came to America to make a NEW life. They learned to speak English and the ways of their new country. They did not just relocate to America and try to change it into their old country. I thought I told you not to get me started!

Football is the glue that holds small towns together. People go to the ALL games even if they have no child on the team. People take pride in never missing a game. Most can tell you the score from important (aren't they all) games for years.

In my school years I went to six (2 in California and 4 in Arkansas) different schools and attended Bearden, Arkansas twice. Although I graduated from Gurdon High School, I attended Bearden more years than any other school.

Bearden is a small town of about 1800. Like most small town it is wasting away. Even thou it has annexed more property into the city limits the population has decreased by 400 since the 60's.

Bearden and Mt. Ida played for the state championship on Saturday. Both had made one trip to the state finals in the distant pass but never had won.

I listened to the game on the radio and it was the type game one would expect from 2 undefeated teams. Mt. Ida won with a 22 yard FG with 5 seconds left on the clock.

Bearden did not win but the Mt. Ida victory brought tears of joy to my eyes. No, I was not cheering against my old school.

They announced that the attendance was over 5800. That is a larger number than the total population of both towns together.

The tears came from the fact that not only did the head coach of Mt. Ida play for Mt. Ida (from 1990-1992) but his entire coaching staff are from Mt. Ida. In the post game interview you could feel the hometown pride of a small town boy reaching the top in front of his hometown.

Bearden and Mt. Ida played for the state championship on Saturday. Both had made one trip to the state finals in the distant pass but never had won.

I listened to the game on the radio and it was the type game one would expect from 2 undefeated teams. Mt. Ida won with a 22 yard FG with 5 seconds left on the clock.

Bearden did not win but the Mt. Ida victory brought tears of joy to my eyes. No, I was not cheering against my old school.

They announced that the attendance was over 5800. That is a larger number than the total population of both towns together.

The tears came from the fact that not only did the head coach of Mt. Ida play for Mt. Ida (from 1990-1992) but his entire coaching staff are from Mt. Ida. In the post game interview you could feel the hometown pride of a small town boy reaching the top in front of his hometown.

The Twinkie Affect

A while back I mentioned I was having some problems because I was letting my stomach rule my life. When I said I was on the wrong side of 220 pounds, I should have told the real truth. I weighted in at 229.5 pounds.

I weigh at work just as I dress for work. Jeans, work shirt, steel toed boots, and pockets full of keys. I dress the same everyday ( except for the shorts I wear in warm weather).

After Thanksgiving I decided to get healthy again. I was wearing 36 inch jeans that were way to tight. I then decided to start eating right and let my weight slip back a little. The near term I am looking for 200 pounds and then I want to settle in about 185 pounds.

This is not "vanity pounds" but pounds that effect my health. I will not be loosing 75 pounds in 12 weeks as I did when I was diagnosed with diabetes as I became anemic and my blood pressure bottomed out at 71/48. This time I will just eat the things I should and eat more than I did the first time. The first time I basically had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and my evening meal amounted to about as much food as is in a tv dinner. 4oz. meat (mostly chicken), two very small servings of veggies (less than 1/2 cup) and a small salad. I did this while still putting in 14 hour days.

After the first week my weight was 225.5 pounds and today it was 221.5 pounds. I will weigh every Friday and post it here. It will keep me motivated and with Christmas coming I need all the help I can get.

I will leave you with this:
If girls with big boobs work at HOOTERS, does that mean one-legged girls work at IHOP?

December Book Review

With my December book review, I would like to remind everyone about PaperBack Swap .

I now have 45 credits,159 books listed (only my books I am willing to part with, hehe), I have received 67 books and have mailed 111 books. As you can see, I have been taking advantage of this site. They also swap audio books and now are swapping DVD's. Nice to sit home and order a book when you see one mentioned that catches your fancy. Another feature I like is the fact that when ordering a book you can have it sent to any address.

Now on to the book review.





" A Walk in the Woods", by Bill Bryson.

Subtitled, "Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail".

Bill and his overweight hiking partner, Steven Katz, set out to hike the Appalachian Trail. The "Trail" runs about 2100 miles from Maine to Georgia.

The books is more more than their attempt to walk the trail but is a lesson on the history of the trail as well as a lesson tree, plants, wildlife, how the topography was formed, with a splash of humor and human relationships thrown in.

Although they did not walk the full length of the trail, the book is really more about "discovery" than a walk of 2100 miles.

His account of Centralia, Pa. is very chilling and something that I had forgotten about.

At just 230 pages it makes for a short but entertaining read.

I love it!

As you know, I seek out the "characters" in life and genuinely enjoy the encounters with these people. People that fit in the mold of everyday life hold very little entertainment value. Heck, I might as well just look in the mirror if I seek a plain vanilla person.

One of the blogs I regularly read is "Randy and Diana" and Randy also loves eccentrics and often writes about them (hmmm, does that sound familiar?).

Here, Randy gets the story is his latest. Homeless doesn't seem so bad to this guy, because I am sure he doesn't consider himself "homeless" and I would have to agree with him.

Homeless

Saturday on my way to work as I exited the frontage road for my 3 mile use of the interstate, I noticed a bicyclist pulling a trailer I would have passed had I stayed on the frontage road. I pulled off the interstate and waited for him to reach me, expecting once more to talk to a touring biker.

"Steve" stopped and we talked a few minutes. I didn't ask his age but I would guess him to be at or near retirement (62years) age. He was riding an older mountain bike (its make hidden by what appeared to be several repaints) and pulling a modified child type two wheel trailer. I had a hard time reading him and his setup. Either he had been doing this for some time or had bought a used mountain bike with a few added features. All the extras were as used as the bike and I can only assume they were added when the bike was new.

The weather was just above freezing and Steve was wrapped up for it. He said he had spent Thursday night in a homeless shelter in Little Rock and headed south and spent Friday night in a church in Benton (20 miles southwest). The Benton police had told him that rain (maybe sleet) was forecast for the next 2 days so he had decided to head back to Little Rock.

I usually ask more questions but Steve seemed "homeless" and just had a bike to carry his possessions. The last thing I wanted to do was embarrass him. He could have been a traveling homeless person or from Little Rock, either way he was doing the best he could do. Several things did point to him as being a roadie. He was wearing a helmet and his trailer had a "caution, slow moving vehicle triangle" on it.

I wished I could have invited him into the nearby convenient store for a hot coffee and more conversation but I was running late (as usual). He said he was wanting to head south after the rains and I explained the best way out of town.

If indeed he were homeless and traveling, then he was rather ingenious because most police will not bother a touring bicyclist that is camping out except to tell them that camping is not permitted in their jurisdiction and ask them to move on. The public will offer to help where they would turn up their noses at a homeless person.

When I gave Steve some money I did not want it to look like a handout so I said, "Steve, I ride a bike and would someday like to hit the road for a trip, so please let me buy you a warm meal". He thanks me and we parted ways.

Homelessness in America is a big problem and just to get by on SS takes more creativeness, but I am not so naive as to think when I help someone it is about "them", helping strokes ones own ego and we all like be feel better about ourselves. I pick and choice and it does feel good to think you have helped someone that needs it as opposed to someone only there for a handout.

c2c

"c2c", what on earth could that stand for? Well, "c2c" stands for "Coast to Coast" or "Sea to Sea", meaning a trip across America. These are terms used by bicyclist (among others) to identify the epic adventure in terms of traveling across America.

This idea first became popular (due to media coverage) in 1976 because of the 4000 bicyclists that cycled across America to celebrate the bicentennial of America. From this event the Adventure Cycling Association was formed and the rest is cycling history.

Cyclist now just refer to the trip as "going across".

Adventure Cycling Association sells detailed maps of several routes including a map of the original bicentennial route,
















also the northern route,
















and southern tier.

















In the past I have written about John and Jerry
but Friday was the first cyclist I have met that was "going across".













Bryan was not using the bike maps but was playing it by ear and using a small road atlas for general directions. I met him on highway US64 that parallels I-40 across Arkansas, just to the south of I-40 from the western edge of the state until Conway (nearly in the center of the state) and then north of I-40 (moving farther north of the Interstate) for the remaining route to the eastern side of the state. Most of this road has a nice wide shoulder to ride on.

Bryan had been on the road about 45 days since leaving Oregon and mostly camping with a few motel nights mixed in, he was in no hurry and just heading east to the Atlantic Ocean. He works as a campground maintenance man and his campground was closed for the winter. He had plans to head south and hit US82 and follow it east. Again his bike was not the traditional touring bike but part of his equipment was top notch. Any bike in decent shape can be used for touring but a traditional touring bike is designed to carry the load and be comfortable mile after mile. His Ortlieb bags (panniers) are some of the most popular used by touring cyclist. His tire pump was another thing altogether. He was carrying a "floor type" tire pump.







While they do an excellent job, they are a little heavy compared to







this small and easily carried model.

Since Little Rock and crossing the Arkansas River can be a challenge, I helped him devise a plan to stay on US64 past Little Rock and showed him the route I thought (again, not always the same on a bike as in a car) would be best for him as he headed south to US82, mindful that crossing the Mississippi River can also be a challenge on a bike.

Bicycling across America would be physically challenging but the mental challenge would be even greater. As a teenager I hitchhiked all over the west and as a man I have taken many motorcycle trips but when on a bicycle you are hours away from changing what ever situation you find yourself in.

Bad Boy

Long before I was diagnosed with type II diabetes, I would have spells about once a year where I would be "mad at the whole world". It would build to a point that I could not stand myself. I would start taking a multi-vitamin and in a week or so realize my attitude had changed.

I now believe this was really early signs of diabetes. Now when my sugar gets a little high, I get depressed and mad at the world.

After being diagnosed with diabetes, I lost about 75 lbs. in 12 weeks, started riding a bicycle 45 to 70 miles a week. My sugar would be in the upper 70's in the morning and I felt better than I had in years (except for the fact that I no strength at 175 lbs).

Over the next year or so I let my weight ease up to 185 lbs., my sugar around 95, and my blood pressure about 110/70 and I gained my strength back. I would check it every day and it was always the same.

Slowly I rode the bike less, didn't watch my diet as closely, and checked my sugar only occasionally. The weight started easing up but it stayed below 200 lbs.

Fast forward and I haven't ridden my bike in two years, eat anything I want, weight on the wrong side of 225 lbs, and for the last month my depression and anger have returned. My blood sugar is too high @125 and something has to be done.

The world is not a pretty place when seen thru my miserable eyes. Blogger has been giving me fits, but the real truth is for the last month I have not had anything "good" to say about my life or the world.

Peggy Walters Lemons

This afternoon as I opened my e-mail I was shocked to find one of my "Gurdon High Class of 1966" had passed away. She was married to Huey Lemons.

Peggy was more than a classmate, she was the one that took my innocence (no, not that kind), she was the first girl to break my heart.

I moved to Gurdon my senior year but this story starts earlier than that. I knew Huey long before I knew Peggy. Huey moved to Bearden while I still lived there and we became friends. It has been so long ago but I think he only lived in Bearden a few months. Peggy has actually known Huey long before he moved to Bearden.

After moving to Gurdon and making a total ass out of myself for several months, I found myself seated next to Peggy in science class. After a few months I asked her out and she said she would have to get back to me on it. Later she broke the news, I had to meet her parents (things were different in 1966).

The Beatles were popular and I had "the hair" but was smart enough (with Peggy's
suggestion) to wet it down and comb it in a more traditional style when around her parents. Her mom seems to like me but I can't say the same for her dad, but dads never like the daughter's boyfriends. Mom won off and we were now a "couple".

We started dating and she was my date for "senior prom". We didn't actually go because I was having brake troubles with my 1957 Plymouth and found we were late to the prom and decided not to go in after arriving at Arkadelphia.

After graduation Peggy attended Ouachita Baptist College and moved back to Bearden and found a job. We dated for several more weeks but she finally dumped me (smart girl).

"Puppy Love" always holds a place in ones heart. I will always cherish her friendship and am truly saddened by her passing. My thoughts are with Huey and her family.