3/18/5 - Home

It’s sure good to be back in the Northwest. Nothing like a trip through the Midwest to reinforce why Lorraine & I make our home here. Every time I travel through Texas, it seems like nothin’ but an immeasurable crappy highway makin’ a straight line through ugly brush land, strewn with the repulsive American sprawl of endless fast-food chains and gas-stations. Not my first choice for a vacation spot. I had some time to kill in Austin, so I paid a visit to the Texas Capitol building there. Inside, there are paintings of every Texas governor since statehood circling around the magnificent rotunda. I laughed seeing Ann Richards’ portrait hung right next to Dubya. Unlikely neighbors to say the least. A good laugh I had.
So as you can probably figure out, I just couldn’t get home fast enough. And the first person I saw as I headed down my street for the first time in 10 days, was the neighbor who had predicted a coupla weeks back that, “Mt. St. Helens would blow anyday.” I had thought of him in my Hays, Kansas motel room as I watched the breaking!-CNN coverage.
“Ya gotta knack for knowin’ the mountain,” I told him with a tired smile.
“Eh, that whaddn’t nothin’ much,” he fired back impatiently, quickly resuming whatever he was doing before I pulled up.
The rest of the country thought it was Krakatoa or something because the media has a knack for doin’ that: makin’ a huge deal outta nothin’ and nothin’ out of huge deals.
I can’t wait to pick up my next load and head into town to catch up with what all has been goin’ on. I’ll be seein’ y’all soon.
-Tom

3/6/5 - Seattle to Arlington, TX

Ooh boy, Texas...sheesh.
Yessir, I'm off on a long one to Arlington, which is just north of Dallas/Ft. Worth.
As you can tell by now, I'm not too excited about this much neither, what with the NW rainy season bein' on SoCal and Arizona highways these past weeks, I've got that trucker's nervous-feelin' we sometimes can get once in a blue-moon. Lorraine sent me off with a kiss and a, "Everything's gonna be fine Tom, go-on-now and bring Momma home some real money." I love that woman.
Hey ShoeShine Boy, got any tips for dealin' with loud-mouth, red neck, dishonest Republicans? I figure you got some real experience with these types around the ShoeShine box. Man, I love that ShoeShine guy. He's great!
See y'all when I get back next week. Keep your eye out on things while I'm gone.
-Tom

3/1/5 - Longview to St Helens

The ol' mountain is shrouded today in a creepy, murky cloud-bank, hiding what lurks behind it.
It immediately reminded me of my neighbor down the street who is still tellin' me that, "she's gonna blow anyday Tom." Though he's quite a character and all-around nice guy, he's also a bit of a cranky "old-coot", I believe the term is.
And speakin' of deceptive cloud banks, I figured today would be a perfect day to warn y'all about a certain speed trap that lies in wait on Highway-30 just this side of the Longview bridge in Rainier, OR.
Yes, I said: speed-trap.
And it's even more devious because it comes disguised as a school-crossing.
Yes, I said: school-crossing.
I know this stretch of highway as you can well imagine; I'm on it several times a week and even though I'm a professional driver, familiar with Ranier and all the rest, a couple weeks back...they got me. You see, when makin' one's way through Ranier, you'll be downshiftin' from 55 mph to 40, and then to 30 and suddenly, for one block, to 20. Yes, 20 mph on Highway 30 between 5th and 6th Street. It's a bit annoying to say the least.
"But what about the kids Tom!" you may be asking yourselves.
Here is the deal: In some "research" that I did before going to court for this traffic ticket, I discovered that the school--which is a couple of blocks away--was shut down a couple of years ago. (The building was purchased by a church.) So Mon-Sat, there is no school crossing in effect. And believe me, they know this fact my friends: It is NOT a school crossing, yet the signs remain. I've also heard some people say that even when the school was in operation, kids hardly ever used it to get to school.
These days, there is nothing to cross to, and certainly there is no reason to have a school crossing at this particular place, save a speed-trap. And here is where the trap comes into play: The regular road speed before this point is 30 mph. If 'said person' is traveling a few mph over the speed-limit, let's say - 35mph through town, 'said person' will be cited for speeding as if it were 15 mph over the speed limit in a "school zone". You're cooked. Oh yeah: and did I mention that all fines in a school zone are double?
On top of all this, a recent change in Oregon law mandates that school zone speeding infractions can now be enforced 24 hours a day, regardless of any children being present. So what do you think they're up to? I know I had to pay a hefty fine in court, that's all I'm sayin' here.
A cloudy, deceiving mist on the higway through Ranier. I'm just tryin' to keep an eye out on things.
I'll see y'all next time.
-Tom