Over The Hill And Over The Top

The photo above is a picture of the gift shop that now occupies the lower level of The Round Barn. The walls are lined with hand drawn pictures, most done by Ernest Lee "Butch" Breger, a local man who lives nearby. He also mans the gift shop and entertains the sightseers with pictures and stories; first hand accounts, since he was there when the barn was restored. He's the one who put together this wall, with pictures of the barn's restoration displayed in chronological order. More about him later...

From a book put out by the Arcadia Historical and Preservation Society:

"In the heart of Arcadia, Oklahoma, on historical Route 66, stand the Round Barn. It was built in 1898 by a very innovative educator and farmer, William Odor.

Mr. Odor cleared the land wtih the aid of his oxen and used the native Burr Oak trees, taken from the edges of Deep Fork River, in the construction of the barn. The wood was sawed on the site, then soaked in the river water so it would bend and conform to the perfect round shape of the walls. Mules were then used to haul the damp lumber to the site of the barn.

Despite the critics who proclaimed that the barn could not be built, William Odor persevered. When finished, the Round Barn was an architectural wonder."

The barn was sold in the mid 1940's to Frank and Katy Vrana. In 1988, their heirs donated the barn to the Arcadia Historical and Preservation Sociey. The organization was formed by Luke and Anna Robinson and Beverly White to save the barn from ruin, as everyone believe it was an important part of Oklahoma's history.

Luke Robinson was a self-taught carpenter. The book states, "Robinson grew up practical and self-reliant on a cotton farm until his family gave it up in the 1920's. At the age of twelve he set up a shop in his father's garage to teach himself woodworking skills. He carried out jobs for the Works Progress Administration, assembled gliders for the military, and then became a self-employed carpenter, specializing in cabinetry and house restoration."

Apparently, being such a skilled carpenter is the reason he became fascinated with the barn, which is Oklahoma's only true round barn. From what I learned, many are octagonal or hexagonal, not truly round. This barn has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1977.

The barn is sixty feet in diameter, with a dome that peaks forty-three feet above the ground. Luke Robinson was in his seventies when he tackled the restoration, mostly with other retirees from the local area; they called themselves the "Over-the-Hill Gang".

One local woman said she remembers rounding the bend where the barn sits and seeing Luke working on top of the dome with some of his "volunteers" helping him out. She'd look at them, take their ages into consideration and then mutter, "Oh, dear Lord..."

Tomorrow, I'll introduce you to Butch.

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1 YEAR AGO: Mr. & Mrs. Javelina And The Carb Encounter
2 YEARS AGO: Disk This
3 YEARS AGO: Ghostly Landmark
4 YEARS AGO: Shopping In Hell

In The Round

I recently re-watched the movie Elizabethtown. I've seen it two or three times now and love it every time, in exactly the same way. My favorite part is the road trip the main character, Drew, goes on, guided by the book that his love interest, Claire, made for him.

In scrapbook fashion she created an album for him, with mix CD's burned with music to coincide with each mile of his drive, and included clippings and information on places for him to stop along the way. She instructed him to take in every aspect of this cross-country trip that he was supposed to have taken with his father, who had recently passed away. He was now making the drive with the urn of his father's ashes in the passenger seat. At various locations along the way, he spread out his ashes. It was to be a mind-expanding journey of self-discovery; not only across the country, but across the depth of his soul.

Anyway....that was just a teeny bit of background so I could tell you this: During that road trip, Drew drives by The Round Barn of Arcadia, located in Arcadia, Oklahoma on Historical Route 66. When I saw it, I jumped up and immediately did a Google search for it. And when I did, I realized it was only ten miles north of Oklahoma City and I-44, which I would be traveling on. I didn't know if they had truck parking, but I wanted to see it, so I took the detour. When I got there, not only did they have parking, but there was a spot right across the street from the barn, waiting just for me.

More on The Round Barn of Arcadia tomorrow...


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1 YEAR AGO: Eddie’s Adoring/Bored Girlfriend Friday
2 YEARS AGO: Lux Perpetua
3 YEARS AGO: The Lesser Known King Of Romance
4 YEARS AGO: Wow. What Beautiful Gums You Have.

They're Always Touching Their Hammers

My phone rang one night this week and suprise, surprise, my sister-in-law was on the other end. She was out Christmas shopping and needed a few ideas and a couple of sizes confirmed. I was shocked she was out at night. She never goes out at night.

"How did you get out of the house?" I asked her, jokingly.

"I put dinner on the table and told Mike and the boys I was heading out." she answered.

"Wow. That's a rare thing, huh?" I said.

"Yes, it is. Usually I'm in my pajamas by now, but Mike said he isn't doing any shopping this year, so it's all up to me." She sounded overwhelmed.

Later that night, I was recounting the story to my mother and told her about how my sister-in-law had all this last minute stuff to do. My mother snorted in that wise, I've-been-a-wife-for-over-thirty-years-I-know-exactly-how-she-feels kind of way and said, "Tell me about it."

"Yeah," I said. "And Michael isn't doing any shopping this year."

My mother said, "Guys usually don't. In the thirty years I've been with Frank, I don't think he's ever gone Christmas shopping. They don't shop like women do anyway; women have to look at everything, touch everything."

"I know." I said.

"Men don't shop like that. If a guy needs a hammer, they go into Home Depot, they buy a hammer and they leave. They don't go touching all the hammers."

Well, thank God for that. If they did, they'd be there all day.


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1 YEAR AGO: Raindrops On Roses And Whiskers On Kittens
2 YEARS AGO: Love Hate Relationship
3 YEARS AGO: Full Service
4 YEARS AGO: Struffo-What??

Wet And Woodsy

Today I stopped to take some pictures at a rest area in Wolf Creek, Oregon and got this little mushroom cluster. The ground was saturated, squishing under each step I took. The leaves of everything were wet and the air smelled like pine.

Usually we see snow at this time of year up here but the only snow has been on the higher elevation mountains, the rest of our route seems to have just gotten rain, which is better for us, since that means Ed doesn't have to put on the snow chains.

Driving through here makes me have fleeting thoughts about building a log cabin in the woods and become all outdoorsy. Not that I would ever do anything remotely outdoorsy, which is why it's a fleeting thought, but the smell of the pine and the visual lushness is enough to send me there.

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1 YEAR AGO: Bite Sized Yummy Goodness
2 YEARS AGO: There’s A Time For Everything
3 YEARS AGO: Colors Of The Barrio
4 YEARS AGO: Puss In Breasts

Your Tax Dollars Hard At Work

While driving through California and Oregon this week, I saw signs along the highway saying "Your Tax Dollars Hard At Work" with completion dates for the work currently being done on the very road I was traveling on.

One of those times, I saw them erecting the actual sign. There was a state DOT truck and four workers in orange vests dropping 4 x 4's in the ground, with the sign nearby waiting to be attached.

I wondered to myself, how many tax dollars were at work to print those signs and pay for that crew to be out there to put up a sign to tell people their tax dollars were hard at work. Wouldn't it just be better to fix the road so they could see their tax dollars hard at work? Is the sign really necessary?

When I told my mother about it, she said "Well, people need pictures and words. Like when you go to McDonald's; the kid can't ring up your order without touching the button with the picture of a Big Mac on it and he certainly can't give you change without looking at the screen to tell him how much he's supposed to be giving you."

As my friend Gil once said, regarding another subject but that also applies here, "That's the mentality of our countrywomen and countrymen."

So true.

And since this post doesn't have any pictures, I'm guessing there's no chance of them reading it and getting offended.


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1 YEAR AGO: What’s Next, Reporting Your Maid In The Middle Of Her Dusting The Living Room Tsochkes?
2 YEARS AGO: Fashion Forward
3 YEARS AGO: Swimming Po
4 YEARS AGO: Just Call Me Rosa

Dear Blog Santa

So. I've been thinking....(uh oh, here it comes)

Usually I only release my Christmas Wish List to my mother and Ed (which I still plan on doing) and only tell friends and family members what I want if they ask. I've even blogged my list in the past. This year, I might even do a Dream List; the one I'd make if funds were unlimited and circumstances were ideal. Then I started thinking about what I wanted from the blogosphere, and I figured there must be a Blog Santa out there somewhere, granting the wishes of blogger boys and girls everywhere.

So I decided I'd write him. Then it dawned on me that Blog Santa can't possibly grant the wishes of all the blogger boys and girls; I mean, if you were to consider the sheer number of blogs out there, it's obvious he can't possibly read all of them. What if he misses mine because some Elf distracted him with some nonsense question about how many Wii's they had to make this year? Taking that into consideration, I thought I'd call on the people who mean the most to me and my blog.

YOU. My readers.

So I am going to ask for one thing for Christmas from all of you. What I would really like for Christmas, in addition to all of you to keep reading and loving me (or hating me, which is fine, as long as you keep reading), is to share my blog. My Christmas wish is to have more readers.

So if you will, please pass on my blog address, which is now http://www.salenalettera.com/ to as many people as you can. If it's just one person, that's fine. If you want to bombard all your friends and family with my link, that's even better. But please share me. Share what I do. Tell someone about me. Hell, tell them anything you want about me, as long as you make them promise (and you can withold their present until they swear to abide by your wishes if you think it will help) that they will give reading my blog a shot.

If you have a favorite post or something that made you laugh, share that one. If you want to show them my Flickr pictures, send them here. If you want to show off my truck (I always do), send them this post. Or if you think Eddie is the real star here, urge them to read all about him.

And if all else fails, reel them in with the menagerie of everything that is... MY MOTHER.

See? I'm starting small with the Dear Blog Santa requests. So small, I'm not even telling him about it yet. You are my first point of contact. Blog Elfs, if you will.

And we all know that it's the elves who do all the work. Now, go on now....

Make Santa proud.


PS: Oh my God! Thank you! Thank you SO much!! It's just want I wanted! It's beautiful! And it fits! How did you know?? You shouldn't have. That's me saying those and every other thing one says when they REALLY get what they want for Christmas.......kisses and candy canes to all of you!!


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1 YEAR AGO: The Trees Help Guide The Way
2 YEARS AGO: Just In Time For The Holidays
3 YEARS AGO: Eddie Leans On A Barrio Door Friday
4 YEARS AGO: Glowing Reminder

A Rainy Rainbow

A little bit of rain (no snow over the mountain pass, which is good!) produced a rainbow that formed a perfect arch over Mount Shasta in northern California. I snapped the pic in between windsheild wiper swipes, which accounts for the raindrop splotched photo!

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1 YEAR AGO: Be Wary Of Women Wearing Skull Panties
2 YEARS AGO: Holiday Sparkle
3 YEARS AGO: Arizona Sunset
4 YEARS AGO: Before And After The Chops

A Hideous Thief Exposed

A day shot of the Las Vegas strip. The tall building on the very right is the Stratosphere; way at the other end, which you can't see because it's so hazy, is the Luxor.

At least at night, when this behemoth monster of a town takes your money, it gives you something pretty to look at in return; lights, showgirls, fountain shows, etc. But when you lose money here during the day you just feel dirty and creepy and degenerate.

Although I have to say, for the amount of whining I've heard about the economy, it seems the people in these casinos haven't heard a word of it yet. Because they're still plugging their money into those machines.

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1 YEAR AGO: Southwest Sunset
2 YEARS AGO: Subtlety Is SO Not His Middle Name
3 YEARS AGO: Bridging Chicago
4 YEARS AGO: Oxymoronic Holiday

Rolling Out The Holiday Films

There are many Christmas themed movies, but I'm not really a fan of the ones that everyone always seems to list; A Christmas Carol, Home Alone, A Christmas Story, or God forbid, Elf. I know Elf has huge fans, but I'm definitely not one of them. It's almost as bad as National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

I love romantic holiday movies, the more modern ones, and two classics from my childhood. These three are my top "modern" choices:

1. The Holiday: This is probably one of my favorite movies. I just love the whole idea of switching houses, being in another country, finding love. I don't know which I love more; the home exchange idea or the fact that the love interest is Jude Law. Probably the latter.

2. The Family Stone: I love everything about this movie. The family, the relationships, the way one brother falls in love with the other brother's girl and it all works out. I want to be at their Christmas table.

3. Love Actually: Actually, I just love anything with Hugh Grant. He's charming and funny and likeable and even cute in that English sort of way. This is an all around feel good movie in my opinion.

And these two are my favorite childhood "classics", no explanation necessary:

4. A Charlie Brown Christmas

5. How The Grinch Stole Christmas

This one fits a holiday movie in the unconventional sense:

6. Surviving Christmas: Just funny.

And this last one just because it's filmed during winter and Ben Affleck looks really cute in it:

7. Reindeer Games

What are some of your favorite holiday flicks?

EDIT: Thanks to a comment left by Amber, I absolutely must also add Serendipity to my list. How could I have forgotten Serendipity??? I totally LOVE that movie. I love the whole idea of it....the search for the book, the connection that was meant to be, the longing and thinking year after year, bookstore after bookstore, of that one person that you met that one time, who was the one for you. And you knew it. And you let it go. Ugh. And unlike Amber, I actually LOVE John Cusack. This very well may be my second favorite on the list, after The Holiday. It could even be first, i think. Anyway...thanks Amber!


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1 YEAR AGO: No Rig Too Big
2 YEARS AGO: Go Dasher, Go Dancer, Go Prancer, Go Vixen
3 YEARS AGO: Untitled
4 YEARS AGO: Unawarrior

Modern Road Warriors And Their Weapons

This year I've done all my Christmas shopping while on the road. I think I might actually also be wrapping presents in the truck.

My favorite gift, I think, is going to be the bow and arrow I got for my oldest nephew. I told my brother I wanted to get him archery lessons, but then wound up seeing a cool bow and arrow at Cabela’s (what a great store!) so I picked up that too.

When Ed and I hauled all the packages into the sleeper, I said to him, "What are we going to do about the bow and arrow?"

"What do you mean?" he said.

"Well, what if we get stopped by the DOT? Are they going to have a problem with it?"

"Nah, I don't think so. We'll just put it up in one of the cabinets.." he said.

"OK." I answered, figuring he knows better than I do.

All I could think of was getting stopped by a DOT officer and being asked, "Um, excuse me ma'am, but do you have any weapons in the truck?"

"Ummmm.....just a bow and arrow."

And I'd hope when he got done laughing at the image of a warrior out of the wild west, he'd reconsider giving me any kind of citation.

I mean, really....how much of a threat can I be with a bow made for a ten year old and two crappy arrows??


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1 YEAR AGO: Race To The Head
2 YEARS AGO: Listening And Loving
3 YEARS AGO: Unfortunately Synonymous
4 YEARS AGO: The Gays Are The Ritziest

Morning On The Willamette

A drive-by shot of morning in Portland, Oregon as the sun shines on the Willamette River.


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1 YEAR AGO: Stupidity Threat Level: Orange*
2 YEARS AGO: It’s Like Playing A Record Backwards To Hear The “Real” Meaning
3 YEARS AGO: In The Desert, The Clouds Look Like Cotton Candy
4 YEARS AGO: Chinky By The Ramada

The First Snow I've Seen This Season

And it was in Arizona, of all places!! In the past day, they got dumped on with snow, so it was very white and very fresh.

Here is a view of Flagstaff, Arizona with the San Francisco Peaks in the background, which is the highest mountain range in the state of Arizona, at an elevation of 12, 633 feet.

I just love that white stuff!!

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1 YEAR AGO: Not That There’s Any Reason To Park Here
2 YEARS AGO: A Game You Wouldn’t Want To Play If You Were Say, In The Witness Protection Program
3 YEARS AGO: Companionship Is Just A Phone Call Away; Beauty Is Another Story
4 YEARS AGO: Who Stole My Cheese?

Christmas In OKC

As I've mentioned now, ad nauseum, we don't have a whole lot of time to stop for anything. So I bring you my photographs of Christmas light displays taken while on the move. They are all from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, visible from I-40 as you cruise through town.

This first one is a concrete mixer truck, completely covered with lights and showcased on a spinning pedestal:

This next one is probably my favorite; it's a line of spindly trees, each branch completely covered with tiny lights, that completely encircle a business complex. The effect in person is truly gorgeous; it's my favorite type of light display, when they cover trees so all you see is the outline:

And the last most fantastic display of lights, was from the Christmas In The Park display in Yukon, just outside of OKC at City Park and Chisolm Trail Park. The event features more than 1 million lights and 150 artistic displays. It's SO fantastic! We couldn't drive through it in the truck but we did drive entirely around the block and saw it from all sides. Of course, since we were moving at all times (there was nowhere for a truck to pull over) I had to take my pictures while on the go:

So although blurry, I think you get the point. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

PS: If you squint your eyes, they don't look quite so blurry. :)

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1 YEAR AGO: Ain’t Nuthin’ But A Lizard Pimp
2 YEARS AGO: After The Storm
3 YEARS AGO: Border Town
4 YEARS AGO: Easily Amused

United Parcel Servant

While on this UPS run, we don't have a lot of time to screw around. Just stopping for fuel can take anywhere from fifteen to thirty minutes, so we do everything we can to make sure we maximize our stopping time. If we're stopping for fuel, we'll also fill the water tanks, mail our trip sheets or pop into the store to get anything we might have forgotten when shopping. Sometimes we're just in the mood for a snack we don't have in the truck or maybe instead of cooking, we decide to go to Wendy's or some other fast food joint. Whatever it is, it all has to be done at the same time.

UPS is very particular about their pick-up and delivery times. If they say your delivery time is 6:17 a.m., they mean 6:17 a.m. You have to call if you're going to be even fifteen minutes late. And each leg of the trip doesn't allow for a whole lot of dilly-dally time. For instance, the first leg of this last trip was 1,770 miles. They give us thirty-three hours to do that in. We do fifty-eight miles per hour. Do the math.

So other than stopping for fuel, the only thing that takes time are bathroom breaks. Now of course it's not a problem for the person not driving since we have a bathroom in the truck, and Ed, well he can go for an ungodly amount of time before he has to use the facilities. Me? I have to pee all the time, so when I'm driving, I have to time my stops.

The other night when I was driving, I heard a noise coming from the back of the sleeper; Ed was up and moving around, so I bellowed for him. He came up front and I asked if he would get me something to drink. He came back with a half-filled drink container of fruit punch flavored Crystal Light. I looked at him and said, "Uh, can you fill it up?"

He said, "Can't you just drink this?"

"No, I want a full container, because you're going to go back to sleep and then I'll have nothing." I said.

"Yeah, but then you're going to have to pee and we don't have time to stop." he said.

"Well, if you don't fill it, I'm going to have to stop anyway and do it myself, which is going to waste even more time. And, wait...what are you saying? You're denying me a beverage because I might have to pee??" I said.

He reluctantly filled the drink bottle and handed it back to me. Then I think I heard him mutter something under his breath.

I swear I heard him say, Vhat? You're thirsty? You vill get some vater vhen you get to your destination, fräulein. Now drive!!


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1 YEAR AGO: Whizzing Through Dallas
2 YEARS AGO: Eddie With The Luscious Kisser Friday
3 YEARS AGO: ’Tis The Season To Be Tweety
4 YEARS AGO: Cat Fiiiiiight!!!

The Reason My Ass Is Not Getting Any Smaller

Usually, this is just a problem when we're on the East coast, since there is a Dunkin' on every corner, but this past weekend in Phoenix, there was one less than two miles from our hotel. Very dangerous.


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1 YEAR AGO: Out Of This World Outport Life
2 YEARS AGO: Max Says To Go Placidly, As It Is Still A Beautiful World
3 YEARS AGO: Dangerous Beauty
4 YEARS AGO: Big Bad Cherry Peppers

Sorting Out The Details

This morning I spoke to my mother, who had another story for me about my youngest nephew; he is a treasure trove of some of the best things to ever come out of a human's mouth. OK, I may be a teensy weensy bit biased, but he does come up with some good stuff.

For the sake of the story, I have to give you a little background on my mother's New York accent. As many New Yorkers do, they add letters where they often don't belong and very often it's the "r" at the end of a word. For example, my mother says my name, Salena, as "Salener"; idea, as "idear"; bra as "brar", karma as "karmar", soda as "soder". You get the idea.

My nephews love this about her. They always say that Nana (or Nanar, when they are teasing her) calls Papa, "Popper". This story is about an interaction between my mother and my youngest nephew about "Popper".

Last night as they sat down for dinner, my mother called out to my step-father to come to the table. She always calls him Papa in the presence of the kids, so she said "Come on, Popper, it's time to eat." He didn't come right away (bad Papa!) so my nephews then followed her lead and said, "Yeah, Popper! Come to the table. It's time to eat." Giggling ensued.

Then the youngest said to my mother, "Is Popper my real grandfather, because Grandpa Sal is my real grandfather, but he's in heaven."

My mother said, "Yes. Grandpa Sal is your father's father and Grandpa Ken is your mother's father and Papa is your father's step-father. But they're all your grandfathers."

"So Papa is my step-grandfather?" he said.

"Well, no, not really," my mother said. "He's just your grandfather. The reason he's your Daddy's step-father is because Grandpa Sal was my first husband and Papa is my second husband."

"Oh. So then he's your step-husband??"

And there you have the inner workings of a six-year old's mind.


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1 YEAR AGO: Eddie On A Cliff Friday
2 YEARS AGO: Christmas Meme!
3 YEARS AGO: ”O” My God
4 YEARS AGO: Five Already???

Plastic Is A Sure Thing

I've spent the last three days Christmas shopping in Phoenix. I got almost everything on my list and can say with the exception of my East Coast family (who, if I decide to get them anything, will be getting it after Christmas), I'm pretty close to done.

Thing is, it just doesn't feel like Christmas shopping when it's 70 degrees out. OK, maybe it was like 65. But still; no snow, no cold, no dreary overcast weather. I was wearing flip-flops for God's sake!

I'm pretty sure you only have to read my blog for like, five minutes, to know I don't like the heat. And when I have to leave a store because it's too hot to shop, you know I'm not a happy camper. I had to do that twice. Once I was alone and once I was with Ed and just said quickly, and as if I were delirious, Ihavetogetoutofherebecauseit'ssofuckinghotI'mgoingtothrowup. I waited outside on the sidewalk for him. In the shade.

But, that little incident aside, the good part is that not only were all of my shopping spots within ten miles of the hotel, but there was also a Dunkin' Donuts two miles away! That meant shopping fuel every morning, which I desperately need since I'm not really a big fan of shopping. Sometimes I think I am, until I get out there and realize that I do much better with a list and the in-and-out technique. Well, unless I'm in a makeup store; then I can wander around forever.

The reason I'm so excited about the shopping being nearly done is because these three days are really the only time off I'll have on this gig until we get back home on December 22nd. I wanted to get the bulk of it done now, and I did. There are a few last minute things I have to do which I can either get done over the course of the next two weeks, or in those last few days before Christmas. I am definitely that person you see at the twenty-four hour Walgreen's on Christmas Eve. What? Sometimes it happens.

We drove 7,200 miles in six days last week. The run we start tomorrow won't be as bad though, only 4,400 miles. By the time the twenty days of this UPS run are over, we'll have driven 23,747 miles. So I'm thinking I won't really want to be at Walgreen's at midnight this year.

I think I might have to dedicate some of my "on-duty-not-driving" time to Amazon.com, because there is no way on earth I'm giving up sleep time for shopping. I'll buy a damned gift card before I do that.

Hellooo, my little plastic lifesaver.


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1 YEAR AGO: The All Purpose Swab
2 YEARS AGO: Jump The Weeds
3 YEARS AGO: Forty Dollars A Gallon
4 YEARS AGO: Sudan Ease

Privacy Issues

I'm not a very private person. Having a blog should be your first clue, but if that's not enough, then let me tell you again: I am not a private person.

I was recently asked to finish this sentence: "One thing people don't know about me is..."

I couldn't think of a thing. Still can't. My first thought was, well if you don't know me, you probably wouldn't know anything about me. That just seems to be common sense. Then I thought about all the people who do know me. They probably know everything about me. Or would, if they just asked.

Ed on the other hand, is kind of private. Not secretive private; that's something completely different. I have people in my family who are secretive private and that's just annoying. But he's private in the sense that he really just doesn't think to tell people things. Anything, really. And he's big on personal space and his privacy within that space.

For example...

I will talk to almost anyone through a bathroom door. I might even talk to someone standing in the bathroom with me while I'm peeing. In fact, I can tick off at least ten people I'd talk to while I was peeing. Ed will have none of that. Oh, he'll talk to me while I'm peeing, but God forbid I crack open the door to talk to him while he's in there. I've almost lost a finger because he's closed the door so quickly.

In fact, in the truck, he will LOCK the bathroom door. Lock it. Let me remind you that the bathroom door in the truck is just like one on an RV. For those of you who've never been in an RV, imagine a flimsy screen door circa 1972. Not much to it. Locking it doesn't really provide all that much security. Yet he still locks it. Drives me crazy.

I've written about this before, that it has to do with how a person was raised, I guess. Me, I was raised with a mother and Aunts who would sit on the tub while the person was on the toilet, carrying on coversations so long, a ring formed on their ass. Women who walked around in their bras from one room to another, not giving a second thought to who might be in the room. We were all family.

So how long does it take for someone to reach that level of comfort? Does it ever happen? What's your experience with this? Are you a bathroom talker or a bathroom door locker? What about your significant other - talker or locker? Let me know!

In the meantime, I'm going to go pee. And I think I'll talk to Ed from the bathroom just to see if he'll answer me.


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1 YEAR AGO: It’s Crazy That I’m Crazy For Keanu
2 YEARS AGO: Gifts That Keep On Giving
3 YEARS AGO: Classic Las Vegas
4 YEARS AGO: Off With Their Heads!

Wish List

When we were kids, we'd go through the Sears Wish Book and circle things we wanted for Christmas; now I guess you just ask kids straight out what they want (from Santa, of course). Since the big day will be here before you know it, my mother recently asked my nephews what they wanted for Christmas.

The oldest said he wanted an iPod, a bow and arrow, the newest Christopher Paolini book.

The middle one said he didn't know yet but he'd give it some thought.

And the youngest gave my very favorite answer; he wants cinder blocks, concrete and a trowel. He even drew my mother a picture of the trowel. I know without a shadow of a doubt, that she'll be bringing that picture to Home Depot to ask one of the employees if they carry anything like it in the store.

Since we're Italian, I suppose asking for cinder blocks, concrete and a trowel could raise a red flag, but he's six, so I think we're pretty safe.

And, he didn't mention anything about lime.


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1 YEAR AGO: He Must Have Learned It From TV
2 YEARS AGO: When Pizza Is Involved, Jesus Is Always In Charge
3 YEARS AGO: Sexier Than The Rockettes
4 YEARS AGO: $3.99 A Minute

My Favorite Geek Scores Two Bargains In One Day

I mentioned this on Facebook already, but I haven't said anything about it here yet....we now have IN-MOTION satellite TV in the truck!

Since we've been on this UPS run, I haven't really been able to watch much of it since when it's my turn to sleep, I actually sleep. Ed, on the other hand, has found himself a comfy little spot on the bed, remote in hand, satellite spinning its little heart out.

Two weeks ago when we we were at Fort Bliss in Texas, Ed got to talking to some of the truck drivers as we were waiting to get loaded. He was saying how we were looking to buy a Qualcomm for when we get started doing A & E (Ammo & Explosives) loads and also that we wanted to eventually get the in-motion satellite system. The Qualcomm and the in-motion satellite system are both around $1,500.00 each, so we thought we'd wait until the new year to buy them.

Wouldn't you know that there were two drivers who actually had these items and were looking to sell them? The guy with the Qualcomm said he'd never even taken it out of the box. From what he told Ed, the truck driving gig was just something for him to do; his real passion was horses. He said he just got his CDL so he could haul his horses to and from shows. He decided he liked the driving part, so stuck with it. He said he had plenty of money (and not in the snobby-I'm-better-than-you way) and he wasn't looking to make any money off the sale, so if Ed wanted, he could have the Qualcomm for $100.00. Well, Ed just jumped all over that! Ed handed over the cash, the guy handed over the brand new unit and two people were very happy.

A little later in the morning, Ed was talking to another guy about satellite TV. This guy said the one he had needed to go in for repair and since his wife couldn't be without TV for a minute out of the day, he just went out and bought a new one rather than waiting on the one he had to be fixed. He was planning on selling his old unit on Ebay. Since he said it needed some repair, he'd give it to Ed for $900.00. Well, another deal was closed within a matter of minutes; Ed bought the satellite dome and all its components from him.

Because Ed is a nerdy little genius, he took the dome apart, spent some time looking at wires and circuit boards and whatever else was under it, and figured out a way to fix it. With soldering iron in hand, he spent a few hours working on the dome, going in and out of Home Depot, each time coming out with one more item to help him get it working. Then suddenly, he burst through the back door, excitedly telling me to "come look!" The satellite was spinning. It was fixed.

Once that was done, he moved on to spray-painting it black to match our truck, drilling holes in the top of our sleeper, snaking the coaxial cable in through the upper cabinets (this is the only part I helped with - grabbing the end as he was pushing it through from outside) and attaching all the components. He made a phone call to the satellite TV company and set up our account. Voilà! Television.

It's actually pretty amazing. Although I don't watch a lot of TV, it's nice to be able to have something to watch when you want to. I usually have the Food Network on, even if the sound is muted. I like seeing the cooking happening. If I see something I like, I raise the volume. As I mentioned, because of the run we've been on, we haven't had a real chance to make a lot of use of it, but I'm glad we have it. There have been many times when our digital antenna can't pick up a signal because we're not near a metropolitan area or don't have a strong signal. This can pick up pretty much anything, anywhere.

I've always been aware of Ed's mastery of gadgetry, but I'm really impressed with his shopping skills. Who knew??

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1 YEAR AGO: Your Beating Heart
2 YEARS AGO: All I Want For Christmas Are My Two Front Teeth
3 YEARS AGO: Eddie Opens An Eye In Vegas Friday
4 YEARS AGO: You’re Giving Me Agida

Logging Lots Of Miles

These log trucks can be seen all over the Pacific Northwest. I've read that logging is one of the most dangerous trucking jobs out there. Many of these trucks drive deep into the forest over roads that are unpaved and typically carved out by bulldozers. The locations where they logs are loaded are very often remote areas with no access to emergency medical care if needed.

It's not uncommon for a logging truck to be parked precariously on a hillside while being loaded down with raw timber. They've been known to topple over due to the weight not being distributed evenly. A logging truck flipping over and rolling down a hillside can't ever be a good thing. I can't even imagine what it would be like sitting in the cab of my truck hoping the guy loading me knows what he's doing.

They often take loads out of the forest that are over their gross allowance, since they haul as much out of the forest as they can, but once they get on the highways, they have to be of legal weight; typically 80,000 lbs. but in some areas, those weights can be higer. Many of the trucks also may pull a triple-axle trailer, which allows for extra weight.

Every time I see one of these trucks, I get a little freaked out. I always envision a log coming off the truck and shooting through the window of my cab, like in the movies. I don't like being behind them as they're going uphill either, for that very same reason. Because they're so heavy, they move super-slow uphill and even though the logs are chained down and the trailers have those stakes on the sides, I just don't trust it being held in if that log decides to move, so I stay faarrrr away.

To see what one of those logging roads looks like, click HERE and watch as the driver navigates the Snow Peak Main Line through the narrow mountainside road high in the Cascade Mountains of Sweet Home, Oregon.

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1 YEAR AGO: Apples, Fudge And Homemade Jam
2 YEARS AGO: Eddie Hick Runs Deep Friday
3 YEARS AGO: If You Can’t Make It To France
4 YEARS AGO: I’m Sleeping With Someone New

Big Trucks + TV = Big Truck TV

Guess what? I've started a new writing venture!

A few weeks ago, I was approached by Dan Robinson, the Senior Field Producer at BigTruckTV.com who asked if I would be interested in being one of the industry expert bloggers on their website. We exchanged a few emails, talked about what he was looking for from me and I put together my first blog post. It just went up this weekend on the site!

Big Truck TV is a "business knowledge media company" and their website features articles and videos dealing with all sorts of issues in the trucking industry; environment, technology, human resources, maintenance, safety & regulations, finance, fleet operations and more. From their most recent newsletter, this is how they describe their operation:

Big Truck TV is a free resource to all in the trucking industry. We have sought out the best practices from fleets and experts across North America and produced compelling video based case studies and expert point of views. This is a resource we encourage you to use as a learning tool and share it with your peers across your organization. Video is an engaging, dynamic, powerful and effective way to communicate and teach others and Big Truck TV has the largest relevant library of video in the entire trucking industry. Make Big Truck TV your knowledge resource and keep on top of the game to drive results to your bottom line!

I'm excited to be part of the bloggers over there and seem to be in pretty good company as the other bloggers include company CEO's, Presidents, Vice-Presidents, marketing gurus and even a PhD! There are several other women in the group, including Ellen Voie who is the President & CEO of the Women In Trucking Association, but I'm the only owner-operator in the bunch.

You can read my first post titled "Do You Have An Owner-Operator Mindset?" by clicking HERE. Many thanks to my Eddie, who helped me mesh my knowledge of entrepreneurship (I have several in my family) with his knowledge of being a successful owner-operator. I'm very happy with the outcome of the post, but I'd love to know what you think!

Check out some of the other bloggers here and to read their posts, just click on the words "Read the Blog" next to their mini-bios.

Enjoy!

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1 YEAR AGO: Insane In The Holiday Brain
2 YEARS AGO: Umbrella-ella-ella-ella
3 YEARS AGO: Dress Code
4 YEARS AGO: And It Begins…

South Dakota Sky

I'm very busy driving and sleeping, so I only have time for a picture. Here's a cloud swirl we saw today while cruising across South Dakota; clouds and cows are about the only things you see out here.

Oh, and hay bales.


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1 YEAR AGO: Nutty Friday
2 YEARS AGO: It’s Not So Much Fun To Roll Out Your Best Sales Schpiel On A Mute
3 YEARS AGO: Forced Happiness
4 YEARS AGO: Firestarter

The Ultimate Mrs.

My mother and I were having a discussion last night about how some people get all caught up in their titles and/or position and how they try to intimidate people with it. My mother and I actually have the same take on this; I've never been one to be intimidated by someone just because they were my boss, a boss or whoever happened to be in charge. Neither is she. I don't know why this is or how I came to be that way, but I've never really thought the person who was "the boss" was any better than me. They were just people. My mother feels the same way.

I was telling her about my department boss when I worked at a resort hotel many years ago; his name was Coleman Hughes. When I first met him, he introduced himself to me saying something to the effect of "Hi, I'm Coleman. Nice to meet you." I gave him my name, told him it was nice to meet him too and then went about my business. On occassion, I would need to go to his office for certain permissions or direction, and when I did, I always called him Coleman.

Everyone in the department was afraid of him. They'd cower or disappear whenever he was around. They'd say, "Coleman is coming!" in hushed tones whenever he was near. When he was hovering around the office, they'd be busy like bees until he left. One day, someone overheard my conversation with him and said to me after I left his office, "You called him Coleman???" I said, "Yeah, why?" "You don't call him Mr. Hughes?" I said, "No. He introduced himself to me as Coleman, so that's what I call him." I was alway so amazed how people kissed his ass all over the place. I was just not one of those people.

So in telling my mother this story, she told me one of her own. She used to work at a drug treatment facility in New York that was owned by a recovering alcoholic who happened to be Catholic. The facility also had several nuns on staff and my mother was one of the drug and alcohol abuse counselors. Her department was run by this big Irish guy named John who was a devout Catholic.

At a staff meeting one day while they were discussing patient loads, my mother addressed Sister Mary Katherine Benedicta as Mary. That's apparently when all the trouble began. The next morning before the staff meeting, her boss John said he wanted to see her in his office. So in my mother went.

Whe she sat down, she noticed Sister Mary Katherine in the other chair. John began the conversation by telling my mother that he called her into his office because he wanted to talk to her about the fact that she was disrespectful to Sister Mary Katherine in front of the rest of the staff.

My mother confused, said "How so?'

"Well, you are Catholic, right?" he asked.

"Yes," my mother said.

"Well yesterday at the staff meeting, you did not address Sister Mary Katherine as "Sister". You called her by her first name."

My mother said, "Yeah?" not quite understanding what he was getting at.

"Well, that's disrespectful. You are supposed to call a nun, Sister."

The nun was quiet at first, but then piped in saying "Even Laura calls me Sister and she's Jewish."

"Well, I don't think I did anything wrong." my mother said. "That is your name."

"Being Catholic, you should know that I'm Sister Mary Katherine. By not using my title, you're being disrespectful to me. After all, I am married to God."

"Well, I'm married to Frank and you don't call me Mrs. Porpora."

The nun got all flustered and sputtered, "Well, that's just different."

My mother, not being one to intentionally be disrespectful said "I didn't meant to be disrespectful to you and I'm very sorry if you were offended." The nun seemed okay with the apology but my mother got the distinct feeling that the nun didn't really like her too much.

With that, my mother looked at John, looked at the nun and left the office. She said she felt as if she were being reprimanded in her adult life just as she had been in her youth when she was in Catechism class. She was surprised they didn't make her write one hundred times on the blackboard, "I will not call the nuns by their first names."

I've never been to Catholic school (thank God) but it seems the only thing missing from this little office visit was my mother being smacked on the knuckles with a ruler. Isn't that how the nuns usually got the kids to behave?


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1 YEAR AGO: Happy Thanksgiving
2 YEARS AGO: The Kind Of Contraction That Produces A Laugh, Not A Baby
3 YEARS AGO: Wanderlust Officially Approved
4 YEARS AGO: The Eye Of The Beholder

For Everything Thy Goodness Sends

For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird, and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see.
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

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1 YEAR AGO: A Look On The Inside
2 YEARS AGO: Free! Gratuito! Gratis! Ummm….No Charge!
3 YEARS AGO: Life Giver vs. Indian Giver
4 YEARS AGO: The Spaghetti Thanks You

Getting Some Bird A Day Ahead Of The Crowd

Since Ed and I have to start our UPS run tonight at midnight, my mother decided she would host Thanksgiving today, inviting my brother and his family to join us, so we would have a proper turkey dinner before heading out on the road. This is what the kitchen counter looked like early this morning; everything lined up and ready to be filled with deliciousness.


She set the table in advance, putting a little dark chocolate turkey at everyone's place setting. The calm blue of the dining area was getting ready to see some serious eating action. I typed the rest of this earlier today and I am now in my post dinner respite. In a few hours, we'll be hitting the highway toward Louisville. It's the first leg of a 7,200 mile trip. To say I'm looking forward to this first week would be a bold-faced lie. But, the first trip out is always the killer one.

One more hour in the lazy boy and then we're off.

Like big turkeys!



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1 YEAR AGO: The Only Reason Men Do Things Is Because Their Wives MAKE Them
2 YEARS AGO: Here’s Looking At You
3 YEARS AGO: Just Outside The Door
4 YEARS AGO: Trying To Mask The Boredom

Winding Down For The Big Holiday

We're on our way home for Thanksgiving and our route too us through the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona. We were on State Highway 60, traveling between Show Low and Globe.

The road is very windy, with lots of tight turns and a few hairpins which take you down to the canyon floor before you start up the other side. I took this picture on the other side. You can see part of the road in the picture and also the river that runs through the area. This is what it looks like on my mapping program:

We rarely run through here, but this was the shortest route from Point A to Point B today. I suppose it would be a nice route if you like the mountainess desert (which I do not) or if you like dirt (which I do not) or if you like cactus (which I do not). But it gets us home. And what's at home?

T - U - R - K - E - Y.

Since Ed and I start the dreaded UPS run on Thursday morning at 2am, we are doing "Thanksgiving" tomorrow. And I don't have to cook a thing...my Mommy is doing it all.

Yay for Turkey and yay for Moms!!


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1 YEAR AGO: Pssst! The Fish Are In The Water. Check The Water.
2 YEARS AGO: Elphaba’s Long Lost Sister?
3 YEARS AGO: What Boys (And One Girl) Do On Thanksgiving
4 YEARS AGO: Cold Turkey

My Life According To Sugarland

My friend Grace sent this to me on Facebook and I thought it was a cool meme, so I'm sharing it here.

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST or BAND, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to 15 people you like and include me. You can't use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think! Post it on your blog as "my life according to (band name)".

Pick your Artist: Sugarland

Are you a male or female: Baby Girl

Describe yourself: All I Want To Do

How do you feel: Want To

Describe where you live: County Line

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Tennessee

Your favorite form of transportation: Speed of Life

Your best friend is: Love

You and your best friends are: Down In Mississippi and Up To No Good

What's the weather like: One Blue Sky

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: These Are The Days

What is life to you: Something More

Your last relationship: Settlin’

Your greatest fear: Time, Time, Time

What is the best advice you have to give: Stand Back Up

Thought for the Day: Fly Away

How I would like to die: Happy Ending

My soul's present condition: Come On Get Higher

My motto: Take Me As I Am


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1 YEAR AGO: EPCOT On Fire
2 YEARS AGO: Eddie Full Of Turkey Friday
3 YEARS AGO: Crouching Poultry, Hidden Turkey
4 YEARS AGO: Is It Really A Sandwich?

I'm Only Interested In Breasts

My friend Don emailed me this video. I'm not sure this is my idea of having a ball. When it comes to turkey, I'm strictly a breast kind of girl.


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1 YEAR AGO: What Price Fun?
2 YEARS AGO: True Blue
3 YEARS AGO: Hitchcockesque
4 YEARS AGO: The Borscht Belt

Green Velvet

On the way to deliver our load to Port Hueneme, California this morning, we passed miles and miles of things growing; avocadoes, tomatoes, strawberries, artichokes.

We also saw acres of what just looked like grass. It looked so cushy and soft, I wanted to kick off my flip-flops and run (ok, walk) from one end to the other.

Ed said it was sod. I said velvet. Who do you side with? (And Gil, I'm fully expecting you to side with Ed.)


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1 YEAR AGO: Eddie Lost In Space Friday
2 YEARS AGO: Have A Happy Thanksgiving And Choke On A Turkey Bone For Us
3 YEARS AGO: When You Can’t See The View Because The Hooters Are In The Way
4 YEARS AGO: Stealth Monday