Wednesday

I think that we all have a few I-80 stories to tell. I added to my list with the trip over to DM yesterday. It was a generally successful trip, but the old derriere was sore by the time of my 10 PM return to Bettendorf.

The wind was a factor on the drive over as trucks wanting to pass a slightly slower truck had serious difficulty mustering the momentum to get around the supposedly slower vehicle. A pass could take miles to complete. And passenger car traffic would just accordion behind the dueling semis.

I remember one of my trips through Oklahoma driving on the turnpike late one night when I was in the USAF and a couple of trucks played a "block the road" game game with me. They just drove side-by-side, mile after mile, with no effort made to pass. Finally, I made a mad dash on the right side of the road in an extra lane provided for an entry ramp. It was touch-and-go, and the truckers were p---ed!

As most might be aware, I have a "favorite tree" along I-80 near West Branch. It is a grand oak that has stood guard for decades on a rise just west of the exit. Every time I drive by, I think about the people who have seen it preside over it's territory. It loses a limb every year or two, and a wind or ice storm will eventually come and take it down. It will be a sad day for me.

I first became conscious of what I have come to consider the "Interstate culture" when I made the trips to ND in college. The truck stops, gas stations, rest stops, and toll booths. And the people. The truckers, waitresses, troopers, and hitchhikers.

I had a little mechanical excitement on the trip as well. The plastic cowling under the radiator and front side of the engine somehow came free and was dragging on the pavement. It created a racket, but sounded much worse than the reality. I had had the same problem in Minnesota before the wedding. That fix done at a dealership was obviously not long-term. I borrowed a bungee cord from one of the client's whom I met, and I was eventually able to secure the cowling enough to make it home. Again, never a dull moment.

2 related a SB's story to me from her stop for coffee late yesterday afternoon on her way out of town for her class in IC. It was at the downtown store, where I never go. 2 told the barista that she needed a vinte Americano, extra hot. And the barista responded by saying that there was a guy who went to one of the other locations who always wanted his Americano so hot that they called it "a cup of fire". 2 said, "That's my dad!"

Busy times at the office. People whom you can't find most of the year are all of a sudden very interested in your time. It will be a hectic three weeks.

Have a great evening.

BCOT