Ramblings

I usually don't like to get out early on Saturday morning to do much work, but this time of the year when it is so hot here in Texas, it is nice to get up early while it is still cool. I needed to go to the Choice Books warehouse here in Texas which is 70 some miles from the house, so leaving at 4am is not a bad choice. Traffic is still very minimal at that time and I get to the warehouse and get my loading done before heat and other employees may show up. It is just easier that way. I also think the shows on XM at this time in the morning are better than they are later in the day with the exception of Bill Anderson Visits With The Legends (Sirius XM needs to bring him back to do more new shows (you hear that Sirius?) and the Grand Ole Opry encores which are very much some of my favorite listening.

Early in the morning it is a better time to think about the serious things of life. Bible study and prayer is so much easier in the morning, if that is the right word to use here. All of the other things I do on my computer are also much more of a breeze in the morning. I think what happens is that I usually put in long days (anywhere from 10 to 16 hours) and often I hit the sack early in the evening. So I am a morning person. To those of you who think getting up early and leaving the house early for anything is just before 8, well, you have not experienced the peace and quiet and beauty of life outside driving down empty highways and byways at 3 am. You can just have your rush hour traffic.

My wife says that I used to be a night person, and yes, I remember those days. When we first married about.......I forgot how many years ago already, I would do my best work at night and often work late into the night. And she was a morning person and wanted to retire early. I think what changed me is the years of driving over the road where we soon discovered that the best time of the day to be on the road is at night. Also for most of my OTR career, we had loads that we picked up in the evening and were to be at destinations ready for delivery first thing in the morning. “When did we sleep?” you ask. “Sleep. What's that?” Every truck driver knows what I am talking about. So now I come home sleepy after being on the road all day and have to hit the sack early. With my wife's business now, she often works late into the evening to prepare for a show the next day. So effectively I have now become the morning person and she is the night owl.

I am posting a picture from Laredo. As a border town, I suppose it is intriguing to many people who have not yet been there. In many ways it is a place where cultures meet. But on the US side, it has every indication of being a modern US city. This photo shows two of the truck stops at Exit 13 on I35, which is about 13 miles from downtown and the bridge across the river. Or one of the bridges. If you were able to go straight to your right here it would only be a mile or two or so to the river and the border. So you can see the air above Mexico from here. On a side note, You can see a TA and Flying J truck stop here. Across the freeway is a Pilot Truck Stop. From the news I hear the Flying J will soon be a Pilot as well as Pilot apparently purchased the Flying J chain. We shall see how that all works out.