other dog

Indeed- went back to P.L.Duncan's place in Cumberland, Va. I'd been twice before, by myself and once with Nocluejoe66. I saw about everything before but still ended up taking 125 pictures. I went with a young man who lives near here, I think he's about 20 years old, and he's all about trucks. Real nice guy, when I asked him if it was worth the trip he said it was the best trip he'd ever taken. Then I came home and grilled-

That is a B 71, but there was not a U model to be found. Seems to be everything but a U model there. Interior of the Mercury sleeper-

More astonishing pictures to come later...

Your check's in the mail.

Holy hamburgers- You did the right thing!

I'd been having computer problems so I bought a used one from Washington that I found on e-bay really cheap. I think i'll pitch it though, I just can't get used to the different graphics.

Didn't see a lot this week, just a Ford Ranger pickup. And a girl in a Jeep wearing a short dress with a bag obstructing my view. I saw a tree blocking the road after a storm. It wasn't a very big tree- I had the option to back up about a quarter of a mile and go around a detour through an industrial park at first, but I told the guys I would wait. I figured by the time I did all that they would have the tree out of the way...wrong again- I sat there for 2 1/2 hours. I did see a Tundra pickup while I was sitting there. Saw a giant creature in the sky one morning. that, or it might have been just a strange looking bug on the window. I saw another big yellow machine. Big yellow machines are very common, see them everywhere. How about this big blue machine in McKees Rocks- and a big red Mack truck- I saw a big green Mack truck too. ...and I saw a Chevrolet.

I used to go to the drag strip a lot, always liked watching Freightrain type cars best- the 10 to 12 second cars- more than funny cars or top fuel cars. Just seemed more real I guess, like the 1200hp. 2 or 3 second mud racers that skimmed across the top of the mud bog, that's just not mud bogging to me, it's more showing off how much money you've got.

Nice! I loved the great north west, and only went there once.

Another thing I never told him- When I was a senior in high school I only needed two classes to graduate-English and Government. I only went to school for those two classes in the morning, then i'd go home and help him. I was picking corn one day about 5 or 6 miles from home, we had a mounted corn picker on a Ford 5000 tractor. I was by myself, when I finished the field I would go home. I'd been raised on the farm, we had mowers,bush hogs, hay rake,hay baler,combine,corn picker,and about every thing else- my brothers and I were running this equipment since we were big enough to get on it. So I knew not to ever do anything to any equipment without turning the PTO off, that could get you killed. The hay baler and the corn picker were especially dangerous. But this one time, I put the chute that puts the corn into the wagon out of gear- when you finish a row and turn down another row you stopped that chute, or as you were turning the ears of corn would miss the wagon and drop on the ground. After the corn stalks went through the snapper- rollers that snapped the ears of corn off the stalks- it collected in a hopper before it went up the chute and into the wagon. There was a big fan there that blew the shucks away, and as I was making my turn I noticed that there was a lot of shucks there that hadn't been blown off, so I just reached back and started clearing the shucks with my hand. It was in the fall of course, October or November when you pick corn- and the next thing I knew something grabbed the sleeve of my jacket. And I knew right then how stupid i'd been, and if I lived i'd have to explain to my Daddy how i'd lost my arm in that corn picker. But the jacket came apart- pulled the whole sleeve off, right at the shoulder. I felt so lucky and so stupid at the same time. I knew better- had heard stories of a man that lost his arm in a corn picker, and one who was killed in a hay baler. I stopped the tractor and took the rest of the jacket way down into the woods and threw it away. Then I finished the field and drove the tractor on home, with no jacket as cold as it was. Nobody asked where my jacket was, and I never told anyone about it, but it was a good lesson learned.

Indeed, I can't say or do anything with tinfoil hats, or i'll have to pay royalties to hatcity.

safety first!

Thank you Jim.

Absolutely, and thank you.

I still remember him telling me "I think it's the stupidest thing you've ever done" when I told him I was gonna quit my welding job to drive a truck- and that's saying something for me! He might have been right, but i've been doing it almost 36 years now. Every time I talked to him he always asked me where i'd been, where I was going, if i'd been in any snow, seen any rain, what I was hauling, and so on...

Happy birthday Ken!..she's working on your cake

Happy birthday. This girl's frying a cake for you, it's just not finished yet.

You're right Bob- the worst part was my Ma asking me if I needed any money, I think that's what did it.

Thank you Vlad. My Dad passed away Monday night, he was 82.

I made one trip to Milton this week, saw this donkey just as he was about to pull a heist down at the feed store... Saw my niece in Cumberland,Va. Tuesday morning. She loves trucks and tractors! Saw bugs eating my squash, so I just pulled it up- stupid bugs! Apparently the only things I can grow is peppers and onions. My Dad grew cabbage like this every year, I never had any luck with cabbage either. This years was the best looking i'd ever grown,until the worms got them. Any driver that ever stopped at the Cumberland Restaurant on rt. 60 in Cumberland,Va. during the 60's,70's,or 80's between 11pm and 7am probably met my Dad. He worked there at night from the time I can remember, and farmed during the day. He used to leave his pocket change on top of the dresser in his bedroom. I remember one time I slipped in there and took some of it. I asked Mama if I could go to the store-French's store was a half mile up the road,rt.13 in Cumberland. We used to walk or ride our bikes up there all the time.She said "yes,do you need any money"? ..and I said "no,i've got some"...and me and my younger brother started walking to the store. I stopped before we got half way and turned around and started back home. My brother wanted to know why we weren't going to the store and I said "I just don't want to any more".I felt so guilty for taking the money. I went back and put it back on top of the dresser. Never did tell him or Mama about it.

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Happy birthdays.

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