As is my morning tradition when I can’t sleep I walked to the Dennys a couple of blocks away for a few cups of java and some conversation with the very early morning crowd of Roswaliens. The coffee is ok and the ambiance is plastic but I love the graveyard waitress and the mentally handicapped busboy. I am considered one of the regulars there and have become friendly with quite a few of the regular morning coffee drinkers over the past year and a half. Farm hands and construction workers. The folks who are changing shifts at the nearby hospital and truckdrivers getting ready for the days grind. Lots of salt of the earth regular folks. Needles to say diverse on their outlook on life and politics. Good folks all of them. Most are friendly and fun but there are some who are just cranky, no matter what the topic of the moment is. One of the cranky guys is Steve.

Steve is a devout Christian and Marine veteran, a lifer who was forced out after 25 years and a knee injury. He is my age, just turned 50 in January, and as such he never saw combat during his military career. Just a bit too young for Viet Nam and too old for any of the Afghanistan/Iraq wars. Even so he is a blind patriot to the Bush administrations definitions of what a patriot is. Supporting the administrations policies without question is how he supports our troops and country. One of the less than 30% who still give Bush a thumbs up. “America, Right or Wrong”, is his creedo.

The counter conversation turned to the mistreatment of returning war vets who are being ignored by the Veterans Administration and the government. Jay, a dairy farmer and Korea War veteran, and I were talking when Steve interrupted us with his crap about how those who don’t support the presidents policies are the ones who truly don’t support the troops. If we questioned the administration then we were wishing harm to the soldiers. That kind of bullshit….you know the rap. He told me, “You aren’t an American”.

Jay, who is quiet and non confrontational, got silent and turned away. Not saying anything we could tell that he was angry. Jessie, our waitress, laughed and teased him about how his ears were turning red. He tried to smile and fall into conversation with her. About the coffee and how it seemed different than when he first started going to Dennys. They both knew that Steve’s comment would not be taken well by this old longhaired “hippie’. They knew that a trucker who carried supplies to keep this country running wouldn’t have his patriotism attacked. They know the difference between how I feel about this war I despise and the soldiers whom I respect and love.  How I want to keep exposing the lies that got our troops into the war and how each soldier who is wounded or killed because of those lies hurts me personally. They fell quiet while I boiled inside.

The words accusing me of not being a patriot burned in my head. Telling me that my beliefs and opinions made me less of an American than he was burned in my heart…and stomach. Then I got mad. What Jessie and Jay were sure was coming actually did. I started in on Steve starting with how questioning the governments tyranny was the first American patrioticic act. Folks tired of the way they were being governed took up arms and fought, some dying, for their desire to be free.

Questioning the leaders has always been a way of life in The United States. Demanding the government, that we pay for, to be accountable is the noblest part of being a patriotic American, and our duty. Over the years the people have made great changes because of their speaking against policies and laws. 200 plus years ago the people achieved freedom from an outside government by fighting for the populations desires. 150 years ago slavery was made illegal because the people questioned. In the 20th century many voices got louder and made the government change laws that gave more “equal” rights to the people of our land. People marching in the streets, voicing their dissatisfaction with the leaders, got things done. Women got to vote because they voiced their questions. People of color became a strong voice, questioning.  When the American people finally had enough they screamed their dissent from the streets and ended the Viet Nam war. No 100 year occupation because the people wouldn’t allow it.

I continued my heated rant by telling him that the man he worships as God was a patriot as well. Jesus Christ was killed by the government in his land because he spoke out against the way they were treating his people. They gave him a trial and sentenced him to death. Because he was strong enough to question the government.

I was feeling conspicuous  because my indignancy was making my voice raise. I got quiet for a moment then reached for my jacket. Steve didn’t say anything as I put the tip next to my half finished cup of coffee. Everyone around was silent. I almost felt bad for scolding this man in front of so many folks. He looked at Jessie and told her to put my coffee on his tab. Thanking him I turned to leave. I realized this was his way of apologizing for accusing me of being un-American. Instead of walking away I felt I needed to make one thing sure. I turned back and looked him in the eye. Calmly I told him what I tell anyone who questions me and my vocal opinion of the way the VA and Pentagon are treating the troops.

“Never say I am not a patriot. Because I question I am a true American.”

I turned and walked out knowing that the next time I see him we will be friendly again.

All is well in my part Roswell.

I was surprised and confused last night when I saw the nomination for my blog in a post at Rotus. I first ran into Clark over there during Blogroll Amnesty Day. His site was great and informative plus he runs a book review site, as well as another blog that reviews music.

I read his blog often and was humbled that he would nominate me for an Excellent rating here in Blog World.

It seems that one of the conditions of this award nomination is to nominate 10 blogs myself. I started looking through my blogroll, as well as looking around to see what others I could add when I ran across another of my blogging hero’s post of his 2 awards for excellence. I was nominated for another award by Stephen over at Drinking Liberally In New Milford.

His Connecticut based blog was the first blogroll exchange I had after I started my humble site on Christmas Eve. I have gotten a lot of inspiration and knowledge from him if he knows it or not.

So in keeping with the tradition I had to come up with not ten but twenty nominations to pass along. I would have gladly given my top 2 nominations to them but I’m not sure they would have wanted to have to go into finding 10 more blogs to nominate so I guess they will have to just receive my thanks and know I will always be Gratefully Deadicated to keeping their blog sites in the forefront here on the big rig of insanity.

Now trying to find sites that are worthy of this award is easy. There are so many great opinions and writers out in Blog World it is hard to narrow the field down to just 20. There are political sites, humor sites and ones that promote the legalization of medical marijuana. Music sites, photo sites and just junk sites that make me laugh. I don’t know where to start.

I think the blogs that deal with the “War On Terror” and bringing our troops home while ending this stupid thing are my highest priorities so I will concentrate on them and try to keep this whole thing fair. Now the tough part. Narrowing the field down will be a task for sure. So here goes. Bear with me in my struggle.

In no particular order or level of priority they are;

Redneck Liberal

The man is out for surgery right now but he deserves this award based on the presentation and content of his blog site. I visit his site often and read his sometimes hilarious look at scary issues. (Get Well Soon)

The Political Cat

Obviously the love for cats can’t overshadow the love for our world and mankind.

ViceZilla

This blog proves the old Grateful Dead adage, “Sometimes you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right”.

My View Of “It”

Carol’s place for peace. Full of humor and political insight with a womans slant.

Clarks Picks

Reviews and stuff about music from blues to jazz. probably some other styles thrown in. I know this site brings me tuneage I have either forgotten about or never heard. Take a music break. Give it a listen.

Ted’s Soapbox 2.0

Along with an almost daily update from Ted’s life this blog takes you into the world as he sees it.

Guys From Area 51

Being from Roswell, NM myself I thought the name of this blog was interesting. (the Air Force moved the bodies and wreckage from here to Nevada after the controversial crash in 1947. many think area 51 is in Roswell when it is actually just north of Las Vegas, Nevada) After reading it I realized they were as serious about our world as I am. Looking at it through shattered glasses they present the news in an unique way.

Alternate Brain

When I first linked to this site I wondered about the camoflauge and soldier oriented images. But with their military service in mind these guys are the ones who have the most to say. And they say it well.

Obsidian Wings

The winged folks claim to be the voice of moderation…I’ll let you decide if that is true.

Let me know if you think they are right.

Morningsideways View

How the world looks from New York. Educated and opinionated he writes it as he views it.

There are the first ten. Wheewww. That was time consuming yet not tedious. I looked at articles and video’s while I was getting this done. It is much more entertaining than I thought it would be. Actually I am enjoying the latest posts while I am making the decisions. Here’s ten more.

Grateful Dissident

Deadheads were sometimes politically outspoken even before Bob Wier and the remaining Dead endorsed Obama. This head’s views are open and are sprinkled with Jerrylicious Grateful Dead videos throughout this informative blog.

A Poetic Justice

Using poetry this blog begs folks not to burn the flag. Just wash it.

FreeDetainees

Linda brings those forgotten victims of the administration back into the light. Our mainstream media and even the Blog World has seemed to have forgotten the prisoners of “The War On Terror”.

The Daily Scare

A think tank of diverse writers contribute to this well presented blog. Lots of good stuff on here.

Left Wing Nut Job

Claiming the right to be left of center it is. Wishing I sometimes had the guts to shout the things they do.

The Liberal Doomssayer

Opening our eyes to impending doom…well, let’s fix it then.

the s.n.a.f.u. principle

Situation Normal. These posts are far from fucked up.

House Of The Rising Sons

Constitutional literalism at it’s finest.

I Was Just Wondering

After discovering this blog lately I have been wondering as well. It’s a newly found daily read for me.

Last Left Turn Before Hooterville

I clicked on this one from Drinking Liberally a while back. The fact that the author has a Great Dane mix caught my eye. As many readers know I just lost my Dane a few weeks ago so my tears from my loss clouded my reading. I kept reading though and was impressed this busy woman would have time to do such a great site. 2 cats, 4 kids and a Dalmation/Dane are a lot of work. Then add the husband factor…well maybe I should have put her at the top of the list.

Like I said though, No order or preference went into the list.

Again I thank Stephen and Clark for awarding these to me and I hope to live up to their expectations.

Ryan Newman took the 50th Daytona 500 winning the race that starts off the seasons 36 races. My Sundays will be taken up by watching the big shots in the NASCAR world going around in circles. I like following the Cup races that are televised but I miss living close enough to a local track that I can watch the minor league racers ride around in the dirt. The closest track to Roswell is in Carlsbad, about 75 miles south of here.

The dirt track in Baker, Louisiana was where I spent many a Saturday night. I got to know a few of the drivers who raced there and watched a couple of them scramble up the ranks, one who made it to the Busch Cup league.  The story of Fred ended before his first nationally televised race. Dumbass pee’d dirty with cocaine the day before his debut race.

I don’t consider it a waste of time or effort to try to keep up with the races. It makes me happy and even excites me when Kevin Harvick does well with strategy and speed.  It gives me a chance to be in the drivers seat for a few hours a week. And I really miss driving.

So my Sunday afternoons will be taken up for the rest of the year. Then after the last race in November you will probably hear me whining about no racing “til February. But I’ll be having fun.

While laying in the MRI tube last week I started feeling somewhat confined. I really don’t have much problem with small spaces but for some reason the sound of the magnets sounded like a drum circle and I went into a trance. The feelings of confinement were not related to the machine I was trapped in but had to do with the need to wander. Get out of this small town and just move around.

For years my dromomania was satisfied with touring to Grateful Dead shows and driving them big trucks. Seeing the country blow by through the windshield was almost as good as stopping in a strange place for a bite to eat and a walk. Smelling the Pacific Ocean breeze one day and waking up in the Rocky Mountains the next. Dining on the great sausages and cheese in Wisconsin on a Tuesday and crawfish or jambalaya Wednesday in Louisiana. Hearing Jerry jam out a Franklin’s Tower in Atlanta one weekend and by the middle of the next week hearing Brent pound out a Dear Mr. Fantasy on his keyboards in Columbia. Life was good.

The days with The Dead sadly came to an end in 1995 when Jerry Garcia died. My last show was in Memphis that year when I got my cousin, who I drove for, to route me to Eastern Arkansas with the express purpose of seeing the band on the Mississippi River front. It wasn’t long after his death when I quit my regional job and hit the long distances with a carrier that did all 48 states. (yes, Jerry’s music and presence influenced many lives) Irregular routes and hot loads were all I craved.

You Tuber “coyryan09″ posted this video of his pictures set to Jason Aldean’s “Asphalt Cowboy”. Because they all look alike now I’m not sure which T/A he took the photos at but I am sure I have been there. The mountain backdrop and bi level parking makes me think it’s the one at Knoxville, Tennessee. Worth a watch if you like the big trucks or country music. Blusey with that Nashville twang. Tells the story of a drivers life in jast a few minutes.

I miss those times on the open road. The days or nights driving through all kinds of weather. It could be snowy on Donner Pass in California then sunny and warm all across Nevada and Utah. According to the time of day, week, or season the traffic varied. I tried to drive at night to avoid heavy traffic but sometimes I would get hung up in Saturday afternoon traffic near a beach town on a holiday weekend. I miss that too.

I long for the days of lies in the logbook so I could hurry up and wait at a shipper while the farmhands were still harvesting the canteloupes that would become my load. Racing across Arizona and New Mexico late that night watching the streaks of light in the starlit night that could be anything. Hurrying to Chicago with my produce and waiting for the receiving warehouse to find room to unload my trailer into.

Due to a back injury I left truck driving in 2000. Probably will never get back into a truck again. Thats just the way it goes.

Yeah, I miss all of that but I also dream of the days of that other kind of truckin’. The dancing kind. The quick paced walking, The days when I could get around without a lot of pain. Because I miss all kinds of truckin’ I am posting a few music videos for your entertainment. Have fun.

I’ll start with this swinging number by Ina Ray Hutton and Her Melodears, an all female dance band that was made sometime in the ’30’s. “Truckin’”.

Ritchie Blackmore’s guitar screams in this 1972 Deep Purple show where they played “Space Truckin’”.

Hot Tuna with Jorma’s brother Peter Kaukonen sitting in on “Keep On Truckin’”.

Eddie Kendricks does a jam up job on this version of “Keep On Truckin’”.

I would be remiss to leave the Grateful Dead out of a lineup of Truckin’ songs so I will close out the set with the 4/17/72 “Truckin’” from Copenhagen, Denmark show.

Last weeks UFO sightings in and near Stevenville, TX made me think of a story I wrote last year about visitors from other worlds.

The people of Stevenville are just the next bunch of people all over the world who have been seeing things in the sky for thousands of years. It happened her in Roswell in 1947. The July 4th anniversary of the ‘47 crash is celebrated with a festival here each year. I wrote this short essay just before last years 60th anniversary party. Those “in the know” say an increase of sightings happen every 60 or so years so maybe the new Texas sightings are part of this phenomenon.

Every 60 years the sightings of strange craft in the sky are reported in an increased number. In 1947 a strange craft crashed near Roswell and much controversy surrounds it. The crash was one of thousands of sightings in the sky seen that year world wide. More than any other year in the 20th century. They say the sightings have increased this year and some say the visitors from far away will come to our town but I don’t believe them. The visitors don’t like crowds and the UFO Festival is expected to get crowded this year.
Don’t ask how I know their distaste of crowds. I promised I wouldn’t tell.
I can tell some of what I learned last night but I must be vague. I don’t want to mess anything up.
Early autumn of 1887 was cool at Peter Hewitt’s farm. With 1800 acres of healthy hemp growing in the fields he knew the next year would be good. The money the crop would bring would pay off the farm as well as give plenty for living for at least a year.
Peter sat in front of the fire turning one of Edison’s light bulb over and over in his hands. He wanted to figure out how a bulb could burn cooler so it wouldn’t go out so quickly. The incadescent bulbs had a filament for fuel and they quickly burned it up. There had to be a better way.
His wife was in the kitchen cooking dinner. The smells of carrots and potatoes blending with the squirrel and spices made his mouth water. Anna made the best squirrel stew. His friend Rudolf was napping in the chair across from him.His arrival from Germany this afternoon was an unexpected but pleasant surprise. The journey had left him exhausted so Peter let him sleep. Jake, Pete’s golden retriever, slept on the floor between the 2 men. His nose twitched and his paws moved as he chased a dream rabbit through the fields.
Peter was warm, the mood was calm and he soon dozed off. The sounds of the pots clanging in the kitchen was like a lullaby. Peace was in the house but it wouldn’t last long.
Suddenly Jake sat up growling. Hewitt woke from his nap A rumbling motor sound filled the air and a bright light burst through the windows. The roaring sound died suddenly and all that was left was a humming sound and the light. Jake ran to the door barking furiously. Pete got up and raced to the door curious of who would make such a racket at this hour.
Throwing the door open he felt Jake rush past him only to turn around in fear. He ran crying past Peter, up the stairs to hide behind the bed in the master bedroom. Keening and shuddering he acted as if he had seen his own ghost.
With Rudy following him Peter went out onto the porch. A huge sphere made of a shiny metal with lighted tubes crisscrossing the exterior was sitting in the pasture. It stood at least 50 foot tall and seemed to glow from the reflection of the lights on the shiny surface.
A door opened in the lower part of the ball and 6 men stepped out. Dressed in suits made of a weird shiny material with the collars pulled high. Low brimmed hats helped the collars hide the mens faces. The formed a wedge like formation . 1 in front, 2 behind him with the other three.following the leaders.
Sensing no danger Peter greeted them warmly. Inviting them to dinner was natural for this humble hemp farmer. The men politely refused and told them there really wasn’t time. They had noticed the hemp fields and since hemp fueled their craft would like to aquire some to make it home. Peter wondered aloud what his return would be.
The leader replied “Knowledge that will make you prosper.”
Without waiting for the OK the 5 men in the rear went to the hemp fields and began pulling plants. In no time they had harvested at least 2 acres, probably more. Stuffing the plants inside a hopper built into the bottom of the sphere they waved the two men towards the lighted craft.
Rudy looked into the hopper. Watching the oil being extracted from the stalks and seeds he noticed the pulp was being dissolved in a smelly liquid. Watching the simple process he somehow absorbed some kind of knowledge. His face was filled with wonder.
Meanwhile Peter was examining the lighted tubes. Some kind of glass surrounded gasses that were burning from an unseen spark. The tubes were connected by metal boxes that were producing the humming sound.The amazement on his face rivaled the look on Rudolf’s.
The man from the craft admonished the men not to ever tell of the visit. If spoken of to anyone the knowledge would disappear and the promised success would never come.
The craft suddenly roared and disappeared into the night sky. The men returned to the house where Anna was laying the good china on the table. With rumbling tummies the men sat to a wonderful meal. Neither uttered a word until after the apple pie with fresh whipped cream was finished. Rudolf praised Anna’s fine meal and excused himself to go to bed.
Thats all I will tell you of what was revealed to me. I hope my vagueness was sufficient.
In 1891 Rudolf Diesel patented the Diesel engine in Germany. The prototype ran on hemp fuel.
Shortly after that Peter Cooper Hewitt patented the flourescent light.
In 1947, some 60 years later there were many visitors in our atmosphere. Some obviously landed and interacted with humans.
The first computers were being patented in the very early 1950’s.