What's in a Name?

I've been really busy this past week and was not able to park anywhere that I could get internet service. Sometimes I'm pushing the clock so hard I just have to park at the best place possible, whether or not they have internet service is never part of my decision making process.  I'm simply trying to move my load down the road as efficiently as possible.

Here's how this past week unfolded:

After unloading the shingles in Rochester, I was dispatched to Auburn, NY to get a load of steel going to Langhorne, PA.  From there I picked up another load of shingles in Meyerstown, PA to be delivered to Bozrah, CT.  Then I hightailed it over to Wallingford Connecticut to pick up a load of 18 rolls of coiled re-bar going down south to Milton, Florida.  Isn't that something.  The past two weeks I have worked my way up the east coast from Florida to New York, and then came right back down from there to Florida.

The traffic in these north east states is ridiculous.  It can be excruciating trying to get 40 tons of rolling steel through the clogged up highways from D.C. up into Connecticut.  I entertained myself on this arduous journey by writing down names of towns and streets that I saw that have some significance to my girls, my wife, and myself.  Quite probably they won't mean anything to anyone else but them, but here they are.  While passing through the towns of "Lime", "Bath", and "Brighton", I came across "Grace Church St.", "Wentworth Rd", and "Georgiana St.".  I also drove through three different cities named "Middletown", and came across both a "Kimberly" and "Dale" street.  Oh, yes I almost forgot, I spent Wednesday night in the parking lot of a truck driver friendly little restaurant named "Esther's".

Esther's was so quaint it made it quite enjoyable to be there.  It reminded me of Johnny Caces in that all the employees there looked like they'd been working there for the last 40 years.  They were all portly little old ladies with a cheerful air about them, and they each sported a nicely starched white uniform which was reminiscent of the "Harvey Girls".

One sees so many things when traveling like I do that you start forgetting most of them, but I remember seeing this quizzically comical arrangement of signs on one stretch of highway in Pennsylvania.  I came upon a highway sign warning you to "Beware of aggressive divers in this area" and then just about fifty feet down the road from that one was another one that pictured an Amish horse and buggy on it!  It just struck me funny.

One more thing I saw right next door to Esther's Restaurant was this old phone booth!

I haven't seen one of these in at least 35 years!  It's hard to believe it's still in use, but it is.

I left Connecticut on Thursday morning and I arrived in Milton Florida on Saturday morning with enough time left over to take my 34 hour break and reset my clock for the next week.  Saturday night I went down to the bay, which was just about fifteen minutes away from the Wal-Mart where I parked for the weekend, and listened to the waves gently roll in and get broken up into droplets as they landed on the rocky shores protecting the peninsula from the relentless wear and tear of their continual march.

The bright light of the sun slowly gave way to the filtering effect of the horizon as the evening made it's slow and gentle progression of time toward darkness, while I stood there wishing my wife were here to share this moment with me.

As I turned to the east to go back to my rented car I notice the moon rising and shedding it's borrowed light over a weather worn beach house on the other side of the small peninsula.

Today I took the short drive over to Pensacola and strolled along the beach for some fresh air and exercise.  I watched some people para-sailing out in the bay, and took a break under a pavilion that gave me some shade from the sun while a friendly waterfowl came up to me begging for a handout.

For the most part I've had a very busy work week, and a very nice break over the weekend to get me ready for another week of running this truck down the road, carrying the things that are needed to keep our economy moving and hopefully improving.