CarlHoliday

A wagon train is in a circle with bullets and arrows flying through the air. Horses are stumbling at full gallop, throwing their stuntmen riders into the dirt. A woman, in a gingham dress of indefinite color, since this is a B&W movie, is reloading rifles behind her man.

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I'm in Virgina, at a truck stop across the road from Kings Dominion? Supposed to be a theme park of some sort. All I know is that yesterday's drive down from Allentown, PA, took six and a half hours when it shouldn't have taken much more than four. Too many people for not enough road. Well, it's my own fault, really. I could've driven down the night before, but I'd had enough of night driving and wasn't in the mood for any more. Besides, I ran into something in Allentown. The reefer on the trailer I picked up at the cold storage facility in Hatfield wasn't in good repair, so I had to take it somewhere to get it fixed and that somewhere was in Allentown, completely in the wrong direction. Of course, it was night. Lately, my life has been occurring on a too regular basis at night, so I couldn't complain. Only, when I got to Allentown and parked to wait for the repair guy (Don't call me sexist because some other company doesn't hire women to repair reefers.) something was in the darkness at the edge of reality. Gave me the willies. Oof! Tingles down the back. Whatever it was, it was scary. But, it wasn't really. It's just how they come up to you in the night. It'd be nice if they could make a noise, or something to get your notice other than staring at you out of the darkness with those eyes. It's always the eyes that get you. I got in my truck, shut the door, and locked it, not that that would've done anygood if it wanted to get in because doors deter them about as well as any other physical object. And, then, when it got closer I could see it wasn't a bad one, just a mischievous one that likes to imitate their more intimidating relatives. It wasn't a prankster, just a lonely spirit stuck in lonely corner of Pennsylvania. There's lots of activity there during the day, but at night it doesn't have lots of company. So, it came looking for a little companionship not realizing I could see it. I think I scared it almost as much as it scared me. They're not used to running into those who can sense them. Today, I'll drive down a few miles to another truck stop and, hopefully, get a shower. Yesterday was bath day, but traffic wasn't cooperative. After that, I'll head down to my delivery location. It's just on the other side of Richmond. Tomorrow after delivery, I'm off to the Shenandoah Valley to pick up a load headed for California. And, then, it's only six days to home time. It'll be nice spending the week driving across the country, unless the weather tries to be uncooperative, which it can and often does.

Well, okay, so, you're a storyteller; and, it sounds you've come to realize you have it bad. You're able to create characters and deeply care for them; unfortunately, sometimes allowing your mind to become consumed with their fictional issues. Yet, that's okay, too. It's all part of the process; some might say part of the curse, like waking up in the middle of the night because one of your characters DEMANDS attention. All I can say, right now, is to go with the flow and realize you have a gift few are given. Sometimes when your characters' lives intrude on your own, completely dominating your thoughts, force yourself to think of something enjoyable, pleasing, that has nothing to do with any of your characters. For me, it's a mountain top in the North Cascade Mountains in Washington State. It doesn't have to be a place, it could be a person, a moment, or whatever you know to be very pleasurable. You've already begun the process of using your writing to clear up the cobwebs in your mind and seeing that, with maturity, some of those happy, idyllic childhood memories might not not be as idyllic as you remember them. Storytelling is a good way to do a little spring cleaning, now and then. I wouldn't worry too much about that unknown story you have yet to tell. It will be ready for harvest in its own season. Don't force it! And, remember, to always have fun.

What is it about Pennsylvania that makes it so desirable to me? The closest I can come to knowing someone from Pennsylvania is my maternal great-grandmother who was born and raised in Venango County around the Franklin area. Supposedly, there are still a few Brandons in that area who would be distantly related. Yet, I have this strange need to be somewhere in the state. It seems to be in my bones. I

I delivered the salad makings this morning at the Wal-Mart D/C in Tomah, Wisconsin, and then scurried down to a wonderful truck stop in Mauston where I nodded off for a few hours hoping to catch up on the sleep I didn

I spent the night on Donner Summit over by the sign saying 7,227 feet. It was a hard slog up the hill from Sacramento and I couldn

I had a Father

I drove across Wyoming today; well, actually I drove the first 158 miles early, like just after midnight until 4 AM when I ran out of hours and needed to stop to reset my logbook. First of all, I

Good thing she was using her whistle, rather than using her pencil to write your license plate number down on a piece of paper to be sent to the appropriate agency for further action.

Yesterday afternoon I crossed the Mississippi River at Burlington, Iowa, headed for Mount Pleasant to pick up a load of processed meat. Afterwards I headed north to I-80 and west, stopping for the night in Altoona. This morning I got up early and headed for Wiggins, Colorado, where I

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First of all let me make this perfectly clear, I like North Dakota. I know some people think it as an American version of Siberia, but from what I

Ahh! A book? Like one of those memoir-like thingies that are so popular these days? Interesting idea, but I don't know. I mean, who'd want to read a bunch of ramblings by an old, opinionated bastard like me? Especially when I tell them over and over they can't drive worth shit!

Ummm? Maybe I'm tired from driving or maybe I'm missing something, but what pages = what big text? Oh, and thank you very much for your good words about my truck driving stories. I did North Dakota today and saw some really interesting sights. Actually, North Dakota, not counting Fargo, is one of my more favorite states, not that I've seen any more than what can be seen from I-94. It's just nice to drive through.

I was driving through Missoula, Montana, yesterday

As I was driving through Albuquerque

Ever been somewhere and felt you belonged there? This isn

Well, mother did it. She got herself kicked out of the nursing home. Maybe I

Don't you hate it when you're traveling and you get to some place that barely has cell service. Kind of between towers. That's Prescott, Arkansas. When I arrived yesterday I couldn't get a signal, so internet access was haphazard at best. So, I slept. Good thing, too, because I'm heading into the Metroplex this morning. Fuel in Irvine, delivery in Fort Worth, and a hell of a lot of four wheelers buzzing about paying attention to no one but themselves and the person sending them a text message, which they have to answer right now at 70 mph weaving through the big trucks going much slower. Yesterday morning? Night before last? I don't exactly remember when, but I was reading Krista's blog and she mentioned working on a story for the Anthology. Well, didn't I have a cow? I'm not working on a story for the Anthology. I'm struggling to get Chapter 12 of The Pastel Cowboy out the door. Happy to say I am working on it, sometimes I get out 200 words. Sometimes only a sentence. Sometimes not even that. I am up to page 8. Only 12 more to go. Two and half months and only eight pages. Oh, joy! Anyway, the ol' gray matter was thinking about what Krista said and it came up with a terrific idea for a story. It's sci-fi, has a strong religious element (sorry, no Christian bashing), a tiny bit of gayness (gaiety?), and rain. I thought of the story first, then last night in a brief moment of access I discovered the theme was "The Rainy Day." Well, let's just say my main character is not looking for a rainy day. I don't think that gives away too much of the story, does it? Oh, well, time (03:04) to go to work.

I drove through Ohio yesterday. Mostly across, but a good portion was actually through the state as I drove down State Highways 66 and 48 from Minster to I-70 where I headed west again. Small town America. That

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