FREEDOM

What would Ben think
of what we have become?
Or George, Thomas, or Alexander?
Are there any left
to sound the alarm?
As Paul, riding through the night, yelling
The British are coming!
The British are coming!
Have we lost sight of the dream,
however imperfect it was?
Have we gone astray,
like the half-witted son of a genius?
Chasing dreams of others,
while letting ours die.

.......Throughout the course of an average week on the road, I get approached perhaps five to ten times by various people asking for money. As I am unable to help everyone who asks, I usually do not give to any of them. I have always had a problem giving money to someone who is smoking an expensive cigarette, yet say they have nothing to eat. Perhaps that is being cold-hearted, and I discussed this with my wife recently. I fear that some of the truly awful depths that some people allow themselves to sink to, has begun to harden my heart. I wonder how God views my unwillingness to help these folks. One thing this job has taught me, is that we, as mere human beings, are pitiful creatures without the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and I pray that He will forgive me, and not allow my heart to become hardened. I also pray that he will give me discernment to be able to tell the difference between those who truly need my help, and those who will misuse anything I give them.

RIVERS OF ICE

Rivers of ice,
Flow across the plains,
Just as rivers of ice,
Flow through people's veins,
Hardening folks' hearts,
To others in need,
Rivers of ice,
Flowing in our veins.

MORNING IN IDAHO

Sunlight begins to spill
Over the rocky peaks,
Bathing the valley below,
In its cleansing flow,
Sparkling brilliance flashes,
In the pre-dawn luster,
Off individual snowflakes,
That blanket the slopes,
Slopes so steep-so high,
America's Himalayas,
Touching the sky,
Mighty winds twirl snow,
About the tallest ridge,
Appearing as whimpsical whirlwinds,
Tossed by playful gnomes,
An eagle soars,
Much lower than the summits,
White head glows,
With the first rays of sun,
Her cry echoes,
Off the icy valley walls.
My day will start,
Before the hour dies,
Yet for now I revel,
In this gift from God.

........I finally made it home on Friday evening around six o'clock. This was a memorable trip. After leaving Idaho on the nineth, I made it across to South Bend, Indiana, where I was forced by DOT regulations to stop for thirty-four hours while watching helplessly as the approaching winter storm overtook me. I left the truckstop there as early as I could legally do so, which happened to be around two o'clock on Tuesday morning. The first ten miles or so of that day was smooth sailing. After that, everything went to pot, so to speak. The snow came, and did not let up for over six hundred miles. I did manage to deliver on time that afternoon near Harrisburg, Pa. Little did I know that my troubles were just beginning.
........I found out, once again, just how blessed with good weather we here in Georgia are. I left the truck stop at eight-thirty that morning heading fifty-seven miles east toward Reading. Nearly twenty-four hours later, I made it. I had to be towed from the snow once, then sat for over fourteen hours in the middle of I78, praying that my fuel did not run out or gel up from the cold.
........ Anyway, thanks to everyone from my church who was praying for me during this time. You will never know how much I appreciate it. I will post again as soon as possible. I will be leaving out later this evening.

.........I have driven a very large circle of our great nation over the past seven days. I started with a load out of Marietta, Georgia last Monday morning. I pulled that trailer out to Jenks, Oklahoma. I was then dispatched a load out of McPherson, Kansas going out to Sandy, Utah. Then, I drove up to Blackfoot, Idaho where I got under the load I am currently on, which will deliver sometime Tuesday afternoon just east of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. So far on this trip, I have seen temperatures ranging from near eighty degrees out in Tulsa, down to below zero here in Indiana. I was most surprised by the sixty degree weather in Salt Lake City, which is almost unheard of this time of year.
..........I drove into southern Idaho after dark on Thursday night, so I was unaware of the beauty that surrounded me when I parked my truck at a remote truck stop along I15. When I woke up Friday morning, and pulled back my curtain, I was completely awestruck at the sight of those snow-covered mountains that stood so majestically around me. the sun was starting to rise over a particularly high peak in the east, and I had the pleasure of sitting in the cab of my truck and watching the sunrise while sipping on a cup of bad coffee. It was more beautiful than words can describe. I have been trying to compose a poem to relay the magnificance of what I saw, but nothing I can put to paper seems to do it justice. I will continue to try.
..........After picking up this load in Idaho, I was routed down U.S. Highway 30 for over two hundred miles into Wyoming. As this was my first trip into the southern part of Idaho, I was excited at the prospect of seeing something new. I was a little apprehensive about driving a two lane highway through the Rockies this time of year, but I am now so glad I did. It was some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever witnessed. At one point, I was at nearly eight thousand foot elevation, and the mountain peaks still towered above me. Along the way, I saw two Bald Eagles, and one Golden Eagle. It was an amazing drive.
...........As I write this post, I am sitting in a truckstop in South Bend, Indiana waiting for two-thirty in the morning to arrive so I can start driving again. The DOT regulations state that I can work no more than seventy hours in an eight day period, so after working seventy hours, I am required to take a thirty-four hour break, which resets my seventy hour clock. The problem is, I have seen three inches of new snow fall on top of the already two foot of snow that is here over night. And, this is the small snow storm. The big one, that will bring over a foot of snow, sleet, and ice, will come sometime after midnight. All I can do is sit here and watch the bad weather catch up to me. Oh, well. I guess the DOT wants me well rested before sliding off in a ditch tomorrow.(Hopefully not!) Anyway, I will post again as soon as I get the chance.

.........A friend of mine asked me the other day where I got the name of my blog, "Watch out for flying coffee tables." It was simple, really. The day I started my blog was the day my truck was assaulted by a flying coffee table. It happened early one afternoon around mile marker 19 on I40 in Arkansas. I was driving along, minding my own business and having a good day, when I noticed an old Chevy S10 pickup loaded down with all manner of household belongings, speeding up behind me. Now, to her credit, there was a rather large Peterbuilt on her rear bumper helping push the pickup along. I guess the truck driver was in a hurry, as we all seem to be out here. Anyway, since I have one of the slowest trucks on the road, I was right where I was supposed to be, in the Granny lane.
.........I was not thinking too much about the little pickup, and the precarious load it was carrying, as it flew around me. Then, just as she passed me and cut in front of me, the coffee table that had ridden all the way from Tennessee without one single strap holding it down, decided to fly off the top of her load. I knew she was from Tennessee from her license plate and those awful University of Tennessee decals on her back window. I thought I was going to be okay as the table sailed smoothly between me and the Peterbuilt, who was now beside me, but just before clearing my trailer, the coffee table was sucked underneath, where it managed to blow out two trailer tires and rip an air line loose. As I limped my damaged rig to the shoulder, I watched little Miss Tennessee ride off into the sunset, never knowing, or caring, what she had justed caused.
..........Anyway, that is how I came up with the name for my blog. I am now out in Kansas, heading for Salt Lake City, Utah. I have a couple of days to get out there, so it should be a nice ride.

.........Most of us have a picture that we have painted in our minds of the perfect place to live, a sort of heaven on earth, if you will. That portrait for me would be somewhere among the mist-shrouded mountains of Tennessee or North Carolina. I never find more peace within my soul than when I am in the solitude of those beautiful, blue mountains. I wrote a poem that is in my new book of poetry. I would like to share it with you here.

I SEE MOUNTAINS

I see mountains when I close my eyes,
Blue giants standing tall and proud,
Against the smoky sky,
Lakes of mist cover their peaks,
Virgin forests sailing through the air,
On ships of granite,
Carved by nature's hand.
I see mountains when I close my eyes,
Dreaming of a tranquility,
That can only be found,
Among the ridges,
Against the heavens,
Resting within my soul.