Excersizing Flys

I parked this rig at a Flying J outside Cannonsburg, Kentucky. That would be on I-64 on the east side of the state just before the West Virginia border. Shutdown Saturday afternoon and here I still am late Sunday night. It's hot and humid. Green and boring. And there in lies a story.

To make any money in the trucking business one has to watch expenses. The one area that a driver has control is running the truck's big engine. The less it is ran the less the fuel used. The less the fuel is used the less amount of money spent on fuel, and so it goes. I learned this valuable lesson as an Owner Operator. Though the truck I run now is not mine and I'm a hired driver I still watch the fuel usage. It's a life long thing for me really. I hate wasting anything. Not to protect the environment. Don't give a damn either way. It's always about the money. I like this job. Don't want the boss to shut down the truck and I lose my ability to earn a buck. That said . . .

The windows are down to let any breeze into the cab and sleeper. Doors
are open as well on the sleeper. Luckily there is a good strong wind
from the west as there is a line of clouds and storms in the area. An
added benefit is the shade the clouds provide. At least the temp will be a tolerable upper 80 instead of a low 100. Humidity however is still a killer in the low 90 range. O, one more thing, the flys can now invade.

As a kid growing up in East Texas we did not live in air conditioned houses. Heck, the mall had not been invented as yet so there was no place to go to get relief by shopping. So, open windows and flys were just a part of life. One learned to live with a fly swatter near at hand. You also learned many fly swatting games. And jokes. So many flys so few hands to swat 'em.

There was the common house fly. On the walls, on the ceiling, on the table and on your food. Even on your nose! Kind of cute really. The nearest thing to a house pet of the insect world. And we tortured them to no end. Pull the wings off. Or their legs. Toss them onto spider webs. Geez we had fun as kids.

We also had the blow fly, the horse fly, the deer fly and others. They generally tortured us. Ever been bit by a horse fly? Something you
don't forget.

Well, back to the truck. I got tired of sitting in the sleeper searching the web and swatting at the flys with just my hands so I went to the TV lounge for drivers. USA network was showing a NCIS back to back to back episode afternoon. I just love that show. Bought all the episodes through season 6 on DVD. Yeah, I'm hooked.

Another driver came in to watch TV. Naturally we started a conversation. Good banter back and forth. I managed to shoo the flys from me over to him. It is a funny thing to watch grown men hand swat at flys. Talking away and hands flaying through the air and never missing a beat in the conversation or the TV. Poetry in action ya'll.

Heck neither of us killed one darn fly. No need to I guess. Conversation and fellowship. Enjoying good company and TV. It was a good day at the truck stop. And it was good for the flys too. Their little wing muscles got a work out and their eye-wing coordination improved.

Just exercising flys.