I just completed a 742 mile trip today. About 730 miles of it were from returning to WV after dropping my 94 y/o mom off about 40 miles from Pensacola. The rest were in Charlotte NC picking up my wife I'd left at our daughter's place. Sunday we left WV and overnighted in Charlotte to break up the trip for my mom and have dinner with the kids and grandkids. Along the way I heard and saw a few items of interest. Such as:
1. I got behind 2 trucks loaded with chickens and I began to wonder how fast you'd have to drive to blow the feathers off them and if would be a cost effective way of picking them?
Would the chickens all have to facing against the wind?
2. If you did so in the winter could you deliver "Fresh frozen, dressed (Well at least plucked) chickens to your buyers?
3. In Prattville Ala (Near Montgomery) a local school had to go into lockdown mode because of a "Bigfoot" sighting. Per safety/security protocol the outer doors were locked and the kids were locked in their room. A brave and diligent Resource officer captured the offending creature (which turned out to be a parent in a Sasquatch suit playing a prank on his child). It made me wonder - Has anyone seen Robert lately? (May actually be a little out of his range but you never can tell as it does look like it is on the way to the coast for a fishing trip.)
BTW - Is it a crime to impersonate a Sasquatch in Ala?
4. I stopped at the Love's Truck Stop at Exit 104 (Poston territory) on I-85 om South Carolina for fuel and found that Greyhound buses stop there apparently for a bathroom and snack buying break. The clerk said apparently Greyhound likes their large, clean bathrooms. I never thought about it but assumed Greyhound buses (And Trailways I guess) only stopped at their own bus terminals.
5. My truck hates my wife. The A/C and heat work fine for me unless she gets in and then it starts blowing hot air instead of A/C or vice versa on her side only. (May be a bad Actuator valve somewhere or it may just be mad at her from some past comment she made about it).
6. I heard on a radio station Ala just passed an anti- squatter law making Squatting a crime and making it easier for owners to boot them out. I know Fla recently passed a similar law which may be the model for Ala.
7. FWIW - I love Indian food and we had a great Indian dinner in Charlotte Sunday night but my Mom tried it for the first and. she said. last time. (I guess I got my culture genes from my Dad's side of the family :wink_2: .)
I may remember more astute observations later but it has been a long day so I'll leave it at this for now.
Loves is our favorite when going long distance, especially with the camper. they now even have hookups for campers. We often sleep there or at a Walmart.
Back when Flying J wasn't owned by Pilot there were a very good stopping point. The restaurant was excellent and the place was always clean.
Sasquatch-parent is lucky not to have been shot.
Just to add to WV's questions, have any archeologists found Sasquatch remains?
Whee do old Sasquatch/Sasquatches/Sasqyatchi go to die?
Just how old do Sasquatch get?
I don't believe in Sasquatch...
I used to think Truck Stops were a good low cost place to stop and eat when traveling then I drove a truck for a while and they were the only places I could stop and I realized they were not the great bargain I had previously thought. You are paying for that big parking lot. Some, as Doc mentioned, are clean and convenient. I had not thought about campers staying there but it makes sense. I did know some Wal-Marts allowed overnight stays.
When I was driving a truck and we were out west I'd stop at Burns Brothers because they took our company fuel card and so I could get a Bison Burger.
I am a little chagrined nobody picked up on the mobile chicken plucking suggestion. I figured the design committee would note some enhancements I missed in my foggy, tired and sleep deprived brain last night. Thinking of the chickens reminded me of the tale of the chicken canon which went something like this:
The US Gov't commissioned Boeing to make new fighter jets for them. Part of the contract was to build a windscreen that could withstand a bird strike from a 7.5 lb bird in flight at speeds of up to 600 mph. Further they had to develop a suitable protocol for testing. Boeing engineers came up with the "chicken canon" which would fire a 7.5 chicken at a velocity of over 600 mph. The US gov't inspectors concurred that would be suitable proof of concept and properly test the quality of the windscreen materials.
Boeing built the first windscreen and it tested satisfactory so they sent it with a chicken canon to the government inspectors. The gov't inspected and returned the shattered windscreen saying it failed the test. Boeing tested another and it worked fine so they sent it to the government who returned a second shattered windscreen and a failure notice. Boeing hired an independent test agency from Charlotte Vermont to test their screens and resolve the issue. The independent agency tested the windscreen successfully several times then turned it over to the gov't and set up a time to watch their testing. When they did the windscreen failed again.
The independent test agency wrote up their findings with the following suggestion "Prior to testing, take the frozen chicken out of the freezer several hours in advance and let it thaw to room temperature instead of firing frozen chickens in the chicken canon."
Plucking live chickens would have its public relations drawbacks...
Factory processing dispatches the would be chicken fingers prior to plucking.
I pride myself on making good time on road trips. Last time, I was pumping gas before taking my 8YO daughter to the restroom. Mid refuel, a bus load of senior citizens disembarked and headed towards the convenience store door. 40 minutes later we were back in the car.
As I get older, when I got to go, I got to go. Something about pumping gas gives me the idea. often, I start the filling then my wife watches the pump while I go (she goes first). run back to the camper, and do not leave the pump unattended. :thumbsup:
Quote from: Bert on May 08, 2024, 12:11:52 PMI pride myself on making good time on road trips. Last time, I was pumping gas before taking my 8YO daughter to the restroom. Mid refuel, a bus load of senior citizens disembarked and headed towards the convenience store door. 40 minutes later we were back in the car.
WARNING - make rude comments and disparaging comments and implications on the FF about Senior Citizens at your own peril! Jeff removed the age from ready view (although I think it is still available) but I bet most of us are eligible for AARP membership if not Social Security! I could easily have been in that group you are talking about. :wink_2:
I mean no disrespect! ffcheesy
We have Sasquatches and UFO's everywhere here in North Alabama, according to Discovery Channel. If you look up the scientifically accurate and irrefutable BFRO (Big Foot Research Organization) on the inter web, you will see that there is Class 3 sighting only a few hundred yards from our farm, many years ago. I keep finding matted hair and bones in my bream pond, so all I can figure is they lean down to drink and Wham! my genetically engineered, ridiculously over size copper nose bream take them down like a croc taking down a Wookie.
I think I'm going to stock some Giant Snakeheads in the pond, also. With their ability to walk on land and eat people, (I saw a show on YouTube, so it must be true) I'm pretty confident I can wipe any Sasquatches that my bream don't get.
Robert,
Why don't you skip the snakeheads and go straight to piranhas or pacu (The big fish in South America where you have to wear a steel jock strap).
I've tried the piranha, but they didn't survive the bream. I saw the pacu on one of Jeremy Wade's shows, I wouldn't want my Squatches to have to deal with that.
I remember one of the funniest things I'd ever seen was when I pulled up next to a semi tractor trailer sized chicken truck traveling down the Interstate, loaded with thousands of live chickens in the big box cages, and when I got even with the fifth wheel, I saw a handful of live chickens standing there, feathers ruffling in the wind, right between the cab and the trailer, not in the cage, just standing there with their feathers fluttering but mostly protected from the wind by the cab. They had this look that was hilarious, I could just imagine them thinking, "Uh, now what? Should we make a jump for it?"
Robert,
Are you sure they weren't the "Judas chickens" used to lead the others into the pens, ride to the packing plant, lead them through the line then catch a ride back home? ffcheesy
I heard they used to have steers that led the herd from Texas to market then they'd put them in a wagon and haul them back home to use again next year. I think some made several drives then at the end of the final drive they'd look around and ask "Where is my wagon?" :uhoh:
When I was in college we took a trip to Pratt and Whitney in Connecticut and I got to watch the chicken cannon fire a frozen chicken into a 747 engine cranked up on the test stand next to the concrete bunker we were watching from. It was to simulate a seagull getting sucked into the engine at takeoff. Well that chicken sure made a mess of the engine. The power of that engine mounted to the test stand was unbelievable. I asked about getting the job firing the cannon but was told there was a long line already. That is an expensive way to pluck a chicken.
Back in the 1980s we were on a motorcycle trip with 2 other couples going down I95 and we saw our first chicken truck. We were amazed some of the cages were open and kamikaze chickens were trying to fly out. We saw one hit a car grill that exploded like a feather pillow and a couple more bounce off the road. The driver never stopped and it was scary following behind on motorcycles for a couple miles just to watch. He just was laughing looking in the mirror when we drove by and I bet he opened the cages for entertainment.
Quote from: YellowHammer on May 08, 2024, 07:58:19 PMI've tried the piranha, but they didn't survive the bream. ....
This brings to mind what my Grandmother used to say "ALL fishermen are Liars, except me and you. But sometimes I'm not so sure about you."
Not me, I never "exaggerate" about fishing, but I do remember the time that I caught so many fish that the lake level dropped so much that I was worried I might cause a drought. So I decided that it would be good for me to let all the fish go back into the lake. When I did, the lake water level went back up so fast that I almost caused some flash floods in the nearby town.
That's when it got so bad that the chickens were seen running to hitch rides on local chicken trucks, because chickens are not real good swimmers. Don't believe me? Have you ever seen a chicken swimming in a lake? Nope.
Mr. Milton, THAT story is good! Rancid Crabtree and Howard Green have found some competition! ffcheesy
Quote from: WV Sawmiller on May 07, 2024, 10:37:40 PM5. My truck hates my wife. The A/C and heat work fine for me unless she gets in and then it starts blowing hot air instead of A/C or vice versa on her side only. (May be a bad Actuator valve somewhere or it may just be mad at her from some past comment she made about it).
Smart keys?
Lil's car will set the radio to whichever key unlocks the car. Others will adjust the seats etc , so setting climate control to the last preset might be a thing too?
Observation
Why do so many people leave their car at the pump after filling up, then go into the store /bathroom etc and take forever to come back.
Is that why Buccees has 150 pumps?
Gas station attendants in this area get excited when they see a driver get in the car after filling up, thinking they might drive off.
So, the customers behind them just need to be patient.
Quote from: WV Sawmiller on May 07, 2024, 10:37:40 PMBTW - Is it a crime to impersonate a Sasquatch in Ala?
In Ala that's okay as long as the sasquatch is no closer related to you than second cousin. In Mississippi its okay if your first cousin to a saqquatch. ffcheesy
My cousin married a Sasqua...
My cousin confronted me and said my brother and sister said I told them his wife was a Sasquatch.
All I could say was, " I don't know how they found out but it wasn't me who told them."
Probably not a good idea to impersonate a Quatch in Bama, I don't think there is a closed hunting season on them.
Quote from: SawyerTed on May 09, 2024, 08:46:25 AMMy cousin married a Sasqua...
My cousin confronted me and said my brother and sister said I told them his wife was a Sasquatch.
All I could say was, " I don't know how they found out but it wasn't me who told them."
You should apologieze.....sorry your wife is a Sasquatch.
Tom,
I am sure Robert's fish stories are all true and verifiable.
I remember my dad telling some misplaced yankees in Dixie County Fla one time when they commented on how low the Suwannee River was. They said they bet it had never been this low. Dad said "On this in nothing. I remember one time it got so low all the catfish we caught had ticks and fleas on them. We were catching half grown bluegills that did not know how to swim."
I took then nearly 11 y/o son there on spring break in 1989 and we'd catch an #2 wash tub full of big catfish (although nothing like what I catch here) and go in a local cafe for breakfast. These misplaced yankees who had moved in/infested the area who come in and see the fish and ask all kinds of personal and highly private questions like "Who caught all those big catfish? Where did they catch them? What were they using for bait?" Dad would point to Sean and say "That boy caught them down in the ditch/canal by the road using a cane pole. He was using grasshoppers for bait." By the end of the week Sean was joining like Little Arliss on Old Yeller and saying "Yep, I had to quit cause that was all I could drag home. I only had one #8 hook and I lost it on a big one. I ran out of grasshoppers and had to stop." We'd finish our breakfast and go out to find mp yankees chasing grasshoppers in the median of the 4 lane highway and fishing in the ditches and such.
I always wanted to go catch a big string of big crappies or such then go fish in the ditches by the highway and when people would laugh and make fun just pull the stringer up and go back to fishing.
I remember Mr. Tom's tale about dropping a 20 lb catfish in a small creek where the kids fished and them telling about the monster tearing up all their tackle for months after that.
Sitting here nursing my bad back and haven't laughed so much in a quite a while! Thank you to all who provided the "creative writing" ffwave
The proper term is "Historical recollections" and if we printed them all in a binder they would be found in the Non-fiction, reference materials". :thumbsup:
Right there beside the Fibrications of Rancid Crabtree, the works of McManus and just before the writings of Zern, one might find Tall Tales and Elongations of Truth: A Collection of Hysterical Recollections of the Forestry Forumites. With special hunting tales by H. Green and fishing escapades by R. Milton.
I grew up reading Don Wirth out of Bassmaster with the fishing adventures of Harry and Charlie. I had dreams of catching bucketmouth hawgs with spinner baits that used Volkswagen hubcaps as blades. Yeah, I caught me some Bigguns and I can tell stories about it, too.
I remember one time I caught so many fish at pier during a weeks vacation in Florida that I just started giving them away, day after day, mostly to a cute asian lady about my age. Well after a couple days, an old guy came up to me and out of the blue asked if I would marry his daughter, because I had been giving her enough fish to feed their whole family for the week and he could tell I was a good provider!
Speaking of random thoughts, I was wondering what kind of tick gets on a catfish? Would it be a dog tick? For that matter, do Sasquatches get ticks? And if they ever got Spotted Fever, how would you know? They are covered in hair. And do Sasquatch's get male pattern baldness as they get older, and if so, do they just do a "comb over"?
Don't even get me started about the time Bill Dance almost pushed me off the dock, or the time a dolphin threw a fish at us.
OK Hang on there a sec Robert. I was buying it al until the Bill Dance thing. Now I think you may be reaching just a bit. I'm not implying anything, but I'm just sayin' maybe it's a stretch.
My 7 y/o grandson found a collection of my Harry & Charlie books a few weeks back and I have been reading them to him. Of course I have to change Charlie and Harry to him and his best friend. And I have to periodically stop and explain what a Water Packed Viennie is to him but he is off to a good start.
I think there was a wide assortment of ticks on the catfish and IIRC there were even a few redbugs.
Excellent questions about Sasquatch getting ticks and spotted fever and Lyme disease and such. Male Pattern Baldness - I suspect that comes from he mother's side of the family.
Are/What percentage of Sasquatch Right or left handed? Do they get Wisdom teeth when they get older? Do they fart? Do they dream? Are they allergic to poison ivy? Do older females have hot flashes (I don't want to be around if they do)?
It is obvious scientists have a lot more work to do.
I'd be embarrassed if a dolphin felt so bad for me it tossed me a fish instead of stealing them from me.
I got me some real whoppers most folks would just roll their eyes at, but the ones that know me, know it all really happened. Yep, me, Bill Dance, and Flipper. As honest a story as ever, and it didn't start with a can of Viennas, it started with a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
I remember the time where I read in BassMaster how Tom Mann always kept a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken on the front deck of his bass boat, and would munch on the drumsticks between fish, during the day, and how the chicken would stay hot and tasty in the summer sun. Yup, so I had to try it and I bought a big bucket of KFC extra greasy, called up my fishing buddy Mike, and we decided to to a "Jellyworm" themed trip (Tom Mann arguably invented the modern plastic worm, the JellyWorm) and we went to fishing on the Big G, on a sweltering summer day. So I plopped the bucket of fresh fried greasy KFC chicken parts in the front of the boat, and we got to catching, eating and laughing. Dang, we were catching fish! and giving credit to where credit was due, the bucket of KFC on the front deck and good old Tom Mann. Catch a fish or two, grab a hunk of yard bird, take a bite, and throw the bones in the water. What could be better? Well, by mid afternoon, the fishing had slowed, the bucket of now day old summer chicken had seemed to lose it's mojo, and was nearly empty, and Mike was getting hungry and wanted to get the fishing kickstarted again. Unbeknownst to him, I thought the remaining chicken pieces had begun smelling a little "ripe" and I decided to lay off them. However, since Mike was my buddy, I somehow forgot to mention my thoughts on the expiration status of the somewhat now slightly "other than fresh" bird. So between casts, Mike finished off the chicken, had one of his favorite Kroger's Cost Cutter beer, and we didn't think much more about it. Or, I didn't anyway, but in a pretty short period of time, Mike was turning green. Then he stopped talking. Then he started burping. Then he said he needed to get to the bank. Quick. Real Quick. Well...I had suspicions about what maybe was about to happen, so we raced back to the Marina where they had a bathroom. As soon as we hit the dock, Mike took off running across the parking lot full of trucks and bass boat trailers. Later, as we discussed the events that unfolded, running full speed probably wasn't such a good idea, as the shaking must have ignited the volcano he had inside his guts and before I knew it, I saw him stop in the middle of the parking lot, jerk his pants down, sit across the frame of an empty trailer, and let loose from both ends. From the dock, it looked like he was doing a "Las Vegas Fountain" impression in the middle of a public launching ramp, which thankfully, was mostly empty of people, or they would have had a mental image that would have scarred him for life. I know I did... It was more than a sight to behold, and one I will never forget, but I remember that another hundred yards and he would have made it to the can. Anyway, as the first act of the of "fountain show in the park" ended, he was able to pull his britches up and skedaddle for the restroom before act 2 commenced, while I put the boat on the trailer. I went inside the office, explained with a straight face to the shell shocked guy working the counter who saw the whole thing that my buddy had a "medical condition" and please don't call the cops, as the next rain will clean up the mess. Anyway, we never did "Front Deck Chicken" again, although we did catch a lot of fish, and we decided Tom Mann must have had a pretty tough stomach.
Jeff did not remove the age from the posts. Jeff hacked the age into the old version of the software. The new version of the software was totally rewritten from the old, so it coughed out my hack, and because this version is so much different, I've had to enlist my 30 year old brain that could figure out how to replace it. So far I've not been able to locate that part of my brain.
KFC goes well with boating. My best friend from high school and all the way back to cub scouts is named Greg. He lives in Loveland Colorado and when we get together (when we were younger) we would do a whirlwind of activities over the 2, 3, or 4 days we had together. At his place we would golf in the morning, windsurf in the afternoon. then off to a place to eat or cookout. After sunburn and sore muscle, his wife Carla would have to push on me to help me get out of the cab of their little Toyota pick-up.
So they came to KC when I was in med school. We went to oceans of fun, a Royals game, and other things less memorable. We planned to go to Lawrence and sail, and we were running out of time. We drove over and picked up KFC and a bottle of Sutter home white zinfandel. Good college wine. Gregs sister Christi had come along. We headed to Clinton Lake. My boat was a 14-foot O'Day javelin. It was getting dark, and we saw "heat lightening" off in the distance. I often sailed there at night. Great night, warm with a nice breeze. made across the lake and headed back. The wind stopped and then came out of the other direction. The temp dropped about 10 degrees. I told Christi to put on a life jacket. The wind and rain whipped up. I had to stand over the tiller so i could shift weight with everyone else on the port side. Christ was trying to get into the cuddy cabin. We made it to the marina but could not navigate well enough in the gusty wind at night to my slip, so made it to a float/dock and tied up. Jump in the car and go to a Dennies for breakfast. I was high as a kite from the experience. Christi was shell shocked. She for years never rode in a boat. She died of covid a few years back. Drove back to KC at 3 am. When the sun was up, called the marina who was able to toe my boat to the slip. When I had time to put stuff away, there was KFC floating in 8 inches of water and the whole boat had a nice sheen and slippery feel due to the chicken. we have become more reasonable over the year. great memories. about 1986.
Your tales for some reason reminded me on an old neighbor "One-Arm" Curtis Brown. Mr. Brown tried to hop a freight train for a cheap ride somewhere in his youth and missed the rail and fell with is left arm across the track and the wheels cut it off well above the elbow joint. He could tell tall tails all day and was the "Best Shot" originator.
He used to keep us kids in stitches talking about fishing. He said it was hard to fish with just one arm because you had to either hold the bait or the hook in your mouth. He said crickets were bad because they had scratchy legs and would cut your lips and gums and their legs would get caught between your teeth. Minnows flounced around too much and you'd swallow one pretty often. Worms were not quite as bad but every now and then you'd bust one and they tasted awful.
On the full moons in summer the big bluegills would go on the bed in our local gravel pits left after they pulled millions of tons of sand and gravel out. The bluegills like the shallow sandy points and would bed in water less than 2' deep. Mr. Brown would take a five gallon bucket out and sit on it with just a couple inches showing above the water line and his britches legs rolled up to his knees. He'd use a long cane pole and throw it out as far as he could reach in front of him and could reach the bedding areas. Every time he'd hook a bluegill he'd toss this line back to the bank where his wife, Miz Matty, would unhook and string it up, rebait his hook then give him the go ahead and he'd toss it back and repeat the operation. Miz Maddy was fishing with a line spinning rod to reach the same beds. They caught some very impressive strings of bluegills doing that.
Howard, that story reminded me of my Grandma, who lost an arm due to an injury she got in a car accident when she was 9. She loved to fish and I have fond memories of fishing with her. She'd stuff the butt of the rod under the stub of her arm so she could reel with her hand. Switch to her good arm for setting the hook and casting obviously. She was a remarkable woman, one tended to forget she was missing an arm. Also, she drove like a demon!😂😂 Get out of the way!
I remember one time we were in Minneapolis, I was riding with Grandma, folowing my putzy driving Dad in the car ahead of us. Grandma said, "he can't be driving that slow down here- someone's going to shoot him!"😂
This has been a fun little thread. I hope the rest of you have enjoyed it as much as I have. ffsmiley