6 A Beetle Crawls Across America

It’s Monday morning, and I’m in a little, podunk town called Sandusky between Toledo, Ohio and Cleveland. I drove 800 miles yesterday. I started at 0515 because I wanted to begin just once before the sun came out. The drive was not too exciting except for the winds rocking the car most of the way (see picture), and the first traffic jam I’ve encountered since I retired from American Airlines five months ago. The traffic occurred south of Chicago on highway 80 because of construction just before a toll booth. It’s the first time I’ve hit any traffic since leaving California. And right now I’m postponing my start so that when I shoot through Cleveland, the morning rush hour will be done.

Yesterday I left Nebraska, and drove through Omaha and Des Moines in Iowa, over the Mississippi River, through Illinois just south of Chicago, past South Bend in Indiana, and past Toledo, Ohio. Near Omaha, Nebraska, the landscape changed almost immediately from parched land to green, rolling hills. Now, and for the last two states, the scenery is farmscapes and lots of silos. Pleasant.

A couple places back in the parched lands, there were signs telling me it was against the law to pick up hitchhikers because there were prisons in those vicinities. It was a pity, because there was a hitchhiker I really felt sorry for (see picture), but there was another that I was a bit suspicious of (see picture).

The car is running fine, except for the fact that it’s still leaking oil at the gasket between the engine and the transmission. I guess I’ll fix it when I get back to New Hampshire. I might actually make it back today (Monday). I have 740 miles to go (see map).

Paul McCartney
Has anyone else realized the coincidence (or irony), that Paul McCartney has gotten his only divorce at the age of 64? So, does he finally have the answer to, “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 64?" Check out the picture. You can tell he was already wanting out. I never liked her. During an interview with Paul and what's her name, Larry King asked her something about Paul. She replied, "I'm not here to talk about Paul. I'm here to talk about land mines!" Well, the hell with her. We don't want to hear anything from you. Get off the stage.

A note to John Nelson. Yes, McCartney wrote and sang , "When I'm 64." It was on the Sgt. Pepper album. You dare question my knowledge of Paul McCartney?