View From The Front Porch- July 12, 2012

Good to be back on the old front porch with my good cup of coffee, my good dog Buck the collie at my feet and good wife Denise by my side (not necessarily in that order, ya understand), as I look out across the result of the incredible heat that has been here since we have been gone. I can see the damage to grass and trees that 100+
heat will do to a Middle Tennessee acreage. Pretty hard to imagine how 107 degrees must have felt here a week ago, because this morning is a delightful 71 degrees with a hight to be 79 today. Only plants that did well in our absence is Denise's garden, which a neighbor watered for us every day, and which is just doing great. After a lifetime of traveling on the road with a guitar full of songs and a hillbilly hunger to sing them it sure is nice to have Denise as a co-pilot and old Buck the collie as a look-out as we travel across America in our RV. One thing that is for sure, our Interstate System is absolutely falling apart. I'm sure that is what caused me to have two blow outs on the way up to Wisconsin because the tires were almost brand new. The major highways of America have got chug holes you could lose an Angus bull in, and whoever paved them must have been on some Politicians gift list. Illinois is the worst and Tennessee, Missouri and Georgia are at least pretty good. Kentucky is trying but still some bad stretches. Arkansas is like taking your life in your own hands with stretches of I-40 really bad. For the life of me, with all the money that the Politicians in Washington have taken from us through the years, why can't they let just a little bit of it go to the Interstate Highway system. Last year, in a trip across Illlinois, the State had closed the Rest Areas for lack of funds (they said)and the poor over the road truck drivers had to park to rest wherever they could find a spot along the highways and exit lanes. It created a dangerous situation on the Illinois roads. This last trip, across Illinois the Interstate got so bad that I actually chose to go to the State highways, the way I used to travel before Interstates, and sure enough the roadways were smoother, the little towns were still pretty, and we enjoyed the ride even tho it took us a lot longer. I remembered that was why we call our Television network Blue Highways, cause we get off the freeways and hit the back roads to find the real America. Well, I can tell you, it is still there, and just as pretty as ever when you just take the time to enjoy it. Y'all take time on your trips this summer to pull off and enjoy what makes this country great, small town America where they still fly the flag on the 4th of July. God bless us all and keep us safe whether at home or on the road.     -Stan