| My partner and I owned a car rental company | | | | always available to assist other drivers with pertinent |
| located in South Florida. This was in the late 60s and | | | | information. You could count on me if I saw a |
| early 70s. A significant portion of our business was | | | | Smokey or a traffic problem. And I welcomed |
| from travel agents. We each made trips twice a year | | | | receiving the same information. My handle was Brain |
| to personally visit and thank these agents for their | | | | Damage which was my defense if I said something |
| support. My area was from Milwaukee, Wisconsin | | | | stupid. |
| over to Cleveland, Ohio down to Cincinnati, Ohio and | | | | Besides the usual banter once in a while there was |
| everything in between. | | | | some humor. One day I had an hour drive along the |
| Having the need to give out a lot of brochures and | | | | interstate in Ohio and listened in on two drivers. After |
| not with standing the fact that we couldn't afford to | | | | about 10 minutes of them going back and forth one |
| fly we used our rental cars. These were equipped | | | | says, and we'll call him Young Dude, "Hey good Buddy |
| with AM radios for entertainment. Everyone that has | | | | give me a 10-36." Now don't beat up on me but after |
| traveled over the open road knows that using this | | | | 35 years I think 10-36 is the code for "what is the |
| medium for entertainment is at best, frustrating. | | | | time." |
| Having a sense of humor and to amuse myself I | | | | The other guy, Older Guy, "Ain't you the young Dude |
| would tell myself the punch line of a joke I knew. I | | | | in the blue rig that passed me about 10 miles ago?" |
| probably had told the joke a hundred times before | | | | Young Dude, "Thanks for the compliment. Yeh that's |
| and if I laughed at the punch line I then told myself | | | | me." |
| the entire joke. This was my entertainment during | | | | Older Guy, "No I ain't going to give you a 10-36." |
| the long drive. | | | | In disbelief the Young Dude asks, "Well why not?" |
| Now I should mention that my wife at the time didn't | | | | Older Guy, "Well if I give you the time we are going |
| mind me being gone for the week as long as we | | | | to get friendly. You're going to want to stop and get |
| went out Saturday night. Which we did and getting | | | | coffee at the next truck stop. I'm going to get |
| home about 10 in the evening I would change my | | | | friendly and talk about my family. I'll even show you |
| clothes, throw my suitcase in the car and proceed to | | | | some pictures. You'll see that I have two young good |
| drive 18 to 20 hours non stop to the furthest city on | | | | looking daughters. You probably will want to date one |
| my travel plans. I would arrive Sunday afternoon | | | | of them. Maybe even get married." |
| ready to see my first travel agent early Monday AM. | | | | Young Dude, "Sounds good to me. What's wrong |
| In light of the above one can imagine how boring the | | | | with that." |
| drive was especially in the dead of the night. Then I | | | | Older Guy, " Well I don't want a son-in-law who can't |
| heard about Citizen Band radios. I can't tell you how | | | | afford a watch." |
| my world changed and for the better. Not that I had | | | | I didn't run off the road but that made my day. |
| a "motor mouth," loved the expressions, but I was | | | | |