Stories From the Road: Home

I've lived in the Dayton, Ohio area since I was 4 years old. I'm 36 now. I actually only lived within the city of Dayton for a couple of years. The rest if the time I have lived in the south suburbs- Moraine, West Carrollton, Miamisburg, Centerville, and currently in Miami Township. I bet you didn't know Dayton had so many suburbs. And those are just the southern ones. And not even all of them! Yeah, buddy, we're a regular ol' bustling metropolis here.

Things haven't been looking good lately here at the homestead. Lot's of people out of work, including one of my brothers-in-law. A GM plant in Moraine shut down for good at the end of last year. They say that cost us 6000 jobs. DHL in Wilmington shut down costing another couple of thousand. The UPS hub at Dayton International Airport shut down. I think that also cost us a couple of thousand jobs. The trucking industry is suffering here, too, I guess like it is most places. There used to be an entire page in the Dayton Daily News Sunday classifieds devoted to trucking companies seeking drivers. In last Sunday's paper there were five ads and three of them were for bottom feeder companies that nobody with more than a couple of years experience wants to work for. Yeah, we could use some of that economic stimulatin'.

I've lost touch with most of my childhood friends, but I still know one guy from when I lived in Miamisburg. I lived there from when I was 13 until I was 24 and flew out of the nest. I'd still like to live in Miamisburg, but they started building McMansions there and the yuppies moved in making everything in sight more expensive. Miamisburg used to be a little hillbilly town. Back in the mid 70s, when my grandfolks lived there, many people were still without indoor plumbing. We lived with my grandparents for a little while after my dad got out of the service. I still remember the outhouse they used to have. It scared and repulsed me. I was afraid I was going to fall down in that thing.

Anyway, I was going to tell about the guy I know from Miamisburg. I've known him since I was 15, so 21 years. He's a sad case. He's 35 and still lives at home. I don't know what's wrong with him. He won't work. I think it's more than laziness- he might not be quite right in the head. We went through a lot of drugs when we were younger. It fucked me up and I wouldn't be surprised if it did him, too. He just sits in his room all day smoking cigarettes and downloading on Limewire. Smokes and a computer seems to be all he wants in life. But it's always good to see him. We sit around and talk like old men about how the times have changed and old times. He always turns to the past and recalls all of the crazy, stupid shit that we did when we were younger. It reminds me of that Bruce Springsteen song "Glory Days." That's my friend in a nutshell. Except we were never on the baseball team in high school. We were too cool for that. We were metal heads, and, damn straight, we had some killer mullets. :)

I guess I've told you enough bad stuff. There's more, but I'll leave it for another story. My aim when I started writing this was to tell you how much I love it here. When I was riding down I-75 this morning on my way home from work and caught exit 47 for West Carrollton, I felt elated. The sun was just coming up and the sky was clear; the old familiar buildings and the Great Miami River easing it's way southward. This place feels like no other place on earth and I guess I really haven't paid enough attention to it lately. Or maybe I haven't paid enough attention to what I'm feeling. I wish I could work here and not leave the confines of this place unless I wanted to, not because I have to, like now. I've been trying to get a job here for a while now and get off the road. Mostly entry level stuff, but it still isn't happening.

There's a barber shop in downtown West Carrollton called Baron's. Nine dollars a hair cut. The guy that owns the place is really named Baron and he's about my age, I guess. That barber shop has been there for as long as I can remember and I forget what it was called before Baron bought it. When I look to Baron I see exactly who I want to be. Not necessarily a barber, but that guy is in there from 9-5, he enjoys what he does, he owns his own business, everybody knows who he is, and he never leaves this place unless he's going fishing or to a Reds game. That guy's got it made.

I think we don't do that often enough. Take time to really see where we live. And take in the beauty of the nature.

From what I know about you I am sure you will make your way. You already started doing what you love ... writing.

Yeah, maybe if we can get this economy back on track I'll be able to be like Baron sometime soon. :)

About our homes. I've been sitting in the middle of the mountains out in western Montana before. The beauty of the nature there is stunning. I went into this little truckstop/hotel/bar there one time after a long day of running hard. I was the only one in the bar besides the bartender. I told him where I was from, you know, that I was a flatlander and how beautiful I thought the country was in Montana. That guy had lived there all of his life. I'd say he was in his early twenties. He told me he couldn't wait to get out of there. I wonder if he ever did and if he misses it now.

I wish for you a life like Baron's. :hug:

I ought to go to the barber shop and tell Baron I'm making him famous. :D

to Ada, Ohio? That where I am from, though I moved away over 20 years ago.

But I drive right by there evcery day, or close anyway. There's an exit sign off I-75 that says "Ada". I don't know how far off the highway that is.

That's where I grew up. You may also see signs for "Ohio Northern University" which is located in Ada.

:hi:

Aw, this is nice...

A trip down the road into your past...

I love how your descriptions make it all visible, too...

Remember, the destination isn't really the thing. The ride is.

:hug:

It's been a wild so far, or as the Grateful Dead would say, "What a long strange trip it's been."

You're a writer, my friend...I love your stories and snippets, I always look forward to them. Keep the stories coming!

I would have replied sooner, but I had to get my rest in. You know how us hunkalicious truckers need our beauty sleep. :)

I used to have a team dedicated run and I would sleep the first half of the trip and run the second half of it. Well, I would also sleep at the house for several hours before going into work. I told my co-driver one time that I needed my beauty sleep. He said it wasn't working. :)

Thanks for the kinds words. Have you always gone by "City of Mills?" I don't recognize your user name. Did you switch it up during the last name change deal? If so, what was your previous handle? BTW, I know some people named Mills.