Return To Georgia

I said yesterday I was not going to do this, but it occurred to me I don't have that much to say about the return trip. On my way back I stopped in Vienna, Illinois to check something out that I had seen from the bus. The have the Paul Powell museum. Who was Paul Powell you ask? He was Illinois' Secretary Of State from 1965 until his death in 1970. After he died they supposedly found $800,000 in a shoe box in his hotel room in Springfield. That is not true. Yes, some was in a shoe box but other money was in other containers. Not bad on a salary of $30,000 a year. During his time in office my Mom went to work for the state in his office. At that time it was a patronage job, meaning you had a job as long as the party was in control. If they were having a fund raiser, you had 2 choices, contribute or find another job. Mom managed to get a different job at the Illinois Department Of Transportation, under the civil service code, which ended that. I was wondering if they took donations at the museum in a shoe box. Maybe I will find out in September.

The drive back really was uneventful. The car ran smooth. I only had to get gas once, in Clarksville, Tennessee. I stopped frequently. I had decided to make it in one shot since I had to get the title transferred to my name and get my insurance changed. I now have full coverage, which would have been a waste of money on my old car. On one of my stops I saw two things I had heard about, but never seen. The first came with my choice of eating. I was in the mood for KFC and saw a sign for them on the interstate. I am not sure what town it was in. It was between Clarksville and Nashville. The KFC was a dual brand. There was also a Taco Bell there. Both are owned by Yum Brands so that is not unusual, I just hadn't been to one before. In fact there are actually some of these that give you a third option, Pizza Hut is in with the other two. I am glad I don't work at one. It is hard enough keeping track of one, let alone two. The other thing in a shopping center there was a Dollar General Market. The best way to describe it is a mini Wal-Mart Supercenter. They have produce, dairy, frozen, and more than double the grocery of a Dollar General, plus all the other things Dollar General carries. I like going into stores. I have worked retail off and on my whole life, and I just like seeing how others arrange things. If you haven't caught on before now I am a little (O.K. a lot) strange, you haven't been paying close attention.

The only other observation I made on the return trip is something that struck me as being odd. On I-24 there were several fireworks stores. Nothing odd about that, but they are open 24 hours. I think there is a redneck joke in there: You might be a redneck if you ever bought fireworks at 3 in the morning. I got home about 2:00 A.M. It was a nice trip, but I really was glad to be back home.


I am changing the format a little here. I think I like the card better here in the center than at the side. I will decide later if this is the permanent way I will be doing it. Also, this series of cards is being extended. I bought some more cards from Wal-Mart and have so far got another card in this set. Here is what is on the back of this card:
"He would go on to become a two-term President Of The United States, but Eisenhower came to national attention, and became an American hero, as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II. He distinguished himself as a masterful leader who made bold military decisions- most notably in the daring D-Day invasion of France- while also showing remarkable organizational savvy."