My uncle Floyd was a real cowboy. For most of his life he rode rodeos. They took a big toll on his body. He walked with a limp. Every time you saw him he was wearing his boots and a cowboy hat. He had a really cool car too. It was a black Ford with a retractable hard top. I loved that car. When we went to see my cousins in Lake Charles, LA. I got to drive it all the way from Corpus Christi. Quite a feat for a 16 year old. Floyd kept a cooler of Pearl beer behind the front seat. It was always full of beer. I really don’t know if I had ever seen him to be sober. Still he was my uncle and he never gave me any crap.
I woke up early. It was still a little dark outside and real foggy. I never drove in the fog before. This proved to be real interesting. I found that I couldn’t wear my sunglasses to protect my eyes, and I had no other eye protection. Bugs were hitting my face, man they really stung. I slowed down thinking that might make a difference. It did, but, I was going a little too slow for the traffic on the interstate. I pulled along side the highway and drove slow there until the fog lifted.
I saw a lot of hills and some pretty scenery along the way. Kentucky was a sure beautiful state. Unlike Indiana, not flat everywhere. Lots of hills and rock formations. Now that I was moving more south it was warming up quite a bit. I was really picking up the speed now and was making real good time. I stopped for more gas in Bowling Green, KY. At the gas station there were a lot of bikers. They were all long hairs and were wearing leather vest. a couple of them came over to me was said they liked my bike. I wasn’t really nervous at the time I just felt like I was one of them. standing there talking about our bikes. They had some really nice ones, all Harley Davidsons. Some were choppers like I saw in the movies. They were all part of a gang called the Out Laws. I finally realized that they were just having some fun at my expense. Still I felt real cool for the moment. I fueled up the bike and left.
As I was riding down the highway I started day dreaming about being part of something like those fellows and their gang. Just about that time I came onto an Army convoy. There were a lot of trucks and Jeeps following all in a nice line. I then started thinking about my friends that were leaving for the service. After thinking about them and watching the convoy I was determined that I was going to join up. I thought about being like John Wayne in the movies. Then I be part of something.
