[RKDinOKC]

Remember when I was 6 and we drove to my brother's in LA. It was over 4th of July weekend. When it came time to find a motel...everything in every town we came to was full. Something about the 4th of July rodeos. We ended up spending a few hours in a parking lot the local police were watching for travelers so they could sleep and feel safe. Remember about 10 other cars there. It was someplace in AZ but don't remember where.

All the current talk of mass shootings and gangs, and they were doing this back in 1966. Maybe it was the hippies instead of the gangs?

My Dad found them with his CB radio AND they also had free coffee and donuts. They were also finding lodging for people but you had to go at least 200 miles north or south off the highway for the nearest room. Dad took a 3 hour nap, loaded up on coffee and donuts and we drove on thru to LA. Don't remember us leaving, but do remember they had saved me a donut for when I woke up. And we were in CA when I did.

That was when my Dad had his new 1966 Chrysler 300. My brother had just gotten a brand new Charger R/T.

Also remember Dad had replaced the radio antenna with some kind of special loaded CB antenna that looked like the stock radio antenna. He got a big kick out of it. When we stopped along the way it was usually to meet CBer's for coffee, breakfast, lunch, or dinner while on the road. They would be looking for a car with a CB antenna so we always sneaked up on them. He would walk into their group and start making wise cracks about those CBer's. When they started to get pissed he would start handing out his CB calling card. His handle was the Rubber Duck and this was long before the movie Convoy. I've always wondered where they got the Rubber Duck handle they used in that movie.

Dad had a huge box of CB calling cards. It was a big deal. You collected card from people you met or talked to on the CB. He had the from all over the US. You could reach people a long way off when there was good "skip." I've looked thru his box and there was on one of two with the same handle (usually in completely different parts of the country) and not another Rubber Duck. Back then you had to get a license from the FCC who would give you call letters and you would set your handle. You had to sign on and off with you call letters, but while on a channel most used their handles to identify each other.

Reminiscing is better than doing actual work right?