A Very Long Trip

Yesterday, I got out of bed at the unholy hour of 4:00AM, grabbed a quick shower, brewed up a shot of Cuban coffee and hit the road. If I'm going to keep up the efforts to launch my culinary career, I have to occasionally do some real work in the lobbying/government relations world. Yesterday was one of those days. I had a meeting in Carrolton, GA with the Mayor and the City Manager to discuss automated traffic enforcement. The meeting was scheduled for 11:30 and with the loss of an hour by traveling East, I had to get on the road by 4:30.

Around 10:00 I had to grab a little bite to eat to calm my coffee/Diet Coke sloshing stomach. I pulled into a truck stop and grabbed a couple packs of Nabs. When I was a "road warrior" traveling across the country selling cigars for my old brand, Avalon, I used to keep a stash of at least a dozen packs of Nabs in the glove box of my old Volvo. When someone would ask me about the stash I would reply, "Well...I don't have any gloves. Had to put something in there."

The Nabs held me over until the lunch meeting at the Carrolton Country Club (a very nice BLT and a cup of Loaded Potato Soup). The visit was a success and it looks like I'll be able to keep playing "Tom the Cook" for a little while longer. The ride home went by a little faster than the ride up and I made it back home in time to eat supper with Kitty and the kids. I was asleep by 9:30.

I don't miss being on the road all the time, but I do miss the satisfying, salty, crunchy goodness of the lowly Nab. I guess it just reminds me of when I was a kid traveling with my parents. Back then, seatbelts were purely ornamental and all three of us kids would fight over who got to stretch out on the speaker deck behind the back seat of Mom's Town Car. Mom and dad would be in the front seat, smoking their asses off with the windows rolled up and Neil Diamond on the 8-track. Sweet Caroline...good times never seemed so good...