Tribal Travels, Musings, and Jawbone Canyon Chapter 6 by R. Cane

Long bouts of silent meditation and enjoying the grind of travel were interlaced with an occasional 'oh look - X is just up ahead 12 miles, that might be REALLY interesting to see !?' (hope hope)... we loved the roadsigns and billboards - I think it was the artist in all of us - and I recall especially enjoying smaller and home made signs for various gas stations, diners, hamlets .... curiosities and attractions (Grandad and I had made many signs over the years for various businesses of his - so we appreciated what it took to actually make your own signage).

We always looked for the Burma Shave type signs, and loved home made ones ones with the folksy touch, you know, the kinds that would say 'Eat, and get gas!'

On these long trips - part of our job was to keep the driver alert, so when Gramps was at the helm, - and sis and grams were back in the camper resting, I would be alone with Gramps. This was a cherished time for me. I always enjoyed this time alone with him, as this was the perfect time to ask him about 'stuff'. How does it work? What is it for? And such like. Grandad always had good answers, that really made you understand whatever it was. He and I had a wonderful explorations and chats about cars, horses, cowboys, mechanical stuff, electronic stuff and endless stuff of interest to us 'guys'.

This was a marvelous benefit of the long hours of driving and boredom. He would explain everything to me with great care and detail' such wonders as; how radios worked, ham radio stuff, guns, hunting, fishing, camping and so many other things a 14 year old was curious about. I loved to hear about his youth - comparing his to mine. We spent seemingly endless hours talking about everything, with wide ranging questions and answers about the whys and hows of 'stuff' - what a wonderful education! What a wonderful man!

[Editor's note: This story was written by R. Cane and is part of a 10 story series]

Burma Shave Sign