James Kirkpatrick's Not-So-Random Keyboard Strokes

Location: Blogs PaleBlueScot Slices of Life
Posted by: James	10/6/2007 10:40 PM
You know you’re lucky when, on a 6.5 hour drive, you’re on the “right” side of an accident that causes a multi-mile traffic jam. On our way to Raleigh and on the way back, we passed a massive accident each time going the opposite way. While one might feel fortunate to not be stuck in traffic jams like that, it still is sobering when, upon seeing the wreckage of a now-unidentifiable vehicle, you know that there is a pretty high chance that someone just died. ******** On a lighter note, at the expense of my pain, you would all have been amused at how we had to shoehorn 5 guys into a Jeep Grand Cherokee. For several logistical and financial reasons, we had to drive as opposed to flying up to Raleigh to see our new company’s headquarters for the first time. By no means were any of the passengers “plus-sized” but a Grand Cherokee is not made to accommodate three grown men in the back seat. Perhaps a 10 minute drive to lunch might be plausible, but a multi-state venture is not recommended. The three of us relegated to the back agreed to rotate who sat in the middle throughout the trip. I got the honors of getting my “hump seat” shift done first. By the time we changed seats, my back was about to give out. Not only is there no room to put your feet in front of you, there’s even less room to put your feet under either driver or passenger seat without seriously encroaching the other passengers’ precious foot space. An added bonus is trying to keep your legs from naturally spreading out and inadvertantly making contact with the other passengers’ legs, thus putting more strain on your lower back and legs. There’s obviously no headrest in the middle either so the middle rider is really practicing a forced type of yoga if you want to keep your personal space. ******** I’ve railed on this before but I really need to reiterate that unless southern states take a more aggressive action, kudzu is going to completely ruin the view by smothering every tree in sight. On this three-state venture, I’ve really noticed a disturbing spread of this vile weed. If left unchecked like I've seen on entire mountains in Tennessee now, the south will lose a ridiculous amount of trees.

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Re: Notes From a Road Trip

By The General on 10/8/2007 2:20 PM

Quite frankly, kudzu scares the crap out of me. I'm not ready to get Homeland Security involved just yet, but I don't like it. Anything that can grow 12 inches a day (insert your own joke here) is officially an infestation in my book. You might not be aware, but the kudzu problem was created by one of the socialist programs the Democrats are so fond of - the CCC back in the 30's - they planted miliions of acres of it in the South until they figured out in the 50's or 60's that it had no natural enemies and could grow faster than Nate Newton's stomach on Thanksgiving. I have to defend TN though, James. In the Chattanooga area, they are combating kudzu with goats and llamas. They can't get enough of the stuff. Seriously. And a couple companies are harvesting it - I guess the kudzu flowers have lots of uses. Have faith, my man. We'll get through this together.

Re: Notes From a Road Trip

By James on 10/8/2007 2:32 PM

General, I have read about the goats grazing and hopefully they can at least staunch some of the growth. GA, TM, AL, SC and NC are states where I've seen large growths of it choking the life out of the forest growth. I guess farmers brought it from Japan to stop erosion, which it does well. But you're right, no one at that time knew the darn stuff would grow so fast. I have seen certain areas on the interstates where they have plowed under major areas where the kudzu was but it's just the tip of the iceberg. The purple flowers of kudzu in the spring belie the fact that it's such an insidious weed.

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