Went to a friend’s birthday party this past weekend—a friend from high school. We have seen each other relatively few times since the days of our indoctrination, I mean, education. Still, there was no awkward strain or lack of conversation. I walked in and immediately we were getting along like—well, like old friends.
 
I know that people change, or so I’ve heard, and that after a few years have passed they no longer have much in common. But, although it’s been 35 years since we were in school, aside from physical appearance, neither of us has really changed a whole lot. I suppose some would say that not changing means we haven’t grown up and maybe that is the case. And that’s okay with me. Life is better if everything doesn’t change all the time.
 
We spent a few hours talking, reminiscing and catching up. And telling stories from our teenage years. I’ve heard that’s the sign of true friendship, when you can go for years without seing each other and pick right up where you left off. And that’s the way it seemed. It was almost like no time had passed—at least for a little bit...
 
There was a younger person at the party who noticed that we still got along like high school friends. She said, “I hope when I’m old I have a friend like that.”
 
I think that was supposed to be a compliment, but old? We aren’t THAT old! I didn’t take offense though, just nodded in agreement. “I hope I have a friend like that when I’m old too.” ~

 
Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. Bruce A. Borders is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.

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Several years ago, I took my pickup to the shop. I usually do repair work myself but I had a minor engine problem that I couldn’t figure out. I thought they would diagnose the problem and give it a quick fix—for a nominal fee. Instead, I was told the engine was shot. They said I could expect it to go at any time. But, they were happy to offer to sell me a rebuilt engine and install it for only $4,000.
 
At the time, the truck had roughly 100,000 miles on it. I chose to ignore their “advice,” had them put it back together and kept driving it.
 
A few years later, I again took the pickup to the shop—a different shop—this time for a transmission issue. After taking apart the transmission, they told me it was worn out and I would need to get a new one. Wouldn’t last more than a couple of thousand miles, they said. They quoted me a price of $2,500 to have it replaced.
 
By this time, the truck had 175,000 miles. Again, I chose to ignore their “advice,” had them put it back together and kept driving it.
 
Then, a couple of weeks ago, I started having more problems. The truck wouldn’t shift right. I tried a few cheap fixes but nothing worked. At first, I was stubborn and chose to keep driving it. Then reluctantly, I admitted it was maybe time for a new pickup. After all, I can’t expect a vehicle to last forever. Still, I wasn’t happy about it.
 
But then I found the perfect truck, almost a duplicate of my old one but four years newer. So, I bought it and kept the old one for parts—and partly because I just didn’t want to get rid of it. Yeah, I’m still a little saddened that it broke. But I can’t say I wasn’t warned the transmission and engine wouldn’t last. They were right too, I suppose—sort of. Did I mention the pickup now has 317,000 miles? And aside from the annoying shifting issue, it is still going. I’m thinking both places were just trying to rip me off, which is why I prefer to do my own mechanic work. ~
​
 
Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. Bruce A. Borders is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.

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Due to the fires mentioned in last week’s post. The freeway (the normal route I drive for my job) was closed on Monday. So, I had to take an alternate route. Problem is, the alternate route is over Mt. Hood. Usually when I take this road, it’s in the middle of the winter and the abundance of snow combined with the extra miles, along with the slow climb, adds two to three hours to my run, and instead of making two trips, I can make only one.
 
This time though, it is summer and no snow—on the road anyway, the peak of the mountain is nearly always covered. So, I was figuring the detour would only cost me an hour and a half or so. I’d still be only able to make one trip but I’d get home sooner. Things went well on the first half of the trip but on my way back...
 
Rounding a corner, somewhere up on the mountain, I saw a bountiful display of flashing red lights shining in the night sky. As I drove closer, I could see the massive tree blocking the entire highway. With no way through, the police had coned off the road and were directing traffic onto a side road. Making the turn, I saw a parking lot that would do nicely to bypass the tree but it too, was coned off. So, with no other options, I followed two other semis up this narrow, winding mountain road. The further we went, the worse the road became. All three of us were becoming a little apprehensive but still hoping the road would lead back to the highway at some point we kept going. It wasn’t like we really had a choice; there was nowhere to turn around.
 
About two miles into our side trip, the lead driver saw a small road cutting up the hill to the left (a sharp left) and decided this would be a good turning around point. A good idea—if there had actually been room. It took only a few seconds for his truck to get high centered on the trailer’s landing gear. And there he sat, truck jackknifed across both roads, unable to move. He called a tow truck, and we all waited.
 
Meanwhile, a couple who lived in the area showed up, wanting to go down the road. While the other two drivers discussed (loudly) their rotten luck, I chose a more pragmatic approach—talking to the people in the car. The conversation proved to be rather helpful!
 
I learned the road we were on did not lead back to the highway. But, they said, up ahead about four miles was a pull off where we MIGHT be able to turn around. When I was hesitant over the “might,” they offered to give me a ride to see what I thought. After seeing the place, I decided there was enough room to make the turn—barely.
 
Back at the blocked intersection, I assured the other two drivers we’d be out of this mess in no time, providing Mr. High-Centered got out of the way at some point. Surprisingly, it didn’t take the tow truck long to arrive. As soon as we had room to squeeze by, the other driver and I headed on our way.
 
When we got to the turn around point, the guy in front of me stopped, not convinced he’d have enough room. But with a small wooden bridge ahead, a bridge we would crush, it seemed to be as far as we could go. For us, the road had ended. I should mention that backing down a rough and curvy mountain road, with the possibility of other vehicles coming up the hill, was not really a viable solution. Worst-case scenario, I’d do it but I’d really rather not; we had to turn around. However, about halfway through my turn, I was thinking backing down would have been a better choice. As you’ve probably guessed—since I’m back to civilization and able to post to this blog—we made it. But if the space had been even a couple of inches more narrow, we wouldn’t have. And just let me add, it’s not the best feeling, jockeying a semi back and forth with the trailer tires only inches from a cliff. For those who may not know, when a semi is turned sharp enough, the trailer actually backs up—while the cab is going forward, which made things a little harrowing. For a brief moment, I had my hand on the door handle, ready to bail.
 
But, all is well that ends well, or so I’ve heard. And in a few minutes, we were headed back to the highway. The tree was still blocking the road but by this time the police had figured out to route traffic through the parking lot—yeah, the one I thought would make a great bypass in the first place. The little adventure, that had cost me an hour and a half, could have been avoided. I ended up getting home about my regular time. But such is the life of a truck driver. On the bright side, at least the unplanned excursion gave me something to write about! ~
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Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. Bruce A. Borders is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.

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I’ve heard that history repeats itself, and I’m thinking that may be true. I started this blog in September of 2011, six years ago. At the time, I only planned to do it for a year or so. But here we are in 2017 and it’s become a regular Sunday night ritual; write something, type it up, and post it to the blog.
 
Sometimes I’m not really sure what to write about, not sure anything I have to say will be interesting to anyone. Other times, I feel inspired and write way too much—as my wife makes sure to tell me!
 
So today, I was wondering what to write and walked out on my deck to think—and saw the smoke. Lots of smoke, filling the sky. That’s really nothing new; the last couple of months we’ve seen quite a lot of smoky skies. But, since I was thinking of my blog, the smoke reminded me of my very first post--Fire Season.
 
I went back and read the post and although it’s six years old, it sounds almost like I’m describing the current conditions. But then, we have fires every year so that’s not too surprising. Still, it definitely seems like history is repeating itself. And so, in keeping with that theme, I’ve re-posted the first post below.
 
Fire Season
 
Smoke to the west. No black ominous billows, just a brownish tinged haze mixed with dingy white puffy clouds rising into the clear blue summer sky. A brushfire most likely, or maybe grass. Winds are particularly light at 5 mph. No cause for alarm, fire fighters will have the blaze extinguished in short order.
 
This is the fourth fire this week within sight of my house. The others were put out in less than a day causing no major damage, rather remarkable considering the high wind area and extremely dry conditions. This is all typical for the arid climate of the central Oregon high desert, but this year has been fairly mild with relatively few fires. The surrounding landscape is only slightly marred with the grayish black sooty remains of sparse vegetation.
 
And now, the September air is turning cooler reminding us that the fall rains will be returning soon, marking an end of the fire season, a.k.a. summer. The good news is that we’ve all survived with our personal property mostly intact. The bad news is winter is on its way, which means snow—and lots of it. The frozen white crystals will cover the ground, blanket the sagebrush and juniper trees, and decorate the distant mountain ranges, creating a picturesque scene of majestic grandeur.
 
Admittedly, the snow is pretty but snow brings its own set of problems - the cold, the slick roads and resulting wrecks, the roof cave-ins, and avalanches, which can potentially destroy entire areas in an instant. Yet, despite its foreboding and destructive nature, snow is a necessary evil. It provides the high desert with a vital water supply for the coming summer months in a region prone to draught. Aside from the usual benefits of drinking, cooking and cleaning, we’re gonna need the water—to put out the fires! ~

 
Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. Bruce A. Borders is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.

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