Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 22:19:32 -0500 From: Charlie Ford Subject: Gamble Town to Shaky Town Gamble city to Shaky Town- After leaving Vegas I headed south on Interstate 15 toward LA. I traveled through the desert for about 25 miles then hit a steep grade climbing into the mountains that surround las Vegas. The bus did fairly well even though the airflow meter was a bit choppy at times. Finally after slowly going up I started quickly going down. The weather soon changed from chilly to warm and back to chilly again. I drove for about three hours and stopped in Barstow California to sleep for the night. I found a truckstop there that was just to my liking. They had showers and food and dark parking spaces so a weary traveler could camp in soothing comfort. The folks that ran the place were really nice and allowed me to plug my computer in to take a charge. In fact I sat in the office and wrote the Winslow piece. Truckers kept walking in and asking what I was writing. They were all wondering if I was getting loads with my computer. This leg of the trip was somewhat uneventful except for the fact that I got a lot of thinking done. I thought of where I might find some work for a couple weeks; I thought of what life would be like stranded in this part of the country; I thought of home, and family, and the lady I left in Georgia. I just thought. The next morning I left the truckstop after a shower and continued south on 15. The traffic slowly picked up and so did the mountains. The grades out here are quite deceiving. You feel as if you are driving on level land when in all actuality you are climbing a long steep grade. As I neared LA the road leveled out and became more rolling hills. I got of I-15 onto I-91 west, drove to I-55 and headed south once more. I arrived in the City of Santa Ana where I have another cousin. Wesley Price came to California in 1965. He has lived here ever since. He is a man of 69 years of age and has seen many hardships in his life. He has two children that have all but forgotten him, one he hasnšt heard from in ten years and has no idea where he is. His daughter did move out here a few years ago, but ended up taking him for a bunch of money and leaving him holding a bag of bad checks and bills. He is a good man and a very simple one. I have been staying with him for the past few days. This morning I woke and came in the house. I have been sleeping in my bus because his house is not very large. He said when I came in that he was having chest pains. He took some of his nitro tablets and waited for it to settle down. He finally ask me to call 911 and get the paramedics for him. It only took them about 5 minutes for them to get here. They checked him out, put him on a stretcher and took him to Western Med. Center. I followed them to the hospital and after a few test they came and told me that he had suffered a heart attack. I am glad I was here to help him out. As I said I am the only relative he has close by so I had to put on my family jacket and address the situation at hand. The airflow meter will just have to wait for now. I have other duties to attend to. Anyway folks I am here and looks like I will be for a few more days. The doctor says the diagnosis is good and that he should be fine. I will stay as long as he needs me. It pleases me to be able to help him out. He told me he was glad I came to town and that made me feel really good also. It is nice to be needed. Thanks for tolerating my ramblings, Charlie Ford "79" Transporter, dressed for the road The Mothership The"Turning 40 Nostalgic VW Service Tour, and Search for the Beginning of Wind". www.armory.com/~y21cvb/charlie/charlie.html "Wider still and wider.....shall thy bounds be set"