File this Under "Should I Be Worried?"

Should I be worried that there are so many local security companies offering comprehensive home monitoring services at competitive prices?

Thoughts from the Road

[Author's note: this post contains some thoughts that occurred to me recently on a long drive down from my longtime home on the border twixt Wisconsin and Illinois to a new locale in eastern Texas. I think the content herein indicates that I am very well or very poorly suited for a life over the road. I'm not sure which. As always, feedback is welcome.]

Illinois' budget problems were plain on the roads south of Rockford - I've never seen so many state troopers and county cops clustered on a highway. They were as thick as deer ticks on Pa after a day at the woods in September...I counted six sets of cherries in the first 40 miles.

The patrols and the snow line both stopped just south of the Bloomington / Normal area. (Note to you Wisconsinites - it's getting closer!)

I never appreciated how god awful looooong Illinois is until driving it. When I could no longer trust my reflexes, I called a halt for the night just south of St Louis and got a few hours of sleep.

Admittedly I was pretty bleary on waking, but if billboards can substitute for public opinion the pro-Jesus and pro-porno lobbies are strong in Missouri. I can't help but wonder if there may be some sort of causal relationship in that. I suppose it's convenient for the sort of person who enjoys getting their sins wiped away on Sunday so they can go out and commit a bunch more on Monday.

The pro-Waffle House lobby wasn't nearly as large as I'd anticipated, although they were scattered throughout the state.

Now, up to this point it had been an interesting trip. Then I hit Oklahoma.

Ah, Oklahoma! What can I say about this state? Actually not much: I'm now convinced that Oklahoma's main purpose in life is to give travelers something to drive through on the way to somewhere more interesting. The only people having a good time seemed to be three gentlemen watching a brush pile burn. Presumably, this is high entertainment to Okies.

As a younger man, I once knew a guy who had been raised in Oklahoma. Now I understand.

After crossing 4 hours of howling wilderness, I was terribly excited to finally see Texas. As I crossed the border, the gigantic silver star embedded at the border crossing welcomed me to the state. Frankly, I can respect that ol' Texas pride but at that point I would have appreciated something just as expressive and perhaps a little more plainly spoken. I think a big silver hand with the middle finger sticking up to the north would have meant the same thing and really said what the star meant.

And all of this means that I made the drive safely, though perhaps not quite sanely, and I'm typing this at my hotel room in Plano.