Long day.  Smiths Grove, Kentucky to South Charleston, West Virginia and then ended up here, at Cross Plains, Tennessee.  It's the way I design these trips to go - if they can work out that way.  I had an audience at the plant, there is a construction crew doing some sort of earth work at the site where all of the cryo stuff goes.  I'm not sure why they were looking so intently at what I was doing.  It was kind of strange, actually now that I think about it lol.

Got to this Mapco truck stop in Cross Plains and literally no parking. Even the creative parking was taken up and beyond that, trucks blocking in other trucks. That's a big time no-no in the trucking world. If you can't find a place to park that isn't blocking other trucks in, MOVE ON.  But I've been here with no parking available, the street has no, no-parking signs, it is hardly used at all from local traffic and it's very wide.  So, that's where I'm at for the night.

I sent a text to the construction company this morning.  Basically saying I'm ready to do this, let's get moving.  I just need a bit of time to figure out how to mark the sites so I can figure out which trees I want up - it's hard/next-to-impossible to use a tape measure in there because of the thick underbrush.  He had his office send me a contract via email. It wasn't an E-sign - where you sign documents online such as I just did with the refi-cashout loan the other day. So, it will wait til I get home, print it out, sign it and hand deliver it.  

I did flat declare to him that I was getting a second quote on the electric, no offense intended.  It's a huge expenditure and I need to at least know for sure you're in the ballpark  In reality, I want to use the other guy, his knowledge and his reviews for his work are impeccable from what I can see. I have time for that.  He didn't have a problem with that- pretty much standard operation to get multiple quotes....

.....but, I need to get the land cleared and get moving with this.  Slow progress is better than no progress.  I'm content with the way things are slowly shaping up, it's not really unexpected that it will take forever to get things done.  Just that one guy that wouldn't even respond to my texts or phone calls.....

I was watching some footage of kids from the Oxford high school where 4 of the students were murdered and 7 people went to the hospital.  It's a tragedy beyond imagination.  I saw a picture of one of  the deceased, Justin - whoever I can't remember the last name - a huge smile on his face, gleaming, bright eyed, looked like a person that was loving life.  The boy that indiscriminately shot these people has declared his 5th amendment right and has pleaded not guilty through his lawyers.  

There is surveillance footage of the incident - I didn't see it I don't know if it's posted online but a prosecutor was discussing it and horrified what he had seen on it.  What goes through the mind of a person to wantonly set out to end people's lives and destroy others' while doing it?  It's unfathomable to me and it's heartbreaking to listen to the surviving students tell their stories about the deceased.  

With all of this evil going on, if I had kids in school, I would be - seriously asking to say the least - to the school system what they are doing to protect our kids while they are in your care?  I dunno about anywhere else, but the school system in our town is literally flush with money.  As evidenced by the gigantic covered stadium they built last year.  I was shocked to see it going up - what on earth?  I have no idea how much money that thing cost, but was definitely pricey. Perhaps that money better spent on hiring off duty cops to protect the kids....

With that, I am getting off of here and going to bed. I am bushed.  This is a lot of driving, this particular trip. It's not the only trip with lots of driving but I don't get the longer trips that much anymore. It's either Oklahoma or Brownsville.  

Unfortunately, I can't start driving again til' shortly after 8 am - I'm about 30 miles from Nashville, ugh.  They have a pretty raunchy rush hour.  OH well, maybe GPS will give me a route around it, lol.

G'nite.

I'm bushed.