Hello friends,

I hope all are well on this Monday evening wherever it is you call home. I write from the small Indiana town of Greendale, just west of Cincinnati, Ohio. I arrived here this afternoon thanks to my good friend from back home in Tucson, Krista Wells. I’m here at her mother’s home, Carol, to help with some home repairs as she host me for a few days, while I work the CL in Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Louisville, Kentucky. I am grateful for the opportunity once again to be given a nice room, bed and table inside a private home and loving family. To be saved from the well documented truck stop facilities that I’ve been frequenting as of late. With those thoughts in mind, I have to tell you about my week in the Wolverine state and my amazing nine days with the Russell family. It was a two sided experience, since I struggled most of the week finding a gig for the list of fifty, yet at the same time being hosted by these beautiful folks. The frustration and the joy were fighting for space in my soul for most of the week, but after securing my gig last Friday, I spent the weekend lavishing every minute I had left with my new friends and family.

 I’m still riding an emotional cloud of disbelief, admiration and humility about my time there. I will try to translate into words, but unless you have ever experience being let into somebody’s home and life, someone completely unknown to you, a total stranger, literally off the streets, then my words cannot express my heartfelt gratitude towards Dale, Stacey, and their kids, for their loving hospitality they extended to the Johnny Man.

As I last wrote you, my friend Lorie from Tucson realized I was in Ann Arbor and quickly moved to make it happen. She messaged her longtime friend, Stacey, and filled her in with why I was in the area and what I was doing as far as the tour was concerned. So as I sat at the truckers lounge last Sunday watching the football game and checking the CL in Detroit and Flint, these ladies were working it! Stacey called me a few hours later and invited me to come by meet the family. It happened to be Dale’s birthday, so a couple of hours later, I reluctantly stopped by the Hamburg address she sent me. They offered to host me and asked if I could help them refinish their kitchen cabinets while I searched for my gig. With dinner and a homemade chocolate cake on the table, how could I decline the offer? It was on from that point forward!

They introduced me to three of their four kids, Alex, Jenna, Adam and Gordy the puppy. We sat after dinner as I went into detail about my adventure and we talked for hours as if we were longtime friends who had been apart for a while. The ease and comfort in which I slid in that first night just set the pattern for the next nine days. They of course, have a genuinely good heart and it is on display 24/7. It was so easy to be sucked in by their warmth and love for not only strangers like me, but for all humans it seems. They treated me like a part of the family and I felt like I was on vacation, not a working tour. Surf and turf at Dale’s favorite place, pizza and a boat ride at their lakeside cabin, karaoke night, golf lessons, picking fresh berries at their farm co-op, Stacey baking my favorite German chocolate cake, deep personal conversations about love and life, just to name a few of the things they included me in.

 My cup overflowed with loving kindness from these two very special people, who I even became a bit envious of, for they have succeeded where I have failed, to blend a step family successfully. It’s not easy to be a step parent and sometimes it can be a thankless job. Looking and spending just a week or so with them showed me why. Stacey, a nurse practitioner, is all heart. Selfless and in tune with everyone around her, she shares of herself tirelessly.  Dale, a self-employed salesman is a go getter is all about the family and friends. Constantly teaching and sharing his knowledge with those around him.  They have mutual respect and admiration for all humans, regardless of their skin color or lot in life and more importantly, each other. They have a solid family unit and a large group of friends from all walks of life, some which I had the pleasure of meeting. (Sophie, Joannees, Perry, Scott)

It was hard departing from the state of Michigan this morning, but my gig was complete and the cabinets were done. But thanks to Dale and Stacey, my mind was at peace and my body is well rested to continue forward. My gas tank was full, my suit case was loaded with winter garments, shoes, boots and long underwear, (Stacey is worried about the gigs guy freezing to death in the Dakotas) my cooler full of apples from their tree and much more. Yes, much more than I deserved or than I could have ever imagined just ten days ago as I sat at alone watching football, wishing I was back home. This friends is one of the reasons I press on with this journey, the human element. I keep on adding to the list of friends constantly and now I will add on to the list of family members, the Russells!

Thanks Dale, Stacey and Lorie H. in Tucson and thanks to you who follow me as I roll on across America!

Juanjohn                                                                                                                                     #Yo-Ga-Fla

Good morning friends,

I hope all are well on this hump day. I write you this October day from Hamburg, Michigan, just outside of Ann Arbor.

The bad news is that after five days in this beautiful state, I still haven’t been able to secure a gig for the list. The good news for me though, is that I have been rescued from the truck stops by a wonderful family, given room and board, while I continue to search for my gig. On top of that I’ve been put to work in the home refinishing the kitchen cabinets, which allows me to still earn some much needed money. All thanks to my old friend Lorrie H. back home in Tucson, who made contact and arraigned for me to stay with Stacey and Dale here in Hamburg, just by seeing a Facebook gag I posted on Saturday!

What a blessing it has been! This adventure for me just keeps giving at the most critical times it seems. I couldn’t have imagined a better situation to be rescued from, since scoring a job has been difficult in this area. I would still be stuck at the TA, sleeping in my truck, in complete misery. Instead I’ve been treated like a part of the family by this generous couple and their awesome children! Housed, fed and shown the area like if I’m on vacation and not on a working/survival tour. My appreciation from their hospitality and kindness they have extended, on such a short notice, to a complete stranger, can never be repaid. I wake up in a soft, warm bed, still shaking my head in disbelief of my good fortune! I will surely write more about the Russell family when I depart for Ohio, hopefully this weekend.

In the meantime, I will continue to look and hopefully score that elusive job so that I can be able to move forward. I need to get back to finishing these cabinets but I just wanted to check-in and let you know what I was up to. I hope to write you back soon with some even better news!

Have a great day, wherever you call home and thanks for your time and support!  #Yo-Ga-Fla

Juanjohn

Hello friends,

I write you this Saturday evening from the Pilot Travel center just west of Ann Arbor Michigan. I rolled into town last night from Elma, New York. It was a tiring 375 miles in the rain and commuter traffic through three states, western New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio to get here. I departed a bit late and had to make a detour in Cleveland to the elusive Chase Bank branch. It was a scenic drive without any glitches or problems. The drivers here seem to be a little more civil than my more recent stops in the Northeast and Atlantic seaboard.

I’m hoping to get something soon so I can move on to Indiana and Ohio. I have a contact near Cincinnati where I plan to stay and help with some home repairs on a home owned by some good friends from Tucson. The plan is to ready the property, to list it on the market, for the eventual move to Arizona. I’m grateful for the invite and the timing couldn’t have been better for both parties. From there I will look for work in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky before moving on to Tennessee and dipping back into Alabama and Mississippi for the second time. My goal is to be in Little Rock, Arkansas by the first week of November. It’s quite a list, but so were the New England states and I got them done pretty quickly.  But first Michigan needs to fall.

I’m still decompressing from the physical and mental stress of my last gig and my fifty four year old frame is feeling the effects of the workload on my body, the stress on my brain and the miles on my butt from all the driving (13,000 and counting) and bad sleeping conditions. It’s strange how my mind is getting stronger or maintaining its strength as the body breakdown with wear and tear from the elements, physically, emotionally and mentally. Truth be told, my emotional state has been a rollercoaster ride as of late.

There still is no greater satisfaction than getting paid after a gig, fueling up and heading out to the next stop. It infuses me with a profound sense of accomplishment knowing that I’m one state closer to my goal. Then at times I still feel far from home, empty and alone. Even after all I see, experience and enjoy, I’m a people person at heart and feel the lack of human contact affect my psychic in moments, especially on the down time between truck stops and libraries. Hard to explain and it even surprises me, ‘Mr. I’m never blue’ kind of guy. One of the few things I under estimated about my special adventure. Luckily I shake it off and rebound from the low points by Dr. Phil-in myself back to a positive state of mind. Something I imagine I will have to monitor the rest of the journey. Overall I’m happy to report that the truck and my body are still hanging in there despite all the mileage!

So I decided to begin a new feature with my blog. Since I’m spending now a lot of time here in the trucker world, amongst all these interesting men and some women of the highways of America, I will interview some of them and post their stories on my page now and then, for your entertainment. They truly are interesting people from all over this country and are the true Road warriors of America. I hope you find it enjoyable!

I hope you are all resting and enjoying the weekend. Take a look at the new pics on the album page and thanks for checking in.  Have a great night!  #Yo-Ga-Fla

Juanjohn