Where Are All The Outlets?

When I write the great American novel on Road Warriors I'm going to include a chapter on outlets. Reading, writing, music, movies, TV, exercise, long walks and possibly sleeping in. With the option of sex and booze thrown in just for good measure. And when I say booze I really mean wine. Sex with your significant other not the bar room kind or the pay by the hour type either.

Everyone needs an outlet for stress, motivate or just to realign your thinking. Whereas I prefer reading, writing (or in this case blogging) and walking. Others need the visceral punishment of exercise. Music and movies are good distractions for a short period of time TV can be an endless loop of brain candy.

But for me, it's the writing. The purity of getting one's thoughts out. Anything from the mundane to the particular. Give you an example.

Chips or potato chips. There should a store dedicated to nothing but good solid chips. For me the kettle chips in various flavors are what I prefer. However, finding a good bag of chips is sometimes impossible. You learn which stores carry your particular brand, but sometimes even those are stale. Tonight I chose a good bag of barbecue chips. The generic kind from 7 Eleven. They're good not wanted, but still after a few its just what I wanted. Their crisp and crunchy. Just the right amount of flavor with a perky orange / brown coloring.

Nothing beats donuts in the morning. For me the perfect breakfast is donuts and coffee. But not just any kind of coffee. It has to be that chic kind. Mocha or in my case mint mocha. And for that matter, I have discovered the blended coffee is the best. I don't know why, but since I have discovered it, I love the grape blended coffee. Never in a million years would I have thought coffee blended with ice would be a good idea. But turns out, it's pretty good.

Someday I'm going to petition the part of government that oversees the 4 food groups. It is my firm belief the bacon cheeseburger with tomatoes, lettuce and pickles plus mustard and ketchup be declared an official food group. With the option of fries or those thinly sliced potato chips that are deep fat fried. That's the trailer park with me. If you presented me with the option of the finest cut of steak prepared any way I wanted I would go for the ground chuck variety. Nothing beats a good burger. And not the fast food kind either. Although if you counted 5 Guys or Steak and Shake this would be OK with me.

Nope the best burger ever made comes from blue collar joints. The kind of place where the smell of grease permeates the air. A place where the smell of grease and stale cigarettes is so thick you could reach out and touch it. Those places where working men congregate in the early morning hours for coffee and eggs. If you ever find yourself in a place where you've never been before and your stomach is telling its time to forage for grub. Start looking for cop cars, farmers' trucks and telephone bucket trucks. Inside you find great food and good prices. But I caution you to consider your heart before partaking from their menus. The food is bountiful but layered is grease and fat.

How come the best TV these days are found on networks that are not part of the big three?? When I watch TV these days its on networks not found in the days of old. USA, TNT, TBS and FX are the homes of my favorite shows. And isn't great all of those networks can be watched online?? At my convenience.

And speaking of wine, a good full bodied wine has I fear made me a snob. A few months ago I tried a bottle of Mangria. From that day on wine is now my favorite booze of choice. Now I have not been a been a big drinker for many many years. Having drank myself to oblivion when I was younger. I lost the zeal for the spirits that come in both a bottle and a can. But now I do find myself liking the wine.

A full bodied red wine. Particularly the Merlot or the blended reds. The thing about wine is it not meant to be guzzled like a beer. But rather to be enjoyed one sip at a time. Now there are a lot of things I don't know about wine. For instance, there are wines meant to be chilled and wines meant to be drunk at room temperature.

It is also meant to be taken with a meal. Because what they say is true. Wine taken with a meal brings out the flavors in food I never knew existed. A burger with wine is like having it for the very first time. Oh yes, I love me some wine.

The best on the road job I can think of would be in an exotic locale with my wife in tow. Nothing would be better than to take by beloved with me and turn it into a working vacation. But the job would have to be one where working would be an afterthought to spend time with my wife.

Think about it. There would be a beach, an ocean a good room and lots of quality time together. I can't think of anything better for the road warrior than an all expenses paid working vacation.

Next to it would be the ability to take all of the kids someplace fun. Where again, not a lot of work taking place, but a lot of fun watching them discover new lands and new adventures. Seeing them discover a world out there they never knew existed.

The nice thing about metropolitan cities are the metroplexes. The kind of movie houses where the screens are 4 stories high. The smell of butter covered popcorn saturates the air. If I could make a dessert food king of the mountain it would have to be the big bucket of popcorn. The kind that is meant to be shared with someone because to order one for yourself is just glutenous not to mention overkill. The speakers spitting out sound that surrounds you. Where the sounds of action movies resonate deep in your chest. The score moves your emotions all over the road. (Pun not intended).

Books nowadays are designed to be read on personal electronic devices. Movies and music are also the places for partaking in personal enjoyment, but having the ability to place a dozen books on my tablet is truly the best. The drawback, of course, being the battery and also not having the ability to read them during take off and landing.

And of course the other thing about books on a tablet or your phone is it keeps them from taking up space. Also, there is the weight factor in your luggage.

Yes a chapter on outlets in my great American novel is definitely going to be included.

But it's late and I could go on for a while. Besides that it's now time for my other outlet and that is sleep. Time for my CPAP to take me to dreamland.

Night night.