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Also waiting for my arrival home was a check from Fuel Safe for my full purchase price and all labor incurred during the handling of four (4) different cells. The situation corroborated one of the most important of 'Bruce's corollaries': always start with the top (CEO/COO/CFO) and let matters filter down within the organization. I failed to follow my own rule of thumb in this situation until the very end.

Getting all the race cars ready for Sebring - there were nine cars in our paddock - put the pressure on Jerry and Will but the cell was installed in a timely manner and taken for a minimal G drive around Natick and Framingham. It appeared tight, no drip or leak marks, no odors that weren't supposed to be there, so we all crossed our fingers and hoped that Sebring would not show otherwise.

Tuesday morning I was out of the driveway in the dark at 5:30 with trailer and car in tow, destination Sebring, FL. One of the mind games I played on the trip had to do with the noun 'truck'. I'm normally an advocate of small government, individual rights with appropriate responsibilities, laissez faire in general.  Well, this is one situation where I'd like the federal government to define the noun 'truck' for conformity in the 50 states and use by manufacturers.

This goes way back to our '85 F-150 when I first encountered Storrow Drive and the 'No Trucks' sign at an entrance. My memory told me that I'd seen many pick-ups like mine on Storrow so I swallowed the lump in my throat and went onto Storrow Drive and have been ever since. Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Toyota, etc. etc. always refer to their pick-up vehicles as trucks, in fact many also refer to SUVs as trucks, as do their owners.

So what is one to do when approaching the Garden State Parkway at the NY border with a giant "All Trucks Exit Here" sign. I had let AAA suggest a route and told them I'd be towing a car trailer with a truck just so I would not run into any such problems at tunnels or bridges. Well, AAA said take the Parkway and I did. The first few miles I was telling myself that maybe the buses and few commercial pick-ups had special Parkway passes but when a state trooper passed me I relaxed figuring that my truck must not be a 'truck'.

From the Garden State Parkway I merged onto the NJ Turnpike where I encountered a divider with 4 lanes to the left and 2 to the right with a sign that said 'All Trucks, Buses Keep Right'. Decision time again, am I driving a truck or a “truck.”  Playing safe I kept right with all the big rigs. As you may anticipate, I saw many trucks like mine in the left 4 lanes. So once again, what Ford and everyone I know refers to as a truck is not a “truck.”

Traveling with our 'long distance track group' we're always debating over the CBs whether or not we're allowed in the far left lane. It is interesting to note the manner in which different states handle this situation and their definitions. In all states, when the highway is only 2 lanes there are no left lane restrictions, it's only with 3 or more lanes that the restrictions come into play.

Maryland clearly tells us 'No Trucks, Buses In The Left Lane'.  Since my vehicle is not a truck (unless MD considers my F-150 to be a truck, when NJ doesn't), and trailers are not prohibited from the left lane, I'm allowed in the left lane.

Virginia says 'No Commercial Vehicles In Left Lane”. This should allow my trailer and me in the left lane but not the truck with 18 wheels, as that is commercial. The problem we encounter is how would I be categorized if my little pick-up truck were used in my business with appropriate graphics and a 'commercial' plate as often happens in MA. Would I then be prohibited from the left lane merely because of some graphics on my truck? What is the definition of 'commercial'?

Now Georgia was interesting because they said 'Trucks Over 6 Wheels Prohibited From Left Lane.” That clearly would allow our tow vehicles including the duallies, as trailers were not prohibited. But, there are some very large, heavy 6-wheel trucks on the roads...guess they're allowed in the left lane.

South Carolina had no restrictions, as Rte. 95 is only 2 lanes and Florida has no restrictions on left lane usage with 3 lane roads, no problems with definitions there. Following are some miscellaneous thoughts and observations gleaned from the trip.

Doug, there are truck washes at Exit 106 in NC and Exits 169 and 119 in SC. It makes far more sense to number exits according to their mileage from one border to another. One immediately knows how far he's driven, how far it is to the next border or how many miles to a specific exit.

NC and SC showed an interesting blending of the private and public sectors. All of the billboards, and there are many of them, are on private land on the other side of the highway fence. However, the trees on public land, on the highway side of the fence, were cut down to provide excellent visibility of those signs.  No question that the tourist dollar is important.

Seen on the back of a trailer in GA, fingered in the dirt "Silence of the Rams - Go Pats". Seen on the back of a FL car, "I love cats. They taste like chicken". FL school buses have a high visibility strobe light on top.

I've been reluctant to use Rte. 95 because of congestion, but I hit everything right. NJ was no problem in the mid-morning and the Baltimore-DC area at mid-day was a breeze. The road was relatively empty throughout the south as evidenced by motels all through NC & SC advertising rooms as low as $29, clearly the off season. I don't think I'd want to use 95 in June, July or August with all the vacationers and RVs on the road.

My travel time for the 1400 miles with pit stops was 23 hours. Total time, including an hour at the J & R Outlet Store and 2 naps was 29 hours.

Oh yes, I almost forgot, the fuel cell was fine, no leaks.

The Punster Stalks

• Two vultures board an airplane, each carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at them and says, "I'm sorry gentlemen, only one carrion allowed per passenger.
• Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, but when they lit a fire in the craft, it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it, too.
• Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? He wanted to transcend dental medication.
• Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him...what?  A super callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.