Mom & Pop’s Truck Stop on U.S. Highway 395 in Pearsonville, Calif.
Veteran truckers in the Mojave Desert will recall Mom & Pop’s Truck Stop on U.S. Highway 395 in Pearsonville, Calif., but they likely won’t know its remarkable origin: 40 acres of scrub, sidewinders and scorpions bought in 1959 by Lucy and Andy Pearson. By night, they and their two children slept on the ground; by day, they hand-built cinderblock buildings in 120-degree heat. All this and more – including Lucy’s eventual fame as “The Hubcap Queen” – are revealed in Lucy and Janice Pearson’s new book, Pearsonville, CA 93527, $26 postpaid by calling (760) 377-5225. Thanks to Lucy’s sister Ethel “Magpie” Richardson, 87, who ran the café for 25 years, for alerting us.
FREIGHT’S FUTURE, OR JUST HOT AIR?
High-tech airships that can carry hundreds of tons of cargo mostly on wind power are in the works at a number of companies, including Lockheed Martin, reports the October Popular Mechanics. “In the not-too-distant future, they say, hybrid airships will be as ubiquitous and as essential as trucks,” writes Jeff Wise. Skeptics include aviation consultant Scott Hamilton, who calls blimps “as slow as molasses in January.”
THIS BASS HAS WAY TOO MUCH TORQUE
For the fishing fanatic/trucker on your Christmas list who really does have everything, consider a 3-D window decal of a largemouth bass. It’s from ShatterSports, which also makes those joke baseballs amid a web of “broken glass.” Static cling, not adhesive, holds the decals in place, so they’re easy to remove as the nice officer approaches. They’re $5.99 to $19.95 at this site.
NO ENEMIES
“It’s a lot of fun. Everybody is glad to see you.”
– Wayne Taylor, who patrols I-81 and I-581 as part of the Virginia State Police’s motorist assistance unit, quoted in The Roanoke Times
JUST YOU WAIT
“At the moment, alternative energy can sound like a fringe activity. But 200 years ago, so did coal; 100 years ago, so did oil; 30 years ago, so did natural gas.”
– Vivienne Cox, a BP executive vice president, in a September speech in Los Angeles archived at BP.com
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