"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." - The Declaration of Independence

"I'm a prisoner of the highway, imprisoned by the freedom of the road..."  - "Prisoner of the Highway", written by Mike Reid and performed by Mark Wills and Ronnie Milsap.

"Carefree Highway, let me slip away on you..." - "Carefree Highway", written and performed by Gordon Lightfoot.

Over this past week as we Americans celebrated the 231st anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, I could not help but think about the many freedoms that we enjoy... among those, the freedom of the road!!!

Have you ever stopped and thought about how blessed we are as a nation to have the hundreds of thousands of roads of the highways (Interstates, U.S. routes, etc.) that we, the roadgeeks, embrace so dearly and so passionately?

Ever since I was a child I have always loved to travel the highways and byways of this great land, from family vacations through the time I learned how to drive and could drive them myself. I feel that I can never, ever drive them enough, and I love to embrace all the nuances (signs, pavement, design, etc.) that each road has.

America is blessed with not only a plethora of highways, but most of all, the greatest highway network ever created... the Eisenhower Interstate System. Not only do we have this great system, but most important of all, we have the freedom to get in our vehicles and travel each and every mile of them to our hearts content.

In addition to the freedom to travel the roads we, the people, built, we also have the freedom to publish our thoughts, observations, and images of our roads for all the world, roadgeek and non-roadgeek alike, to see.
My website is among the plethora of roadgeek sites that exist on the Internet, each site offering its own unique flavor and perspective on the roads. When I surf these various and sundry sites, I cannot help but think about the "labor of love" that each respective webmaster puts into it. Even those who do not have their own sites are major contributors to sites such as mine. Those of us who appreciate roads and the freedom thereof appreciate the assistance from such roadgeeks as John Krakoff. John alone has helped Gribble Nation, The Comrade Yamamoto Experience, and my site to acheive growth that we otherwise may not have dreamed of. Thank God that we have the freedom to publish our sites and thank God for the generous roadgeeks who support and contribute to them by contributing their own pictures just as John has. Folks, America may not be a perfect nation and we may not always agree on everything, but by golly, it is a great nation in the fact that it offers people from all walks of life that freedom of the road. Thank God for the freedom of the road!!!

Do Hiram And Dallas Get Shortchanged?

This afternoon on my way home, I was talking to fellow ham operator Dan of Austell on the Atlanta Radio Club's repeater (146.82 MHz). Dan was making his way down I-20 west to the GA 6/Thornton Road exit (Exit 44).

Being a roadgeek and having passed by this exit many times in my driving life, I have observed that there is no mention of the Paulding County towns Hiram and/or Dallas, even as an "afterthought" and asked Dan if there was any such sign posted there yet. Regretfully, no.

GA 6, which picks up US 278 between Austell and Lithia Springs, is a 4-lane corridor from I-20 to Paulding County and has been so for several years. Since Paulding County has grown significantly over the past several years, and continues to grow, I think that the Georgia DOT should at least put a big green sign (BGS) on I-20 westbound as you approach Exit 44. This "afterthought" sign should read as follows...

TO US 278/Hiram/Dallas - Exit 44

Those who are familiar with the western part of Metro Atlanta would most likely know that GA 6 takes you to these communities, but for those travelers who happen to be from out of town and coming from the direction of Downtown Atlanta or other points eastward, it may not be that intuitive. In other words, I think that directional signage should be created and posted with the "non-local" traveling public in mind. Come to think of it, I know who could possibly work to get this done... Hiram's own State Representative Glenn Richardson, the Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives. To paraphrase my comic hero Larry The Cable Guy.... "Hey, Mr. Richardson, your hometown is being shortchanged by GDOT. Please call 'em up and tell 'em to GIT-R-DONE!!!"


OK, folks, I've been on my "soapbox" long enough. If you have any thoughts on my latest blog, or any of the prior ones for that matter, please feel free to share them with me. Thank you very much for reading my blog, always be thankful for our freedom of the road, and please come back often.

 

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