I had just left Tampa on my way to Memphis and I stopped in Atlanta to pick up Tommy. I was so tired that I couldn't see straight. The kind of tired where you drive past 20 or 30 exits and you don't even remember passing them but you know you must have to get where you were. Tommy got in the car and we were going through Atlanta and I'm trying very hard not to swerve the car or jerk the wheel. In a moment of incoherency, I knew that it was getting quiet and if he or I didn't say something, I was going to fall asleep. So I just turned my head towards Tommy and yelled, "Damn, Tommy! I bet those peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were great!" 

He looked at me as if I were CRAZY and said, "BIZ-NESS, WHAT IN THE F#$! ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" I realized I had just said something so stupid and so utterly crazy that I had let the cat out of the bag as he quickly realized that what he heard was the first stages of me talking in my sleep. And that would be going to sleep at the wheel in a car on the interstate! After that, he kept watching me like a hawk and said if he even suspected I was dozing off he would start flicking me on the ear to keep me awake.

A flick on the ear though is nothing compared to another story that a good friend of mine Lanny "The Genius" Poffo told me a long time ago. I forget where he was driving but he was in the driver's seat. The Warlord was in the passenger seat and Mr. Fuji was in the backseat. They were all traveling for the WWF back in the 80s. He started dozing off at the wheel and the Warlord got so upset at him that he gave him the stiffest tomahawk chop across the chest he said he had ever felt. His chest was lit up for days after that. The Warlord said to him, "Every time I see your eyes shut for more than 3 seconds, you'll get another one of those," and Lanny said he could distinctly remember the look on Mr. Fuji's face when he said it.  Along with Fuji's hysterical laughter at the whole situation.

Yeah, the fun of the road. Luckily, these days, I fly to most of the out of state shots on the weekends with the NWA. But I do a lot of driving too, and when I drive I try not to drive alone. For the next two weekends, I do have driving shots for local shows in Florida and back in Georgia but I'll have some of the boys with me. I guess I'm just happiest on the road.

OK, I can see I'm almost out of space again. Next month, I have to tell everyone about some of the deals we've lost with hotels. Especially, the Best Western at the Memphis Airport, and how the boys lost our $15-a-night wrestler rates. That story is a blast and I'll probably take some ribbing for letting that one out but I think you will enjoy that little story because it's part of the USWA history of life behind the scenes. So until next month, take care and KEEP WATCHING THE SHOWS! Better yet, go see some local indy wrestling!