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PHANTOM 309
Red Sovine
I was out on the west coast
Trying to make a buck and
Things didn't work out
I was down on my luck
Got tired of roamin'
And bummin' around
So I started thumin'
Back east toward
My hometown
Made a lot of miles
The first two days
And I figured I'd be
Home in a week
If my luck held this way
But the third night
I got Stranded way out of town
At a cold lonely
Crossroad rain was pouring down
I was hungry and freezing
Done caught a chill
And the lights of a big semi
Topped the hill Lord
I was sure glad to
Hear them ol' air brakes come on
Then I climbed in that cab
Where I knew it would be warm
At the wheel sat a big man
He weighed about 210
He stuck out his hand
And said with a grin
Big Joe's the name
And I told him mine
And he said the name
Of my rig is Phantom 309
I asked him why he called
His rig such a name
Son, he said,
This old Mac can put them all to shame
There ain't a driver or a rig
On any line that has seen
Anything but tail lights
From Phantom 309
Well we rode and talked the
Better part of the night
When the lights of a truckstop
Came into sight
He said I'm sorry son
This is as far as you go
Cuz I got to make a turn
Just on up the road
Well he tossed me a dime
As he put her in low
And said have yourself a hot
Cup on ol' Joe
When Joe and his rig
Roared out into the night
In nothing flat he was
Clean out of sight
Well I went inside and
Ordered me a cup
Told the waiter
Big Joe was setting me up
Ah you could have heard a pin drop
It got deathly quite
The waiters face turned kind of white
What, did I say something wrong
I said with a halfway grin
He said, naw this happens
Every now and again
Every driver in here knows
Big Joe
But son let me tell you what
Happened about 10 years ago
At the crossroads tonight
Where you flagged him down
There was a bus load of kids
A commin' from town
And they were right in the middle
When Big Joe topped the hill
They could have been slaughtered
But he turned his wheels
Well Joe lost control
Went into a skid
Gave his life to save
That bunch of kids
And there at that crossroads
Was the end of the line for
Big Joe and Phantom 309
But every now and then
Some hiker will come by
And like you Big Joe will
Give them a ride
Here have another cup
And forget about the dime
Keep it as a souvenir from
Big Joe and Phantom 309.
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"We were wrong, terribly wrong. (We) should not have tried to fight a guerrilla war with conventional military tactics against a foe willing to absorb enormous casualties...in a country lacking the fundamental political stability necessary to conduct effective military and pacification operations. It could not be done and it was not done."
- Robert S. McNamara
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"We will take our napalm and flame throwers out of the land that scarcely knows the use of matches...
We will leave you your small joys and smaller troubles."
- Eugene McCarthy in "Vietnam Message"
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never wrestle with a pig.
you both get dirty;
the pig likes it.
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