The Legend-News
Monday, 2000 March 6 : Volume 3, Number 9
Convoy 2000
If you haven't recently checked the
Convoy 2000 Information page, then you may not yet know that our trip has the official nod of approval from the Rubber Duck himself, Bill Fries. He can't make the entire trip -- that's for us, The Young and The Foolish -- but there's a chance that he might make an appearance. Cross your fingers, boys and girls.
The Museum of C.W. McCall and Other Wild Places
This week, I'm adding a new section to the web site, a place to put pictures of people and things that are C.W.-related. Officially, this section will be known as "The Museum of C.W. McCall and Other Wild Places", but since that name might be a bit long, the short name will be "MOCWMAOWP". The first person to correctly pronounce that name gets to keep the bragging rights. (What? You thought there was a prize?) Everyone else, you can just call it "The Museum".
The first exhibit is now being prepared, and ought to be online by Wednesday. What is that exhibit? Keep reading...
Go To Three-Three? It Ain't Got No Three-Three!
Two weeks ago, I entered yet another bid on an item on
eBay, this time for an antique Citizens Band radio. Well, it must be an antique, 'cause it's only got 23 channels! But what's so special about this radio? It's a Midland model 13-882C in the original box and with the original manuals and such. And right there on the top of the box is a sketch of the Rubber Duck breakin' one-nine.
Yeah, it's a Midland CB Convoy Buddy radio, endorsed by C.W. McCall hisself.
CB's been around a long while, but it's arguably not as popular today as it was twenty-five years ago. So if you're planning to buy a rig for your four-wheeler, you may need some tips on proper operating procedures. Fortunately, the Midland CB Convoy Kit -- an eight-page booklet that's included with the radio -- has some tips in the section entitled "How to Talk to Your Good Buddies".
Now, everybody gets a little "mike fright" when they first start using a CB radio. That's because you're talking in public and a lot of people are listening to you. Nothing to be afraid of, though, 'cause you've got a lot of Midland Convoy Buddies, and they can help you out.
If you've listened to CBers talk before, you know we have our own special style and language. Your Convoy Buddies use codes and special jargon (often a little bit on the humorous side) so that they can communicate better and faster while using fewer words.
To break into a channel, a form of the word "break" is used, such as "Breaker", "Breaker Break", or "Breaker One-Nine" (or whatever channel you're breaking into). After saying you want to break in, the FCC requires you to give your call sign (a combination of three letters and four numbers that the FCC assigned to you). You then give your handle (radio "nickname") and your message. To indicate you're finished with your transmission, and that you are waiting for a reply, say "C'mon" so your Convoy Buddy can transmit back to you.
EXAMPLE: "Breaker One-Nine, this is KDV-6247 (your FCC call sign), the Rubber Duck (your handle), and I need a 10-36, c'mon."
When leaving the air, you must also "sign off". EXAMPLE: "This is KDV-6247, the Rubber Duck, we're clear."
And to get you started off right, we've provided a Ten Code for your use as well as a quick reference guide to CB jargon, just in case you get lockjaw in your first efforts at trying to communicate.
To help you remember all those handles and call letters and the channels your Convoy Buddies are monitoring, we've provided a directory in the back of your Midland Convoy Kit. So just keep this in the glove box of your four-wheeler and you're ready to copy (listen).
[Copyright 1976 Midland International Corporation, Communications Division, Mission Woods, Kansas 66201]
Check back later this week, when the Midland CB Convoy Kit will be in
The Museum.
Song A’ Th’ Week
(C.W. McCall, Bill Fries, Chip Davis)
From the album
Black Bear Road
[Spoken]
Way out in the canyons of the West, there's a wild river. The Spanish named it
San Buenaventura;
but we knew it as the
Green.
It was daylight on the river but we couldn't see the sun
And we couldn't hear our voices through the roar
But we felt the boilin' current and our blood was runnin' cold
As we headed down the canyon of Lodore
And the gods were runnin' with us
On the day we ran the rapids of the Green
[Chorus]
And we died a thousand times in that forty miles of hell
The longest day of life we'd ever seen
But we lived to tell the story and we know the story well
The day we ran the rapids of the Green
We were thirty-two in number when we gathered on the shore
And we headed off into the great unknown
But we summoned up our courage an' we formed a mighty team
And we ran that ragin' river all alone
Yeah, the gods were runnin' with us
On the day we ran the rapids of the Green
[Echoing shouts.]
And we hear a thousand echoes on the mighty canyon walls
As we shouted from the waters far below
And we saw the ancient warnings and we heard the ghostly cries
Of the men who ran the river long ago
And we prayed that they were with us
On the day we ran the rapids of the Green
[Echoing shouts.]
Now the memories are swirlin' in the eddies of our minds
But the waters of the Green are flowin' clear
And the canyon of Lodore will be a long remembered tale
To be told around the campfires through the years
Yeah, the gods were runnin' with us
On the day we ran the rapids of the Green
[Chorus]
And we died a thousand times in that forty miles of hell
The longest day of life we'd ever seen
But we lived to tell the story and we know the story well
The day we ran the rapids of the Green
[Echoing shouts. Fade out.]
Original contents Copyright ©2000
Edward Floden. All rights reserved.
"I'm the Doctor." "Doctor
who?" "Yes, precisely." -- The Doctor,
Doctor Who.
