Motorhomes, The South, and Southern Politicians

For those of us whose motorhome chassis is made by the Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation (FCCC), we have arrived at our "Mecca," the FCCC Oasis Service Center in Gaffney, SC.  This is probably the best place in the world to have your coach serviced if it has a Freightliner chassis.  The FCCC Oasis Service Center has about 18 camp sites with 50-amp electrical service provided.  In the morning, promptly at 8:00 AM they will drive our coach into one of their service bays where it will stay for most of the day while virtually every mechanical system on the coach is serviced.  All fluids and filters will be changed, the chassis will be lubricated, and everything will be inspected and corrected if necessary.  We purchased our motorhome new almost 6 years ago and were last in Gaffney to have it serviced at FCCC about 5 years ago.  In the years since, we have had most of the required servicing performed at various places in Texas.  However, before we get too far into this 7,000 plus mile trip I wanted the security and piece of mind of knowing that everything is as ready as possible for the trip.

Is South Carolina truly a Southern state?  Well, the first clue was when we exited the interstate in Gaffney and passed a small log cabin with a sign that read, “Possum Trot School.”  The next clue was a local restaurant’s billboard advertising “Fatback and Chow-Chow.”  Some of you people probably don’t what kind of food that is.  Some of you probably don’t even know that it’s food.  I guess you could call it soul food.  Fatback is a slab of pure pork fat and is used primarily in the South as a cooking additive (with beans, peas, potatoes, etc.) or can be fried crisp, like bacon.  Chow-chow is a pickled relish made from a number of vegetables (such as tomatoes, pickles, onions, peppers, etc.) and vinegar and may be anywhere from sweet to spicy hot.  It is usually made from the leftover vegetables at the end of the growing season and is often used on hot dogs, hamburgers, pork, pinto bean, butter beans, etc.

All of the 90 miles from Fair Play to Gaffney was on I-85.  For almost all of that distance the posted speed limit was 60 mph.  Being from Texas, it is most difficult to drive 60 mph.  In Texas, the speed limit on a 2-lane logging road is 70 mph while the speed limit on many state highways and almost all interstate highways is 75 mph.  There are even a few places where the speed limit is 80 mph!  Texas is the place to live if you are the type of person who doesn’t like the government telling you what to do.  

Now, I really don’t wish to make political statements in this blog, but you have to admit that Texas politics is “different.”  I think it is safe to say that most politicians get elected in Texas by promising to do everything in their power to make sure that no legislation is passed in Washington on their watch. 

The US Congressman from my district, I am embarrassed to report, has been Louie Gohmert since 2005.  I call him Gomer (as in Gomer Pyle), as he is a certified nutjob.  Gomer has gained attention by making some really outlandish statements.  Some of Gomer’s ideas, stands, opinions, statements, views, etc. include the following:

• There should be NO limit on the size of ammo magazines as “voters need at least 50 rounds” to shoot down government drones as they are spying over their backyard.
• President Obama’s foreign policy in the Middle East was a massive beginning of a new Ottoman Empire.
• John McCain is a “numb nuts.”
• Obama chose the debt-ceiling deadline to coincide with his birthday.
• The Ninth Circuit is not smart enough to bring egg and sperm together.
• Islamic terrorists are being trained to act like Hispanics.
• Religious institutions may be forced to hire Satan-worshiping, cross-dressing, animal-rapers.

He was the ONLY member of the House of Representatives to vote NO to striking the word “lunatic” from all federal laws.  “We want to eliminate the work ‘lunatic’ from the federal code?” Gohmert asked.  “That’s lunacy.”

Gomer sits on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Natural Resources.  These appointments seem rather ironic to me in that he is anti-federal law and doesn’t believe in global warning.  In his 7 years in Congress, Gomer has sponsored 75 bills.  Of those 75 bills, 1 passed the Senate with changes (Court Security Improvement Act of 2006), one was agreed to by consensus (Congratulating the Men’s National Soccer Team for their inspiring performance in the 2010 FIFA World Cup), three passed the House (Court Security Enhancement Act of 2006 and 2009, Recognition of the FBI on their 100th Anniversary, and the Columbia Space Shuttle Memorial Study Act), and the other 70 are still sitting in committee where they will probably never see the light of day.  He has missed 8.0% of roll call votes when the average of representatives currently serving is only 2.3%.  He is a real powerhouse.

It’s just too easy to make fun of Texas politicians and laughing about them certainly beats crying!