Sitting with my feet propped up in a VFW hall in Alcoa, Tennessee thumbtyping on my blackberry, I ponder that familiar scene of the author hunched over his typewriter staring blankly at a white sheet of paper. The paper peers back with the same empty gaze.

I am struck with the urge to create something....anything. Maybe I'll write. Or perhaps film something. I could edit some footage. Surely I'll be able to release this energy welling up inside.

Yet, I feel like I have nothing to say. Nothing is coming out. No inspiration comes. I labor on, but to what avail? A lousy blog entry? That's it? A pile of words warped into paragraph of meaningless meandering?

I remain frustrated.

My thumbs keep flying around the tiny keyboard, spewing out letter upon letter, with me a witness and watcher hoping for something with Spirit to materialize. Will it? Does it?

The space at the end of each paragraph taunts me at every turn. It seduces me to stare and wallow in her blankness. The empty page beneath my hollow words mocks me mercilessly.

Do I need to fill the entire screen with uninterrupted streams of run on sentences in an attempt to hide it away completly? Will I have to obscure every inch of this tiny screen to defeat the demon?

Nope.

I welcome your empty inspiration. From nothing comes something. Without 'without' we wouldn't have 'with', would we? There would be no Mona Lisa without a blank canvas.

Have I killed the block? Maybe. I've at least subdued it. The itch has been scratched..... for now.

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Daily Greeting 12-23-07
Video sent by iLiveInMyTruck

Ok... here's the video for today. I found a place to grab some free wifi from the Englewood, TN police dept, no less. Thanks!

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Woke up yesterday and felt like making a music video after getting the Roger Miller song stuck in my head.

Here's a little about my home, why I live in it, and of course, the obligatory cooking and/or eating shot. I seem to film this activity quite frequently. Some love the meal making and burrito magic, others couldn't care less.

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I met Jan Willem when visiting dutch artist friend Erik Van Loon in support of his Bike Lane Stars project.

Jan Willem showed me the fifty illustrations he created in one day.

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I've been spoiled lately, staying in a hotel room donated to Uncovering America by the Rock Bottom Stables in Mount Juliet, TN. The weather is warm and sleeping in the truck would not have been a problem, but who can turn down such a kind offer? They have been very generous to all of us, taking us out to dinner several times as well.

Last night I started practicing my roping skills, throwing a rope at a set of plastic steer horns. The night before, I worked on riding a horse up next to a dummy steer being pulled at a steady pace by a four wheeler. Right now, I can't imagine combining the two skill sets to be able to ride and rope at the same time. I'm learning that it takes some real talent to be able to be a cowboy. I'd like to keep learning to ride and how to keep and care for a horse.

Blackie has been resting after pulling up lame with a slight limp a few days ago. We are just about to leave the hotel for the stables to put him out in a round pen and inspect his recovery from a pulled muscle. After that, Bill and I will scout the route for he and Blackie to ride through Nashville.

Tomorrow, a square dancing club is holding a fundraiser to help Uncovering America reach their final destination of Hendersonvile, NC which will take us all through a cold and possibly snowy trek through the Appalachian mountains.

So far, I really haven't spent any time in Nashville proper because we've been stationed about 25 miles east-north east from the city. Hopefully today and tomorrow will allow more time to explore.

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Be careful if you drive on the playa in the Black Rock Desert, especially if you see any signs of water on the surface.

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Nashville's Most Wanted Pizza
207 Woodland St
Nashville, TN 37213

(615) 291-9583

(tell them you read about them on iliveinmytruck.com, they'll get a kick out of that!)

I drove ahead of the cowboy to scout out Nashville this afternoon. I dropped off some of his press releases to CBS, Fox and Nashville Public Radio. Bill and Brenda are 20 miles back in Pleasant View Tennessee finishing the day's ride and looking for a place to stay for the night.

When I was in Paonia Colorado in September I spent time socializing at Louie's pizza. I even washed dishes there for a night to pay my tab. That night I worked with a young girl named Abby. Louie's used to be called Pizza My Heart when operated by Abby's parents, the previous owners, Donna and Zach Mann.

Abby is now in Nashville and her parents run their recently opened Nashville's Most Wanted Pizza. It's perfectly located right across from LP Field, the home of the Tennessee Titans. Sunday game days are crazy busy. There is a home game this weekend, so their new business will be booming.

I've been here for an hour enjoying their company while I munch on Donna's delicious baked chicken wings. I ordered six each the Chipolte Diablo and the Sins of Memphisto. Crispy jumbo wings, the former with secret seasonings and a hot chipolte sauce and the latter with a Memphis style dry rub. They're fantastic!

I'll be around Music City for a several days soaking in the sights and sounds. The Mann's have a son, Travis who plays music, so I hope to catch another of his shows this weekend. I filmed him in Paonia. Maybe I will again, because last time he had a fill in guitar player. I look forward to hearing his regular lead picker.

Cowboy Bill has earned a night out on the town and some good Nashville rockabilly country could hit the spot!

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I still need to compile clips from the 10 days I spent out on the Black Rock Desert, but here's a little moment of mayhem I just came across...

I love America. God Bless the Constitution and the 2nd Amendment.

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Monday Re-brunch in Washington Heights

Hello from Manhattan, in the neighborhood of Washington Heights. I stop to re-enjoy my brunch from the Cowgirl Hall of Fame restaurant on Hudson St in the West Village.

mmmm mmmm good.

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UPDATE: March 19, 2008

I have been looking at my web stats and I find it so interesting that I get at least a half dozen people a week who are searching for tater tot pizza. Where is all this interest coming from? Why are you searching for tater tot pizza? Where did you hear about it? Please leave a comment.
Thanks,
Dallas


The day breaks with a tasty feast featuring venison steak. The kill is courtesy of a local resident who bagged several deer so far this season with his Amish friends.

It was prepared with care by Brenda, Cowboy Bill's wife of 27 years. She makes eggs to order and serves us grits, skillet toast and tender grilled venison. This is a true breakfast of champions.

We spend the afternoon at an Amish farm taking care of Blackie's needs for hoof care and fresh shoes. The young men running the shoe shop bang out a set of horse shoes in a half hour. That's fast.

They work in the 12' by 12' one room shoe shed, akin to a little roadside barber shop. It has a woodstove, anvil, hitching rail and a rack of horse shoes. They can do two at a time in this meager space. And they do it all day long, six days a week for less than $40 a horse. That's cheap.

Bill does his own shoeing, expertly at that. The three chat and trade stories for an hour.

Later, the young boy cracks a bull whip in the air outside testing a fix he did to the whip while watching Bill work away.

He heads to the barn and mounts a rowdy mule. He breaks him, running in extremely tight circles around the barn. In a few minutes, he leads him out for a short jaunt down the dusty dirt road. He continues to use the whip to simulate gun shots, conditioning the mule for hunting excursions.

The one room schoolhouse on the hill overlooks the farm, just across the road. Children attend through the 8th grade. Then learn life by living it. It's a simple life. And a good one at that.

We all part company in the early aftenoon.

Now I sit at Chet's Pizza, typing my reflections of the day. A cold beer hits the spot. Chet is a Korean War vet and former Golden Glove boxer undefeated with fifteen of seventeen knockouts in his pro career. He makes his own Italian sausage and serves up tasty pies in a tiny Tennessee town.

His pizzas are layered so thick you need a fork lift to serve a large. Seriously, you could feed a farmload of Amish with these pies. I've never seen a pizza so thick.

I order it with his secret 14 spice sausage, jalapenos and green olives.

Chet asks me, "Did you want some tater tots on that?"

"Sure Chet,", I reply with gratitude, "I'd love some tater tots on my pizza".

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