I grew up traveling. Our trips back then were all road trips. This was the 1970’s and that’s just how my parents traveled. Most of our trips were just for fun but dad usually took mom and I along when he had to go to Dalton, Georgia to order carpet. Over the years we had sedans, station wagons and vans. I always had a pillow and quilt/blanket in case I got tired. I’d also have a collection of books and toys with me. I enjoyed our journeys, but just in case we hit an area that was very boring, I had to be able to entertain myself. Road trips back then weren’t all interstates. There were still some areas that didn’t have them. We used plenty of state highways and country roads in our travels.

If I got tired of being in the back, I could climb in the front seat, between my parents, and hang out with them. The front seat also gave me access to the CB radio. The CB radio, now there was something that started some great adventures and spawned many stories for me.

CB radios were wildly popular back then. I loved hearing people talking back and forth but my favorites were the truck drivers. I was crazy about big trucks and thought if someone drove a truck, they must be great. They had one of the best jobs in the world because they got to see the world from behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler.

The glamorized trucker lifestyle and the CB radio influenced music, tv/movies and advertising. I loved the Old Home Bread Commercials which inspired the hit song Convoy. These commercials were written by C.W. McCall aka Bill Fries. At the time, he was a creative director at an advertising agency. Another favorite of mine was Red Sovine. His songs about truckers also spoke to me.

You could also hear a variety of music in our car. If you passed us and the windows were down, you might hear the music of John Denver, Glen Campbell, Perry Como, Andy Williams or Ray Conniff wafting out of our windows. If we got tired of our 8 track tapes, we’d listen to the radio or turn on the CB.

Dad taught me how to use the CB and said I could get on it as long as I was respectful and not goofing around. CB radios were fun but also a valuable tool for travelers to inform each other about road hazards, radar traps and a variety of things.

I was fascinated with the talk about “bears,” convoys, people “having their ears on,” and so on. It was like a magical language to a young boy.

I came up with Baby Jaws as my handle. We’d been hearing a lot about the movie Jaws and I had heard the word jabberjaw as a way to describe someone that talked a lot. I was too young to see the movie and my parents weren’t movie goers anyway. In my mind, Baby Jaws was a good description of me. I loved to talk, was young and always on the hunt for adventure.

There were a few times we met truckers for a meal. We only did this after talking with them for quite a while. We typically met them at truck stops which were like wonderlands to me. I got to see trucks, drivers, get something to eat, pick up some kind of nicknacks for the journey and to take home. It was also where dad would take me over to the trucks so I could kick the tires. I had no idea what I was doing. I just knew that I’d seen truckers do it. Years later, I found out that it was a general way of checking tire pressure.

One of my favorite trips was taking my aunt and cousin back to Florida after they’d been visiting us. It would give us an excuse to spend some more time with them and enjoy a road trip. During this trip, my aunt said she’d been hearing so much about the CB radio and wanted to try it. She had been thinking about what kind of handle to give herself and decided she was going to be the Florida Kitty. She thought it was cute. My parents agreed but said truckers might get the wrong idea. She didn’t think so and was determined to keep it. Dad handed her the mic.

When she spoke in her soft, southern accent and said, “Breaker 1-9, this is the Florida Kitty. Anyone copy?” There was a moment of quiet and then the airwaves lit up with all truckers wanting to talk to her. At first, it was all playful and nice, but it didn’t take long to change. A few of drivers let her know that they were interested in meeting the Florida kitty. They weren’t looking for intellectual conversations either. They wanted to know where she was planning to stop so they could come meet her. It freaked her out, she handed the mic back to my dad and never tried the CB radio again.

Later in that trip, everyone was asleep except for dad and me. It was 1am and we were just cruising along. In the distance, I saw a large sign for 24-hour miniature golf. I’d never seen anything like this. I asked dad if we could stop and play golf and he said we could if everyone wanted to do it. So, we woke everyone up and asked if they wanted to play miniature golf at 1am. Surprisingly, and thankfully, they all said yes. It took a few minutes for everyone to stretch and wake up, but we did and we had a great time. Once we finished the game, we got back on the road and kept driving. That was a moment we never forgot. In fact, the whole trip was memorable.

My parents made a point of enjoying the journey and not just rushing to get to a destination. That’s a lesson that has always stayed with me. Don’t rush past something that could be a memory that lasts forever.

I was Baby Jaws for all of the 1970’s but as the 80’s came in, I didn’t like the Baby Jaws handle anymore. Jaws was old and I wasn’t a baby. I changed my handle for a little while but then we didn’t use the CB radio much anymore anyway. I was growing up and moving on.

Thanks for the memories, Baby Jaws. Those were good years and good memories.