Blinded by the light

Well, the third and final day of MATS is upon us, and the morning sun is beaming down upon the Land Line Now booth in the north wing lobby like a beacon of hope, summoning all truckers to come and join us in our mighty quest to ... ahem, sorry. I got carried away for a minute there. That's what this place will do to you.

It's been a fun and informative ride so far, and it's not over yet. Late yesterday afternoon I tagged along with Jami Jones and Suzanne Stempinski to the lot where the show trucks are. That was an education unto itself. Those two, I think, knew just about everybody out there. I made the following statement to someone earlier this week and it still holds true: Between Jami, Suzanne and Sandi Soendker, if you can't find who you are looking for at this show, they probably don't exist.

Today, Leland Martin will join us at the Land Line Now booth for a few hours before heading out to the parking lot at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium to put on a show later tonight. Mark, Barry and I and some of the magazine crew will be headed out there. Should be a fun evening and a great way to cap off what has, for me anyway, been a great show.

In the meantime, I've still got a few more stories to chase down and possibly a few more I haven't even discovered yet. That's one of the great things about being a journalist at this show: There is never a shortage of stories just waiting to be told.

I have to go now. The beacon of the booth is beckoning me home.