Have you ever been to the truck stop at exit 193 on I-70, in Ohio? If you have, you’ll know what I mean when I tell you it’s the average dive truck stop. I stop there occasionally because it’s rarely crowded and I can get in and out quickly. The employees will actually return a “Hello” when you speak to them too, unlike the Pilot down the road.

I admit to not caring much for some truck stop employees, but after last night, I will always keep an eye out to help them.

There was a lunatic that came up to my truck asking for a cigarette. Odd looking character and he was dancing around a lot. He hissed at me when I told him to get away from the truck. There was something clearly wrong with this guy.

I watched him bother a few other trucks, then he went in the store. Some time passed and I went into the store. This guy was in there terrorizing the place. Someone had let their young girls go in the store alone and he was yelling jibberish at them. The store employees were scared to death and looking for something to hit him with (that probably would have worked against them later). I’m not a tough guy, but when I walked in and told him to settle down, he did, for a while. The employee asked me to stay as the other drivers had to leave earlier.

I asked if he had called the state troopers. To my surprise he said, “That’s who dropped him off!” He said he’d called the Sheriff hoping for help. Soon the Sheriff showed up and assured me he would not leave this guy there so I could go. Maybe the guy pulled himself together enough to fool the trooper into thinking he was ok. The trooper may have already arranged for the Sheriff to come for this guy too. Whatever the situation, dropping off derelicts at the truck stop just doesn’t make sense.

I felt bad for not following this guy into the store, or at least pulling up to where I could watch what he was doing. You just assume that the truck stop has enough folks to take care of something like that. In this case they just had a younger guy and younger girl in there to take care of things, and you see what the Ohio State Trooper did to them. Sometimes us drivers are all they’ve got looking out for them.