stories "on the road",part four...

people have said that i have a book to write in my soul,and i know that,because my life "on the road" was difficult,but was fascinating to live through... however,i am having a very hard time putting it together,because,honestly,it brings back some memories that are hard to deal with,at least,at this time... folks,i do plan on writing my book,but to expand on the day to day stories will be difficult,because they are all true,fascinating,funny,and a few of them are rather strange,as i met people almost every day that sometimes are unforgettable... some of the stories are not simply strictly "on the road",but of people that i met while living in various places... a few of them called me nicknames that i actually used in living in those places,like the fellow in Orange County,California,who one day while in line at the Fullerton Armory,started to call me,"Leo",for no reason,and when i was there,people knew me as "Leo"... i even signed my name as Leo Shaw,when i was at the Armory,for the six month period that i was there... some people that i met while "on the road" were mean,nasty,and vicious people,but for the most part,i stayed away from them,but folks,to protect myself,sometimes,i became friends with them,so if someone messed with me,i would call "Fred",and "Fred" would walk over to me,and take one look at the guy who was giving me guff,and just say,"what is up,Chris???",to me... i would point my finger at some bozo,and the bozo would take off running at full gallop,because my friend would be the one person that no one would want to mess with,and i then start laughing so hard that you could hear me for blocks... however,it did not happen too often,because i stayed alone most of the time for my protection... funny thing was,and still is,that i can walk into various cities and not be bothered by the thugs,most of the time,because i act somewhat nutty(go Psycho Nut,as i call it),or people tended to care,and protect me,for no reason,and i used that strange attitude of theirs towards me,for my benefit... that was to survive,folks,and i did survive,a little banged up,but in one piece... while "on the road",i was mugged and robbed fourteen times,and got hit by three cars(two of those were side swipes-not too serious)... my back suffered many beatings,including one massive smash by a Buick,and both knees were ruined by a car(same Buick),along with breaking my left knee cap in half,falling on concrete,one Easter Sunday,and still walked five miles with the pain,that day... strangely,the muggings and beatings happened mostly,in Sacramento,and Reno... coming home was more dangerous then being "on the road",for some odd reason... actually,in an eight month period,in 1998,i was in the state of California only eight days(Mid-April,to Mid-December)... oddly,i just did not want to be "at home",because there was nothing(at that point)to be "at home",for me,so i stayed away... at that time of my journey,things were often so messed up that i just survived by traveling most days...