June 2011, Vol. 10, Issue 6

It's June and the summer hath arrived. Oh, and Truckin' is now nine years old. Wow? Nine.


1. Cusco to Ollantaytambo to Augas Calientes by Paul McGuire
People were streaming in all directions from all areas. A group of Peruvian guides, all short men around 5 feet in height with reddish brown skin in alpaca hats, had disembarked from what looked like a cattle car and two Peruvian rail workers at the train's doors hurled backpacks into a pile on the platform, where the guides hovered to retrieve their gear. Meanwhile, hundreds of tourists were getting off the train, while hundreds more were scrambling to catch the train before the doors closed. The train from Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu ran on the same singular track. A couple of times a day it transported tourists and supplies back and forth, back and forth... More

2. The Chosen by John Hartness
But it's still annoying. I'll grant that visiting a box that hasn't been touched in 25 years might raise an eyebrow or two, but I'm still blaming the attention of the lummox in the off-the-rack suit on my unwanted companion's unabashed card-counting. Either way, the brutes in suits might have had a few questions for me that I wasn't fully prepared to answer at exactly that moment, so I looked at my old pal Lucky.... More

3. Isn't It Good? by Kent Coloma
I once asked my mother if I could change my name to Jesus. I used to quiz my friends and they all wanted to change their name at one point in their youth. I have a stage name now. It's not Jesus. The usual Hollywood pseudonym. My friends and I used to intentionally mispronounce "pseudo" like "suede-oh" for our own amusement... More

4. Zen and the Art of the Frijol by George Tate
Being able to focus and enjoy the simplicity of everyday things is the joy of living. You're asking yourself where this bullshit is headed. I believe there is a Zen return to the Art of making a pot of beans. Breathe deeply and pour a fine glass of wine. Savor it and its flavor for the moment....More

5. The Beatles and I by Wolynski
To a child growing up in communist Poland, the Beatles were everything. There was Lenin, Marx and Brezhnev staring grimly from posters everywhere, promising a life of desolation, but just beyond the horizon, there was John, Paul, George and Ringo. We couldn't buy Beatle records, but they filtered in anyway.... More

What a Long Strange Trip It's Been...

From the Editor's Laptop

June is upon us, which means Truckin' would make a great addition to your summer reading pile. So print up this issue and bring it with you to the beach, or the pool, or into the bathroom with you.

The contributors at Truckin' are passionate souls and they write for the love of the written word, which is a fancy way of saying they write for free. True passion. What can be more genuine art than writers exposing their souls to you? And that's what Truckin' authors do month after month. I'm inspired by the tremendous amount of courage that flows through the writers. It's not easy to spill your guts for others' amusement.

So, please help spread the word about Truckin' by any and all means necessary. Email your favorite stories on any and all forms of social media possible. Many thanks in advance for your help.

Contact us if you'd like to be added to the mailing list. Or, if you're interested writing for a future issue, then please check out out submission guidelines and drop us an email.

Before I go, I want to thank you, the reader, for supporting us every month since 2002. Nine years? Wow. The long-form written word is slowly dying off, but each of you keep the spirit burning alive with your unwavering support for Truckin'.

Be good,
McG

"The more I see, the less I see for sure." - John Lennon