Making A Beeline For Buc-ee's BBQ Beef Brisket Sandwiches In Smiths Grove, Ky.

I have to admit that I did not pay a visit to the new Buc-ee's, one of our most talked about businesses in our county or even the region until this month. Our Buc-ee's is located about 19 miles up the road from us here in Bowling Green, Ky , on I-65. I went once in the afternoon and once in the morning, both on weekdays. The Texas based chain, Buc-ee's is the Wal-Mart of all super gas stations anywhere in the country and they offers tons of fuel pumps, their famous BBQ Beef Brisket sandwiches, beef jerky, Beaver Nuggets, fudge and glazed nuts among thousands of other items. And no semi-tractor trucks are allowed either. Only passenger vehicles and RV's are allowed. And they have many, many clean restroom stalls and urinals to offer too. Our Buc-ee's, which is nestled in Northeast Warren County, has been in the small town of Smiths Grove, Ky., for over a year now.  I first heard a lot about Buc-ee's, especially the buzz when it was announced that they were coming to town. Then it was the grand opening buzz.  Since my two visits there, I have determined that it's really not a place for locals to go.  It's for the interstate traveler.  That's who they have in mind and designed it for as well who they cater to.  It's for people who are traveling and who need to stop to fuel up and who want a nice place stop rather than having to deal with a truck stop and all of the diesel fuel as well as the black smoke in the air.  It's for people who are looking for clean restrooms and who don't want to wait in line to use one either.  It's for people who want to take their time looking around and shop. Mainly, it is for people who are hungry and thirsty.  Even though, I am a local, I wanted to stop out of curiosity just to see what all the buzz was about.  And I saw it with my own eyes.  Yes, it's everything they say it is and more.  To me, it's like going to Disney World. Everyone appears to be on vacation or at least traveling to a certain destination. It's extremely crowded. It's impossible to walk a straight line inside the mega giant gas station/retail store because everyone walks in front of you or they think you are walking in front of them.  I didn't try the fuel pumps so they I don't know what that experience is like. I used their restrooms during each visit. Yes, it is true. They are very clean and there are a lot stalls and urinals. And after I poured me Arizona Tea Watermelon flavor fountain drink, I also made a beeline for the Buc-ee's BBQ Beef Brisket sandwiches, paid for them and got out of there as quick as possible.  I repeated the same thing during each visit. And by the way, there's no place to sit down to eat or drink. So you have to go to your car, to do that. There BBQ Beef Brisket cost around $9.00 and they are worth it because they are delicious. 

So if you have never stopped at a Buc-ee's, you need to do it at least once, just to see what it is like.  Then you will see what I mean. 

Newsroom Chronicles No. 2

30 years ago yesterday I rebooted my pest management career on Feb 1, 1995. I had worked for Orkin, a nationwide pest management company prior for six months in 1989 before going to work in the newsroom at the Bowling Green Daily News in Bowling Green, Ky., in May of 1990. I worked there as an editorial assistant, staff writer and book reviewer for almost five years. Print journalism was my major course of study when I attended the University of (Ole Miss) in Oxford, Miss., from 1982-1987. However, after several turn of events and circumstances in my life where I pretty much hit a dead end in my newspaper career, it was time for me to move on. I decided to go back to Orkin. After I made a phone call to someone who I knew at the local branch and who apparently still believe in me, he was able to help me get back on. Also, a couple of other people I knew who also worked there, were a big support to me too. But during the first two years, I have to admit, I hated it. I had an ego problem. So I had to learn to shed my ego and so I checked out some self help tapes from our local library and I began to listen to them in my work truck as I drove down the roads and highways of Bowling Green and Southcentral Kentucky to my accounts. Mainly, I came to understand that we “we are not our jobs.” It’s just a label and it’s how we get our money. The real person is on the inside. It’s how we treat other people that really matters in life. So that’s how I learn to be successful in the pest management business which was to be nice to my customers. That’s what customers want the most is for their service person to be somebody they can trust, be nice and be respectful. And of course, take care of their pest issues too. So after 11 years with Orkin, I left there and went to work for Ecolab, a global corporation (commercial accounts only) working in the Bowling Green and Southcentral Kentucky market still. Again, those same principles applied with my customers for those last 15 years with Ecolab. When I retired from my pest management career after 27 years altogether, I worked in the retail world at Walmart for two years and then I tried my hand as a school bus driver for eight months for Warren County Public Schools. Unfortunately, I had to quit abruptly in order to stay home with my wife as her full-time caregiver not long after she was diagnosed with Parkinson's in April of 2024. I have been at home with her 10 months now and I can honestly say it's the toughest job that I have ever had. However, as I look back at all the years in my working career now that I am retired, it was my communication skills that I learned in journalism school at Ole Miss and my five years of work in the newsroom at the Bowling Green Daily News that gave me the confidence to excel in my pest management career with Orkin and Ecolab. Not to mention it was my education and newspaper experience that helped me greatly in that vast unknown and unchartered territory in life that we all experience in our working careers. And somehow by the grace of God, I have been able to find my way to get to this point where time has become my best friend.

"It Is Better To Light A Candle Than Curse The Darkness"-Eleanor Roosevelt

Newsroom Chronicles No. 1

I figured I wrote at least 5,000 obits for the Bowling Green Daily News from 1990-1995. For the first couple of years, I had to

Galen working in the newsroom in the early 90's.

transcribe them over phone from the funeral home while typing them into the computer. Then we advanced to having them faxed to us by the funeral homes with the latest technology at the time. However, at one point, I got to where I was making a lot of mistakes in the obits because of my dyslexia or learning disability. I was on the verge of being fired by the managing editor who had a notorious reputation of giving you hell if you got on his bad side. Needless to say, I got on his bad side. He gave me two weeks to straighten up or be shipped out. I even tried to make a deal with him like they do in politics in Washington, D.C. these days. He told me that he doesn't make deals. He was a former military man and he was strict. Anyway, I buckled down learned to focus on my work and concentration skills while I was at home at night and on the weekends. Mainly, I learned to slow down and read over the copy three times before I sent it on. After two weeks, he called me back into his office stating that I had improved and I was able to keep my job. I also apologized to him about trying to make a deal with him (I don't remember what the deal was about but he accepted my apology. He could be really firm when he had to be. In my case, he was really firm with me. He has passed away now) Instead, I took responsibility for my mistakes. If you are having problems at your job. No. 1.) Be respectful of your boss and take responsibility for your mistakes. Apologize and tell him or her that you will work on improving. Your attitude towards your boss and job is very important. 2.) Slow down and learned to do the job right. 3.) Practice and study your job skill set in order to improve. Practice your job requirements when you are off duty. In other words, practice your job on your own time at home. If you do these steps, you will be able to keep your job.