I started this road trip at John Boyd’s gravesite in Arlington Cemetery. Now I am at another cemetery, that of Wild Bill Hickock in Deadwood. After watching David Carradine’s brief but brilliant portrayal in the eponymous HBO show, I came to truly appreciate the cowboy archetype. Underneath the tackiness of pop American gunslinger lore is a much deeper decision-making doctrine. There’s a reason “Ready, Fire, Aim” has become a larger philosophy in areas like stock-trading and entrepreneurship. In another age, Wild Bill might have John Boyd or Jack Welch.

Gary Overgard got in touch just as I was concluding I had no readers in Omaha. We had an excellent lunch along with Harpreet Singh, a quasi-reader (Gary forwards him my stuff on occasion; it’s been interesting meeting such 1-degree removed readers on the trip). Both are Smalltalk programmers, hence my amazingly clever joke.

Incidentally, Gary discovered my writing via his son. This might be the first two-generation reader family I’ve met.

Timing is everything. Apparently I do have a reader in St. Louis, but Akshita contacted me just a little too late, a few hours after I blew town.

When I have time, I like to take short breaks at rest stops, especially when the weather is nice. I prefer them to service plazas or actual exits. Your mind stays in travel mode, but it feels like a moment of meditative calm. It is easier to become aware of the tempo of a road trip at a rest stop. It’s a pity they aren’t particularly safe, or I’d sleep at rest stops. If states threw in WiFi, showers and security, they’d be packed ever night, boosting local economies. Rest Stops 2.0?

The last time I was in Memphis, I dutifully went to the Gibson Guitar Factory like everyone else. This time, Airbnb-ing in the midtown Cooper-Young area allowed me to stumble serendipitously onto the Memphis Drum Shop. Much more apropos for Tempo and an ex Tabla player like myself.

Deepak Jois has launched a copy of the Stealth Edition named "Rabble Rouser" on its journeys from Seattle. He writes

The Tempo Tracer Game for the stealth edition is finally seeing some action. It is taking much longer for people to finish and pass on the book than I expected, and a surprising number of people actually want to keep their copy rather than pass it on.  But looks like a few people are game for the game.

Terry Smiley writes: "I really enjoyed the book; now I just need to get senior management to read it!" 

He's named his copy "Lame Name."

The drive down the center of America from Detroit to Nashville is fascinating. Among the interesting Tempo-related things I noticed was that the car/truck ratio was much lower than on the coasts. Correlates to the lower population and greater presence of logistics industries, and gives driving here s very distinct feel. It’s like being in a forest of semis instead of an open road.