In an old abandoned truckstop, north of Rhome Texas lives Stagger Lee.
US 287 was put on the main cattle drive route into Fort Worth Texas, and Stagger Lee, the cattle hauler was in the truckstop taking a shower when the place went out of business. The lights went off, the water stopped leaving Stagger Lee to pick up his belongings and try to escape the nameless building. It took weeks for him to dig his way out and when he did escape, his truck and load were repossessed. So instead of making a fuss about losing his 1984 Marmon Cabover, Stagger decided to make the old truckstop his home.
As Stagger grew into an old man, he gained wisdom and insight into the affairs of humanity that many would give their lives for. When the liquor store that was close by shut down in this abandoned strip of buildings, Stagger was no longer within walking distance of booze and cigarettes. The absence of these cleared his mind so as to be able to see into the minds of men. His contact with the political world stopped with Reagan and he is better for it. As he has told me many times..."What difference does the name on the door make when they all lead to Hell'? He has a point. His logic is simple yet definitive! He has a mind that is not cluttered with media swill as he still thinks televisions have tubes! He is a man who's mind is uncluttered by the hoards telling him what is right and wrong.
At times, a lonely trucker will park his 18 wheeler in the asphalt parking lot that has been forgotten by most but the old time truckers, they remember this fuel stop from another time. This is how the wisdom of Stagger Lee gets spread throughout the world. This man who lives on trucker generosity and kindness gives his wisdom in exchange for a can of spam or a cup of soup. He is the source of wisdom for the weary trucker in search of something that they can attach themselves to for guidance. He is of the opinion that the American Indian had it right in the first place and that foreigners from across the ocean ruined it for them. This idea of allowing the earth to supply the simple needs instead of one person owning it all and the rest of us work for them has become foreign to him.
If there was ever a "Truckstop Prophet" it is Stagger Lee.
The last time I saw him, he was still wearing his confederate flag jacket and trying to get his Conway Twitty 8 track to play in the powerless, abandoned building.
