Leaving Kings Mountain. I'm heading east to Maxton, NC to pick up a load that I'm supposed to drop in NJ. The truck feels so empty without Mara. I'll miss Ria, too, but Mara is my home. This will be the first time since Sept. 1999 that we've been apart for this long. Hell, it'll be the first time since 2003 that we haven't been constant companions. Right now I'm still tired and sleepy. I don't want to think too much about these changes or about how I miss Mara already.