European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 26, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Doily Magazine truckers Overland delivery to Mideast by Paul Hofmann new York times trucking from West pm Europe 16 the Middle East is a Boom Industry right but it is entangled in red tape Woven by a dozen governments and suffering from cutthroat Day and heavy rigs arc pounding the roads of two continents to take elec tronic equipment from prance to Iran or machinery from West Germany to saudi As seaports on the persian Gulf and in the red sea arc chronically Oil Money is utilized to willingly pay High freight rates to get the merchandise quickly by Road rather than wait for weeks and even months to have it unloaded from that where the Money a trucker from West boasted recently at the bar of the Gellert hotel in this is a place not normally patronized by the Continental counterparts of american teamsters but the Stocky German in a leather jacket said he had just made on a trip to you can make a killing in this the German if you dont mind Only a few hours sleep for Days and weeks on the food you often and waiting around at Frontier Points for Many a bulgarian Todor said at a rest Stop near Vienna Border controls Are getting increasingly customs guards throughout Europe always suspect us of smuggling dope from Turkey to the automobile Drivers honk at us and curse at Why do we hog the Many roads Are narrow and crowded and our rigs arc with a the bulgarian added Only the girls love us asked about citizen band he said he had never heard of a West German who overheard the broke in police in some of the countries we Are crossing would become pretty suspicious if we carried two Way there Are also other counterintelligence agencies in Western euro Pean countries reportedly noted lately that some men driving trucks with Eastern european plates did not really look like team sters and seemed singularly could they be spies according to one possibly apocryphal austrian investigators recently asked the Driver of an East bloc who to them looked like a military officer in to change a wheel and show them How he would go about making minor engine the idea was to find out whether trucking was just a cover for something or whether the Driver was a genuine Walling times at International Bor Ders crossed by the West East truck ing routes tend to lengthen because several countries arc tightening controls and collecting new transit Turkey has for some time levelled Spe Cial fees on truckers from Western who have no Choice but to pay All Road transports to the Middle East converge on the new Bridge across the bos chorus and must negotiate the forbidding Mountain passes of Yugoslavia has announced its intention to introduce a new transit tax for foreign haulers on May 1 As a contribution to the Upkeep of its battered Austria is considering a similar Levy on haulage by foreign the web of new transit taxes May spread to other countries in Western the new fiscal burdens Are driving up trucking a West German exporter recently paid for ship Ping machine tools to Iran on a danish 38ton trailer Lon distance truckers find increasingly hard to get transit countries along the West East route used to Issue documents authorizing a Hauler to make a fixed number of trips across their territory during a several transit coun tries Grant permits Only for individual the hauling Industry in Western Europe complains about what it describes As the reckless pricing policies of the state con trolled trucking meets in communist a especially truckers in soviet bloc countries have no Union contracts and get much lower pay than their Western european this enables the communist transportation combines to under bid Western com despite the disparity in pay there is rough camaraderie among truckers from Western nations and the Eastern they pull up at the same Roadside eating places and engage in horse play during their Short rest stops and Long wafts at Border and help one another in if you Are in a dont expect any assistance from a cop or the Driver of a passenger a Roma Nian Lon distance tracker theres a Good Chance that another whatever the License will pull up and some buddy will ask it he can do anything for the latest Hazard in the trucking Busi Ness is the disappearance of entire heavy rigs parked for the Driver lore is that the new truck stealing Racket cargo and All is a new sideline of the sicilian mafia with hired operatives from Yugo Slavia and the Nickel Coffee Stop by Jules Loh associated press a a time when a Pound uncut has Street value of where can someone hopelessly Strung out still get a Nickel cup of Coffee of were out in the Middle of All said George but the Coffee is a Nickel and refills arc All you there is no doubt about the clientele Geroge Dasovich caters to with his Nickel Coffee and his glad hand License Hood Orna ments and a 54 Chevy crankshaft decorate the tire chains screen off the end of the in a predominant Section just inside the printed cards on the tables say reserved for profession Al an order sent to the Kitchen from one of those tables is put ahead of the the place is called the Star inn and As its manager in the Middle of no at 180 exit so in were 65 Miles West of Des 45 Miles East of Iowa five Miles North of Victor and six Miles South of you  ask for a better i Call it the heartland of the Beautiful has a Nice ring to so does Georges Cash Road master passed the word to gear gear grinder told Denver pretty soon Good buddies from one end of inter state 80 to the other which is coast to coast heard about the Star inn and its trucks crowd the parking lot 24 hours a the Star inn Doest truckers have a lonely the Man Ager they like to act Gruff and rough but there there really very sensitive there proud of being truckers and they ought to there really proves they like to Stop and shoot the Breeze with each other and tease the the Little one with the Brown eyes is she gives it Back As fast As they dish it out and they love this is their social its a break in a Long monotonous Day not just to eat but to relax and freshen follow Rashovich led Pic Way Down a corridor behind the dining past a bulletin Board with news of Road clips from trucking personal Mes to a lounge where several truckers sprawled on couches watching television and a Shower room with five stalls was next to the dining room a shop sold work Turquoise Girlie a garage behind the filling station was stocked with Auto we try to have everything they but i think Iff the whole Atmo sphere that attracts them they know there that and the its All every thing done right including we serve whole Hoe co bread Iowa the trick is in the if i do say i can do wonders with shallots and wine and not ingredients one would expect to find in a truckers Belt Buster of chopped vegetables or an inter Steak 80 breakfast of 6ounce hash Toast my cooking is a Little bit of every Rashovich i Learned from my croatian from a lithuanian named Joe which want his real and mainly from a greek named Nick i buried Nick two years ago in Iowa City and put on his Gravestone Friend and George Dasovich is a big Burly Man of 49 with a Raspy voice and an easy Hes had us share of hard knocks but there is not a Trace of bitterness in he laughs and truckers know him As a soft he started teaming the food business working in a grocery store from the time was 10 years old until he went off to he got a degree in accounting and tried his hand at that but didst like he moved to Iowa went into debt and opened a while he was at mass one sunday morning the cafe burned he went deeper into debt and opened an other restaurant with the Promise that the neighbourhood would be it he lost that place in paying off my debts and things Are looking be i like toe Star its a wholesome place to by some stroke of Fate the Green inter state sign that announces exit 50 also bears the strange name of a town 21 Miles truckers find George Dasovich by turning off where it says exit what april 1977 the stars and stripes Page 13