European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 30, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The new american Bya imme. Laforge new York times Hen Larry Puc Kroge began driving a Rig in 1973. Dirty old truck stops thai sold Greasy food and fuel along Iho Highway gave him Lilac incentive to Slop while he crisscrossed Tho country. Now. When he navigates 1-40 from Norm Carolina to Iho Wisl coast a knows Hall a dozen truck stops where he can find provisions and amenities that wore quite rare just a Law years ago he can can get a fresh salad and broiled no Fried Chicken Lake a Long hoi Shower shop Lor clothes. Gilts or truck supplies and Palor purchases with a major Rodil card. Ii he s heading Northeast with Timo to spare there s even a place to Stop for a workout a game of Pool or a Whirlpool Bath trucks slops with fresh Paisley and exercise rooms ii hardly is the image of the mom and pop service stations tha i have been Lix lures on Iho american Highway since the 1920s. Dial in the last  years the Industry has to transformed i sell Hal Many of the stale of Art Laci Litos do not even Bill themselves As truck stops anymore silting on 10to30acieso land they Call themselves travel plazas traveler s slops slopping centers and Aulo True flops whatever the terminology. They have proven lobe Good business the changes go far beyond Iho names menus in truck slops full Eie vice restaurants of Flor Hesh vegetables and Shand pasta Al prices that remain comparable to those at last loot 01 family restaurant chains. There Are also elaborate credit systems 24 hour service huge parking Lols and clean eat rooms. The truck stops Are much bigger than heir ancestors pumping anywhere from 750,000 to Over a million Gallons of diesel a month raking in $2 million o $15 million a year and employing an average of 100 people per truck Stop some Are trying total race More Mol oils and local residents. Perhaps the most important change is Hal by chains nocal. Flying a truck stops corp. Of America polio inc and Pilot Oil Are investing heavily in Iho fuck Slop business bolting that inner Sale highways arc a major in lapped Markol. Truck Stop hew Yolk to at Blurb Ridge Isle a tale of Oie Ari truck Stop in Slu Bridga man., truckers can Flay Pool and take a Whirlpool Tath plus shop and Sci out the Ultra of truck slops lies in big chains said Forrest Baker president of transportation research and marketing an Idaho based Market research company. Many Are following the business strategy of last Lood operators make one outlet so resemble the others Hal the customer will never be surprised. Companies Are striving to do with truck slops what Mcdonald s has done with fast Lood create a name that connotes a particular Standard of Quality so thai a traveler or trucker knows exactly what to expect on an unfamiliar stretch of  said Baker. For a truck Slop the benefits Are Clear. The Brand name draws them in said Ted Crew co owner of a nocal 76 Auto truck Stop Oil i-b4 in Southington Conn. Although Only about 10 percent of the 1,665 truck stops on interstate highways Are state of the Art la lilies most of the new cons Duclion underway and the sketches on the drawing boards Are Lor fancy upscale truck slops. The forces behind the changes Are varied. Truck slops must respond loan influx of women to the ducking profession the growing ranks of husband wife trucking teams and higher expectations of Quality and service among truckers said Kent s. Hedman. General manager of  corp. Of America which is owned by the Standard Oil co. Of Ohio and operates 41 Ful service truck stops in 20 Stales. And deregulation in thu trucking Industry has bred a new crop of High Caliper truckers looking for High Caliper service added Crew. Most of the major players in the truck Slop Industry Ara Petroleum companies that decided la open restaurants As a Way to encourage fuel sales after the fuel crises of the 1970s, however the res Laurants and such other facilities As shops took on new importance As profit censers. Truck slops used to Eickst economically on the margins from their fuel sales Crew said since the Oil crisis in he 1970s, they be had to learn to manage each individual profit Center the restaurant travel shop vending machines garage and so Torch Lor volume and Iofi lability. We re spending a lol of Money and Lime upgrading our work environment to attract higher Caliper employees and managers so we can compete in the years  Erma Bombeck \ was Bonn with Fth imagination of a food blender. Honest As a child i Nevei made up Slones Wilh my foils or turned in i tin essays about me even when i had kids and they Akrel Rue id toil Thorn a Story i Elliod on the originality of sonic one Eise. At o that changed dramatically the Day my children started going out without me to supervise Irreg. Overnight. I became a woman who created scenarios laser than Stephen King. And twice As bizarre if one of the kids had 1aven the car Oul into the night i d lie in bed and imagine that his engine died on a dark lonely Road and that a Van came Oul of nowhere with an evil Man behind the wheel who had asthma and rallied when he talked he would Oiler him a ride and Aller he accepted would drive him to a wharf an Arizona wharf and sell him into White slavery on a Given night the sound of a Siren was enough to get me Oul of my warm bed to shuffle through photo albums for a current picture to give to the police when they called. When Hoy were invited to spend the night at a Friend s House. My Itna Ganadon Hept me awake All night Long. I anti Cipale a Call from the Mother of the Friend who would Lay afe you Iho Mol Hor of our House guest the one who belched during Grace talked Wilh food in his Mouth and when i f.3sed him the mashed potatoes and sad what do you say to looked Blank and Jeptie do you want any More or can i Eal from the dish " and when i said yes. It sounds like my son Sho replied Curtly. We Are sending him Home in Acab. Don l Ever speak to me again All this win be put Down in an and and published on the tront Page of every major paper in the country i Don l  How Many of you have Ever had a child who announced i am going to travel through Europe this summer by myself but i m Here to Lell you no Mother should Ever have to endure those a Gully mind games our son text one june Wilh instructions Horn us to Call at least once a week so that when you disappear from the lace of Iho Earth we will know where to toll inner pm to snarl searching Lor  durig the next three weeks when to did t hear a word. I imagined that he hat rented a a Cycle been seduced by a barmaid Bei n kidnapped by drug dealers who plan Ted drugs in his Backpack and when to was caught was deported to a turkish prison. That was Only the lira night. I Reade up a new one every night following that. In the Middle of the fourth week the kid called to say i would have called sooner but i could t figure out How to use the  hell have More imagination. When to has children. Pago 16 the stars and stripes saturday january 30,1988