I’m not talking about a doorknob. I’m talking about the name you had when talking on a CB radio. Back in the 70s when I was a kid, most everyone had a CB Radio including my own parents. It was what they called a cultural phenomenon. I guess cell phones are a cultural phenomenon today. The greatest part was that once you paid for the radio, that was it, there were no monthly costs and you didn’t have to worry about running out of a signal.
I used to beg my daddy to let me talk on their radio. You could just hear all the truckers and other listeners rolling their eyes and then probably changing channels. There were all kinds of terms, kind of like our acronyms today, only cooler. You could say something like “What’s your 20? There’s a smoky at the chicken coop, so you better not lay your hammer down.” In other words, “what’s your location? There’s a police officer at the weigh station so don’t go fast.” Isn’t that the coolest? So much better than SMH, IDK or IYKYK. Mostly, I would just say, Breaker, Breaker, One Nine, which is a request to break into a channel or 10-4 good buddy (yes, friend ) and then I would giggle. My handle was Kitten, a name my Aunt Sue gave me.
Being a southerner in the 70s meant you probably watched Smokey and the Bandit. There was a lot of talking on the CB radio in that movie. For example, Cledus “The Snowman” Snow, (a truck driver) said, “You got the Snowman, I’m east bound and down,” which means this is Cledus Snowman and I’m driving fast with the accelerator pedal pressed all the way to the floor.” How could you not like that movie? The smokey (policeman) was Buford T. Justice and the bandit (law breaker) was Burt Reynolds. I don’t remember much about the movie except that the Smokey chased the bandit and Carrie, the hitchhiker (Sally Field) from Texas to Georgia in a Trans-Am and something about beer. Everyone cheered for the bandit and the Smokey was a buffoon.
Songs (about CB Radios) were very popular as well. Of course, East Bound and Down, by Jerry Reed, from the movie Smokey and the Bandit was great.
‘East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’
We gonna do what they say can’t be done
We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there
I’m east bound, just watch ol’ Bandit run’
Remember Convoy by C.W. McCall? It had CB Jargon, talking AND singing. It was gold!
Yeah breaker one nine this here’s the Rubber Duck
Uh, you got a copy on me Pig Pen C’mon
Uh yeah Ten-Four Pig Pen fer sure fer sure.
By golly it’s clean clear to Flag Town, C’mon
Yeah its a big Ten -Four there Pig Pen
Yeah we definitely got the front door, good buddy
Mercy Sakes Alive looks like we’ve got us a convoy
And then the chorus…
Cause we got a little ol’ convoy
Rockin’ through the night
Yeah, we got a little ol’ convoy
Ain’t she a beautiful sight?
Come on and join our convoy
Ain’t nothin’ gonna get in our way
We gonna roll this truckin’ convoy
‘Cross the USAAAAAAA
Convoy!
I bet you’re singing it in your head. Ha Ha! I remember convoys back in the 70s on the interstate. I never knew why the trucks were all bunched up but there was usually a good reason.
Of course, we all cried to Red Sovine’s, “Teddy Bear” song, a country classic about a disabled young boy who spends his days talking to truck drivers on his late father’s CB radio, striking up a special bond with a trucker known as “Red.” Teddy Bear tells Red how hard it is for his mom since his dad died. Red asked Teddy Bear for his address and asked his trucker friends for help.
We took up a collection for him before his mama got home
And each driver said goodbye and then they were all gone.
He shook my hand with a mile-long grin
And said, “So long, trucker, I’ll catch you again!”
I hit that interstate with tears in my eyes
And I turned on the radio and I got another surprise.
“Breaker, one-nine,” came a voice on the air,
“Just one word of thanks from Mama Teddy Bear.
We wish each and every one a special prayer for you
‘Cause you just made my little boy’s dream come true.
I’ll sign off now before I start to cry.
May God ride with you. Ten-four, and goodbye.
We were all crying because back then you didn’t worry about pedophiles and giving out your address.
Phantom 309 was also a Red Sovine song. It was about a ghost driving an 18-wheeler. A hitchhiker gets picked up by Joe, who drives a truck called Phantom 309. Joe drops the hitchhiker off safely at a roadside diner and even gives him a dime for coffee. It’s an old song. Anyway, the waitress tells him that Joe died 10 years earlier at the exact location that Joe picked him up. I know it’s just a song, but I have goosebumps.
I guess I’m just a bit nostalgic today, remembering simpler times and wishing coffee still cost a dime. Let me know what your handle was and if you enjoyed talking on the CB radio.
Karen G. Bruce 