Neal Wooten’s Code Talkers
Corresponding on the internet and cellphone these days, especially with the younger generation, means learning a lot of abbreviations and code words and phrases. Often I find myself asking what something means. A “noob” is a beginner and the words “for” and “to” have become “4” and “2”. I often wonder what people do with all the time they save by typing “K” for “OK”. Just makes me want to LOL and say OMG.
I guess it’s just human nature to want to create your own language. If we think young people on the internet are crazy about that, think about the old days and CB radios. Did you ever have a CB and converse with truck drivers? That was a whole other world.
For several years just before becoming a teenager, my dad drove a truck. Once I rode with him on a two-week trip to California and Montana. Seeing the scenery of new places was of course interesting, but listening to the communications between the folks on the CB was more entertaining.
“Breaker 1-9. Anyone got their ears on? I’m northbound on 95th Street and we got a Buster Brown greasy side up at yardstick 245 with alligators in the road. For my backdoors, keep it on the double nickel and watch out for the meat wagon and old Mr. Smokey. Copy?”
That would be a person on channel 19, the preferred channel for truckers back in the day, asking if anyone is listening because they’re on I-95 North and there’s a UPS truck turned over at mile marker 245 with tire rubber and other debris in the road, so anyone coming behind them should keep it at 55 mph and watch out for the ambulance and police.
Of course they had many terms for law enforcement. Bear (any officer), full-grown bear (state trooper), Smokey Bear (highway patrol), mama bear (female officer), bear in the air (law aircraft), bear in the bushes (speed trap), plain brown wrapper (unmarked car), gumball machine (lights on top a police car), county mountie (deputy), Evel Knievel (motorcycle cop), local yokel (small-town cop), Kojak with a Kodak (police with a radar gun), and the police station was called a den of bears.
But at least people back in the CB radio days had the good sense not to give out too much information. You never even knew their real names, just their handle. I think I went by “Country Boy.” And no one gave you their actual 20 (location) unless they were driving by it and passing along a hazard warning.
Kids today share everything and it’s unwise. Do I think they could learn something from truckers? That’s a big 10-4.