Hybrid

Next time you're on vacation, driving around rural America, and you happen to be on Interstate 80 in Iowa between Davenport and Iowa City, stop at the I-80 Truck Stop.

Why? Because it's the world's largest truck stop. It sits on 220 acres, which is twice the size of Disneyland, though not all of the land is developed, yet.

It sports a movie theater, a dentist and chiropractor, two dozen private showers, a barber shop, a car wash, a gift shop with over 75,000 items, and yes, a restaurant that serves almost 100 million cups of coffee each year. And it employees 450 people.

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His new hybrid car was my friend's pride and joy. He was always bragging about it, boring his buddies to exasperation.

As he was giving a few of us a ride one day, he pontificated, "They should have a special lane for people who care about the environment."

"They already do," came a voice from the back seat. "It's called a sidewalk."

[Reader's Digest "Life in These United States"]

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WORDS for YOUR WEEK: "Don't blow it -- good planets are hard to find." (Time Magazine)

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