10-10-10, good buddy.

Among the many travesties our government has perpetrated upon its citizenry is its recommendation five years ago that CB users cease to utilize the official Ten Code, "in favor of regular language."

I can't help but wonder, "What do they think a code is?"

Alas, we bid farewell to "10-4" (affirmative), "10-30" (danger), "10-26" (estimated arrival time), and "10-20" (location, as in "What's your 20?")

Sadness.

But I would rather light a bonfire than curse the fog.

Today, on the unique and estimable date of 10-10-10, in honor of my dad, a classical scholar and lifetime Libra (staunch advocates of the number 10), on whose birthday this once-in-a-lifetime date falls, I hereby announce, in defiance of the administration, the creation of the "10-10-10 Code."

Here's what I have come up with so far:

10-10-10-1: "Huckleberries are ripe"



10-10-10-2: "Dogs on a hill"



10-10-10-3: "Flippers on Market Street"



10-10-10-4: "Spaghetti day"



10-10-10-Niner: "Free tater tots at Trader Joe's"



10-10-10-465: "Box of corn on the street"



10-10-10-6: "Owl cups"



10-10-10-50: "Sleepy doggy"



10-10-10-32: "Weekend in Napa"

(Use: "Honey, we're gonna need a 10-10-10-32 pretty soon or I'm gonna pop.")



And of course my favorite, and the most useful on this particular day...

10-10-10-72: "Happy Birthday!"



Please join me in celebrating the birthday of a great man, Bernard Francis Barcio, and also in expanding the very useful and intriguing 10-10-10 code!

With your assistance we will extrapolate the full potential of 10-10-10 in order to amuse ourselves, and yes, also to undermine the civil authority by communicating brief, coded outbursts of emotion and information over electronic devices.

10-10-10-72, Dad! See you soon!!!