This-n-That

Did anyone else notice the wind today? The weatherman said 10 mph. It seemed like he was off by at least another 25.

You know it's windy when you step out your front door into your back yard.
You know it's windy when you cannot breathe because the wind sucks the air out of your house.
You know it's windy when your speedometer says 50 and you are not moving.

And this one is true: you know it's windy when your 120 pound Vermont BBQ grill flies more than 20 feet without touching the ground. Yep, it happened. And our screenhouse ended up in the woods down back - about 250 feet.

Let me see if I understand this - we are 4 weeks from the first day of summer (after experiencing the 2nd coldest winter in 20 years) , and the weather is like November. And this is what is referred to as "global warming."

Outside the house today, a car hit his brakes, left a streak of rubber for 80 feet! He went headlong through a stonewall, and stopped about 5 feet from my neighbors living room. He then backed up, his engine smoking, and took off without so much as a "howdy-do". That entails property damage and leaving the scene of an accident. The sheriff's department took notes, but did not seem particularly interested.

Although Maine has the highest taxes per capita of any state, Portland city council has decided to lay off about 100 city workers. Our schools are overcrowded, roads do not get plowed well, and many of the roads are almost impassable with all the potholes. Makes you wonder where all that tax revenue is going. But never fear - Maine politicians are a resourceful bunch - just tax soda.

Ralph was telling me he took a Viagra and it got stuck in his throat. He had a stiff neck for days.

I was reading in the paper that every seven seconds, somewhere in this country a woman has a baby. I think they ought to find that woman and give her a new hobby.

Walking through the park, I came upon an elderly man crying. I asked what was wrong. He said he was 97 years old, and four years ago he lost his wife of 60 years. I said, "I see now why you are crying."

"No", he said. "Two years ago I met a 24 year old Swedish Bombshell, and it has been nothing but sex all day long."

"Wow", I said. "Is that anything to cry about?"

"You don't understand", he said. "I'm 97 years old, and I FORGOT WHERE I LIVE!"

My daughter, Christi, wants to thank all of you who voted for her PT Woody at Bonny Eagle on Sunday. She was tickled that she took Third Place, and recognizes that it was you who helped make it possible.

Until the next gathering...

Bill

The Day After

Sonny's Convenience Store (Lyman, ME) held their first cruise of the '08 season tonight. It was a short cruise - the wind was wicked, the weather was November-cold, so not a whole lot of folks showed up, and many who did, left early.

But the hot dogs were good!

As for the title of this post, even now, at Sonny's, we heard a few grumblings about the class-confusion and disarray of the Bonny Eagle show. Everyone agreed the show was good, generally, but the shortcomings, though few, were serious. I hope the organizers of the show will listen, and work to overcome these problems for next year.

I'll be taking a break from cruises tomorrow, but plan to be at Two Trails Fabulous '50's Diner on Wednesday (and Low's in Buxton, next Wednesday), and Buffalo Wings-n-Things on Thursday. And I cannot find anyone who knows anything about Big Daddy's in Acton, so I may check that out on Friday.

Don't forget, folks - this coming Sunday HotKarz will reveal at which cruise(s) we will hold balloting next week for the Super Cruise trophies. These awards are really nice, so think about putting your car in the running by attending the cruises where and when ballots are passed out.

As a late note, it appears the West Paris Old Home Days (June6-8) will not be including a car show, and Telstar (Bethel) has not scheduled a show for this year. But this coming Sunday there is a new show at the American Legion in Naples - weather permitting, I think we'll scoot on up to check it out. Hope to see many of you there.

Bill

Bonny Eagle Update

Well, it was quite a day. The weather was super. The cars were even better than that! They said they had over 1000 cars, though I only counted about half that...

OK, so a whole lot of you folks had lots to say, and I will try to include your concerns here, mixed with my own blinding insights :o)

No one got sent to sit in the corner with the Tuners. They are a fine bunch, but tend to be noisy - and far from the crowds. Young'uns can walk that far, but us older folks need to be closer to things.

We were still disappointed that they did not have a more suitable class for us (2000-Present), but Special Interest is the old stand-by, though it gets rather crowded and a lot of folks who should be elsewhere tend to gravitate into SI in hopes of a better shot at an award. But all in all, that was not a huge concern for us or anyone else. But there were major concerns and gripes.

Number one among the gripes concerned the truck classes. Trucks were all over the place, and there were long lines of them, all mixed. There was a new truck beside a 1938 on one side, and a 4X4 on the other. Mixed classes and types made it almost impossible for some folks to sort things out enough to vote by class.

And as I mentioned yesterday, one class of trucks covered a whopping 40 years! That, in itself, is both absurd and unfair. I don't bring a truck to shows, but if I did, I would have been visibly - and audibly - upset.

Other classes were also in disarray at the Middle School. Not so much at the High School. At the Middle School, it seemed like "helter skelter". Again, this made any sane attempt at voting an exercise in futility. I gave up trying to vote in some classes.

Aside from classes being disorganized, and some classes either too big or non-existent, the overall consensus was: a great show!

Lots of vendors. Lots of beautiful vehicles. Loads of wonderful people. Great weather. All in all, I would give it pretty good marks. But I hope next year they iron out the inconsistencies, and pay greater attention to fair classes, adequate classes, and organization of the classes. It is hard to judge a show when you have '55 Chevys in almost every row, and every class.

Short notice: we have posted a new show for next Sunday, in Naples. They could not provide much info, so I am uncertain as to how organized this one will be - seems to have been a last-minute afterthought. But on the plus side, they claim to have a beer tent :o)

Later!

Bill

Bonny Eagle

While it is true the show has yet to start, I have looked over a few things on their website and it looks like maybe they still don't have it right after 28 years. I will wait until the show to make any certain determinations, but for the record, here are a few things that pop out at me:

• The most noticeable thing is that they have FOUR CLASSES for tuners. That's (12) trophies for a class that has a limited number of entrants at most shows. Looks like every tuner should get a trophy
• On the other hand, people with trucks might note that one class is "1967-present". That covers FORTY YEARS of trucks. Strikes me as a bit unfair for truck owners (Antique Trucks covers only 8 years, which shows a great deal of disparity). A couple years of Tuners get 12 trophies, while 40 years of trucks get 3
• There is a '50's Class. But there is also a special class for 50's Fords, and 55-57 Chevy's. So, there are 9 trophies for a 10 year span of cars. This may have some merit, since there are so many 55-57 Chevys - but should the sheer number of a particular year be a determining factor? I think not - either you have one of the best or you don't. It shouldn't matter if there are 3 cars or 30 cars in your class. It just seems like 55-57 Chevys are getting a lot of extra consideration
• There is no class for "2000-present". This excludes a lot of good cars (except tuners - but not every 2000 or newer is a tuner).

It just strikes me as wrong to have 21 trophies for two classes - Tuners and 50's. And three years of Chevys get three trophies, while 10 years of Fords get three trophies, and a whopping 40 years of trucks get three trophies. Again, a lot of disparity.

Worse still, I'm betting that a bunch of unfortunate folks will be stuck out at the Bus Barn with the Tuners, being driven away by the loud, bass music that rattles windows and dispenses migraines like crazy. That drove us and a few others away at Casco last year, and I have heard horror stories about it at last year's Bonny Eagle show. It's good that the Tuners are secluded out by the barn, so they can be as loud as they wish. It is not good to subject any other class to the same area.

And I'll bet also that our PT Woody will be one of those "unfortunates", since we have to register as Special Interest because they do not have an appropriate class for us (2000-Present).

Well, we'll see. But I think the folks who put on this show should make an effort to make things more fair for all - and to have classes that afford every vehicle a place.

Ramblings

So, I forgot the camera for the first cruise, at Roy's in Auburn ME. Then I forgot it for the second cruise, at TJ's in Biddeford (Maine Coastal Cruisers). So I swore I would bring it to Blast From The Past on Friday.

Lo! and Behold - I remembered the camera. Unfortunately, I did not get many pix because I had forgotten to CHARGE the damned thing. It's Hell gettin old!

I did manage to charge it and bring it to Shapleigh on Monday, and the first ever cruise for Rock'n Roll Diner (Scarborough ME) on Tuesday. You'll find some pix at HotKarz. And you will also find some new "off-the-cuff" comedy pix - hope you enjoy them (you too, Dick Fritz!)

Scuttlebut has it that:

• Two Trails Cruisers is changing the location of their show this year. Usually held in Limington, they will let HotKarz know where they will hold it once they finalize plans. Wisdom dictates that if you want spectators, it's a good idea to hold your show where people might actually go :o)
• The Windham WalMart show may not be held at WalMart this year. Not yet sure - will try to nail this down for you as soon as possible. Cheryl seems to be the Great Seer for all things such as this, so I am kinda counting on her to get us up to snuff on this one.

Ocean Garden (Gorham) does not seem to be interested in hosting cruises this year, and Aquaboggan is no longer hosting cruises, due to a change in management, from what I hear.

Hotrod Bob (Deuces Wild) is working hard trying to get Mainiacs to attend cruises in Massachusetts. While it is true that Mass. has some big cruises, with lots of wheels we have not seen, the current price of petrol is going to make it a hard hill for him to climb. But we wish him luck!

Speaking of gas prices, many folks blame the oil companies, while others blame OPEC. Of course, some even blame Bush. But not me. The way I see it, the real culprits are those damned day-traders who keep bidding up the futures. In their quest for fast profits, they bid up the future price of oil. OPEC and the oil companies are merely unwitting beneficiaries.

Oil should never have been made a "commodity", to be traded. It is far too essential. If Congress would make law that would remove oil from the commodities market, we would all be far better off, and oil prices would come down.

But I am not sure that would be the best thing for us. We Americans are a funny lot. If the price of oil were to drop, we would suddenly do two things:

1. We would increase the amount we use, thereby reducing the available resources, and
2. We would stop trying so hard to find a decent alternative

That's what happened in the '70's. When we were standing in line for gas on alternate days, we were pushing to develop alternative energy sources, such as solar. But as soon as the crunch was over, R&D into alternative energy almost came to a grinding halt.

Perhaps excessive prices will result in innovation. With innovation, we could tell the day traders, the Saudi's and the oil companies to kiss our exterior posterior. Can you imagine how fast some company would find an alternative if gas were to hit $7.00 a gallon?

Personally, I have always been a firm believer in folks being as self-sufficient as possible. Once upon a time, that was an American trait. It's called being INDEPENDENT. Not so today. Most Americans are now completely and irrevocably dependent upon government, entitlements, oil companies, drug companies, and, yes, even computers and this Internet. But we can still make some small effort to regain control of our own destiny. We can be more conscious of the resources we use. We can conserve. We can eliminate some waste from our budget. With a little thought, we may find we can save a lot of gas by combining trips and errands.

As one example, I purchased another freezer. I buy a half beef and a half pig (all natural meats) and freeze the cuts. I either grow, or buy in bulk, veggies I can freeze. This not only saves money on the food (bulk buying), but now we only go shopping one-third as often, which saves considerable gas. Just a short walk to the freezer is all the "shopping" we need to do. And the food, being all natural, is healthier.

Well, the title of this post is RAMBLINGS, and I believe I have succeeded in living up to it, so I will leave you for now. But I give fair warning - I'll be back!

BILL

Mom's Day

Once again, the day where we celebrate Motherhood is upon us. And if there is one thing we all have in common, it is the fact that we all (presumably) have a mother.

I would like all the Mothers (and Mom's to be) to know that I, for one, really do appreciate Motherhood and all that it embraces and stands for.

Happy Mothers Day!

Losin' It

A lot of great cars - and car folk - at TJ's in Biddeford last night (Maine Coastal Cruisers). And I know I promised to bring my camera, but...

Maybe I'll remember it for Blast From The Past tonight.

The weather was super, though the pollen was collecting on the vehicles.

I have it on good authority (Charlie) that Aquaboggin will not be hosting cruises this year. The folks leasing the park did not renew their lease, and the owner has taken it, and does not plan on having cruises. At least that is the story at this point.

I have tried contacting Sonny's (Lyman) a couple times, with no response. If anyone has info on whether they will be doing cruises, please let me know.

Ocean Garden (Gorham) told me they are not sure if they will be hosting cruises this year.

I will not be able to get on up to the Madison show this weekend - if anyone does, PLEASE send pix.

My daughter's PT Woody won "Cruiser of the Week" at TJ's. Won a case of oil - at $120 a barrel, that's no small thing, either. Next week we get to park in front (Cruiser of the Week parking spot) - that way, if some gawker runs off the road, we'll be the first car that gets hit, sparing everyone else.

Well, it's after midnight, and Mother is waiting (actually, she's sound asleep).

Later!