Just two things

The 50th Annual Polar Bear Regatta Sailboat Races on the Mississippi River at Lake Davenport Sailing Club, located on the river at the bottom of Bridge Ave and Oneida Street; look for signs at Oneida St. and River Dr.

This weekend, Sept. 26th and 27th, Skippers of the Class MC Scow 16 footers and Skippers of the Class C-Scow 20 footers will be vying for trophies during the 5 races taking place Saturday and Sunday. Trophies will be presented after the last race on Sunday.
Welcoming committee Friday: 5:30pm thru midnight and onward.
Race Times are: Saturday 10 am and 1 & 3 pm; Sunday: 9:30 & 10:45 am.

For more info on sailing, visit our website; phone Doc at 563-650-5645.

If you have something on your mind let us know. There are a lot
of things going on with health care, the flu shots, parking, crime,
and a bunch more.
Your comments are always welcome.

A couple things

Tomorrow there are a couple of non-car-related things going on in town. I know there are a lot more things going on, but I’m just going to mention two. If you would like to mention an event that is going on this weekend have at it.

I’ve been busy the last few days trying to remember if I had a suit and if I did where it was at. This morning I discovered I have two suits and an extra jacket. The reason I was looking for a suit is because our son is getting married tomorrow. Now that I seem to be prepared for the event I figured I’d mention it. This will be the first wedding, besides my own that I have attended in 30 years. And for those who know me well, yes I will be wearing a pink dress shirt with my suit.

The other event I wanted to mention is “A Night to Honor Our Heroes” at LeClaire park on the riverfront in Davenport. The concert is set to start at 6 pm and the cost is $15 in advance or $20 at the event. Proceeds will go to the Military Warriors Support Fund which helps veteran’s with PTSD and other war related issues. It is a way for everyone to show their support of our troops and to help a worthwhile group.

Some of the guest include Sgt. Jeremiah Workman who recieved the Navy Cross and a Purple Heart, UFC fight Matt Hughes, and Pastor Matthew Hagee will be the guest speaker. If you are presently in the military the admission is free. It is supposed to a Christian Music concert so if that idea offends you, don’t go.
Comments are always welcome

Car stuff

There are a few things going on in town this weekend I thought were
worth a mention. The first is the Flying Eyeball Reunion will be
back in town Saturday, from 9 am to 5 pm at the Mississippi Valley
Fairgrounds. Spectator admission will be $5 at the gate. I plan on
making this one just to see if it has changed in the few years I
haven’t made it.

Then Saturday evening from 6-9 pm, the River Valley Classics Car
Club will host the August Cruise-in at Northpark Mall in front of
the Sears store. There will be a live band, the Tailfins, lots of
nice vehicles, and vendors for food and softdrinks. The charity
will be the Vietnam Veterans and after the 50/50 drawing the group
will give the money to the Honor Flight. The Honor Flight takes
WWII veterans to their memorial in Washington,D.C. You should come
out, the suggested admission is only $2 for an evening of nice cars,
great people, good music, and fun.

Comments are always welcome.

Weekend thoughts

The Bix weekend seem to go great with the exception of the storm that passed through friday night. Things got started on thursday with
bands playing in different spots. When I drove by the Col Ballroom that afternoon I noticed the Quad Cities Antique Ford Club had another nice display of Model A’s and other old cars in front of the Col.

The Street Fest looked like it went very well as it was wall to wall people on both friday and saturday went I had to walk through. We did hear a few sirens last night and saw one fender-bender, but for the amount of people it didn’t seem bad.

So far today has started out quiet and if it stays that way I’ll be able to catch my breath to get ready for the work week and get back to regular posting. We can only hope.

A Guardian Angel patrol stopped by where we worked the gate and we had a short talk. Everyone was looking good and I overheard a lot of positive comments. That’s what we like to see.

On another note, it would seem Obama’s plan to put us all in dinky underpowered rolling coffins isn’t going so well. Yesterday I stated the Camaro saved GM, now it appears the Taurus and F-150 is saving Ford.
I love it.
Comments are always welcome.

Global warming update

I’m a fan of global warming today. Just think, if we didn’t have global warming today we would have to get out our winter coats in the middle of July. I’d much rather put up with rain than snow this time of year.

I’ll be pretty busy today until the wee hours of the morning so here’s a few things to mull over. The first is done as a public service to keep
people from overpaying. Don’t buy cigarettes with your debit card! It might end up costing you more than you think.

You also might want to go down to Centenial Park and take some pictures of the buildings that won’t be there much longer. As you get older these will help you remember what it used to look like.

And lastly, a reminder that members of the Guardian Angels will be at the Northpark Cruise-in tomorrow night from 6 until at least 9 pm. It will be held in front of the Sears store just to the east of the front doors. Parking is free and the event is well worth the suggested $2
specator fee. We are considering this a fund-raiser and you can buy some 50/50 tickets to support us if you wish. We also consider it an meet and greet session so if have any questions or concerns, or just want to meet some of us, come out and say hello.
Comments are always welcome

Cruise news

This is going to be another short post. I have a meeting to attend with our chapter leader shortly and I have no idea how long it will take or what will be involved. At any rate it should be interesting.

This Saturday at the Northpark cruise-in, the River Valley Classics Car Club has graciously agreed that the Guardian Angels are going to be the charity. This is really good news for our local chapter. If you aren’t doing anything Saturday night come out and buy some 50/50 tickets and support our group. Tickets will be on sale from about 6:30-8:30 pm with a drawing to be held after. We will also have a small informational table set up to answer any questions, or if you would just like to stop by and say hello. Suggested admission is $2 for over three hours of great oldies music, great cars and trucks, and really nice people. The Guardian Angels would like to thank the River Valley Classics for their continued support of our organization.

The Bix weekend is also getting closer with all its events. When it gets a little closer I’ll try to do post on the activities. We have volunteered to work the Bix Fest in LeClaire Park once again. Friday I’ll post some events that are going on over the weekend.
Comments are always welcome.

A little update

Yesterday probably didn’t turn out so good for the Blues Fest. I know we left around 4 pm and it was still drizzling a bit. The tent shows were going strong but the main stage wasn’t anywhere close to being dry enough to use. I hope it cleared off enough later for the show to go on.

I didn’t work the Blues Fest Thursday, but Friday and Saturday had a good turnout of Guardian Angels. We even had a member from the newly formed Urban Angels volunteer. I was keeping one eye out for a hearing aid but didn’t see any in travels downtown. The VIP gate was an interesting post since I didn’t know any VIPs and had to ask to see the VIP cards. Everyone seem to humor this old redneck and stayed in a good mood.

I didn’t make the Blue Grass cruise-in Friday because of other commitments. But I’m sure with the mild weather there was a good turnout. I also heard later of a show car display down by the RME Friday night but didn’t see any advertising for it. Did anybody else hear about it?

The wife went along Saturday and was a good sport. After we got completely soaked she never complained. We stayed soaked for three and a half hours while enjoying the music and the lovely soaking our lawns got. I think if you asked,the whole group would volunteer to do again with no complaints.

The cookout turned out good and the rain stopped by the time we got there. Plenty of brats, hotdogs, baked beans and all the usual goodies. There were cakes and desserts that looked good but I had to pass on them because I had too much of everything else. So far we have survived the holiday.

Ilcantar told us that Bard and his lovely wife had a 4th of July baby.
Congratulations to the proud parents.

Comments are always welcome.

A few more things

I’ll start with a local problem and end with a news release from the Lake Davenport Sailing Club. Since I consider this a good news/bad news post I’ll start with the bad news.

It seems like vandalism is on the rise around our town. I’ve heard about problems on Marquette street and surrounding areas and now it appears it has hit closer to home. The latest in the east end seems to be punks egging houses and breaking glass in alleys. Things like this are getting old. If these punks get caught they should be made to scrub the buildings with toothbrushes until they are spotless.

Doc sent along an email from the Sailing Club and here it is-

SPECIAL OFFER

Introduction to Sailing

Sponsored by Lake Davenport Sailing Club

“Aye Mate, take the tiller…

experience the joy, the freedom and the excitement of Sailing!”

“Put the Wind Back in Your Sails!”

We’ll have you on-board a modern Hunter 170 Sailing Sloop with an experienced sailor for about an hour. Take the tiller, have some fun and learn about sailing. It’s easy, just sign up now at this low introductory price. Please don’t wait; this is a limited offer at $30 for a limited number of sailors (must be at least 16 years old).

Dates: June 15th, 16th, 18th, or 19th at 1730 or 1845 (that’s 5:30pm or 6:45pm for landlubbers)

Contact by June 13th to sign up and get a scheduled time:

Bonnie Thiede thiedebonniej@johndeere.com 563-344-8646

Angie Hammond abitbookish2@yahoo.com 563-340-3648

Additional Offer: Should you enjoy this experience and want to learn more, you may apply your $30 introductory cost toward the full tuition of $180 in the Beginner’s Sailing Course, offered July 6-10 & 13-17, 2009 – M,T,TH,F evenings, 5:30 – 8 pm at Lake Davenport Sailing Club. Call Betsy Tubbs, Davenport Parks and Recreation Department, 563-326-7812 to register for this US Sailing-based, 20-hour course.

Comments are always welcome.

Wish and a prayer

Happy Mother’s Day! We wish the best to all the mothers in our life and hope you have a great day.

Although I usually don’t lean in that direction I’m going to include a prayer in today’s post. If you get something out of it fine, if you don’t I didn’t post it to offend you.

Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can’t make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.

Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to
us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.

Comments are always welcome.

Friday thoughts

Rumors are funny things. Usually I just ignore them unless the same one keeps popping up. Last week was one of those times when I heard a rumor from two different people and thought I’d look into it; especially since it invoved me.

The rumor was that a few months ago I cornered a City Official and ranted, raved, and threatened. I didn’t remember the incident so I did what I always do in such cases and looked into it. I contacted the official and asked if such an event took place. He confirmed that nothing happened. I was glad to hear that I hadn’t lost any more brain cells.

I’ve also come to the conclusion that teenage boys aren’t a good mix with fathers who are fussy about their tools. Until our son started using my tools I could find any tool I own in seconds. Now I need a full day to find some of them. I have some simple rules when it comes to using my tools and they aren’t a big secret. I thought I’d list them to remind a certain someone.

If you borrow a tool put it back where you found it. If you get said tool dirty, clean it. If you break it, replace it.

This week has been a busy one for our police department. We’ve had at least two stabbings, shots fired calls seem to be on the rise, and there were some arrests involving crimes against children. I’ve also heard of a house that’s causing one neighborhood a lot of grief. I’ve told these people they should call the police when there is gunfire or parties, but they won’t. They claim to be afraid. In instances like this the neighbors have to get pro-active for anything to work. Calls have to be made, police and others need to be informed. People who live
outside of your neighborhood don’t know you have a problem unless you let them know.

And lastly, June 1st through the 7th is National CPR/AED Awareness Week. During that week the Red Cross has a deal for those of us who want to learn CPR or get a refresher course. Anyone who signs up for a class that week will be able to take a friend to the class free. If you would like to learn a little more about it go here.

Comments are always welcome.