October first

Tomorrow we welcome the first day of October.
There are times we forget that every day of
the year something happened that was recorded
in the history books.

Here are a few things that happened on
this day.

October 1, 1908, Henry Ford put his first
Model T on the market.

October 1, 1910 in Los Angeles, a
bomb destroyed the Los Angeles Times
building and 21 people were killed.

October 1, 1957 was the first time the
phrase “In God We Trust” appeared on our
paper currency.

And now on October 1, 2013 we have the
government shutdown, another stage of
Obamacare kicking in, then in one week
we have our local primary election.

Before we know it, we will looking at
more rhetoric over raising the debt
ceiling.

Our president is whining to anyone who
will listen what a tragedy the shutdown
would be. We’ll have to close the parks
and the economy will suffer.

We don’t want the government to shut down,
we want the government to shut up and do
its job.

Finger pointing, the blame game, and passing
the buck are invading our media over the next
stage of Obamacare kicking in. Obama has even
claimed it will be cheaper.

On our local scene, the primaries will take
place in one week. That gives all voters seven
days to decide who they want to run our 3rd
Ward and be our Aldermen-at-Large. Please vote.

As for the debt ceiling:

Mr. President, in 2006, when you were still
a Senator, you said “The fact that we are
here today to debate raising America’s
debt limit is a sign of leadership failure.
Government cannot pay its own bills. It is
a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial
assistance from foreign countries to finance
our Government’s reckless fiscal policies.
Increasing America’s debt limit weakens us
domestically and internationally. Leadership
means that, ‘the buck stops here’. Instead,
Washington is shifting the burden of bad
choices today onto the backs of our children
and grandchildren. America has a debt problem
and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve
better.”

Mr. President we agree, the American people
do deserve better.
Comments are always welcome.

I’m guilty as charged

Through a child’s eye

A Sunday school teacher was discussing the
Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds.

After explaining the commandment to “honor” thy
Father and thy Mother, she asked, “Is there a
commandment that teaches us how to treat our
brothers and sisters?”

Without missing a beat one little boy (the oldest
of a family) answered, “Thou shall not kill.”
———————————

A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales.

The teacher said it was physically impossible for a
whale to swallow a human because even though it was
a very large mammal its throat was very small.

The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a
whale.

Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could
not swallow a human; it was physically impossible.

The little girl said, “When I get to heaven I will
ask Jonah.”

The teacher asked, “What if Jonah went to hell?”

The little girl replied, “Then you ask him.”
————————————-

One day a little girl was sitting and watching her
mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink.

She suddenly noticed that her mother had several
strands of white hair sticking out in contrast on
her brunette head. She looked at her mother and
inquisitively asked, “Why are some of your hairs
white, Mom?”

Her mother replied, “Well, every time that you do
something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of
my hairs turns white..”

The little girl thought about this revelation for a
while and then said,
“Momma, how come ALL of grandma’s hairs are white?”
———————————

A teacher was giving a lesson on the circulation of
the blood. Trying to make the matter clearer, she
said, “Now, class, if I stood on my head, the blood,
as you know, would run into it, and I would turn red
in the face.”

“Yes,” the class said.

“Then why is it that while I am standing upright in
the ordinary position the blood doesn’t run into my
feet?”

A little fellow shouted, “Cause your feet ain’t empty.”
—————————-

A friend shared these with us and we thought
we’d share a laugh with you.
Comments are always welcome.

How to sell something

The kids filed into class Monday morning. They
were all very excited..

Their weekend assignment was to sell something,
and then give a talk on salesmanship.

Little Sally led off. “I sold Girl Scout cookies
and I made $30” she said proudly. “My sales
approach was to appeal to the customer’s civil
spirit and I credit that approach for my obvious
success.”

“Very good”, said the teacher.

Little Debbie was next. “I sold magazines” she
said. “I made $45 and I explained to everyone
that magazines would keep them up on current
events.”

“Very good, Debbie”, said the teacher.

Eventually, it was Little Johnny’s turn. The
teacher held her breath.

Little Johnny walked to the front of the
classroom and dumped a box full of cash on
the teacher’s desk. “$2,467”, he said.

“$2,467!” cried the teacher, “What in the
world were you selling?”

“Toothbrushes”, said Little Johnny.

“Toothbrushes” echoed the teacher.

“How could you possibly sell enough
tooth brushes to make that much money?”

“I found the busiest corner in town”,
said Little Johnny. “I set up a Dip &
Chip stand, and I gave everybody who
walked by a free sample.”

They all said the same thing: “Hey,
this tastes like dog poop!”

Then I would say, “It is dog poop. Wanna
buy a toothbrush? I used the President
Obama method of giving you some crap,
dressing it up so it looks good, telling
you it’s free, and then making you pay
to get the bad taste out of your mouth.”

Little Johnny got five stars for his assignment.

Bless his heart.

Comments are always welcome.

The big sale

Televised coverage of the auction of cars
from the Lambrecht Chevrolet dealership
can be seen tonight on the History Channel
starting at 7 pm central time.

The small town of Pierce, Nebraska is
preparing for the crowds expected to number
in the thousands.

VanDerBrink Auction has been taking bids
online, and a 1964 Impala with a 327, a
three on the tree, and 4 miles on the odometer
has already reached $32,000.

People wonder what the attraction is with
vehicles like this that need complete
restorations, and there is no simple answer.

For a collector, it is a chance to own something
nobody else has. A 50-year-old
automobile with single digit actual mileage.

To a restorer, the job of a lifetime. To
resurrect an icon of automotive history.

For the investor, it is money in the bank.
They can leave the car as is, or restore it
to its like new glory, and make money either way.

To the car nuts, much like the collector, it
boils down to bragging rights. Yes, there are a
lot of 64’Impalas. But how many out there
have just 4 miles on them?

To the DIYers, the shade tree mechanics and
builders, it is a chance to turn something
neglected into a rolling piece of art.

To those who can’t afford the hobby it is
a chance to watch and say “these people
have more money than sense”.

Those who can afford it but aren’t
interested get a chance to play the
woulda, coulda, shoulda game.

And the general public is interested for more
reasons than we have time to list.

Even though it looks like a simple auction of
one family’s collection of cars, it could just
be a microcosm of our American lifestyle.

So if you’re interested and you get the History
Channel, check your local listings
for time to watch history being made.
Comments are always welcome.

Car from outer space?

If ever a car looked like it came from
another planet, it would be the ETV
(Extra Terrestrial Vehicle).

The picture came from a story on Yahoo Autos
that gave us some of the background.

These critters come from the mind and shop
of Mike Vetter. This is his 8th ETV and this
one is powered by a supercharged four banger
from a Chevy Cobalt SS.

It has a 5-speed manual transmission only
because Vetter couldn’t find an automatic
for the motor.

It has an air-bag suspension, front and
rear cameras, remote operated gull-wing
doors, a radar detector, and much more.

If this kind of thing trips your trigger
it can be had for around $100,000. He also
claims he would take a Tesla in trade.

The ETV was listed on ebay but didn’t sell.

Below is video of Mr. Vetter driving and
explaining this strange vehicle. It is a
longer video, but includes a part of the
drive that reaches 100 mph.

So if you like the car, have the 100
grand, and happen to be in Florida, you
could just own it. Seems cheap at half
the price.
Comments are always welcome.

Mutiple diversions

The weather is staying warm, the grass is
staying dry, and the weekend is almost here.
That, along with just about everything else,
makes us think of our various forms of transportation.

While cruising the information highway I
came across these pictures of a rare motorcycle.
It is a 1934 Henderson KJ Streamliner Dream.

Born in the brain of Orley Ray Courtney who
thought rider comfort and protection more
important that break neck speeds.

The bike sat on 10 inch wheels, had a 1,300cc
4-cylinder engine, and a fully enclosed chassis.

We just thought it a good example of the Art
Deco influence on our transportation needs.

———————————————–

VanDerBrink Auctions will sell 500+ cars
from the Lambrecht Chevrolet Company on Saturday,
September 28, and Sunday, September 29, 2013.

The auction will be held at 854 RD Pierce,
Nebraska and gets underway Saturday at 9:30 am.
Check the link for more information.

———————————————

Sunday, September 29 is the Quad-City Vintage
Rods Car Show from 9 am to 2 pm at Black Hawk
college, 6600 34th Avenue in Moline, Illinois.
It will cost $15 to enter a car or $2 if you
are a spectator.

For more details call 309-523-3946

———————————————

A special car will be on the auction block
when Mecum Auctions hit Chicago on October
10-12.

This 1963 Corvette Sting Ray was customized
and given as a gift from GM to retired design
chief Harley Earl.

Will it break the record sale price for a
Corvette? We don’t have a clue since that
record sits at $3.4 million.

——————————————–

And the Branson Auction will be held October 18-19.

You’ll see everything from a 1917 Abbott-Detroit,
to AMXs, a 1963 Bond, Auburns, a neat 1957 Buick,
and more at this one.

——————————————————

The song of the week is none other than “409”
by the Beach Boys. Yeah, the devil made me
share it. For those who don’t know, the
engine revving at the start of the song is
actually a 348!

The drive-in movie of the week is said to be
one of the worst ever made. So if you need
something to put you to sleep we advise 2
aspirin and watching this movie.

Just don’t start looking for my obituary
yet, I tried to warn you.
Comments are always welcome.

The post turtle

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old rancher,
whose hand was caught in the squeeze gate while working
cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old
man.

Eventually the topic got around to Obama and his role as
our president. The old rancher said, “Well, ya know, Obama
is a ‘Post Turtle’.”

Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him,
what a ‘post turtle’ was.

The old rancher said, “When you’re driving down a country
road and you come across a fence post with a turtle
balanced on top, that’s a ‘post turtle’.”

The old rancher saw the puzzled look on the doctor’s
face so he continued to explain. “You know he didn’t
get up there by himself, he doesn’t belong up there,
he doesn’t know what to do while he’s up there, he’s
elevated beyond his ability to function, and you
just Wonder what kind of dumb ass put him up there
to begin with.”

The doctor said, “Wow, this is the best explanation
I’ve heard yet.

A thank you to the friend who sent this to
us. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Comments are always welcome.

Reader rant day

Even though the Ringmaster has laryngitis it
was looking like the circus might go on. Then
it was announced the city council passed one
Casino proposal forward and the tabled the
other.

When developer #2 started upping the ante
like Chester the Molester with candy for
the kids we were still wondering.

It was looking like the 2nd developer and
the mayor were the only ones who didn’t
know the race was over and the winning car
was on the trailer.

Now the council has said it backs the
first developer and will table the other
offer until October 15th. That is the
date that developer #1 has to buy
the boat by.

It is also a week after the primary and we
wonder if this unanimous vote may have been
due, in part, to the election.

We’ll have to wait and see.

If you have anything you wish to rant about,
please do. This is another installment in the
Reader Rant series.

Tired of hearing about the government shut
down? Have a beef about the cost of groceries?

Has the price of gas driven you to drink?
Here’s your chance to get it off your chest.
Comments are always welcome.

Amazing person

Yesterday started out like any other. I woke
up, had my coffee while scanning the obituaries,
and when my name wasn’t there I planned my day.

As happens, my day didn’t go as planned.
Dad stopped by before I had my shoes on, and
we had a nice talk over coffee.

After he left, and I had my shoes on, I was
ready to attack the yard. Just as I reached
for the door knob our doorbell rang.

A fellow car nut and friend who I’ve known
for 45 years came in. Over another pot of
coffee we bench raced, did some kitchen
table diagnostics on an engine problem, and
brought each other up to speed since last
we met.

Which brings us to the point of this little
tale. After the visits, and not getting the
yard done, I thought I was in a pretty good
mood. Then I watched this video-

I am now a Richie Parker fan. The video runs
almost 8 minutes and we urge you to please
make time to watch it.

Mr. Parker was born without arms and in his
short life has become an inspiration to others.

We will warn you that your eyes may mist up
a bit. We believe ours did from sitting too
close to the coffee cup.

So if you’re having a bad day, or even a
good day, this video may put the bounce back
in your step.
Comments are always welcome.