Happy Labor Day to all! Most know it is a holiday
we celebrate the first Monday in September but did
you know at one time it was celebrated in May? That
changed after the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago
which happened on May 4, 1886.
Then President Grover Cleveland didn’t want the
holiday to fall anywhere near the time of the
massacre so in 1887 it was established that Labor
Day would fall in September.
Labor Day is also considered the end of summer by
many which means parties, barbeques, fireworks,
parades, and a lot more. It also used to ring in
the start of the school year around here.
There is no dress code, unless you have one at
your house, and there is no set schedule to be
followed. It is our day and we should all enjoy it.
Comments are always welcome.
A friend sent the following to the wife, she
sent it to me, and I’ll share it with you. It
doesn’t need a set-up as it is just audio of an
old Christian standard combined with a slide show
about the days of yore.
We felt it time to talk of the problem of violence in our culture. No, not the problems in Missouri or the 42 shot and killed in Chicago this month. The violence we speak of a is a growing fad of attacks on unarmed people by others wielding baseball bats.
This is not a laughing matter. If someone bonks you on the head with a ball bat you’re going to see stars at best or meet your maker at worst. And there is no bat control nor bat registration.
One of the most recent attacks happened in Baldwin, Iowa on August 23rd, 2014. Drinking was involved and when one young man was told to leave he went to his car, pulled out his ball bat, and bonked two people with it.
One man who was hit on the head was bleeding a lot and disoriented when deputies arrived. Another man was hit, not bleeding, and refused treatment while the first man was taken to a hospital for head injuries.
The man with the bat was charged with willful injury and assault and is in jail on a $5,000 bond. This is crazy. We need a three day waiting period when buying a bat and meticulous registration of those who buy them to insure this doesn’t become a trend.
The bat wielding thug cannot be charged with assault with a dangerous weapon because a ball bat is not considered a weapon. We have to change this.
How many thugs out there are too stupid to figure out how to get a firearm, are afraid of firearms, or won’t because of the cost. Enter the ball bat. And it’s just that simple.
Did you know that during the 2011 riots in England baseball bat sales for self-defense caused a sharp increase of said bats in civilian hands? Or that TSA bans baseball bats, unless they are less than two foot long and weigh less than 24 ounces?
There are millions of unregistered ball bats in the country today made of hard woods, aluminum, or composites. We need to keep an eye on this trend. Comments are always welcome.
We wrote a little about Dan Parker yesterday and
now feel we should tell a little more of his story.
Parker was the 2005 ADRL Pro Nitrous World Champion.
His dream was to build race cars and race until
the wreck that took his sight in March of 2012.
He used to spend his weekends like this-
There are tracks across our great country where
every weekend the average Joes, the backyard
mechanics, tinkerers, and professionals run what
they brung.
Parker went to the Salt Flats last year and the
National Federation of the Blind (NFB) became one
of his sponsors. This year he went back. Riding
a three-wheeled motorcycle, that he designed, he
set a new world record in 51-85cc single cylinder
2 stroke cycle car class with an average speed of
62.05 mph.
He also went in the record books as the first
blind person to set a Land Speed Record without
any other human assistance. He did have a very
sophisticated GPS system and electronics that
would turn off the engine if he veered off course.
Mr. Parker is now on the return trip home after
achieving his goals on the salt. If you would like
to know more about his run, please watch this
video.
Congratulations Mr. Parker, and we’re sorry we
called you Don in yesterdays post. We will not make
that mistake again as we follow your career.
Comments are always welcome.
If you haven’t heard of Don Parker, we hope you
remember his name after reading this. He is at the
Bonneville Salt Flats with his motorcycle and has
the required passes to get an average speed. His
official average speed is 62.05 mph.
That may not sound like much to many but it has
earned him our respect. As he puts it “I’m not a
blind man trying to race. I’m a racer who went
blind.”
Now here are some upcoming events in our area.
Friday, August 29th will be the Midnight Mayhem at
Cordova Dragway. Gates open at 10 pm and the races
will run from 11 pm to 3 am.
Also tonight is the Friday Night Cruise In at the
Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville, Iowa hosted by the
Classy Chassis Cruisers from 5-9 pm.
Saturday, August 30 is the Sauerkraut Days Car
Show held in Blairstown, Iowa.
Sunday, August 31 is the Labor Day Weekend Car
Show held in beautiful downtown Bradford, Illinois.
Sunday is also the Orion Fall Festival Car Show in
picturesque downtown Orion, Illinois.
Monday, September 1 (Labor Day), is the 17th
Annual McCausland Labor Day Car Show held in
McCausland, Iowa. Things kick off at 7 am with a
pancake breakfast and the parade starts at noon.
And Saturday, September 6, is the Rollin’ In The
Oldies Cruise-In at NorthPark Mall in Davenport,
Iowa hosted by the River Valley Classics. Starts
at 5 pm.
Here is a car you may not have seen before.
Some think our society crazy today but we didn’t
get that way overnight. Starting in the late 19th
century, train crashes were a spectator sport.
How about a primer on the sh*t southern women say?
We don’t have a song this week so will leave you
with this…
Have you noticed we are living in an apologetic
society? Every time we turn around somebody is
apologizing to someone else because of their faith,
political party, or skin color.
I’m with Merle Haggard on this one, I am a white
boy. I was born that way, can’t pass for anything
else, and wouldn’t want to if I could. It’s all I
know.
Nope, I’m proud of the fact. Some may call that
racist and in our country it is their right to do
so. But simply saying so doesn’t make it so.
Why is it, in this wonderful land we live in, it
is ok to have brown pride, black history month,
and the talk of our need for cultural diversity,
but it is not ok to be white?
So call me redneck, cracker, or whatever because
I won’t mind. I am a redneck who likes crackers.
Common sense needs to enter our society again and
stick around this time.
Instead of using the race card try using a deck
that is based in reality. Just because we are
white does not mean we hate those different than
ourselves. Don’t let other people tell you how you
think.
So I will repeat, I’m proud to be a white boy and
will not apologize for that fact, my religious
beliefs, or my God given rights. If that offends
you feel free to call me a racist.
Comments are always welcome.
If you’re a fan of Blue Grass music you may
recognize the phrase and if not some of us have
seen a time, at some point in our lives, when we
knew the feeling.
But this post isn’t about the song or its content.
This post concerns the ongoing saga of the Dock
development on the riverfront here in our river
city.
We don’t believe the city is at the point it is
looking for ‘Five pounds of possum’ to make things
better, or that the developer is being unreasonable
with his plan.
This thing has been going on for around 2 years,
the developer has stuck tons of money into the
process, the city council has passed it unanimously
before the mayor vetoed it before the city council
passed it unanimously.
The mayor is now ranting that the council isn’t
doing their job because they want to pass it, the
developer is showing the patience of Job, and a
lot of city governments time has went into getting
the project this far.
This is not a five pounds of possum moment and we
think this has far more supporters than people who
are against it. We don’t need another city owned,
city run business on the riverfront. Let’s wrap
this up this afternoon and move on.
Comments are always welcome.
We have noticed while cruising the information
highway that it seems like everybody has something
either new, improved, or to be used for other than
intended purposes. We’ll mention a few.
We always thought Line-X was a spray-on bedliner
for those who chose to protect the bed of their
pick-up truck from scratches and rust. Now, thanks
to thinking outside the box, you can spray the
product on building blocks and drop said blocks
from the roof without damage.
Perhaps Line-X sprayed bomb shelters are next?
If you have a really low car that you couldn’t
load on a trailer before, you can now. The new kid
in town is ‘Airbagged Trailers’. Watch the video
and judge for yourself.
Like camping but are always looking for something
a little different? Consider this set-up by our
German friends at Volkswagen. Made in the 1970s,
but we guess there are still some around.
Having drive shaft problems? We may have an app
for that. This video explains the problems without
getting too technical.
Lastly, for your safety, don’t ever let this
happen at the car wash wash! Be sure to maintain a
firm grip on the wash wand at all times.
Now we’re going up on the roof and drop a block.
Comments are always welcome.
I have a several things stuck in my craw and this
post will mention some of those. The first is the
fact that that neither or president or vice-
president saw fit to attend the August 14 funeral
of Major General Harold Greene.
Since this was the funeral of the highest ranking
officer killed in combat since Vietnam we feel both
should have been there. The supporters of the
president claim he was bucking tradition, we say he
was shirking his duty.
We got our property tax notice in the mail and
imagine our surprise when the assessment of both
land and buildings went up around 12%. Since we
have done no remodeling we question that. Those
who are up for re-election better stay away from
mentioning taxes haven’t been raised.
Then there is the Dock development which has some
of us hearing circus music again. We watched part
of the council meeting and would have sworn a city
spokesman said the city would not guarantee it
would be above flood level.
We believe the belvedere was being discussed, but
if people can’t get to the building during a flood,
how can the developer keep it open? And someone
brought up the question of public safety. How would
EMTs and the like get to the building surrounded by
water.
The speaker mentioned EMTs having to go up the
skybridge, across to the other side, down on that
side then across the belvedere or elevated walkway
to gain access.
One alderman later stated that the city had Gators
at the stadium that worked well in such cases. But
if the city won’t guarantee an elevated walk way
7 feet off the ground might get flooded, how could a
small ATV make it?
We could go on, but we feel you get our drift. Now
that we got it out of system, enjoy the upcoming
week.
Comments are always welcome.
Posted by cruisin2 
Just Cruisin 2 