1200C

This is my oldest son Matt and my youngest son Daniel admiring Matt's new ride .. a beautiful Harley Davidson 1200C Sportster.

ET Street Tires

We spent hours on-line and calling various dealers trying to find a pair of these tires .. Mickey Thompson 32 x 17.5 x 15. The cheapest we found was $265.00 and I don't call that cheap especially for a hobby .. that's not all, these things are not complete without the tubes .. those babies are $85.00/ea. Only because Slick tire racing occurred on Wednesday nights out at Gateway and it was a madhouse with murderous wait time in staging. Anyway, Gateway combined its schedule for this racing year .. hopefully, it goes well .. my fingers are crossed.

Bebe and Karat

Cats love my redhead, Karat .. especially Bebe who will follow her around the house until she flops somewhere, anywhere. Then Bebe will rub and circle, do a few headbutts, and then gently curl and cuddle next to her. Karat usually permits the feline affections for awhile before growing annoyed .. she then sounds off with a low throaty growl. Bebe generally ignores the first warning and many times the second and third. Finally, when Karat has tolerated all that she can of the purring and kneading, she gets up and moves to another spot .. of course, Bebe follows and the event repeats itself, outcome and all.

Gateway International Raceway

New management has turned Gateway on its heels for the local drag strip crowd. GIR announced the hiring of Rich Schaefer as the drag strip manager toward the end of drag season last year. He came highly recommended according to GIR's press release at that time. Mr. Schaefer has 20 years experience in the sports industry and maintains the position as Director of Communications for MTRA (Monster Truck Racing Association). He certainly appears young to have been in the business for so long. The first changes recognized by local drag racers was a change in venue .. previous years, street tires raced on Tuesday nights and the Slicks raced on Wednesday nights. Mr. Schaefer has combined Tuesday Street Tires Test-and-Tune and Wednesday Slick Tires and Motorcycles Test-and-Tune program into one weekly event to take place every Tuesday night .. if rain out occurs, the event will take place the following evening. The press release seems to hint at a guaranteed three runs, "to ensure an equal number of run attempts for all competitors", by using a 'punch card'. There is still concern being voiced that many drivers will be bumped once the time runs out for that particular program .. 300 cars with slicks staged to make a pass in a 30 minute window seems daunting for a success, but it will be interesting to see how it goes.

Tattoos

I hope this guy never goes to prison .. eek!

I've never been a big fan of tattoos. I have seen a few that did look good .. small and colorful. I want to be able to remove it and tattoos are permanent. I think they all must fade in time loosing the sharpness and then with normal aging .. 30 years later and what about life changes? Something you are so in to at 21 could be embarrassing at 40.

I hate duck hunters.

Correct translation of the Biblical text below does not imply domination of animals, subjecting them to abuse, cruelty, and torture.

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

It was God's intention for human beings to be stewards and guardians, protecting and "respecting" animals with whom we share the gift of creation. I hate stories of animal cruelty, it makes me sick to my stomach and so angry I stomp around all day with a huge chip on my shoulder. It's hard to even gain awareness of how widespread "cruelty for profit" is in the United States alone, the stories are heart wrenching .. I salute the animal rights activist .. may their empathy prevail and flourish.

I've done my radical actions through the years, blazed many duck blinds in the water with a lit match book .. Noble duck hunting? No such thing, ducks are the most humble creatures in the world .. being lured to their deaths with calls is disgusting. Yae .. yae, I know all about controlling populations .. it still sickens me. I think all 'wanna be hunters' should first pass a test of hunthood .. perhaps going to bear country, "Ride due west as the sun sets; turn left at the Rocky Mountains ..." much like the saga of Jeremiah Johnson, hunt a grizzly with a Bowie knife, live a year in the wilderness, confront nature .. then return or hopefully better .. become a legend.

Why God Created Animals

A newly discovered chapter in the Book of Genesis has provided the answer to "Where do pets come from?"

Adam said, "Lord, when I was in the garden, you walked with me everyday. Now I do not see you anymore. I am lonesome here & it is difficult for me to remember how much you love me."

And God said, "No problem! I will create a companion for you that will be with you forever & who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will love me even when you cannot see me. Regardless of how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are & will love you as I do, in spite of yourself."

And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam. And it was a good animal. And God was pleased. And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam & he wagged his tail. And Adam said, "Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom & I cannot think of a name for this new animal."

And God said, "No problem! Because I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG."

And Dog lived with Adam & was a companion to him & loved him. And Adam was comforted. And God was pleased. And Dog was content & wagged his tail.

After a while, it came to pass that Adam's guardian angel came to the Lord & said, "Lord, Adam has become filled with pride. He struts & preens like a peacock & he believes he is worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught him that he is loved, but perhaps too well."

And the Lord said, "No problem! I will create for him a companion who will be with him forever & who will see him as he is. The companion will remind him of his limitations, so he will know that he is not always worthy of adoration."

And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam. And Cat would not obey Adam. And when Adam gazed into Cat's eyes, he was reminded that he was not the supreme being. And Adam learned humility.

And God was pleased. And Adam was greatly improved. And Dog was happy.
And the Cat didn't give a hoot one way or the other.

I-57 Dragstrip

It was the first time I had ever been to this track .. as if I've been to other tracks.

We went in late October and it was a beautiful day. We had been so home bound for months, taking that long drive was recharging. The scenery, along the drive was simple pastoral farmland dotted with two story farm houses hidden among a few trees and then surrounded by huge agricultural fields of corn .. The Midwest splendor. Autumn in the Midwest is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen .. some years are better than others. Last year the summer dry spell caused the leaves to quickly turn brown instead of the vivid bright colors associated with that time of year. I remember taking boat runs up the Missouri river the same time of year and the treeline of each side of the river was just hypnotizing in its charming solemnity.

Back to drag racing and the smell of burning tires .. this dragstrip is in a small town called Benton where you enter a town square and drive in a circle until the road you want comes around. It reminded me of a small town back home called Athens, where years ago, the main businesses were established around the square, its no longer that way .. Walmart moved in.

As we passed the town's drug store, the sign out front was advertising 'vomit bags' .. I wanted to stop and take a picture of it, but being in the square and all, we were caught up in the traffic flow and didn't want to slow the pace. I can't believe they were advertizing puke bags, and "why" for goodness sakes .. ???

I-57 is the place to hook up and hang out, as they say .. its a short track (1/8 mile) for OUTLAWS and grudge matches, test & tune allowed.

This is what I loved about it .. the track on each side is lined with big trees. This is where the racers park. It reminds you of camp grounds. On the other side they have small open air bleachers, and again, protected by tall trees. Summertime is drag racing season, it gets HOT! If we return and I think we are, I'm packing a lounge chair, goodies to eat and drink and will park my butt on top of the trailer, sit back and enjoy.

The second trip we took was a little different, this time our travel took place in November and that day was colder than a well digger's butt. I stayed inside the truck the entire time except for the few trips I made to the track to shoot some pictures of the guys.

In Memory

Oogie Moggie was born on our family room sofa sometime in the early morning hours. He was one of five kittens born and the only one to survive .. it was his mother's first litter, her name was Dabooh, one of our barn cats. She accidentally smothered the other four when I moved her to the nesting box. From the moment Oogie was born he was ugly, we swore that Dabooh had romanced a possum in her inexperienced first season. But he grew and matured and his appearance brought him loving attention from the family, he was never neglected. We would lean down and swoop him up, hold him close and say, "Oogie, you are so ugly .. you are about the ugliest cat I've ever seen!" He would purr and look up at us as if to say, "I don't understand how it happened, but as long as it brings me all this approval, hey I'm fine with ugly."

Oogie lived with us for about two years until he was fatally hurt in some horrible fashion. I found him pulling himself home with his front paws, the rest of his body was a powerless weight dragging behind. He lived for 5 days, never showing distress or pain, on my bed during the day and under the bedside table at night. He passed on into Rainbow Bridge without hesitation .. peacefully beside me as I gently stroked his left front paw.

Monster Jam

We took the Metro over to the Edward Jones Dome in downtown St. Louis to watch Monster Jam.

The event took place the same weekend of Marti Gros .. St. Louis was hopping to say the least. My son and his girlfriend were coming in from the west side .. they were driving so it took them about an hour in traffic and once downtown, a little longer trying to find a parking space. We waited for them inside the Dome. I was freezing until we moved far away from the huge opening doors as people pushed through with their tickets. Still shivering, I couldn't help but notice some of the younger people waiting in line .. they were dressed as if it was a warm summer evening .. I kid you not! It was February for goodness sakes, folks should be bundled in warm winter coats, gloves, and thermals under their clothes, not tee-shirts and mini skirts!!!

As the crowd began to dwindle and the show was beginning, my son came bursting through the doors holding the tickets in his hand. Only a few feet from us, his face took on a look of confusion as he counted the tickets. There should be four, he had only three! He took a spin about and went back out the door. Turning to the window I saw a brief glimpse of him taking one stride that took him passed the corner of that massive building. My husband tried to follow, but returned in only a few passing moments, telling me the kids disappeared within seconds in the crowd. The wait was amazingly brief, my son came back into the building holding four tickets fanned out in his hand, we passed through the admission gate listening to the explanation. Four tickets had been purchased, but in the haste and commotion, he accidentally only pulled three from the booth. leaving the forth ticket behind as they left the line .. the thief that was behind him grabbed the fourth ticket for himself thinking his sneakiness had gone unnoticed .. it didn't, the ticket master had observed his sly of hand and replaced the ticket for my son without quibble.

I've never been to the Edward Jones Dome, it's huge! I recently read that back in 1999, 104,000 people gathered together for Mass with Pope John Paul II at the Dome, it was the largest gathering of people in United States history .. amazing, eh? We took the escalator up, and up, and then way up to the nose bleed section. I prefer that section regardless of the fact that free tee-shirts thrown at the crowd from the arena will never reach me. Click on the picture below .. then you will appreciate for yourself the massive size of the convention center.

Woooooo Hoooooo! Being way up there reminds you of the Roman Colosseum looking down to watch a Chariot race. Tickets for this event were sold out early .. we were very lucky. The jam was exciting even though the trucks were flipping over right and left, too damaged to continue way before their time was up. The guys noticed that the obstacles appeared unusually extreme. There definately was moments ..

I've included some really good action photos .. click here.

Competition .. good or bad?

My husband has expensive hobbies. Over the years I've suffered silently through race boats, mud trucks, and NOW .. drag racing!

After years of watching his competitiveness I've come to believe his motivation was never about the "thrill of the ride" or even a profound love of the sport, it was simple rivalry with one person that emptied his pocket every payday .. I have receipts! That person my husband competed with for years, I will call Powder and for now, that is all I have to say about 'that' .. well, except that when one was internalizing for a role model, one should have been more picky.


The only good competition is when you are challenging YOURSELF .. my husband through sober introspection came to that resolve, although he wouldn't use the same verbiage to express it . Competition with others does not build good character when your success depends on an other's failure or put another way .. "gaining respect through someones disgrace". If you must compete within a struggle, let it be to improve yourself .. your past performance, never to wish for failure of someone else. Life's lessons.


Anyhow .. back to my husband and his hobbies. His current attraction, drag racing, for the first time EVER has triggered a little excitement of this sport for me. Ooh .. the sound of the engines first start-up, idling into staging position, the smell of burning tires and smoke filling my nostrils, the intimidating release of small spurts of nitrous, then the riving up of the engines as the seconds slip away ..
LET IT RIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!

Well now ..

"Bluangel's Scribbles" was a political blog .. before I deleted almost six years of postings last night. I was addicted to politics and spent many wee morning hours arguing my POV (point of view) .. after all, my view was the correct one because I had spent endless hours researching and collecting data that would unquestionably support that view. I wasn't the only argumentative person .. there are tons of people out there that was just as determined to shove their own POV down my throat as I was determined to shove mine down theirs .. .

Anyway, my political stance is INDEPENDENT and I'm not pushing that position on anyone because I support a three party government .. it's been this way since the dawning of our great country .. we had the Loyalists/Liberals who wanted to remain suckled to England, we had our Patriots/GOP who rose up against the tyranny of the Crown and we had the 'fence sitters' those who favored independence, yet hesitated at the thought of an armed rebellion .. remaining non-committed until persuaded sovereignty along with territorial integrity was indeed worth fighting for .. these days, the intense political partisanship we witness, especially those who adhere to the "party" be it Democratic or GOP, feel the tremors of a deep rift within our country .. here I go again, this blog is NOT about politics .. it will be a journal of sorts to put whatever I choose into it, my daily existence, interests, amusements, moments, hobbies, hates, and passions. I'm backlogged already, intended to start this weeks ago, but I'll catch up.