My pal mentioned, just in passing, that there were figure-8 trailer races.
I said, “No way. Get real. Quit yanking my chain. Doesn’t happen.”
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Through the wild cathedral evening the rain unraveled tales
For the disrobed faceless forms of no position
Tolling for the tongues with no place to bring their thoughts
All down in taken-for-granted situations
Tolling for the deaf an’ blind, tolling for the mute
Tolling for the mistreated, mateless mother, the mistitled prostitute
For the misdemeanor outlaw, chased an’ cheated by pursuit
An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
Even though a cloud’s white curtain in a far-off corner flashed
An’ the hypnotic splattered mist was slowly lifting
Electric light still struck like arrows, fired but for the ones
Condemned to drift or else be kept from drifting
Tolling for the searching ones, on their speechless, seeking trail
For the lonesome-hearted lovers with too personal a tale
An’ for each unharmful, gentle soul misplaced inside a jail
An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
— Bob Dylan
Stone-cutters fighting time with marble, you foredefeated
Challengers of oblivion
Eat cynical earnings, knowing rock splits, records fall down,
The square-limbed Roman letters
Scale in the thaws, wear in the rain. The poet as well
Builds his monument mockingly;
For man will be blotted out, the blithe earth die, the brave sun
Die blind and blacken to the heart:
Yet stones have stood for a thousand years, and pained
thoughts found
The honey of peace in old poems.
— Robinson Jeffers
Reason will not decide at last; the sword will decide.
The sword: an obsolete instrument of bronze or steel,
formerly used to kill men, but here
In the sense of a symbol. The sword: that is: the storms
and counter-storms of general destruction; killing
of men,
Destruction of all goods and materials; massacre, more or
less intentional, of children and women;
Destruction poured down from wings, the air made accomplice,
the innocent air
Perverted into assassin and poisoner.
The sword: that is: treachery and cowardice, incredible
baseness, incredible courage, loyalties, insanities.
The sword: weeping and despair, mass-enslavement,
mass-torture, frustration of all hopes
That starred man’s forehead. Tyranny for freedom, horror for
happiness, famine for bread, carrion for children.
Reason will not decide at last, the sword will decide.
His soul stretched tight across the skies
That fade behind a city block,
Or trampled by insistent feet
At four and five and six o’clock;
And short square fingers stuffing pipes,
And evening newspapers, and eyes
Assured of certain certainties,
The conscience of a blackened street
Impatient to assume the world.
I am moved by fancies that are curled
Around these images, and cling:
The notion of some infinitely gentle
Infinitely suffering thing.
Wipe your hand across your mouth, and laugh;
The worlds revolve like ancient women
Gathering fuel in vacant lots.
— Eliot
The scientists are in terror
and the European mind stops
Wyndham Lewis chose blindness
rather than have his mind stop.
Night under wind mid garofani,
the petals are almost still
Mozart, Linnaeus, Sulmona,
When one’s friends hate each other
how can there be peace in the world?
Their asperities diverted me in my green time.
A blown husk that is finished
but the light sings eternal
a pale flare over marshes
where the salt hay whispers to tide’s change
Time, space,
neither life nor death is the answer.
And of man seeking good,
doing evil.
In meiner Heimat
where the dead walked
and the living were made of cardboard.
Gerard Van der Leun
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That’s nothing. Lynd, WA – Combine Demolition Derby
https://lindwa.com/Lind%27s%20Weekend.html
https://www.seattlepi.com/seattlenews/slideshow/Combine-Demolition-Derby-in-Eastern-Washington-87906.php
https://www.facebook.com/groups/lindcombinedemolitionderby
A-a-a-a-aaaand . . . in his grave Chris Economaki breaks out in an enormous beatific grin.
I know some Northern Michigan areas where this would draw crowds each and every weekend. My 1968 Fan trailer would be a great tow for such an event. Heck, I’d even donate it to such a good cause. Hilarious!
No wonder I can’t find a reasonably priced old trailer to restore – their all at this place getting tore up.
I went to plenty of crazy 8 races at Ascot in LA and there was none of that stopping at the X stuff cause the guy behind you would push you on through.
That was surprisingly palate cleansing!
“Beavis, was that not the greatest video every in the history of all videos?”
Early Spring 2019 pulling my little 20 footer leaving Laughlin NV too late, got to the Tehachapi Pass headed West at dusk. Snowing, traffic, first one accident, car slid of the road in front of me. Asked the wife if we should pull over for the night. No, it will be worse in the morning. Then an 18 wheeler winds up in the ditch in front of us but with luck didn’t even slow us down. Still climbing. Two more cars sliding around and collided but slid out of the way before we hit them. Doing about 30MPH now. Approaching the top, dreading the other side. Then I noticed the East bound lines were shut down. No traffic but a few police cars driving beside each other clearing traffic. Behind me, way back a mile or more I can see the red and blue lights. Too late we are over the top and headed down, I’m in 4WD high not using my brakes at all but barely going 30. Most of the traffic is in front of us, just a few behind and every now and then the red and blue lights way back there but getting closer. Left turns, right turns, slippery, a little sliding here and there but can’t really slow just keep the wheels barely powered. Every now and then with a little straight away I would use the trailer brakes to slow more while watching the rear view mirror to make sure it stayed straight. More turns still maintaining speed. cars off the road, another truck too, but I can see the lights of Bakersfield (I think). Tighter turns, slowing as much as I can with my trailer brakes on straight aways. The police cars are closer now, not sure if they would make me pull over or just follow me down. Traffic now kinda slowing but the worst is past. The snow turns to rain. The road is still slick but we made it. Found an off ramp in East Bakersfield and a Mexican Restaurant I can’t pronounce or spell but the food was good. Thought I was in a demolition derby for awhile.
F**kin’ Merica.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KnAzpi4avo
I was at Walmart when the apocalypse came … and I became their king!
America. Because we can.
Well that sort of makes up for no Indianapolis 500 this weekend. 😆
A couple of thoughts:
1) I really hope that was the last race of the night. I cringe at the thought of cleaning the debris left behind off the track for the 100 lap main that closed the day’s schedule.
2) I see your trailer racing and raise you, School Bus Racing, at the same track: https://youtu.be/CqtWb67AmWU
That was beautiful.
For those on a budget, Barbie Jeep Racing offers its own unique challenges:
https://youtu.be/Bwn8fxEudyU