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We spent quality time among thousands of other car enthusiasts at an annual event showcasing some of the finest automobile restorations on the planet. Hundreds of them to be more precise. Along the way I toured the various shops where every conceivable aspect of automotive restorations is taught by professors who KNOW this industry and history. To say it was fascinating would be a huge understatement.

This exclusive program conveys 4 year bachelors degrees on fifty students a year carefully selected to become trained by master mechanics and artisans in this fascinating craft. Before you ask, there are ladies, albeit few, who are being trained along side their male counterparts.

Here is the deal. When working on vintage autos, you don’t ring your local NAPA store for parts, you make them from scratch. These students are exposed to the deep secrets of forming metals, building engines, upholstering, instrumentation, and designing the myriad of components that are no longer available. Today, after years of windshield time, I began to appreciate the differences in manufacturing strategies and the genius in the industry. The shops smelled of the shops my readers will remember from 50-75 years ago, oil, rubber and steel. Students are also exposed to the nuances of woods……found in many vintage cars.

Predictably, the muscle car era is well represented. Cars are an international matter, with virtually every industrialized country contributing to the industry, but US made iron predominates. This event marries the beauty of custom restoration with mechanical genius and gives the student a solid foundation in this coupling. Justus, my grandson was ever so fortunate to be selected to this program, fueling his grandfather’s pride. It is not law school, nor the stuff of MBA programs…….rather a lesson in history, science and artistry. Enjoy the pictures and ride along with me as we pay homage to an industry producing a product that all the grad school professionals really envy….. the automobile.

Jay Leno, a benefactor to this program, helps with tuition. In the summers, when students are out of school, he matches their earning in summer jobs in offsets to their tuition in the amount earned. Thanks, Jay!

I took hundreds of pictures, too many to publish, but kept as a reminder of the automobile industry that is engrained into each of us. A noble history, in the hands of these artisans in training by masters in the trade. Charge on Justus, I can’t wait to see your vintage BMW project car when you are done.

Have a good week!

SR

The twenty-four news cycle has laid bare the business of politics. We enjoy a wonderful country and all is reasonably well, in spite of the unabashed shameful nature of our political system. I for one am frustrated by the abstract loony tunes we see on both sides of the aisle. My thoughts have little to do with issues, mirroring exactly the emphasis placed on actually improving the country by today’s two party system. The nastiness in politics today is unprecedented, actually gravitating into physical violence and vile behavior. Civility is on the way out.

Shameful bull scat. I find it absolutely amazing that every Democrat can see no good in a Republican idea and vice versa. The politicians are going to toe the party line irrespective of the merits of the other parties position. With precious few exceptions (Sen. Fetterman comes to mind) the opposition party automatically condemns an opposing party’s proposal. Is it about the impact of a proposal on America’s interests or the impact on a Party’s interests? The question is rhetorical, we know the answer. If you listen to any politician in the opposition party, the sitting President is a fool, incompetent or out of touch. (A caveat here is in order, Joe Biden was demonstratively incompetent, ill advised and a laughing stock.) I am absolutely sick of hearing a sitting Democrat or Republican casting an opposition leader in disparaging terms, irrespective of the merits of his position, with little other than a fabricated, often lying attack, with a secondary interest in improving the country.

Why is it this way? A two word answer, power and control. These ego driven maniacs would kill and eat their mothers to be able to set the agenda. To be sure, the right sees socio-economics differently than the left, and that is a fact of life. However, both viewpoints are worthy of debate, with the public as the ultimate debate judges. I use the word debate rather than condemnation and bloodlust.

Today, thanks to a horribly polarized media, the news isn’t just reported. It is reported with an analysis trusting us to be ignorant buffoons and ultimately a lecture on the position we should take. I am fed up with a political leader’s absolute condemnation of the opposing party’s position, with the obligatory name calling and accusations.

I don’t expect to see, in my remaining life, a Democrat and Republican honestly work together to solve a sticky wicket of consequence. Here is the bottom line. We the people are tired of it. Congress exists to guide and lead, not fight and jockey for position and control. We need to send these egomaniacs home and replace them with folks who know how to solve problems and develop viable solutions, not worship at the party alter. Unfortunately , smart folks motivated by true patriotism want nothing to do with this mess.

Have a good week.

SR

In 1955, a humanitarian with a medical degree and razor sharp mind eliminated the scourge of polio from America. He developed the polio vaccine and reduced incidences of this dread disease from 18 cases per 100,000 Americans to zero today. A patent on this vaccine would arguably have been worth billions of dollars….but he refused the patent. He was about saving lives, not making millions, making him an exception in the world of profiteering. His name was Jonas Salk. The Jewish son of Russian immigrants, his life can be summed up in few words, a genius who happened to care deeply about the human condition.

I have friends in big pharma. They have enjoyed the rewards of working in an incredibly profitable industry, and a few have demonstrated a genuine concern for the human condition. As a whole, big pharma is an incredibly profitable business with the human condition being secondary to making money. Do not be fooled, there is enormous profitability in treating sickness, as opposed to preventing it.

As an example, consider the newest trend in controlling weight for folks, who for a variety of reasons benefit tremendously from the new GLP medications. These medicines have shown great promise in other aspects of health as well, such as diabetes and cardiac illness. They are also inordinately expensive with many insurance companies refusing coverage. Expense drives the refusal to cover these medicines despite weight being one of the greatest comorbitities we face worldwide with a particular emphasis on America which is, to put it bluntly, fat. If you walk into a pharmacy today, and your insurance doesn’t cover these meds, you will shell out a grand a month to pay for it, give or take. Medicare only covers this stuff if if you have gross sleep apnea or some other indication of impending death.

After a year of low inactivity and the lengthy recovery from shoulder replacement, I am relying on one of these meds until I can get back into the gym. I am also paying handsomely for this privilege. Today, virtually everything from extra catsup with your fries to light ice in a drink comes with an up charge. Document fees on a 50K car fall into this category….you get it.

Thank you, Dr. Salk. You, sir, were not motivated by inordinate piles of money, rather making a difference in mankind. The satisfaction in conquering a dread malady was enough for a Jewish descendent who cared.

Have a great week!

SR

My memory is not what it used to be and two moves ago I dispensed with pounds of old reports from my days as a road trooper, however; I remembered a lesson learned from an old, not too swift, burglar.

I had just come on the air when I learned a service station in Lexington, about 30 miles north had been burglarized. As luck would have it, I fell in behind a well known burglar and thief slipping back into Odessa. I stopped him and noticed burglary tools lying on the passenger side floorboard and the easiest burglary arrest you could possibly make followed. I cannot remember this thief’s last name, his first was Alfred. He was just out of the penitentiary and needing a little cash. I arrested him based on my observations and he soon confessed to the crime with the meager proceeds of his thievery found in the trunk, a neat probable cause arrest.

Alfred was talkative, not a member of MENSA, and we talked burglaries for awhile. One of his skills involved drilling a residential lock to gain entry to a home and he talked about how easily it was done, if you knew just how to do it. He was on his way back to the pen and had nothing to lose by talking about his “trade”.

Last night we left home in a hurry. My hard working wife was in excruciating pain and we were on the way to the ER where she was diagnosed with a non-displaced rib fracture. ER’s, even the good ones, are swamped with patients who, on the dole, crowd the waiting rooms for routine stuff, but can’t pay for it, and this brand new ER was no exception. We left after midnight, pain meds on board and returned home and discovered we were hopelessly locked out as we had left with no house key. Who does this, you ask? Asked and answered.

We ended up in the garage but the entry door to the house was also locked. Sharon casually mentioned my experience and suggested I “drill” the lock. We had an assortment of power tools at hand and after checking for an unlocked window, she googled drilling locks for additional advice. The trick is to start with a small drill and gradually increase them in size until you create a space big enough for the pins to fall out. We got ‘er done and gained entry in about 30 minutes.

I had never done this, but followed the advice we found on YouTube and was amazed at how easy this was. Alfred was right. There are tricks to every trade, even thievery. My business was policing and Alfred’s was thievery. Last night we traded crafts and I owe him a thank you.

Sharon, loaded on good drugs slept well, I am headed out to buy a new entry lock, and all is well. Another factoid, a broken rib coupled with a thoroughly aggravated intercostal nerve can result in terrible pain. She hurt herself a week ago, we ignored it much to our chagrin and met yet another nice doctor.

Have a great week!

SR

Ernest Covington Cooke was born in 1886 in Marion County, South Carolina. He was the son of a Methodist Minister and a successful tobacco and cotton producer all his life. He lived his life on a small farm near Marion where his efforts on the farm began with mule drawn conveyances and ended with a “poppin” Johnny, a small John Deere tractor. He owned not one power tool, but worked out of a wooden tool chest full of hand tools that he built two homes with and three tobacco barns. He was also my grandfather.

E. C. Cooke was the most temperate man that I have ever known, calm in demeanor, always in control and understood that idle time was critical to the soul. He understood the concept of “boredom” a phenomena that we don’t understand today, which has undoubtedly led to the reverse in lifespans we are currently experiencing. Boredom is a misunderstood concept. In the age of electronic, and instant communication, we fill every waking moment with something. Let’s consider alternatives to the mad world we live in.

What if we just respond to boredom by sitting in it, allowing ourselves to settle into the discomfort of being still waiting for something to surface in our disengaged minds.

What, pray tell, is wrong with taking a dull moment and simply ponder or daydream and ruminate on what in this world is worth jarring that inner peace we have just achieved.

What if the daydream ignites a spark that trashes the monotony and leads us to infinite possibilities.

Could this wonderful unoccupied time remind us we are more valuable than what we do and pausing to produce absolutely nothing is okay.

Mr. Cooke was able to recline in the shade of his back porch and contemplate his place in a world that moves at warp speed today. Are we able?

When is the last time you emptied your mind, and let the sounds of a songbird or the babbling of a shoal become the center of your attention. When is the last time you let go of the myriad of problems that we are confronted with? Can you remember the last time you sighed and embraced an approaching thunderstorm or a breeze whispering through pine trees while erasing the pressures of life?

Here is my point. Boredom is an integral part of life. We do not have to rush to the television, a cell phone or tackle a waiting project around the home. I love the pastoral scene encompassing a contented person, on the porch with an old dog for company, likely enjoying a glass of tea possessing a mind kicked out of gear. Behavioral scientists and various eastern clerics have, since the beginning of recorded history, recognized the zen like relaxation that we label as boredom. Take a few minutes, or longer, and enjoy what is around you serving as a backdrop for contentment and nothing else. We have earned this privilege that so few understand.

It is okay to savor the moments of solitude and contentment that we call boredom. When sitting by a fire on the banks of a clear running stream, it is okay to answer the query “what are you thinking about” with an honest reply of nothing really. Just enjoying the moment. Only then can you say you have mastered boredom or at the very least, put it to good use!

Have a great week!

SR

Modern medicine got a tremendous boost during the Civil War. The treatment of trauma was vastly improved, but in reality great strides were made in internal medicine as there were far more casualties that fell from disease than a minie’ball or grape and canister artillery. The study of medicine also evolved dramatically. These advances were accompanied by great strides in the early 1900’s as research amped up, developing antibiotics and related medicines to cure or soothe what ailed you.

Us folks with a little salt on our tails remember the home remedies so prevalent in the early and mid ‘60s. Grandma could treat damned near anything with a little kerosene, mineral oil and merthiolate. When it got serious, paregoric was placed in service, easily obtainable in the corner drug store. A trip to a doctor followed when a dose of ginseng or dandelion root failed to produce the desired results. During this era, our military services were also in the midst of improving medical care to the millions of service men and women. Again, old salts remember the infamous “cold Pack”, a standard issue self help kit when you suffered from a cold or flu or about anything. The cold pack was a small paper sack containing a bottle of “GI Gin” cough medicine laced with alcohol, codeine and or Turpin hydrate, guaranteed to stifle your cough, as well as APC’s (aspirin). Sage old old timers often began a night of drinking with a bottle of the cough medicine thus launching the poor soul into a terrific buzz.

If you watch any television at all (who does not) you have seen a proliferation of “wellness Kits” where one can fork over a couple of hundred bucks and have a virtual pharmacy delivered to your doorstep in a day or two. One such package contains powerful antibiotics that physicians study in medical school in a difficult segment of training called “pharmacology”. Mind you they study at least 8 years to get a MD, DO or DDS degree, and then practice medicine under the guidance of senior physicians for 2 to 6 more years before establishing a practice somewhere. The appropriate use of antibiotics is a part of this training.

Enter the modern day charlatans, akin to the snake oil and tonic salesmen of the 1800’s who hauled bottles of likely dangerous or inert elixirs that would cure whatever ailments one might have. One such kit contains a supply of amoxicillin, doxycycline, azithromycin, bactrim, flagyl, fluconizole, ivermectin and zofran. Really? Antibiotics in particular, are extremely valuable when prescribed by a medical professional, They can also result in significant harm if misused, or not indicated for some vague, self diagnosed malady. What is next? Some sort of hallucinogenic drug and a self surgery kit to remove a self diagnosed appendix or mole on your hand that might be melanoma. If your self help home remedy fails you and you topple over dead, a family member can order up a casket from Amazon or Costco, buy a couple bags of ice to keep you presentable for a day or so and bury you out back. As a side note embalming was another practice that came into vogue during the Cicil War, reserved mainly for officers who fell on the battlefield.

In short, the practice of medicine is fascinating but best left to folks with great intelligence who study its application for years before prescribing the correct medicine that you need. Charlatans are not a good source of medical advice or the use of powerful medicines to further one’s health.

Sorry folks, I am not buying the latest television nonsense, literally or figuratively.

Have a great week!