I thought Sunday's race was a NASCAR event?

So I'm looking at the NASCAR website, particularly the tailgating section and the Sonoma road course page. This week is one of the rare opportunities for the drivers to turn both right AND left.

I kind of like the road courses as long as they're kept to a minimum. It does provide a touch of diversity to a 36 race season, but I digress.

Anyway, the tailgating guide to Sonoma starts off kind of funny with recommendations to go out and see all the wineries. (There are apparently 17 of them in close proximity to the track.) Now, I've never associated NASCAR with wine (certainly a beer sport) but as the road course brings diversity, so does the whole "Wine Country" bit.

So racing in Northern California stresses a few of my paradigms, and that's fine. It's healthy to have your "default settings" challenged every now and again. Our values (other than those at our very core... honor, itegrity, etc.) are certainly not carved in stone and reviewing them periodically is necessary for spiritual and emotional growth.


BUT THERE ARE LIMITS


Among other things on the page is a list of what you may and may not do at the track.

First among the list of may not's is bring beer into the track. WTFO? You can still bring your cooler in (as long as it meets the size restrictions) but NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES! Exactly
what is the purpose of a cooler if not to keep your beer cold? I own several as do many of my friends, but I've never in my life seen them used for other purposes. OK, my wife will, on occasion slide a bottle of wine, or perhaps a sandwich in there (when I'm not looking) but if the cooler isnt' empty, you can bet your boots that there will be at least a six-pack among its contents.

Second among the rules (that I find particularly offensive) is the prohibition on smoking in the stands. Let me give you acouple of hints here. Cup races are held outdoors! I'm all about having non-smoking sections, and if the space is too small to adequately keep the smoke out of the non-smoking area, by all means make it a non-smoking venue, but we're talking about an OUTDOOR track, with the wind blowing.

And don't get me started on second-hand smoke. Anyone who lives in California and complains about second-hand smoke needs to seriously examine the quality of air they breathe on a daily basis. When you can look outisde your window and SEE THE AIR there are problems. The yellow-orange-brown haze I see every time I fly into San Diego or Los Angeles never ceases to amaze me. (Sure, Sonoma isn't in SoCal, but I've seen some pretty nasty air in the Bay area also...) Honest to God, my cigar adds little to nothing to the amount of toxins you folks breathe every day.

And as long as we're talking about air quality, allow me to point out that there are no catalytic convertes nor any other emission controls on these cars. Small pieces of rubber (and other debris) fly off the track into the stands. Sound levels in the stands are well above those levels at which OSHA requires couble hearing protection in the work place, so kindly check your health concerns on your own blog.

As I said earlier, diversity is a wonderful thing. In this case, it seems that someone has gone well beyond diversity and deep into political correctness.

Then again, think of all the money I'll save by not buying tickets to this track... ever.

On-On,
Gopher


P.S. Go 48!

I missed a few

OK, so I'm an idiot...

It has been pointed out to me (by the love of my life) that I missed some folks who were instrumental during this past weekend. After thinking about it, there are a few in addition to her observations so here goes.

Langenhardt: Dude you rocked every morning with breakfast, and you manage to do it year after year. Not too many hash events offer up your specialty omelets and other morning tasties. The entire mob is in your debt, if for nothing else, getting up early and starting the coffee.

EWSF: OK, you're retired now and any excuse to run up to Willie's and drink beer is a good one, but your help was invaluable setting up and breaking down.

Hasenfeathers: There was nothing I asked of you this weekend that you couldn't take care of and put it to bed immediately. Additionally, you took direction from Piggy for 4 days straight and kept smiling. (I have a hard time doing that and I've been married to the woman for 23 years!)

Uncle Willie: What can I say. You're our host. We can't thank you enough for all of your hospitality over the last 8 years. Thank you, thank you, thank you!



I'm sure there are others, and I'll go ahead and apologize now if I've overlooked your efforts. Most of you know me and know that I can be a drifty b*stard every now and then...


On-On,
Gopher

The Revolution VIII

Wow! Finally finished up with The Revolution VIII. This year's crowd seemed to be bigger than past years. I suppose that's probably due to the fact that more of you came out this year than before.

I'm still crunching the numbers but I believe we ate and drank right on schedule. In other words, there was very little left over, and for those of you who shared the weekend with us, allow me to offer up the following statistics:

132 hashers in attendance
3900 lbs of beer was consumed
36 chickens gave their lives for Friday night's dinner
600 chickens never had the opportunity as they were consumed at breakfast in your omelets, French toast, and such
8 hogs sacrificed their shoulders (I'm picturing a bunch of hogs running around with surgical dressing where their shoulders should be) for dinner Saturday night (16 Boston Butts)

I'd like to thank the following:

First and foremost, my darling wife Pigs in Spaaaaaace! Whose masterful operation of "Piggy's Galley" ensured that no one went away hungry.

Preparation H, Cinderfella, and Mr. Microbone without whom the site would never be ready to host this event. All winter long, these intrepid souls toil cutting and stacking firewood, maintaining the grounds, digging out-houses, and heaps of other physically taxing jobs.

Watergate for coming down early and staying late to help with the myriad of tasks that need tending during the execution phase of the event, specifically helping Piggy in the galley all weekend. (This is a particularly noteworthy contribution when you consider this is not a "domestic woman" that we're talking about.)

Finally, all of those hashers who showed up. Without you guys, it would have been 5 or 6 guys sitting around the woods with 24 kegs of beer (which would be the subject of another topic all together...)


On-On to next Year!


Gopher