That Damned Black Bitch.

It's time to post a few more pictures... We went racing last weekend, down in Lewisville, Indiana. The track is one of the nicer ones we see in our travels. It's bordered by a small stream on one side, and a row of old, stately shade trees on the other. The trees provide a natural border, so that unsightly tape that shows up in pictures from other tracks doesn't need to be used here.

Rally has done well in her first 4 LGRA racemeets, winning 3 of them. That was going to change this weekend. Our friends, Jerry and Vada, had entered their greyhound, Gilda . It was her first event after a long recovery from a dislocated toe, (subsequently amputated), suffered at the ASFA Greyhound Specialty in March. We knew Gilda was going to be fast, but this was ridiculous! (and typical. That's Gilda #2, Rally #3, and Science #4... Rally had trouble with Science off and on this weekend as well, finishing 3rd on Saturday, but coming back for second on Sunday). Gilda went undefeated over the weekend.

It was a small meet, with Rhodesian Ridgebacks, (who almost ran me down!), Italian Greyhounds, and a veritable plethora of Basenjis. We were done early both days, just in time for lunch, provided by the people of Lewisburg for a nominal charge, in exchange for using the park for free. Great deal.

This weeks nature special:
 

Therapy

Democrats will love this. A lot of Republicans, too, I'll bet. Thanks to Frank V. for the heads-up.

Yeow!!

I realized I didn't know as much about the political landscape of our adopted state as I did about the state of our birth, Michigan. It was time to do some research. I discovered that South Dakota, unlike Michigan, has only one representative in Washington. But, what a representative! I think I can say, without argument, we've got the hottest Representative in the country. Dear readers, I give you Stephanie Herseth, (D-SD)....

She's looking for interns for the Fall term. I'm updating my resumé.

Take That, Irish!

I've been advised to lighten up. So here's my hero:

Asked whether Michigan should continue its series with Notre Dame, Schembechler said: "We don't need Notre Dame. They need us more than we need them.

That's Bo. Read more classic Bo here.

This Ain't Kansas.

While we're no longer "official" Michigan residents, we still have a lot of ties to the state, and we spend a lot of time here in the Summer. Frankly, we're pretty sick and disgusted by what we've seen in the political arena here in the last couple of months leading up to yesterday's primaries.

For starters there's the race for governor, featuring a polo-playing, multi-millionaire heir to the AmWay fortune, who tries to come off as a regular Joe Sixpack on his TV ads. Problem is, he's pretty good at it. Hopefully, the truth will come out: His "recovery plan" for the state will involve mandatory AmWay parties!

In the Republican congressional primary, a more sickening thing happened. Some radical rightwing religious conservative, a benefactor of a whole ton of out-of-state money, beat the incumbent, a moderate who had the backing of the party mainstream. The ads for the extremist candidate contained some of the most outrageous bullshit we've ever heard, proving that stupid people will believe anything. Just like in Kansas.

The state Democrats must be licking their chops.. because this ain't Kansas.

Sturgis

Just because we're full-timers in the motor home doesn't mean we're homeless! But it does mean we get to pick where we're from. For those who always wondered about the South Dakota plates on the motor home and the toad, the answer is simple: South Dakota has no state income tax; has the 2nd lowest vehicle insurance rates in the nation; has no vehicle inspection program; and a lot of other advantages over all the other states we had to choose from; and it has Sturgis.... home of the biggest motorcycle gathering on the planet.

Those of you who did your homework... (congratulations, Jesse M. Holmes, whose superior Googling skills allowed him to be the first with the correct answer to yesterday's trivia question! He was also the only one who entered, and I know there's a lot more of you out there!), will know that the current rally in Sturgis attracts over half a million bikers and non-bikers to this little South Dakota town every year. You also know that this mammoth rally started waaaaay back in 1938, as a little event with dirt track racing. The club that started it all was the Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club. This AP article tells you all about it, and how the founding fathers feel about what the event has become. You can also find out more at the Jackpine Gypsies website.

And if you like what it's become, and you're lucky enough to have Sirius satellite radio , you can listen to Mojo Nixon on Channel 63, Outlaw Country, broadcast live all week long, from 4-8PM EDT. He's drunk and he's foul, and he's oh, so entertaining! Check it out.

JackPine Gypsies

All right... in the spirit of keeping things exciting around here, we're going to play trivia! (and also get an idea of how many people actually read this thing).

Give yourself 24 hours.. Who are the Jack Pine Gypsies? Or more specifically, who are the Jack Pine Gypsies Motorcycle Club?

Answers only accepted in the "comments" section. Good Luck!