Demo Rides

Twice a year, I volunteer my time to work the demo ride portion of the open house at my dealer, Morton's BMW. I and three other intrepid experienced riders, lead a group of 8-12 riders on a 25 mile, 45 minute loop as they demo ride the entire line of BMW motorcycles. F650's, F800's, GS's S1000RR's, GT's, K-Bikes; are all available for rides.

BMW is the only marque that I'm aware of that makes the complete line of machines available for rides to anyone with an M Endorsement on their license at anytime. Other marques offer some of their machines for rides during open house events, but unlike BMW, you can't simply walk into a dealer, point to a bike and take it for a ride.

I've walked into the other local dealers, Extreme Power Sports and Fredericksburg Motor Sports and asked to demo a bike. The folks at Extreme told me they "weren't sure" the SV650 I wanted to ride, would make it through a 30 minute demo. They were more than willing however to let me sit on any/all of the bikes though, in order that I could get a "good" feel for it. Really? How generous of them. FMS flat out said the only bikes they make available for demo's are a couple of the cruisers. No sport bikes, no dual sports, just the cruisers. I asked the salesman if he's ever bought a car without first test driving it? The vapid look on his face told me he hadn't missed the meaning of my question.

To a certain degree, I can understand why the UJM dealers don't do demo rides. Liability. The vast majority of bikes they produce are geared towards to 20 something squids (squirrley kids); who don't have the slightest idea how to do anything but ride in a straight line, and they can barely do that. To offer up these 150+ hp bikes to this demographic for demo purposes would be nothing short of insane. However, I'm not a 20 something squid. I'm recently into my 50's, an MSF Instructor/Rider Coach, and IronButt Rider, have more than 750,000 miles under my belt and am looking for a fun little machine.

I pushed the issue of a demo ride a bit harder, throwing out my creds and even offering up my GS as collateral. Nothing doing. Too bad, as I was really looking to add another ride to my stable and everything I've heard/read about the SV650 is that it's a great little platform.

I wandered around for a bit longer, closely inspecting the SV and sitting on a couple of dual sport machines. The dealership was primarily geared towards squids, so I decided I'd seen enough. As I was leaving, the salesman stopped and asked if I was going to buy a motorcycle. I said I was and his eyes lit up. I told him I'd be back in a couple of days and he gave me his card.

I did return; four days later. I was on a BMW 650 X-Challenge that I'd just picked up from Morton's, not a mile down the road. I wandered in, the salesman recognized me, walked up and started chatting. I told him I'd decided on a dual sport machine and he started walking towards the Suzuki's, chatting away. I stopped him and said, "Come with me for a sec." We walked to the front door. I pointed and said "I just wanted to show you my new dual sport. Bought it from Morton's, just up the way. It had 2 miles on it when they gave it to me to demo ride after I left here the other day. It now has 165 miles on it. They simply said to put her through her paces. I took and tested her out; returned and bought it. A really, high fun-factor bike." The expression on this poor bastard's face was priceless. He was slack jawed and I swear, looked like he'd been hit with a rock. "You boys really should offer demo rides. You mite actually sell some motorcycles. Thanks for your time." I opened the door, walked out, climbed on and rode off.

EDA, City Council and Three Card Monte

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

In 2008, Kalahari Resorts announced its intention to build one of their “Authentic African Themed Resorts” at Celebrate Virginia. The resort would include an 832 room hotel, four restaurants, a 100,000 sq ft convention center, a 200,000 sq ft. indoor waterpark, a full service spa, a 100,000 sq ft indoor theme park, and 10,000 sq ft of retail shopping. Fredericksburg City Council voted to return to Todd Nelson, owner of Kalahari Resorts, 47.5% of their annual local taxes, in order to snag this project. The buzz phrases used to incite uncontrolled salivation for Fredericksburg residents and their elected officials, then and now are “economic boom” and “major tourist destination.”

Although touted as “shovel ready, two years later, not one single spade of dirt has yet to be turned.

However, two years later, we find Mr. Nelson, back in front of the Economic Development Authority and Council with his hands out, asking for more concessions.

I have this nagging feeling of Déjà vu.

Mr. Nelson just announced (Que Shock!) that he would also like to do a taxable municipal bond issuance through the EDA for $200 million. Yet Mr. Nelson and his financial team have declined to reveal the specifics of the municipal structure regarding the bonds. Unashamedly (although it should come as no surprise), Mr. Nelson has the temerity to demand the EDA waive or reduce its fee for both the tax-exempt and taxable issues, calling the $25 million dollars the city would receive for the taxable portion of the bonds and ostensibly use for economic development; “ridiculous and unnecessary.” Let me repeat that; $25M dollars to the City of Fredericksburg is “ridiculous and unnecessary” per Mr. Nelson. All of this despite the fact that Mr. Nelson has access to $25 million in Recovery Zone Facility Bonds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the probability of another $10 million.

To top it all off, Mr. Nelson isn’t even sure he can sell all of the taxable bonds. However, it is his “hope” that this will happen by the end of 2010. Hell, I “hope” I win the lottery this year, but I don’t plan my financial future around it! Couple that with an evaluation of costs to decide whether or not the project is doable. Doable? A 47.5% rebate on local taxes and two years later and Mr. Nelson still hasn’t decided the project is doable? “DANGER WILL ROBINSON…DANGER!”

My only surprise is that Mr. Nelson didn’t use the sorry state of the “economy” for putting his hand out. Then again, how can he, when he himself touts his parks as “recession resistant.”

Fredericksburg has been in this position before. We saw it with the Silver Companies and Central Park; and with the now infamous Slavery Museum. City Council gave up concession after concession to these two entities. What did we end up with? The asphalt abomination that is Central (Hell) Park and former Gov. Wilder’s dead-on-arrival, Slavery Museum.

While there will be jobs associated with Kalahari, the vast majority will be in the service industry and of little "career" value. The city of Fredericksburg and the surrounding counties are rich with history; ranging from George Washington to the Civil War. The region can become a major tourist destination with more regional cooperation and savvy marketing. We do not need to give up the farm to another Three Card Monte artist, yet again. City Council and the EDA should blink two or three times in order to clear the vision of fleeting dollar signs from their eyes, remove their rose colored glasses and send Mr. Nelson and Kalahari packing.

Lesbian Panic (No...It's not the name of a Rock & Roll Band)

It would appear that the vast majority of the parents and their little snowflakes who attend the Itawamba Agricultural High School are bigots and homophobes. The Itawamba County School District decided to cancel the High School prom, rather than allow the attendance of lesbian student Constance McMillen and her date, after the ACLU sued on the students behalf Prom Canceled.

Or so it would seem.

No. There was a prom. Well, two of them actually. The families of the students decided to sponsor a private prom and the judge who heard the original case was left with the impression that Ms. McMillen would be invited. All was well. Problem is, when Constance tried to learn the particulars about the prom, she had trouble garnering any details. She was told there would be a prom at the local country club in Fulton and she, along with her date were invited to attend. What they didn't know was that it was a "fake" prom.

Yes, you read it right. A fake prom.

Unbeknownst to Constance, there was a well planned, well executed, highly coordinated end-run around the judges ruling contrived by the families of the schools students. While Constance and her date were at their prom the rest of her class partied at a secret location where the "real" prom had been organized.

When Constance arrived, it didn't take her long to figure out that something was amiss. There were a total of seven students at the fake prom. Two of whom had learning difficulties. Also in attendance at this swaray were the school's Principal and teachers, serving as chaperones; leading anyone with half a working brain cell, to conclude that these folks were complicit in the charade.

I am aghast at the lengths the "god-fearing, good, tolerant, understanding Christians" of Fulton went to, in order to pull this off. These pious, bigots and hypocrites have proven that no matter how hard Mississippi tries, they will never move out of the dark ages. One can not really be surprised. I posit the lives of the overwhelming majority of parents involved in this sham, peaked with their own High School prom. They now live, sadly and pathetically through their children, trying desperately (but futilely) to come up with some meaning and reason for their insignificant existence.

Through all of this, Constance McMillen has shown herself to be far more educated, tolerant and wise than any of her peers or their parents. McMillen said of the learning disabled students who attended the prom with her, "They had the time of their lives. "That's the one good thing that come out of this, [these kids] didn't have to worry about people making fun of them [at their prom]."

Run Constance! Run! As far away and as fast as you can from Itawamba county. Leave and never look back.

Energy Independence

President Obama has just proposed a major expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling. Sadly, the President either doesn't have a clue, or has succumbed to political pressure on how to make the United States truly energy independent.

Four words: It's Natural Gas, Stupid!

This country has practically unlimited, lifetime supplies of Natural Gas. Why then are America's efforts to achieve energy independence not concentrated on building the additional infrastructure to support this resource?

Five words: It's The Oil Companies, Stupid!

What is first required is an infrastructure to support a nation of CNG vehicles. Couple CNG with electric vehicles (the development of a 300+ mile, at highway speeds electric car remains in the distant future) and hybrids, and America could, in all likelihood, be on the brink of total energy independence in less than a generation.

In parallel, continue with the development of wind and solar energy and it is a slam dunk that this country would be energy independent across the board. Imagine if you will, the freedom to tell all of our Middle East "friends" to go pound sand (pun intended).

The belief that we, as a country, can drill our way to independence from foreign oil, is a fallacy that is wholeheartedly supported and pushed by the oil companies. The answer does not lie in a rapidly dwindling, finite resource. Sadly, far to many politicians buy into this belief for the short term gain of popularity and approval ratings.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who is just as clueless as the President, immediately released a statement in support of the decision, saying in part: "The President's decision to allow energy exploration off Virginia's coast will mean thousands of new jobs, hundreds of millions in new state revenue and tens of billions of dollars in economic impact for the Commonwealth. It will also help our nation take a further step towards energy independence."

Note to Gov. McDonnell - Expanding an infrastructure in support of natural gas would also mean thousands of new jobs and billions in new state revenue. However, unlike drilling for oil, it will not help America take "just a step" further towards energy independence, it would guarantee it.

The answer to long term energy independence is Natural Gas. Sadly, I do not see any politician stepping up to the plate to champion this cause. That would not only require Leadership, but the fortitude and courage to take on the oil companies, and frankly, when was the last time there was ANY politician with fortitude who we could really call a leader?

It has been two full generations since America first felt the noose of foreign oil dependency cinch tight around her neck. Sadly, we've learned nothing. Investment in America's energy independence will not be inexpensive, but to not invest, to not cut the bonds of dependency on foreign oil, will be priceless.

Straight Pipes, Fart Cans, Thumpers and Squids

I am a lifelong motorcyclist and a Motorcycle Safety Foundation certified Instructor/Rider Coach. I teach my students safety and responsibility. My marque of choice is BMW, however I will ride anything on 2 wheels if afforded the opportunity. I've ridden/owned touring bikes, sport bikes, standards and dirt bikes. Riding is a passion and my freedom to ride is something I defend vigorously against all enemies, foreign, domestic and stupid.

Spring is in the air, the onslaught has begun and the stupid are running rampant. While wandering downtown Fredericksburg Thursday, I was treated to no less than five cruiser type motorcycles, six assorted Japanese coupes and three Squids (Squirrely Kids) on crotch rockets rolling down Caroline Street, proving to one and all that their straight pipes, fart cans and throttle blipping are poor substitutions for the inadequate equipment they possess in other areas of their lives.

Now, I readily admit, I am prejudiced against the majority of cruiser type riders. Most are nothing more than sad poseurs, whose only concern is trying to look like the "big, bad lone-wolf" type. ATTENTION K-MART SHOPPERS: There are millions of you clowns puttering around. You've failed. Move on. Get a life.

To add to this image, they outfit their motorcycles with straight pipes and fly the righteous banner of "loud pipes save lives." When challenged to provide any shred of scientific or empirical data to support their position (which of course does not exist), they pull the old shuck & jive and piously claim their loud pipes are a right.
Sadly, these pathetic excuses for motorcyclists, who unfortunately have the right to modify (albeit illegally) their bikes, don't consider ear splitting exhausts to be the single biggest impediment to true motorcyclist rights. They never think for a moment that the driving public is a much larger voting block than we are and the impression they leave is lasting and negative. Their only concern is trying to look cool and be as obnoxious as possible.

My disdain for the sport bikers almost equals that of the loud pipe crowd. Squids on crotch rockets using the roadways as their own personal race track. Throttle blipping at traffic lights in order to prove...well...something to someone; although it escapes me as to what. I love the contradiction these kids provide. Shorts, flip flops, a tank top and a $500 helmet. I mean...WTF? I tell my students "At least they'll look pretty from the neck up, inside the casket." I do not begrudge them the way they dress for they unknowingly provide endless entertainment with their comedic antics. Sadly though, they are the second biggest impediment to motorcyclist rights. Oblivious to the damage they cause, concerned only with impressing their fellow Squids and the vapid girls who happen to look their way.

The Fart Can crowd has also emerged from their Winter slumber. What is a fart can you ask? It is the over sized tail piece on the muffler of cars (usually some Japanese import) whose 20-something crowd owners, revel in the belief that loud exhausts, a stupid looking spoiler and a plethora of racing stickers on their windows, equates to some type of bad-assed Speed Racer cool image. The reality is oh so different. They are fodder for mockery, ridicule, disdain and never ending jokes.

Spring is not yet officially here, yet the signs are all around. Pollen, fart cans, flowers, straight pipes, mulch, squids, co-eds in shorts and pot holes. The only thing missing are the Thumpers. The gaggle of stereo cruisers that share their music with everyone within 300 yards. Guess the weather isn't quite warm enough for them yet. Soon come though. Soon come.

It is my sincere hope that the local constabulary will pull each and every one of these clowns over and write them a ticket. The more time they spend in court fighting (or paying) their tickets, the less time they spend on the street assaulting city residents.

A Bratmeister Is Born

I cook as a hobby. The kitchen is where I enjoy spending a good majority of my time when home. My forte' is Italian, but I'll try anything. Asian, Mexican, Regional American, French, etc. I'm adventurous and every new recipe is something of a challenge. I also love making bread. There's something satisfying about seeing dough rise and knowing there's Brioche, a batard, baguette or loaf of Tuscan peasant bread waiting at the far end of the effort.

While at Olde Towne Butcher in downtown a couple weeks ago, there posted on the door was a sign "Sausage Making Class, Tuesday March 9th." I've always loved sausage and had this idea in my head that there was some type of mystique that went along with making it. After all, there are all types of sausages in the world and one has to have some special talent in order to make it...right? Here was an open invitation to enter the renowned world of Bratmeisters. Heck, if they were going to give away the secrets for a mere $40, I was in!

The group of would be sausage makers totaled approximately twenty. Lee and his team went through the cuts of meat used for making various types of sausage, the types of spices, acceptable fat content of the meat and of course the casings. He also addressed hygiene and the importance of keeping the meat cold while creating. We broke into three groups. One group cutting up the dead pig, one group mixing spices and my group, already taking the end product and making links. This was pretty cool.

After learning how to twist, cut and stack links, I moved over to the machine used for filling the casings. The "sausage tube" looks like a small funnel, is attached to the machine and the casing slides on. Casings come in 27ft lengths, but can be cut down to almost any size. Put the ground meat mixture into the machine, apply a bit of pressure to the underside of the casing and step on the pedal. Holy crap! I'm caught somewhat off guard. This is an industrial machine and the sausage comes flying out of the tube, into the casing and before I realize it, I've filled 10ft with a red wine and sage mixture. I pick up the filled casing, take it over to the table and promptly drop it in front of the new crew learning to make links.

Turn around and I'm now watching another group mix up the "Fred Red" concoction. Pork, spices and a large bottle of the local brew. That done, they move on to create a spicy Italian mixture, changing out the blades to produce a coarser grind.

In what seems like the blink of an eye, 90 minutes has gone by. We've turned out 40-50lbs of three different sausages. We all walk away with about 5lbs total of the three (Fred Red, Italian & Red wine/sage), a book on sausage making and a catalog of equipment. Fortunately, I already have a heavy duty Kitchen Aid with the food grinder attachment. I simply need to buy the sausage stuffing attachment in order to begin practicing. This of course doesn't stop me from paging through the catalog and dreaming of new toys for the kitchen.

As soon as we go through the sausage we have, I'll be buying a couple of pork butts (which I learned comes from the shoulder of the pig...not his hind parts) and trying my hand at sausage making. Sandy says we can buy it, which of course we can, but what fun is there in that? Now that I have an idea how to make it...I certainly shall do so. New adventures in the kitchen await.

Beemer Engineering (A Rant)

I freely admit, I love my Beemers. While I've been riding an assorted stable of BMW's since the 80's, Airheads, Oilheads, KBikes, etc; in 2001, after twenty-four years and over a dozen different styles of machine, I finally found my niche. The GS Gelände/Straße (German: off-road/road). BMW's big bore, dual sport machine.

I also like to wrench my own bikes. Give me a technical manual and there's little, if anything, I won't try to fix or repair myself. It's a challenge to try and disassemble, repair and reassemble without any spare PAA (Parts After Assembly), something engineers have taken such pains to create.

The GS is BMW's number one selling machine in the world. Almost since its inception in 1980, it became the premier Round The World (RTW) touring machine. The GS has taken riders where few motorcycles dare to tread and returned them safely. With this in mind and the fact that repairs will need to be done, most likely on the side of a road in foreign far away lands; I am left to wonder just WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING??? when they designed the bike.

I recently received a number of Touratech goodies for my R1200GSA. One of which was a heavy duty bash plate for the underside of the bike. In order to install the plate, I had to remove the OEM plate that came with the bike. Now, there are four nuts/bolts that hold the bash plate in place. Usually no big deal. There was only one small problem. Between the four nuts/bolts, there are THREE DIFFERENT SIZES!!!, requiring not only three separate sockets in order to remove it, but two different styles to boot. I mean, really, WTF are the BMW engineers thinking? Are they thinking?

I gazed skyward, imploring the Motorcycle Gods to enlighten me as to who in their right mind would design a machine of this caliber, knowing full well it will be ridden to hell and back, all over the world, with these types of incredibly stupid flaws? Does common sense have no place in the universe anymore? The God's, being Gods and thus having little time for mere mortals, chose to ignore me. Space is at a premium on a motorcycle as it is. The last thing a RTW Adventure Rider wants to deal with is having a pack a toolkit the size of Wisconsin just to effect repairs somewhere on the road. Why could the four nuts/bolts for this plate not be one uniform size?

I aim to try and find out.

Hyphenated Americanism

I recently read a thread on favorite Presidents. While thinking about my favorite, I had no difficulty identifying one President that I despise; Bill Clinton. Clinton ushered in the age of Political Correctness in this country, giving credence and support to what was once a derogatory (and well deserved) slight...The Hyphenated American. In the course of a few short years, Americans no longer considered themselves Americans. They decided the only way to give their lives any real meaning, and in order to play the discrimination/racism cards to the hilt, was to hyphenate themselves; thus placing their Americanism on the second rung of the ladder of identity. Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Americans, Italian-Americans, African-Americans...the list goes on ad-nasuem.

I am an American. No embellishment necessary. American. Period. I am also a no-nonsense type of guy, much like my favorite President is Teddy Roosevelt. He was a hard charging, take no prisoners, carry a big stick type of man. His speech on Americanism to the Knights of Columbus in 1915 says it all:

"There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. When I refer to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all... The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities, an intricate knot of German-Americans, Irish-Americans, English-Americans, French-Americans, Scandinavian-Americans or Italian-Americans, each preserving its separate nationality, each at heart feeling more sympathy with Europeans of that nationality, than with the other citizens of the American Republic... There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else."

Which begs the questions, What is it about my fellow countrymen today and their inability to accept being truly American? Why did simply being an American become a bad thing and what part of being an American do they not get?

It's All About Communicating

The City of Fredericksburg appears to have a major disconnect when communicating with its citizens. During the recent record breaking snowstorms, the salting and plowing of neighborhood streets was spotty and a number of them, simply overlooked. I concluded that city representatives were most likely receiving quite a bit of hate mail because of the situation.

Despite extensive searching of the city's website, I was unable to find any mention of snow removal efforts or the trials, tribulations the city was going through. There was an after action report from the December storm, but nothing on the current efforts. My search for communication continued. I presumed the Mayor, Vice Mayor and each council member would have some sort of blog/website in order to communicate with their constituents about the situation. In this I was wrong. While one councilman has a website, I found nothing on it about the city's uphill battle with the snow & ice. Another council member pointed me towards a FredTalk site that discussed snow removal. It was buried (no pun intended) in the Fredericksburg Community forum.

My point? City representatives need to be more communicative with residents when incidents like this occur. Residents were/are screaming for roads to be plowed. What they don't know (and I only recently learned) is that city plows have rubber tipped blades. These are good only for small to moderate amounts of snow and protect the tarmac better than steel blades. Well, we've had something slightly more than "small to moderate amounts of snow," thus the plows can only be effective to a point. Had this small tidbit of information been forthcoming, I predict much of the venom from residents, may have been ameliorated. Even if council members are unable to do anything, the perception that they too are experiencing the same frustration, pain, heartburn and inconvenience, earns them some capital, understanding and tolerance from their constituents.

I personally would like to see all of our elected representatives with some type of Blog or website. Not only to communicate with the residents of their specific wards, but to all residents. Providing individual views and insight; good, bad or indifferent, on not just major events such as this seasons snowstorms, but on all matters pertaining to the city. Sure, we can read about their positions in the local paper; but that naturally contains a journalistic slant, selected sound bites and rarely provides the whole story. Most people appreciate getting their information, unfiltered. Heck, I know I do. While I may not agree with every position of my elected representatives, they earn my respect for being forthright and allowing me to hear/read it in their own words.

Missed Opportunities and Frustration

I previously wrote about the joy of living in a real neighborhood. A place where we all come together to help one another. With an additional 18" of snow received over the course of last weekend, we once again emerged from our homes to begin digging.

One of the first things we noticed was that the City had not yet come through to plow or scrape. Not one pass on the street. I understand the need to put resources towards the main roads and keep them clear during the storm. As of this writing, almost 48 hours after then final flake has fallen, the City still has not shown its face on Winchester Street. We now have 4-6" of hard packed ice. Both Sunday afternoon and today the City missed, in my opinion, opportunities to do additional clearing, not only here but on the main roads as well. With temperatures in the mid 30's and bright sun, the snow is melting. A heavy slush that would have been much easier to remove. Instead, it will refreeze with the low of 16 degrees for tonite, create havoc for drivers and serve as a hellacious base for the next round of winter weather that is to begin tomorrow afternoon.

Where is Public Works to scrape the streets and massive ice ruts that exist? More importantly where is City Council to oversee the situation? I'm sure there are streets in the same state and residents all over the city, asking the same questions, however, I really don't care about them. I care about the folks in the 5 blocks that make up the length of Winchester St.

The Neighborhood

One of the benefits of living where we do downtown, is the fact that we live in a honest to god neighborhood. We've helped raise each others children, we hold block parties, we come together at random to grill, chill and socialize. We look out for one another. We are intimately attuned to our environment so that when someone or something is out of place, it stands out like a sore thumb. We are a mix of homeowners and renters.

So, this morning, with the sun up and the road having been plowed only once after 10 inches of snow, we came together. A small army dug out all of the vehicles, cleared sidewalks and even drove one of our slightly limping neighbors to his job.

We do not live in some sterile subdivision surrounded by people/families we barely know or even more rarely, acknowledge. There are no HOA Nazis or yearly fees to pay. No one tells us we can't fly the American flag, what color we can paint our houses, how to decorate our front doors and we certainly don't need anyone's permission to put up a fence or dry our laundry on the line outside.

No, we are a neighborhood. A rare microcosm in today's society and there isn't a single one of us who would trade it for anything else in the world.

Stupidity Migrates East

Well, it would appear that my hopes have been dashed. The puritanical ignorance of the left coast has indeed surmounted the mighty Rockies and migrated east, right here to our own neck of the woods.

Superintendent Bobbi Johnson of the Culpeper County Public Schools' has banned the unedited version of Anne Franks ''The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition," because the 13 year old writes about her...wait for it...vagina. GASP!!! Anne Franks Diary Censored by Culpeper County Schools

How dare this girl, suffering from the innumerable atrocities raging around her that only war, racism and bigotry can bring, fearing for her life, have the sheer audacity to write about her body!

I often fear there will never be an end to the Political Correctness that has wrapped it poisonous tentacles around this country. With folks such as Superintendent Johnson and Betti Cadmus SoCal School district bans the dictionary carrying the banner of righteousness, all hope may be lost.

Stupidity Runs Amok in SoCal

Southern California's Menifee Union School District has decided to ban Merriam-Webster's 10th ed dictionary from 4th & 5th grade classes because their precious little snowflakes can ultimately discover the shocking definition for "oral sex" - "oral stimulation of the genitals" within its pages. Oh the HORROR of it all!

I have a couple of problems with this.

1. It's a dictionary for crying out loud!
2. Banning books never/never accomplishes anything.
3. It's a dictionary for crying out loud!
4. I posit that the majority of the parents who raised this concern most likely don't have "parental controls" enabled on their home computers, so now their children can look up "oral sex" using a Google search, which will return approximately 29,600,000 results.
5. It's a dictionary for crying out loud!

It is my sincere hope the Rocky Mountains prevent this level of stupidity and censorship from migrating East.

Menifee USD

RCDV - Empty Bowl

This annual event raises money for the Rapphannock Council on Domestic Violence. Pay your $$, choose a bowl made by area potters, sit and eat your fill of over twenty-five soups, chili's and other goodies created by volunteers. Bread, drinks and desserts included. Music and entertainment also provided.

This Sunday 5-7:30PM, Elks Lodge, Rt 2 (going towards the Country Club). Tickets are still available at Liberty Town studios. Come on out and support an excellent cause!

A Suspension Bridge in Fredericksburg

Growing up in Fredericksburg, I've always been exposed to Civil War history and the importance that the Battles of Fredericksburg The Wilderness, Spotsylvania and Chancellorsville played. While not a die hard Civil War buff, I do thoroughly enjoy biking all of the battlefields in the surrounding counties and stopping to read (and reread) the historical markers which provide me bits of knowledge and reference.

While reading "The Great Bridge," The Epic Story of The Building of The Brooklyn Bridge, I was awed to learn that during the Fredericksburg Campaign, a suspension bridge had been built across the Rappahannock River! It was constructed by Washington Robeling, son of John Robeling, architect of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Washington Robeling served as designer, engineer, architect, and foreman for the thousand foot long span which was constructed in two weeks. The bridge, unfortunately did not last long (about a month), having been ordered destroyed by General Burnside, during a retreat back across the river.

Dr. Grossett has moved!

I am extremely pleased to announce that my wife, Dr. Sandra Grossett, is no longer associated with Access Eye of Fredericksburg.

After seventeen years, Dr. G. decided it was time to move on to greener pastures and a more positive work environment. She has joined forces with Dr. Brad Church and Dr. Myron Wasiuta of Total Eye, in Culpeper Virginia.

Dr. Grossett's patients can contact her for an appointment or exam at 540-825-8220. You can visit their website at Total Eye.