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The Huntsville Road Warriors, who have just eaten at
the Church of the Holy Rib. Note the smiling faces. |
In this month's issue:
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The U. S. Treasury has announced that it is
recalling the new Aggie quarter. According to the Treasury officials the
quarter will not work in parking meters, toll booths or vending machines.
Apparently the duct tape holding the two dimes and
nickel together keeps jamming the machines.
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Happy
St. Patrick's Day!! |
| A
Message from the President |
| It's spring, which can only mean
that it's time to dust off the cars, kick the tires and get
driving. Many thanks to those of you who have been keeping
their eyes open for opportunities to hit the road. Those that
went to the church of the holy rib seemed to really enjoy the trip
once they got the smoke out of their eyes. I am not sure
if that was from the bar-b-que pit or our members eating too much
food and sitting up wind, but that is another story.
I can hardly wait for our
bluebonnet cruise (organized by the Bickfords) and maybe even a
spring full moon cruise when the weather is so nice. I know
that we are also looking forward to our cruise in and around
Galveston/Freeport, which is being planned by Bill Perry.
Chick-fil-A on Holcombe has been having car nights every Saturday
(and I believe the Vickers have some coupons) so it's just one more
place to show off your car and to see others that aspire to drive a
T-Bird and of course to eat.
Those of you who know a member
that is not active, please take some time this month to motivate
them to come on back to the club and bring their new ideas and cars
with them.
Keep
on driving !
Marc
And from Bob
Vickers comes the following information--
Triplets earn
Scouting Honors. David, Justin and Melissa Markel. David and Justin
are Eagle scouts and Melissa made the Girl Scout's Gold Award. I
know Mark and Mimi are very proud.
Congratulations!!!
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| Huntsville Church of the Holy Rib Cruise |
Wow!! What
an event that was! It's been almost a month since the trip,
and I can still sense the BBQ smoke in my clothes, my hair (yes,
both of them) and my eyes. Thanks to Bob & Alice
Vickers for arranging the trip for us, and having a special
reserved table right up front. When that front door open, the
smoke instantly fills the room, and we were there to catch it
first. Geary Ashby is a regular, so he taught us the
ropes of "family style". $8.50 for all-you-can-eat. It
doesn't get any better than that.
On the
way into town, we stopped at the huge Sam Houston statute, gift
shop, and information center. It was an interesting
place. But our stomachs over-powered us, and it was off to the
Church of the Holy Rib. A long-time family friend of my
in-laws met us for lunch, and told us of the Veterans' Museum in
Huntsville. That was a treat. They have an amazing
collection of military items, and of course, the volunteers are very
helpful and willing to teach. It is worth the trip to the
Huntsville Mall to check it out.
After the museum, we
went by Sam Houston's Tomb, and then split up for the trip back
home. It was a great day, although the weather was a little
bleak. But hey, when you're with some good friends eating good
BBQ, the weather just does not matter. Don't miss our next
trip up there.
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| Ford's
100th Anniversary Party and Rt. 66 Cruise |
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It's official. We are going to wrap our
Rt. 66 cruise in with our trip to Dearborn for Ford's
anniversary. We've been from Tulsa out to Holbrook, AZ.
In June, we'll head back to Tulsa, get on Rt. 66, and take it to
Chicago. From Chicago, we'll head on over to Dearborn.
Make plans to attend. Rt. 66 in a T-Bird is a wonderful
experience. Our hotel of choice in the Dearborn/Detroit area
is the Red Roof Inn-Dearborn. Phone 313-278-9732 or reserve
online at www.redroof.com. The dates
for the anniversary party are June 12-16, 2003. More Rt. 66
details will be forthcoming. It's about 500 miles from Houston
to Tulsa, about 700 miles from Tulsa to Chicago, and about 300 miles
from Chicago over to Dearborn. We're thinking about leaving
Houston on Saturday, June 7, 2003, for our big trip. Dennis
Baetz is working on the details even as we speak!
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| March Meeting |
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The March meeting will be held at the Sundance Grill, on the
shores of Clear Lake, off Hwy 146. Check out www.sundancegrill.info for
more information. They have a Sunday buffet for $9.95 that
runs until 3pm. Their address is 425 Highway 146 in
Seabrook. Their phone number is
(281) 474-2248 if you get
lost. If you are southbound on Hwy 146, going toward Kemah
from LaPorte, take a right before the big bridge. The Grill is
actually on the channel between Clear Lake and the big bridge (so it
is west of the bridge). The meeting is the third Sunday of the
month, this Sunday, March 16. We eat at 1pm and meet at
2pm.
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| February Meeting |
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The February meeting was held at Hickory Hollow on
February 16. We had a nice turnout on a beautiful day, with
many Birds in the parking lot. We even had 2 new James Bond
Birds, thanks to the Smiths and the Perrys.
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| Salado Weekend |
Salado weekend driving tour
March 14 – 16, 2003
This years driving tour will be to the
Burnett, TX area again. This year we will be doing a tour of
Longhorn Caverns at Longhorn Caverns State Park. Lunch options
after the tour will be open, with a plan for most to continue on to
Llano for lunch at Coopers BBQ. Llano is about 30 miles from
the State Park. Coopers is a ‘first come, first served’ place,
so no reservations are accepted.
The Caverns have an $11.00 fee for a 1 ˝
hour guided tour. Parking is free and there is a large parking
lot. There is a souvenir shop and small restaurant in the tour
headquarters building.
I plan to have a different driving route
this year for the run to the Park and the return trip is open.
This will give anyone an opportunity to check out the local antique
stores in the area during the return trip. I will have maps of
the driving route available in the hospitality
room.
The plans for the hospitality room are
developing and the dinner Saturday night will be at the Stagecoach
Inn.
A golf tournament is planned for Friday
if anyone is interested. Contact Robert Goodwin if you wish to
be in the golf tournament. 972-424-0311.
George Lang (george.lang@verizon.com)
2003 Salado Tour Master
Big ‘D’ Little Birds
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| West Texas Road Race |
Midland Chamber of Commerce officials Wednesday announced
plans for a proposed open road race running from Spraberry to Rankin
and back to the Midland city limits.
The
John Foster West Texas Open Road Race is scheduled for Oct. 19 with
a proposed route from Spraberry at the intersection of Texas Highway
158 and Farm to Market Road 1379 to Texas Highway 349 where it will
continue on to Rankin. A return run will continue from Rankin along
349 to Midland's southern city limits.
Project developers hope the race will be an economic
opportunity for Midland.
"Participants will occupy hotel rooms, eat in our restaurants
and buy products like gasoline, tires and other automotive items in
our area," said Shura Lindgren, vice president of Visitor
Development for the Chamber's Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Naming the race after Foster, who died late last year, was
important to project planners, who said Foster was a key planner in
developing the race.
"Mr.
Foster was instrumental in the initial planning of this event, and
it is with his help that the race is coming to fruition," said Ms.
Lindgren.
The
race is actually a four-day event from Oct. 16 to Oct. 19. The
previous three days of the competition will be geared toward
registration, inspection, a car show and qualifying as well as a
Saturday car show and festival.
Texas
Department of Transportation officials last week briefed Midland
City Council members on proposed plans. District Engineer Lauren
Garduno said TxDOT would help with plans to facilitate the race as
long as business owners and residents that access the roadways agree
to the race.
"We've been in contact with the (Chamber) Convention and
Visitors Bureau and the Midland Sports Commission," said TxDOT
spokesman Glenn Larum. "They're preparing a detailed safety plans, a
traffic control plan for that Sunday."
While
TxDOT approves other road races across the state, with at least one
known fatality, Chamber officials are looking for TxDOT approval.
Currently, the Big Bend Open Road Race runs from Fort Stockton to
Sanderson. Officials said that race requires a more technical type
of driver, while the John Foster West Texas Road Race calls for a
driver with "concentration and the shear joy of a great car over
great roads."
Several categories of racing will be allowed.
- Street Rod: 85-95 mph
- Touring: 100-110 mph
- Grand Touring: 115-125 mph
- Grand Sport: 130-150 mph
- Super Sport: 155-170 mph
- Unlimited: 170 mph plus
The
route provides the two-lane highway with a banked turn and long
straights through the oil patch. TxDOT officials acknowledge
there is a bit of danger anytime speeds exceed posted limits.
"Anytime you're running your vehicle at a high rate of speed,
there's a risk," said Larum.
In
2000, in the Big Bend Open Road Race, a 60-year-old driver from
Vineland, N.J. headed into a turn at a high rate of speed in his
1987 Mercedes 560-SL. The driver had been racing in the unlimited
class, and when emergency crews first arrived the driver told them
he was uninjured and did not require transport. A few hours later,
he was pronounced dead in Lubbock. The final cause of death was
determined as a kidney laceration.
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| Ford's 100th Anniversary Celebration--Dearborn, June 12-16,
2003 |
With just under 100 days until the company's
Centennial, the plans for THE ROAD IS OURS 100th Anniversary
Celebration are coming together. The company announced earlier
this week that the headline talent for the concert series on Friday,
Saturday and Sunday, June 13, 14 and 15 is set.
The renowned Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO)
will perform a selection of pop, jazz and classic music on Friday
evening along with a spectacular fireworks display. The DSO is
one of the most widely heard orchestras in the nation, with more
than one million listeners each week on nearly 500 radio stations.
Beyoncé Knowles, lead singer of the
multi-platinum selling trio Destiny's Child, has also just been
added to the star-studded entertainment lineup. Knowles will
perform live on Saturday, June 14th. With the highly
anticipated May 2003 release of Knowles' solo debut album
"Dangerously In Love" on Music World Music/Columbia Records, THE
ROAD IS OURS 100th Anniversary Celebration concert is expected to be
Knowles' first concert featuring material from her new album.
Finally, country music superstar and Ford Truck
man, Toby Keith, will close out the centennial concert series on
Sunday, June 15th.
MORE ACTIVITIES
A special event for racing fans will take place
on Thursday, June 12th. Ford NASCAR and other race vehicles
will be on display, and Ford drivers such as Ricky Rudd, Dale
Jarrett, and Mark Martin will sign autographs.
Throughout the five-day event, guests can
indulge in a luxurious head, neck and arm massage in the
Lincoln-Mercury Spa or help a team of classic car enthusiasts
assemble a Model T - from hundreds of pieces to cranking it up - in
less than 20 minutes.
Inside the Mustang Café, guests can make their
own Mustang compact discs with their favorite driving songs.
Attendees who decide to walk the "red carpet" will be greeted by
celebrity impersonators as they view the coral-colored Thunderbird
driven by Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry in the Bond film
Die Another Day. Wilder activities include real Monster Truck
Jams. Visitors can climb aboard Blue Thunder, a converted
Monster Truck complete with roll cage, or have their picture taken
with one of the bigger-than-life vehicles.
HOW TO PURCHASE TICKETS
THE ROAD IS OURS event requires a ticket for
entry. To purchase a ticket, log on to Ford Motor Company's 100th
Anniversary registration website at http://www.celebrateford100.com
or call 1-866-410-0367 today!
Each ticket purchase includes credentials for
entry all five days, which gives access to all activities, concerts
and displays. Those who purchase tickets in advance will receive a
daily assigned parking area, shuttle service to and from the event
grounds, an opportunity to display their classic Ford Motor Company
car or truck, a 100th Anniversary commemorative coin, discounts on
100th Anniversary merchandise and more. The Final Event
Package, including your tickets, will be mailed approximately one
month prior to the event.
Join us as we celebrate our century!
If you didn't find the answer to your question,
send us a note <mailto:100years@ford.com>.
Back to
top |
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| SEMA News |
Arizona Hobbyists Pursue
Emissions Exemption for Older Vehicles
Pro-hobby legislation (H.B. 2387) was introduced in the
Arizona House of Representatives to exempt vehicles 25 years old and
older from the state's mandatory emissions inspection and
maintenance program. Existing law in Arizona only exempts vehicles
manufactured in or before the 1966 model year from the emissions
inspection. The bill would exempt pre-1979 vehicles upon enactment
and would pick up an additional model year for each year the law is
in effect.
H.B. 2387
acknowledges the relatively minimal environmental impact of older
vehicles, such as the 25-year-old and older vehicles targeted for
this exemption. Arizona SAN groups like the Arizona Automobile
Hobbyist Council and the First Generation Camaros of Arizona Car
Club know the truth about vintage vehicles: They are infrequently
driven, overwhelmingly well-maintained and contribute little to air
pollution.
"The idea behind
exempting vintage vehicles from emissions testing is to reduce
emissions testing costs to the public without affecting air
quality," noted SEMA Director of Government Affairs Steve McDonald.
"Many states have already enacted similar exemptions; the most
recent was in Missouri in 2001, Virginia in 2000, Washington in 1998
and California in 1997. We hope to add Arizona to this list in
2003."
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|
| Birthdays and Anniversaries |
| Mar 1 |
David & Sammie Nugent |
| Mar 3 |
Bob Goldstein |
| Mar 5 |
Waymond Davis |
| Mar 5 |
Allen Milewicz |
| Mar 6 |
Harold Benson |
| Mar 8 |
Dale Anderson |
| Mar 12 |
Emily Karsten |
| Mar 14 |
Cindy Pality |
| Mar 14 |
Marian Risinger |
| Mar 16 |
Bill Fuqua |
| Mar 16 |
Jane Luschen |
| Mar 17 |
Marilynn Eisenberg |
| Mar 17 |
Louise Pelland |
| Mar 21 |
Al Eisenberg |
| Mar 24 |
Robert Leander |
| Mar 25 |
Becky Edwards |
| Mar 26 |
Daniel Pichette |
| Mar 31 |
Edith Williamson |
| Apr 2 |
Bill Perry |
| Apr 2 |
Janice Taylor |
| Apr 11 |
Wyndham & Nancy Smith |
| Apr 20 |
Nancy Smith |
| Apr 21 |
Ally Virnig |
| Apr 23 |
Robert & Becky Edwards |
| Apr 23 |
Margie Perry |
| Apr 27 |
Darren & Deanna Barnes |
| Apr 29 |
Vicki Collins |
| Apr 29 |
Bill & Margie Perry |
| Apr 30 |
Bill Lewis |
|
| |
| Officers, Board Members, Committee Chairs |
| Click on
blue link for e-mail address.
|
|
| Tail Lights |
|
A man is waiting for his wife to
give birth. The doctor comes in and informs the dad that his
son was born without torso, arms or legs.
His son is just the head!
But the dad loves his son
and raises him as well as he can, with love and compassion.
After
21 years, the son is now old enough for his first drink. Dad takes
him to the bar, tearfully tells the son he is proud of him and
orders up the biggest, strongest drink for his boy.
With all the
bar patrons looking on curiously and the bartender shaking his head
in disbelief, the boy takes his first sip of alcohol.
Swoooop! A
torso pops out!
The bar is dead silent; then bursts into a whoop
of joy. The father, shocked, begs his son to drink again.
The
patrons chant, "Take another drink"!
The bartender still shakes
his head in dismay.
Swoooop! Two arms pops out.
The bar goes
wild. The father, crying and wailing, begs his son to drink
again.
The patrons chant, "Take another drink"!
The bartender
ignores the whole affair.
By now the boy is getting tipsy, and
with his new hands he reaches down, grabs his drink and guzzles the
last of it. Swoooop! Two legs pop out.
The bar is in chaos. The
father falls to his knees and tearfully thanks God.
The boy
stands up on his new legs and stumbles to the left.... then to the
right.... right through the front door, into the street, where a
truck runs over him and kills him instantly.
The bar falls
silent.
The father moans in grief. The bartender sighs and
says...
"He should have quit while he was a head!"
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| Upcoming Events:
Every Saturday Night--
Cruise In at Chick-Fil-A on Holcombe at Buffalo
Speedway
Cruise In at Otto's BBQ in Sugar Land at the
Fountains
March 14-16, 2003--Salado weekend with the other Texas
T-Bird clubs. A fun weekend, for sure. Call the Stagecoach Inn at
254-947-5111 for reservations. There is more information below.
March 23,
2002--
Delmar Swap
Meet
April,
2003--
Bluebonnet
Cruise. You know the timing depends on the flowers.
April 24-27,
2003--
Pate Swap Meet at
the Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth. See www.pateswapmeet.com for
more info.
June 12-16, 2003--
Ford's 100th Birthday Celebration, Ford World
Headquarters, Dearborn, Michigan. Make your own hotel
reservations at the Red Roof Inn, Dearborn. Phone 313-278-9732 or online at www.redroof.com
October 19, 2003--
West
Texas Open Road Race in Midland, TX
|
Going
to war without France is like going deer hunting without your
accordion.
--Donald
Rumsfeld |
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Don't
let anyone steal your joy.
| |