REGARDING “THEME SONGS” (AUGUST 3, 2010): Our beloved Boxer Sadie died way back in 2001, shortly after I’d changed principalships within a local school district. Six years later, having taken the position of Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, I was attending a Junior High musical fundraiser when the glee club began singing a medley of standards. Jerome Kern and Dorothy Field's The Way You Look Tonight snuck up on me and there, in the darkened multi-purpose room, tears began streaming. I didn’t know why as I rushed out the door. Wouldn’t be right for my public to see a District Office official bawling. Driving home I thought of Sadie. Thus, the story was spawned.
REGARDING SIERRA NEVADA NATURAL HISTORY (JULY 23, 2010): Correspondent Brother Bill, having looked up something regarding Mule’s Ears in SNNH found that the following entry about Fiddleneck (Amsinckia intermedia) omits information that consumption of Fiddleneck by horses may be fatal. Therefore the book’s content is questionable.
The Church responds: Sierra Nevada Natural History is among the gold standard field guides. It is not intended to cover all details about toxicity of all life forms found in the Sierra. Horsemen either know Fiddleneck is poisonous or should. It is very unlikely that the readers of SNNH consume Fiddleneck – even if sautéed for 30 seconds in olive oil and garlic (DON’T DO THIS!!!) – thus the omission is of little consequence. Sierra Nevada Natural History: Still the gold standard.
REGARDING “MY KINGDOM FOR A CINNAMON ROLL – TRUCKEE” (JUNE 28, 2010): I intimated that leaders of single issue groups - the example I used was the NRA - use emotional, irrational, fear-based arguments to coax us into support of their positions. Recall how, in 2004, the terrorist threat level fluctuated between yellow and just-below-red and then the sitting administration was reelected. Shortly thereafter, the threat meter sort of disappeared.
The Church does not want the religious right or the neo-conservatives to actually shut the hell up. Rather, the Church would appreciate a strong conservative voice to provide a rational counterpoint to discussions regarding paths that will lead our nation forward.
A Church correspondent opined: “Maybe gridlock in Washington is a good thing.”
The Church responds: “Bullshit.” (The Church of the Open Road believes you can use the term Bullshit when its use fits a particular situation.) We elect representatives to address problems and work together to find solutions – not to gum up the system until a new party assumes power. A democracy mired in irrational responses and straw-man arguments is destined to fail its people.
REGARDING THE TOURATECH WINDSCREEN SPOILER (MAY 26, 2010): I had been slightly disappointed in the fuel mileage of my new R 1200 GSA – averaging just 43.7 mpg according to the whiz-bang on-board computer. I affixed the Touratech Spoiler just before my trip to Wyoming and found that mileage had increased to 46.something. I thought this might be due to the sustained riding or riding at high elevations. However, having put another 1500 miles on the bike since my return from the high-grass country, I’ve noticed my mileage averages a touch under 50 mpg. Better'n a Prius! The only new variable is the Touratech Windscreen Spoiler. An excellent addition to a very fine bike.
© 2010
Church of the Open Road Press
Right on the money, Church of the Open Road!
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