Blues and Burritos

Legendary guitarists Max Drake and Rusty Barkley.
Part-Time Blues Band.

September 25, 2009 marked the 9th Annual Blues and Burritos at our law firm. This started as a small event to acknowledge and entertain our clients. It quickly grew into a party open to the entire community. Our firm underwrites the entire event with free burritos and beer for all comers and an all star lineup of blues players and singers each year. This year was unusual because the weather was not beautiful. A an odd low pressure system had settled into the southeast. We postponed the event on September 18 because it had rained and rained and it was too wet. We figured that by 9/25 the rains would be gone completely. Nonetheless, by 9/25 the system was still in town and there was a 60 percent chance of rain. It was sunny most of the day, but after we had spent the afternoon setting up, dark clouds rolled in as the event was to begin. It looked like it was going to rain buckets. Instead, it drizzled occasionally and weather cooled to a comfortable temperature. Amazingly, we were hearing that it was raining all around town except right at our event. The weather held for most of the night and we had a crowd close to 1,000 people. We ask for donations and this year our charities were the Mooresville Soup Kitchen and HealthReach Community Clinic. Folks just reach in their pockets and give what they have with them that night. We have raised well in excess of $40,000 over the years. Come see us next September.

Top Fuel Dragsters

The start.
The burnout.

Motorcycles.

The venue.

I went to the NHRA Drag Racing event at Z-Max Dragway in Concord, North Carolina today. There is nothing quite like drag racing and I recommend that anyone experience even if your stomach is turned by the concept of racing. The event is so accessible to all fans. In the garage area, all fans are welcome to watch the preparations of the cars. The sport does a great job of crossing over its marketing opportunities with the sport itself. The entire garage area is essentially mobile as it is set up in a paved area behind the track itself. As such the higher funded top fuel and funny car programs are able to have hospitality trailers next to where they prepare the cars so the sponsors can entertain their customers while allowing them to view the preparations of the race car. There are several types of cars such as the pro stock as well as motorcycles. But there is nothing like top fuel and funny cars which top out at 315 miles an hour, less than 4 seconds to cover 1000 feet. To feel the full power of these machines is to have an experience that is unanticipated and almost overwhelming. As the cars pull from the start, the noise is beyond loud and ear plugs are required. But even more shocking than the noise is almost like a wave of undefinable energy that emanates from the cars, kind of like those waves of destruction that come from a nuclear bomb on that old footage from the desert tests. It truly simply blows you away. Check it out some time.

Futbol, I mean Football

At one time, I loved going to the college football games, the tailgating, the camaraderie, yelling so loud that I lost my voice. It still can be a pleasant experience, but I am not dialed into it like I used to be. It seems to last a long time to get there and the games last about 3.5 hours and the TV commercials seem to last forever. And, sometimes when we get back, I think to myself, I could have done something else with that time.

Iranian Diaspora

A group of folks organized a vigil to honor those who sought to be the new revolutionaries in Iran. A small turnout but one of respect for those who are willing to die in Iran for a chance at Democracy. Here in America where we have a true Democracy with a free election, we now have people who are absolutely refusing to respect the duly elected president of the United States. These are the same people who merrily followed Bush and Cheney for the eight years that put our country in the position it is in today. Astonishing. Well, back to the point of Iran--and the point is with all the folks out there with their tea parties and their pretended disgust with universal health care (which is really simply a veil for their hatred of a Black President), they can't find the time to stand in unison with those who truly are fighting an entrenched, fascist, theocratic regime. Okay, glad I got that out.