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W
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The contents of the “Weekly Feature” page are provided
to you for your entertainment, amusement, and perhaps information.
Here you may find articles of interest, pictures, historical information
on the Club, or whatever shuffles to the top of the pile on our
desk. The only defined characteristic of this space is that we
will make every effort to change/replace it around the middle of
each week. Thank you for visiting, and please stop by again. Click
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Better Days Ahead
I suspect the promise of those 3 words is at the
heart of every Chamber of Commerce promotional campaign in the State
of Michigan these days.
For the moment, I think we’ll adopt that same philosophy and
apply it to the MMOGTA tractor pulling season.
It is true that the late winter/early spring period
has been pretty decent for 2010, with seasonal planting even beginning
in late March.
We have had some very nice days, lower expenditure for heating energy,
and no destructive storms to worry about, so far. We had every reason
to anticipate a moderate and tolerable day to open the Transfer Sled
season, but as history would indicate, we had no reason to expect one.
Based on my decades of experience, the only kind of weather we never
get in Michigan is “average” weather.
Leading up to the weekend, forecasts were grim, and
unfortunately, accurate, as the night preceding the scheduled pull
brought rain. I’m
sure many were certain the pull would be canceled, but our hard working
and talented track crew watched the rain taper off in the morning hours,
and decided it could be done. The layer of mud was removed from the
track, decisions were made, and about an hour behind schedule, we got
the whole thing under way. Everybody brought out the Carhartts, hoods
were pulled up, boots were greased, and the show went on. Turns out,
it can be done. It’s not as much fun, it sure isn’t pretty,
but it can be done. There was even a time in the middle of the day
when the track became quite good. But then, later in the afternoon,
the vicious east wind began to carry a mist that was barely visible
to the eye, but was certainly noted by the rest of the senses. It dampened
the coat, fogged the glasses, greased the track, and obscured even
the most carefully guarded camera lens. You could almost read the muted
cuss words in the visible exhales of the miserable track workers as
the day wore on. And yet, they all stuck it out, knowing in the back
of their minds that the makeup date in October could be just as bad.
The only two islands of relief on the premises were
the kitchen and the announcer’s stand, both of which were well
attended. Nothing like a hot order of fries, covered with gravy to
take the sting out
of an east wind in April.
We’ll take a moment here to thank all the intrepid workers who
shared the misery and helped us get this one on the books. We shot
just a few photos before scurrying back to the warmth of the booth
for the rest of the afternoon, hoping that there are, ”Better
Days Ahead”.
(click individual photos to enlarge)
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