Rimz & Ribz II
July 12, 2008
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| Flyer for the Rimz & Ribs II car show. | |
Jump to:
- A Second Invitation
- They Take a Nice Picture!
- It's Not As Hot—That's a GOOD Thing
Cars, a Big Tractor and the Chocolate Express - Blue Notes and Keeping Time in Bugsby
- Bugsby Wins the Grand Prize!
A Second Invitation
In June of this year, a stranger knocks on Lynn's door. The man delivers a personal invitation and flyer for the 2008 Rimz & Ribz II car show. The man (who, one would guess, is a member of the Cornerstone Fellowship in Livermore, the show host) indicates that he's seen Penny on the street and encourages Lynn to bring her to the show. Based on the conversation, Lynn suspects that the man did not know that Lynn had been in the 2007 Rimz & Ribz car show with Penny (currently parked in the driveway). He enjoyed his participation although he concluded at that time that he was not likely to go to the show again. However, Lynn keeps the flyer on his home office desk and looks at it over the coming weeks.
They Take a Nice Picture!
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| Picture taken of Penny by the organizers at Rimz & Ribz 2007. | |
One item that Lynn really liked about the 2007 show was the picture of Lynn in Penny as they entered the show. It was well composed with a nice background of the blooming crepe myrtle around the entrance to the church. It is one of Lynn's favorite shots of Penny and he has a copy in his photo bragg book, on his website and he often uses it as one of his background images on his desktop computers at home and work.
Although the invitation to the car show is extended to Penny, Lynn thinks of taking Bugsby. Maybe lightning will strike twice and he'll score a great shot of Bugsby. Besides, he had no car shows planned until September and Lynn begins to think this is too long to go without a car show. OK, he thinks, I'll take Bugsby to Rimz and Ribz this year.
It's Not as Hot—That's a GOOD Thing
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| Lynn and Bugsby arrive at the show (left). Bugsby has visitors during the show (center). Lynn experiments with a new period costume (right, photo by Andrew Kissel). | |||
The daytime temperature spikes in Livermore during the week before the show, reaching a high of 109°F four days before the show. Fortunately for the show sponsors, the participants and the spectators, the temperature falls over the next several days and it's a relatively balmy 87°F on the day of the show.
Lynn experiments with a new period costume for the show. He wears his new Panama hat, white suit pants, red 1900's bankers vest and his Kissel/Waltham pocket watch with silver chain and fob. Lynn's not sure that he will fool anyone into thinking that this is a 1920's outfit, but Bugsby may help him pull it off.
(Did you know that "Panama hats" are not traditionally manufactured in Panama? In the early 1900's these hats were first shipped to Panama before being sold for international shipment to Asia, Europe and North America. Considered the prince of straw hats, the Panama is traditionally made in Ecuador in spite of its name.)
As he had hoped, the show organizers are setup to take pictures of the participants as they arrive. Lynn hands his personal camera to the the photographer to take a few snaps in addition to the official show picture. Lynn's pleased with the result and looks forward to receiving his official photo in the mail.
Cars, a Big Tractor and the Chocolate Express
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| The show had an eclectic mix of cars, trucks and a tractor. One interesting vehicle was the Chocolate Express (right two photos). | |||
A majority of vehicles at the show were hot rods, muscle cars or modified cars of some sort, not along Lynn's main interests in cars. In spite of this (or maybe because of it), Bugsby receives a good reaction from the show organizers and spectators. Lynn spends the whole day talking up Bugsby and Kissel cars to a constant stream of interested visitors.
One vehicle that intrigued Lynn was the Chocolate Express, a 1984 Freightliner truck owned and operated by Claude Cooley of Fremont. This monster has a 855 cu.in. Cummins diesel engine that develops about 400 HP. The interesting aspect is that this truck is used to haul chocolate or chocolate related products. Each week it transports about 1/2 million pounds of chocolate! It even has vanity license plates bearing the truck's name.
Blue Notes and Keeping Time in Bugsby
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| Downtown Blues entertains during the show. | |
A good band provides background music during the show. The vocalist sings some blues songs that catch Lynn's ears. He would have liked to purchased a recording and although he looks, he doesn't see any for sale.
Subsequently Lynn has learned that the group is called Downtown Blues, a band from Livermore that features "mature blues, rhythm and blues, and rock." They play charity events, JAM sessions, clubs, parties and are available for events throughout the year. The band members are Bob Cach (band leader and guitar), Kate Snyder (vocals and harmonica), Steve Pinto (bass guitar), Dennis Gately (guitar and vocals), Brian Andresen (drums), Erol Gokbora (saxophone) and Tom Metz (guitar). For more information see http://livedowntownblues.wordpress.com/ or Call Bob Cach at 925-606-1823.
As often happens at shows, some total stranger unexpectedly tells Lynn something of significant value. Today a man tells Lynn about an expert antique clock repairman (Nile Godfrey) in Livermore. Subsequent internet searches indicate that Classical Clocks & Antiques has an excellent reputation, one site claiming they have the largest collection of antique clocks in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The following week, Lynn takes his three Waltham car clocks to Classical Clocks & Antiques. Nile promises to make all three clocks run well and will take extra care to put the best parts from all three into the one going into Bugsby.
Bugsby Wins the Grand Prize
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| Bugsby wins the grand prize, a custom cruiser bike. (Photo by Andrew Kissel.) | |
During the show, various secondary prizes are awarded. Lynn is not certain, but suspects that they are randomly drawn from among the registered participants.
At one point in the show, Lynn is awarded one of these prizes and his name is announced over the speaker system. Of course, Lynn is too busy being Lynn, gabbing with spectators around Bugsby and he doesn't hear the announcement. In fairness to Lynn, he is parked some distance from the speakers and they're not very loud or distinct at Bugsby's location.
Eventually, the announcer walks across the show field and tells Lynn that he's won a prize and asks him to come collect it. The announcer said that he doesn't do this for everyone but he had taken special notice of Lynn and Bugsby and went the extra distance to notify him about the award.
Lynn and his son Andrew walk over to the announcer's table and find out that he's been awarded a show t-shirt. Lynn asks Andrew to pick one out and thanks the announcer for the extra trouble of coming to get him.
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| Lynn rides his new bike. (Movie by Andrew Kissel. MOV 8MB) |
Later in the afternoon, some of the cars have started to leave and the field is beginning to thin a bit, but Lynn is still holding court at Bugsby. Suddenly he thinks he hears his name being announced over the distant loud speakers. He looks up and can see that the announcer is looking in his direction and calling his name. Lynn waves his hat in the air to signal that he's heard the call and sets out for the announcer's stand.
As he draws closer to the announcer, it begins to become apparent that Lynn's won another prize, but it isn't just any prize. Bugsby has been awarded the show's grand prize, a custom cruiser bicycle. For a second time, the announcer has made a special effort to make sure that Lynn claims his award. This time the announcer puts a condition on collecting the prize, Lynn needs to ride the bicycle before he gets to keep it.
Now this is a perfect opportunity for Lynn to make a grand fool of himself. Lynn takes the bike and carefully mounts it, no use rushing and doing a face plant in front of everyone.
Yahoo! Lynn manages to get rolling without taking a spill, and rides the two-wheel vehicle in a wide circle in front of the announcer and crowd. Lynn thinks he hears some mild applause and a little good-natured laughter.
How do you like that! Lynn hesitated before deciding to come to this show and now Bugsby has received his largest prize yet. All-in-all, another great car show day.
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Last updated: May 24, 2009