Serbia Road Trip
Before I could get my Sunday started good, I was compelled to watch a segment on CBC News: Sunday this morning.
CBC News: Sunday airs on CBC-TV at 10:00 am on Channel 99 (Comcast), which is old air Channel 9 in Detroit. Videojournalist Stefan Randstrom went to Serbia and Bosnia to see what had changed in the ten years since the end of the armed conflicts. He takes an emotional road trip with a Serbian brother and sister as the two fight over the truth about their own bloody history. They cross the Serb border and go into
Bosnia, hitting four prominent cities where war-time atrocities occurred, including where more than 7,000 people died in a single incident at
Srebrenica alone. It was
really interesting. Did you know that the peace agreement that brought the three years of war to a halt was signed in
Dayton, Ohio? That same little town on I-75 that I roar through at jet-fighter speeds on my way to Memphis, Atlanta, Mobile, Orlando and other points south held a fricking peace accord! On November 21, 1995, Bosnia and Herzegovina president Alija Izetbegovic, Croatian president Franjo Tudman and Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic signed the
Dayton Agreement. And to think, I've never stopped once during the 100+ times I've driven through Dayton, not even to buy gas........
"It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up." ferris bueller, circa 1986
Monster Jam
A couple of buddies and I took our little dudes down to
Ford Field last Saturday night to see its inaugural Monster truck event! It was the first time anyone of us had ever seen anything like this before, but boy was it worth it! The stadium was teeming with folks, the 65,000 seat arena was nearly full. The screaming engines of Maximum Destruction, El Toro Loco, Iron Outlaw, Blue Thunder and the rest of the 13-member USHRA
Monster Jam cast raced during the first part of the event for a trophy. I am not sure how the monster truck circuit is set up, so I have no idea if this is a routine event at every race or if there was some sort of finals going on to get that trophy! In between the racing and freestyle events, there were several atv races between two teams, Team Michigan and Team Ohio. There were 8 to 10 atv racers, split between the two teams, and a blast to watch. A member from the Ohio team ultimately prevailed, to the mass boo-ing of the Michigan audience, who audaciously accepted his trophy, spurning the disrespectful Michiganders as he departed the track. The freestyle part was amazing, the trucks bounced over the dilapidated car obstacles like basketballs, roaring and leaping with the ease of a motorcross bike, doing 360's, flipping over, smoking.......wow! It was tremendous! Go to
michiganmonstertrucks.com to see the pics!
Mixed Marriages
I got this joke in e-mail the other day:
An Irish daughter had not been home for over 5 years. Upon her return, her father cussed her. "Where have ye been all this time? Why did ye not write to us, not even a line? Why didn't ye call? Can ye not understand what ye put yer old mum thru?" The girl, crying, replied, "Sniff, sniff....dad....I became a prostitute.." "Ye what!!? Out of here, ye shameless harlot! Sinner! You're a disgrace to this family." "OK, dad-- as ye wish. I just came back to give mum this luxurious fur coat, title deed to a ten bedroom mansion plus a savings certificate for $5 million. For me little brother this gold Rolex and for ye daddy the sparkling new Mercedes limited edition convertible that's parked outside plus a membership to the country club....(takes a breath)....an invitation for ye all to spend New Years Eve on board my new yacht in the Riviera, and...." "Now what was it ye said ye had become?" says dad. The girl, crying again, "Sniff, sniff....a prostitute dad! Sniff, sniff." "Oh! Be Jesus! -- Ye scared me half to death, girl! I thought ye said a Protestant'. Come here and give yer old man a big hug!Yvette's rich-as-hell uncle visited us once before he succumbed to cancer at 52, the first time he'd ever been to the US, after spending his life building a "Father and Son's/Home Depot" type business over in Scotland, the fruits of which he never really got the chance to enjoy. His wife and children are now reaping the benefit of the years of sweat and toil he expended building this multi-million dollar enterprise. Anyways, I asked him one day about his opinion on mixed marriages, in my mind, of the type that included interracial spouses. He looked at me and chuckled, saying in the craziest mothball-mouthed, cryptic celtic/english/scottish brogue, "I couldn't give two shits about a mixed marriage, I'm in one myself". I looked at him cross-eyed, thinking, "you crazy old fuc*er, your wife is white just like you!." I said to him, "Unc, what are you talkin' about? You and Marge are both the same color!" He says, "Oh, I thought you were talking about something else! Where I come from, a mixed-marriage is when a Catholic marries a Protestant! That's big shit! I thought me mum was gonna die when I told her Margie wasn't Catholic!" It's really crazy what people deem important.
