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W
e e k l y F
e a t u r e P a g e
Links to archived past pages on lower left
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
on any photo to see it larger in a separate window. |
Breaking the Ice
Yes, the MMOGTA Publishing Complex is running a little
behind. You’ve
heard of “fuzzy logic” in the tech world, we sometimes
employ “fuzzy scheduling” here at the Complex. It’s
a small comfort, but after 37 years of time clocks, it’s one
of the few rewards afforded to us.
There, having resolved that issue, and since the previous
feature dealt with electricity, thus covering “current” events,
we are free to move on to the business of the day, week, whatever.
The first official outdoor event of the 2009 MMOGTA
season is now history, and as such, worthy of a little review. Test-N-Tune
Day is always a
bit of fun, always some new hardware, some new faces, etc., but most
of the fun is in seeing all the friendly folks returning for another
season. It’s always amazing to see how much the kids have grown,
who added a few grey hairs, (sometimes those two can be connected)
who got a new truck, tractor, tires, and so forth, it’s almost
like going to a class reunion. Of interest this year, it seems a significant
percentage of the staff in the announcer’s booth ended up pregnant,
a not uncommon consequence of long, cold winters. That alone will add
an air of anticipation to the season. We intend to remain in full compliance
with the Family Leave Act, of course, as long as it doesn’t mean
too much more work for us. Over the years, we have watched a long list
of kids grow up on the showgrounds, and we are proud to count many
of them among our productive fellow members and friends today. That
is a big part of what keeps ours a vital and growing organization.
Maybe we enjoy Test-N-Tune Day because it’s sort of like a metaphor
for Spring. You never quite know what’s going to burst forth
from the freshly thawed fields and flower beds, or from all the local
barns and shops, but the warming sun always brings a few surprises.
Surprises are the stuff of life. If we knew it all ahead of time, there’d
be no reason to show up for each new day, each new season. Sure, it
takes us all a moment to remember what we have to do to make it all
work, Frank has to remember where to hook the red wire, Damon has to
remember to call Doug, Fran and Michelle have to remember how long
to cook the fries, Freddy has to remember he’s not in Florida
anymore, Jim has to remember which engine he put in which tractor,
Amber has to remember her name, Carla and Rebekah have to remember
who all those people are, Bill has to remember where all his tractors
are, Garber has to remember to bring the motor home, Al has to remember
to bring new spark plugs, and we all have to remember not to take this
all too seriously. At this stage of the season, it’s still all
hope and promise. Next Sunday the reckoning begins.
Don’t forget to check the Tractor Pulling page
of the website for further review of Test-N-Tune Day, as well as the
schedules and
info on upcoming pulls.
Just one quick snapshot to remember the day: (click
individual photos to enlarge)
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