Smoke in the Wires Oct 2015

the Army jumps out of a perfectly good vehicle when they get a green light. It was still a fun day out driving
British classics and a great way to introduce our corner of the hobby.
I was going to miss out on Bill
Weeks’ Pensacola Historic Rally
due to the lack of Jaguar and
lack of navigator when Werner
Kettelhack called (actually
texted), looking for a navigator.
He, like many others, assumed
that a professionally-trained Air
Force navigator would make a
competent ground navigator.
My wife, and the wives of
thousands of air navigators,
will tell you that this is not so.
Nevertheless, Werner and I
navigated ourselves to a
perfect score despite the
traditional (and promised)
major error on the route
directions. Booze and candy
were our reward for our
attention to details. I don’t
know who will collect the
Broken Compass award this
year, but Werner and I know
we can rest easy. Thanks, Bill for a great Rally.
Werner and I won the wine and candy over the whine and unhandy navigation of the
competition.
I hosted our first drive-in movie in a while but cannot claim I did the bulk of the work. Bob Manske did the Lion’s
share. He helped me design the complex (and huge) erector-set screen based on my crazy notion that the
Bagdad Historical Society’s tents could serve a higher purpose. Bob also hauled everything to and from the
event. Therese Hemmert arranged the availability of an on-site toilet. Thank you also to the crew of guys that
showed up early to help build the viewing site and the club members who stuck around to clean up. While not
everyone loved The Italian Job, it did deliver some outstanding and horrifying British car content for the 38
people who attended in 20 cars. We will definitely do it again.
The very next morning my wife and I headed up to the Knoxville, Tennessee, area where we took in the fall
colors along some of America’s greatest roads. The Tail of the Dragon is famous for its 318 curves in 11 miles. It
is also famous for being slow and packed during the peak fall colors. By going on a Tuesday afternoon, we
enjoyed moderate traffic and tire/brake wear. The tight and frequent turns of the Dragon are great for
motorcycles and Minis, but some of the other regional roads like the Cherohala Skyway and the Moonshiner 28
offer fast sweepers and breathtaking vistas that actually make them much more-suitable for our cars. We
Smoke in the Wires October 2015 Page 4