The Vintage 2018

Posted in Musings on August 30, 2018 by Ed Pettus

I’ve been mighty slack in posting events and articles and such, so I am returning with pics and thoughts from the 2018 BMW Vintage Gathering.  We had 650 cars registered and a few stayed away because of the rain threat (which only came in a ten minute downpour).  It’s the most cars I’ve seen at Vintage since attending (I think about eight years).  Lots of familiar cars and faces and quite a bit of new ones.  Here are a few pics!

 

Morning of…getting ready to head out.

Looks like they tried to stick the white cars together…

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This one caught lots of attention.

Maybe I should start working on mine this way!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No paint! Vinyl covered BMW.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Road Atlanta Petit LeMans

Posted in Musings on October 5, 2017 by Ed Pettus

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The Vintage 2016 BMW

Posted in BMW on October 14, 2016 by Ed Pettus

We have participated in The Vintage gathering for seven years now having moved from North Carolina vineyard locations for a few years, to Old Salem in Winston Salem, and this year, for the first time, in Hot Springs, NC near Asheville.  It was a fun drive to the site and a better location, in my opinion, as there was much more room to display cars and good mountain roads to cruise!  Here are some pics.

 

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We left Princeton early morning and arrived with about half the cars already there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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We were parked in front of the bandstand which later became a problem as people gathered to hear the music and made it difficult for us to escape!

 

 

 

 

 

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This body style has always been one of my favorites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Such a nice backdrop for the gathering!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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You don’t even have to be drivable to participate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Not many motorcycles, but a few made an appearance.

 

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Journey to Israel

Posted in Musings on October 14, 2016 by Ed Pettus

Scratch one more item off the bucket list…Visit Israel.   This past summer, July 2016, the family spent a week touring Israel: Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Tiberias, Sea of Galilee, Meggido, and many other sites of interest.  Our first day was spent with Megan, our “tour guide”, through Tel Aviv and Jaffa.  We enjoyed the sites and busy streets of Tel Aviv and to old port city Jaffa.  The next morning we met with our next tour guide, Yuval “Val” Kalev, who picked us up in Tel Aviv and lead us over four days through the country.  Since we were a small group of four, we were able to move quickly and probably saw more sites in four days than large groups see in a week!  July is not a great time to go because of the heat, 100º a couple of days, but on the other hand there were very few tourists and we felt like many places were reserved just for us.  We saw a beautiful land and, at the same time, a harsh land.  It was a gracious experience to see the land of God’s chosen people and the places Jesus would have walked.  I was also grateful to have a Jewish guide who was willing to share his thoughts on Jesus and how the Jews today view Jesus.  Some are positive while others are not.  Part of the negative views relate to how Christians have treated Jews throughout history.  Yet, many Jews today are welcoming to the support that Christians are showing for Israel.  Political leadership, though, is a completely different story!

I also enjoyed hearing Val’s theories on Jesus that differ somewhat from scripture, like an alternative Bethlehem location or Jesus’ work as a carpenter (maybe a shepherd).  His theories match well with the historical evidence and thus made for interesting discussions.  While many of the sites are “possibly” the places where Jesus may have preached or healed or suffered, one place that was a slam dunk was Dan where the oldest gate is located and Abram would have entered the city.  Really hot there that day so the coldest spring in which you will ever put your feet was a welcomed stop.  We cannot know for certain where Jesus’ tomb was or the place the cross would have stood, but those holy sites are marked and adored by millions of pilgrims and tourists.  It is not that crucial that we know where everything happened in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, but the power of our faith is rooted in the gospel stories and being in the vicinity was good enough for me!

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From the Mt. of Olives overlooking Jerusalem.

Here we are again!

Here we are again! On the other side of the dome!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Val teaching me everything there is to know about Jerusalem!

Barb and I getting ready to compete in the gladiator arena!

One cool crusader fortress, but no way cool in a weather sense.

At the Sea of Galilee

Capernaum - The Town of Jesus

Capernaum – The Town of Jesus

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abram walked up those steps!

Abram walked up those steps!

 

 

Meggido. This place is old!

 

 

 

Lack of Integrity – Restore the Stroke, USGA

Posted in Musings with tags , , on June 20, 2016 by Ed Pettus

It was a sad day for the USGA when they decided to penalize Dustin Johnson one stroke for a rule they deemed he may have broken during the 2016 USOPEN.  Fact is, he did not.  It was decided in real time on the 5th green that Dustin had not caused the ball to move.  Video clearly shows that he did not ground his putter.  Video clearly shows the ball moved backwards which only could have occurred if Dustin did ground the club to press down the grass behind the ball.  The rules official there, rightly so, ruled that Dustin did not break any rules.  Play continued and that should have been the end to that.

I have no problem with the USGA notifying Dustin, on the 12th tee, of a possible violation.  My problem is that there was no reason to notify him of any possible rule violation because there was none!  If there had been, the USGA was probably correct to notify.  What bothers me most about this debacle, is the compromised integrity of the USGA.  Rules committees of every golf organization stress the importance of the integrity of the game, the only game where players call their own penalties.  In this case the integrity of Dustin Johnson was challenged after reviewing the video and then after the round when the penalty was accessed, Dustin’s integrity was essentially called into question and ruled absent.  The USGA says, by this ruling, you lied.  How can Dustin, or any player, continue to play under an organization that has destroyed the integrity of the game by their absurd ruling?  If there is no trust in the player’s ability to call their own penalties then no trust is merited toward the USGA either.   The game has lost all integrity.  As one person commented on PGATOUR.com, To recap: The USGA impugned the integrity of a player and his playing partner, chose to put in doubt (but not actually overturn) an on-course ruling , threw its own on-course official under a bus, left the field unsure of the current standings and ultimately called its champion a liar… All in a day’s work.  (Jackie 42)

The only way the USGA can reinstate their integrity is to restore the penalty stroke to Dustin’s score.  History needs to show that Dustin shot 275 and won by four strokes.  Why does that matter?  Because without it the USOPEN and the USGA are forever marred by the lack of integrity to protect the player in question, all the players in the field, and the game itself.  Restore the stroke, USGA.  It is not too late to restore your integrity, the integrity of the game, and the integrity of the 2016 USOPEN leaderboard.

My Dog Zeke

Posted in Musings on October 11, 2015 by Ed Pettus

When I first started a blog some time back in 2009, I spoke through my dog Zeke.  I was working off the idea I first heard from Allen Levi who wrote songs from his dog’s point of view or songs about talking to his dog.  (Click his name for a link.)  I thought my dog Zeke would be a good way begin, thus, if anyone was critical of my blog, I could just blame it on Zeke.  I looked up the original blog today and was surprised to see that it still exists on blogger.  Just in case you don’t care to scroll to the first entry, I repost it here:

Talking to my dog…

I was talking to my dog Zeke yesterday. He looks like Marley but his name is Zeke. Good name for a dog. He said something about blogging. Not sure how he knows about these things. Since he weighs in at 75+ lbs and his paws are full of mud all the time, I decided it was time that I typed up his thoughts.
Blogging is something Zeke has considered for a long time since I tell him about the blogs I read. He is an introverted dog, so the thought of blogging to the cyber world is a little bit daunting. It was a warm day yesterday and Zeke spent some time chasing a big ball that had blown into the back yard. He cooled off by prancing through the water in the ditch. Yellow labs look even more dirty after mudding up the paws. He enjoyed the warm sunny Sunday afternoon before tucking in to his dog house for the night. He was not happy when I told him to expect snow tomorrow.
Well, this is Zeke’s first blog so we will keep it short.
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I’m saddened to tell everyone that Zeke is no longer jumping and barking in my back yard and the yard feels terribly empty right now.  I got use to 12 years of daily running down to the basement to prepare meals, to toss the ball, or “wrestle” in a variety of ways.  Zeke was a yellow lab, a breed susceptible to arthritis in the hips and Zeke quickly degenerated in that area.  I did not want him to suffer any more than he had since his ability to get up or sit down or walk straight was compromised.  The vet asked if I would like to stay with him to the end and as I thought about it I told her, “I’ve been with a number of people when they died, but I’d rather remember my dog jumping and running.”  As all of you know who have had to part with your pet, it is a hard decision, but it is even more difficult to watch your dog in pain.  Zeke was the kind of dog that kept his “puppiness” for nearly all his life.
We used to joke that Zeke was my son and he was a good one.  He lived 12 good years, pretty good for a lab.  I miss him even if all he had ever done was just hang around.  Happy Just to Have You Hanging Around
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Enjoy another Allen Levi song:
I Wish I Were a Rich Man’s Dog
Building Zeke's house!

Building Zeke’s house!

Zeke's first snow.

Zeke’s first snow.

 

 

 

 

 

Zeke eating a football.

Zeke eating a football.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sit!

Sit!

Zeke

We will miss you, boy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Vintage @ Old Salem 2015

Posted in BMW on May 30, 2015 by Ed Pettus

Elka was painted and picked up 3 days before The Vintage gathering in NC.  Paint looks great.  Took a total of 50 days to get everything done.  Front end damage repaired including frame straightened.  Rust repaired all around (on my dime).  Insurance paid all accident damage and then I added a few things since she was in the shop anyway.

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Check out more photos from The Vintage at the link below!

https://plus.google.com/photos/114520610828599484553/albums/6152182631514762641

 

Ready for paint!

Posted in BMW on May 14, 2015 by Ed Pettus

Getting closer to having my e28 back on the road.  Today they got the frame back to square and all the body work is complete.  Time for paint.

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The frame work was fun to see!

 

Adventures in Auto Body Repairs

Posted in BMW on April 30, 2015 by Ed Pettus

As of this date 4/30/15, I’ve been 61 days without my e28.  31 Days to get estimate, convince the insurance company to pay up, and wait on parts.  30 days so far in the shop.  The work being done is great, but slow as she gets delayed by other “dealership” cars that need instant attention.  I am patient, but I sure miss driving the ultimate driving machine!  Here are some pics of the progress.

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I am glad they will let me come by every day and take pics of the progress.  The guy working on her has been great to ask me about what I want done and he has gone out of his way to do a few things for me to make things just right.  I was very excited the day I saw the cross panel welded in and both fenders back on!  One other problem that will be fixed is the front end was pushed over about a 1/4 inch but they said they could take care of that without a problem.  It is amazing how much damage a Ford Pickup can do in a parking lot.

 

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I will update further when she is finished, hopefully in a couple of weeks!!

Elka’s Day at the Parking Lot

Posted in BMW on April 11, 2015 by Ed Pettus

On March 1, 2015 my ’87, while parked, met a large Ford Pickup slowly but forcefully in reverse gear.  After a long wait for OEM parts she finally made it into the body shop on April 1, 2015.  Progress on repair is slow as of April 11, new hood replaced, fender removed, hoping for more work on her next week!

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