The Petersen, Pastrami, and Pain at the Pump…

Tony B, aka Scooter Boy!

Wow, what a week (and weekend) this has been!

Our next deal…our good friends Carlos and Maria, our high level CSC advisors, are hitting the road and heading back to St. Louis tomorrow. We’ve had an outstanding time with them during this visit, including a great trip down to Baja to see the whales. You already know about that one…we wrote about it here in the blog a month or so ago. More about Carl and Mary in another paragraph or two…

Carlos and Maria checking out Baja's most famous visitors...

Susie (my CFO, COO, best friend, and wife of 28 years) read in the Daily Bulletin (our outstanding local paper) that Leslie Stahl was speaking in Claremont this week. We like Leslie Stahl…she’s the journalist you see on 60 Minutes each week. We couldn’t pass up an opportunity to hear her speak, and it was great.

Leslie Stahl, of 60 Minutes fame...captured by my Nikon

Ms. Stahl told some interesting stories, including how she got the break that really put her in the spotlight. Seems she was a brand new, junior reporter for a news show in Washington, D.C. As the lowest person on the totem pole back in those days, she drew a gig everyone else took a pass on…covering a low-level burglary at a place called the Watergate Hotel.  The rest, like they say, is history.

The next night Steve, Maureen, Carl, Mary, and Sue and I all got together for dim sum at Steve’s favorite local spot, and that, too, was great. I’d like to show you a photo or two from that night, but the truth is the food was so good I completely forgot about my camera. Next time, folks!

Then we got an email from Carl…seems the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles was having a salute to 80 years of the ’32 Ford. Yep, the Deuce. The all time classic American hot rod. Carl wanted to know if we wanted to go. I think he knew the answer when he asked the question…

A Classic of another sort...a '32 Ford hot rod at the Petersen Museum...more to follow in coming days, folks!

I’ll have a lot more Petersen photos on the blog in another few days, so keep an eye on us!

You know, in 32 years of living here in sunny California, it was the first time I’d ever been to the Petersen. It was awesome, and I’ll be back.  I like hot rods, but basically I’m a biker, and the Petersen visit was even more special to me for that reason.   The museum is running a special event with historic scooters on display, and I grabbed a few shots.  Check out this Airborne Cushman…

An Airborne Cushman!

Yep, the US Army actually had Cushmans that wore jump wings. That is very special to me (I proudly wore those same wings a half a lifetime ago).  I thought the Cushman was cool, but truth be told, I think our Sarge edges it out in the cool department…

Our original Go Go rider...Arlene B!

After the Petersen, we all meandered up the street a few blocks for a classic lunch at a classic restaurant…Canter’s on Fairfax in LA.  My daughter and her husband joined us, as did the original Scooter Girl, Arlene Battishill of Go Go Gear.

What a lunch!  (It’s an absolutely classic LA deli!)

What food!  (The pastrami sandwiches…wow!)

What conversation!  (Carl, Mary, Susie, Lauren, Jeremy, Arlene…all great folks!)

Arlene rode her custom CSC up on the sidewalk and parked right in front of Canter’s! 

As always, the bike drew a crowd. You guys and gals keep an eye on Go Go Gear and Arlene…she’s going to be on the TV show Shark Tank in another few weeks, and her company’s going to take off!

Unavoidable market factors, or legalized thievery?

On the way home, we stopped to top off Susie’s Teutonic tank, and…and…well, take a look at that photo to the right. I don’t know how our leaders can tolerate this sort of Tomfoolery, and it infuriates me every time I have to buy gas.

We’re bumping up against $5 a gallon out here. The last time that happened, it was immediately followed by the Great Recession.

We hear all the excuses about why this is occurring and why nobody can do anything about it, but I don’t believe any of it.  Mark my words:  In another month or two, we’ll hear about the oil companies reporting the largest profits in the history of the universe (just like last time). 

But the high pump prices are not their fault. 

Right.

Anyway, I’ve got a secret weapon against these gangsters…and it’s called my 98-mpg Baja Blaster. You’ve got the same weapon, or you could, and these days, it’s only gonna set you back $3,695.

Well, folks, I’ll get off the soapbox and get back to work this fine Sunday morning. Have a great day, get out and ride a bit (if your weather permits), and keep an eye on the blog for more Petersen photos!