I am a motorcoach…
. . . and jazzed about introducing you to a very special passenger . . . a traveler extraordinaire! Now, if you’ve been paying attention at all, you know my existence is owed to travel and I have a great appreciation for travelers. I do not single out one from the others with the distinction ‘traveler extraordinaire’ lightly. In fact, if you’ve been paying really close attention from the beginning of our blogging journey together, you know I have never done so before. But this traveler is way special. So, I hope you won’t mind if I depart a smidge from the general subjects of travel and travelers, and focus the first part of this week’s blog on one particular traveler.
Selfies
(which by definition means I’m in them . . . though you might have to look for me)
HERE SHE IS . . .
(Drum roll please . . .)
STEVE BELL!
Steve traveled across an entire century just to board this big red motor-coach with a bunch of friends on May 25th and travel a bit further to the ballpark as part of her 100th birthday celebration (possibly a slight inflation of my importance in the occasion). Steve is not only an epic time traveler but a world traveler also. Let me tell you a little about her.
First of all (as you might have guessed), Steve is not her real name. Born Franette Bell in Manhattan, New York on May 25 1916, migration eventually deposited her on the opposite coast, where she decided to go by the name Steve Bell in order to be taken seriously as a sports writer. It was the 1940s, and no matter how well Franette loved and knew her sports, there was little chance of getting published as a female sports writer at the time. The name change worked, and as “Steve Bell” Franette was able to write about sports for the San Francisco Examiner and later for the San Juan Record. Among family, the name Steve has stuck as a nickname long past its original use. From the West Coast Franette moved with her husband to Europe. They both worked in civil service for the U.S. government, Franette being an administrative assistant to high ranking Air Force generals. After eighteen years in Germany they lived in France for another six years (until all U.S. military personnel were ordered by French President, Charles De Gaulle, to leave French soil in 1966). Having seen much of the U.S. and Europe, traveler’s zeal compelled Franette to embark on numerous other geographic adventures, including China and South Africa.
In 2001, at 85 years old, Franette dedicated her highly cultivated intellect and her youthful frame to two other journeys of lengths, areas, and volume: she enrolled in a Calculus course at a local college; and while there, she trained alongside the college swim team, putting in about seven miles a week in the pool. Way to go Franette . . . you are a true inspiration!
At the Gypsy Caravan. I overheard folks commenting that the shuttle service provided by me and my friends made all the difference in relieving traffic mayhem of previous gypsy events. This is quite the attraction: a huge collective of serious travelers setting up shop with their wares.
Well . . . next year . . .
Here I am waiting in the dark for my passengers. Talk about lonely. According to orders, my services were needed a couple of hours ago. But there’s a dance floor in that building . . .
MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .
MOTOR-COACH NEWS: Motor-coach has no dance! It’s true. Even if a dance floor could be found to accommodate my 18-ton, 8-wheel, 45ft-long, 12ft-tall, diesel-powered self, it would just never happen. The whole idea of a lot of movement and going nowhere goes against my nature. I’m a low jiggle, straight ahead sort of dude.
NEWS OF A CONTEST: Announcing the first motorcoachblog.com contest! The winner will receive a mounted, signed and numbered art print, “EPIC!” – the story of the St. Louis Cardinals’ 2011 World Series victory as reflected in the glossy surface of the World Series trophy ($380 value; see below). Here’s how to participate: 1 – The contest is open only to passengers (subscribers) of motorcoachblog.com (just sign up by name and email as directed at the end of the blog). 2 – Over the next three weeks an official contest question will be posted in the blog. Send an email to mc268@motorcoachblog.com answering the question. At the end of the three weeks (June 17), whoever has answered the most questions correctly will be the winner. If more than one participant correctly answers the questions for all three weeks, their names will go into a drawing to be held on Friday, June 17th.
The question for this week (blog 21) is: Where am I in the Scott Trade Center selfies in blogs 20 and 21? (note: one is challenging and the other is tricky).
(Unlike selfies, these are not about me, but about places you’ll want to visit.)
There’s a new wedding venue in the St. Louis area, Silver Oaks Chateau (in Pacific, MO). A must inclusion on the list of places to check out for anyone with that big day approaching.
Quote Of The Day samples
“Nothing happens unless first a dream.” ― Carl Sandberg
“Take a chance! All of life is a chance. The [person] who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.” ― Dale Carnegie
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