MotorCaoch Blog 14

Posted on March 24, 2016March 6, 2017 by russellirwin@russellirwin.com

I am a motorcoach…

. . . a pilgrim enabler, a pilgrimage assistant. Pilgrimage is a peculiar kind of travel. There’s a drivenness to it, a compelling “must” in the motivation. For some travelers it is a journey of spiritual fulfillment. For others, the quest might be a connection with nature, or a genealogical, geographical, or historical touchstone. And for many, all of these beckonings are in play all the time, so that travel itself is the continual must and satisfaction of pilgrimage.

Selfies

(which by definition means I’m in them . . . though you might have to look for me)

In Holland, Michigan there are tulip fields. Every year they draw visitors from far and wide, as if to see spring’s arrival with their own eyes, welcome it in person. They enjoy a distinctly Dutch reception.

State Capitols are the pilgrimage targets of fourth and fifth graders, who, escorted by teachers, take their education on state history to the road for long anticipated field trips. Here, I am last in a line of motorcoaches delivering young students to the Missouri state capitol building in Jefferson City.

Cruising the “city that never sleeps,” international party pilgrimage magnet.

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

NEWS IN A NAME: Even viewed from a distance (i.e.: the tip of Long Island, NY) the Statue of Liberty touches an innate sentiment. Maybe her proper name (a name that is news to most of her visitors), “Liberty Enlightening the World,” speaks to the sentiment. She is an international symbol of the pilgrim’s welcome: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free . . .”

NEWS IN REMEMBRANCE: In New York City, where twin sky scrapers bellowed black on a dark September morning in 2001, the Freedom Tower now stands tall and stately. Around it and the 911 memorial complex is a constant interchanging of onlookers, silent in remembrance of getting the news . . . seeing the news . . .

(Unlike selfies, these are not about me, but about places you’ll want to visit.)

Not far from Freedom tower another popular pilgrimage concludes in silence: praying where George Washington prayed. On April 30, 1789, after taking his oath of office at Federal Hall on Wall Street, the newly inaugurated first President of the United States walked to St. Paul’s Chapel to dedicate the nation to God in prayer. Today, many make their way to St. Paul’s Chapel to follow in his footsteps.

(Next week we head west for some other well-known pilgrimage locations)

Quote Of The Day samples

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” ― Saint Augustine

“Traveling – it leaves you speechless and then turns you into a storyteller.” ― Ibn Battuta

MotorCoach Blog 13

Posted on March 16, 2016March 6, 2017 by russellirwin@russellirwin.com

I am a motorcoach…

. . . and you may have picked up on the fact that I love what I do. That is, I love being a motorcoach, a transporter of travelers. Of course, if you’re on this planet (which I assume you are) you are traveling. Whether a man-made hardware and software unit, like me, or of divine design and make, like my passengers, we are all traveling. In the 16th century Nicolaus Copernicus enlightened lots of folks about the fact that the earth is orbiting the sun. It turns out that it does so at around 19 miles per second (that’s bookin’), completing one orbit in a year’s time. In the early 20th century Albert Einstein introduced his Theory of General Relativity, revealing that our entire universe is either expanding or contracting. Then, Albert did the predictable: he traveled . . . to Mt. Wilson in California to compare notes with the star gazer, Edwin Hubble. Hubble convincingly confirmed via telescope what Einstein figured out mathematically: the universe is expanding.

The point is: even sitting in a chair with no intention of moving is no escape from travel. Where earth dwellers are concerned, travel is innate. So we might as well do it on purpose and make the most of it. You on board?

Selfies

(which by definition means I’m in them . . . though you might have to look for me)

Last week I demonstrated that traveling thousands of miles and hundreds of years can be done without physically animating much more than around the block. Now we will go far by . . . yes, actually going far.

We’ll set out from my garage in Washington, Missouri, and travel 148 miles northeast to Springfield, Illinois, and the Abraham Lincoln Museum and Presidential Library (which really belongs in the Must Sees below!).

Now we’ll head 783 miles east to our nation’s capitol and the Washington monument.

Another 487 miles south and we’re at Chimney rock in North Carolina.

Let’s check out the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville Alabama; it’s just 351 miles southwest.

On our way back home let’s stop by a venue in the Bluegrass State (just another 283 miles) where a bit of history was set in motion last year.

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

NEWS OF HISTORIC LOUNGING: Did you know they launched the first-ever flight of a “space chair” (technically an MMA – Manned Maneuvering Unit) from the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. The test pilot (Gen. Robert Stewart) was operating untethered from the space ship as he orbited earth at about 17,000 miles per hour . . . seated in a chair! It’s the kind of thing passengers learn at Space Camp, part of The U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

(Unlike selfies, these are not about me, but about places you’ll want to visit.)

Of course, on our way from Huntsville, Alabama to Churchill Downs in Lexington, Kentucky, no way would we be that close to Historic Boone Tavern and hotel and not stop by for a bite to eat (100 Main Street North, Berea, KY).

Almost back home, we stop for an experience everyone should have on their bucket list. Voted one of the top ten playgrounds in the world, City Museum in St. Louis is truly one-of-a-kind!

Quote Of The Day samples

“Nothing is impossible; the word itself says, I’m possible!” — Audrey Hepburn

“It’s only with the heart one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” — Antoine De Saint (from The Little Prince)

MotorCoach Blog 12 Route 66 Edition

Posted on March 10, 2016March 6, 2017 by russellirwin@russellirwin.com

I am a motorcoach…

. . . with insight on those who accept the extravagant invitation to travel. These of course are called travelers, and their primary noteworthy distinction is that of turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. For example: putting one foot in front of the other. What could be more ordinary? Yet, do it enough times and you’ve got journey, experience, adventure, accomplishment, and transformation.

Did you know I have an elevator? I’m proud of that. It’s a commitment: leave no willing passenger behind. Recently a man climbed aboard – and I do mean climbed! He even required help doing so, someone else supplying aid in lifting his right leg the height of one step at a time. An affliction had
claimed nearly all function on the right side of his once healthy body. But he wasn’t letting it prevent his traveling. He recognizes what many do not: the value of time’s diminishing opportunity. And some day, when climbing is no longer possible, I expect he will board by use of my elevator . . . because that man’s a traveler.

Selfies

(which by definition means I’m in them . . . though you might have to look for me)

Extensive travel does not necessarily require days or weeks, or even physical miles. Without traveling more than a few blocks, one can discover thousands of miles and hundreds of years of history that converge along the original Route 66 downtown corridor in St. Louis.

At left in the photo above is the south leg of the Gateway Arch, the extraordinary achievement of modern architecture and engineering completed in 1963. It is anchored deep in the bedrock along the western shore of the Mississippi River. In the foreground of the photo is the International Fur Exchange Building, a last remnant of the fur trade upon which St. Louis was founded.

Long before there was a Route 66 there was a Mississippi River, centerpiece of one of the greatest river systems in the world. And long before there was a Gold Rush, or oil fields, or commodity exchanges there was fur trading, a booming economic phenomenon with vast international reach and influence. In 1764, smack dab in the middle of the Mississippi River’s continental connectivity, St. Louis was founded by Pierre Laclede as a fur trading hub. From there the city grew, and by 1900 had become the fourth largest city in the United States. In the 1990s fur trade was nearly forgotten. In 1997 the International Fur Exchange was 60% demolished by wrecking ball when Charles Drury stepped in to halt the demolition. While converting the building into a hotel, Drury was careful to save the original character of the architecture. His rescue also saved this important link to St. Louis and North American history.

From my location in front of the Drury Hotel/International Fur Exchange, reflection of the original St. Louis courthouse across the street calls to mind another significant piece of American history. It was at this courthouse that in 1846 Dred and Harriet Scott filed their suit for freedom. The case later went to the United States Supreme Court. And though the court’s 1957 decision was not in favor of the Scotts, it was a defining moment in the Civil Rights Movement, ultimately leading to the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth constitutional amendments.

In the early 1900s, St. Louis so dominated the U.S. shoe industry in the Midwest, the South, and the West that the New York based shoe company, Endicott Johnson, built a factory in St. Louis at the corner of Tucker (Route 66) and Spruce for fear of being squeezed out of the industry. The building’s ornamental brick and large arched windows (above) remain an attractive architectural feature of the city.

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

NEWS IN FRENCH: In 1764 Pierre Laclede handed over the enormous land clearing and construction project to be called St. Louis to a fourteen year old boy named Auguste Chouteau. Chouteau proved worthy of the task. As the new self-governed French settlement (under Spanish rule) grew, Chouteau’s descendants continued to be prominent leaders. So much so that in 1820, by their influence, the Missouri State Constitution was penned in both English and French versions (see French version below). Three of its signees were Pierre Chouteau (son of Auguste Chouteau), Nathan Boone (son of Daniel Boone), and Joseph Charless, founder of the St. Louis Missouri Gazette, the first newspaper published west of the Mississippi.

NEWS OF CONNECTIONS: Stretching from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, the “superhighway” system connected to the Mississippi River reached into Montana and the Northwest via the Missouri River, to the Great Lakes, Canada, and on to the Atlantic Ocean via the Illinois River, to the original thirteen colonies and the Atlantic seaboard via the Ohio River and its tributaries, to the deep South via the Tennessee River, and to Oklahoma and Colorado via the Arkansas River. But one of its most important connections was the Osage River, heart of the Osage Indian Empire of central North America – a key partner in the international fur trade. The Osage Indians were the protectors of the Chouteau family and “Fort” St. Louis through both fur trading and marital partnership.

(Unlike selfies, these are not about me, but about places you’ll want to visit.)

Most people think of T.S. Eliot as a British poet. That’s because in 1914, at age 25, he moved to Britain, in 1927, at age 39, became a British citizen, in 1948 won the Nobel Prize in Literature as a British poet, is immortalized by a large stone in the poet’s corner of Westminster Abbey in London, and is celebrated as one of the great poets of the Twentieth Century. But T.S. Eliot was born in St. Louis in 1888, at 2635 Locust Street. The sight of this Nobel Laureate’s birthplace and boyhood home is now a parking lot. But it is commemorated by a round metal plaque in the sidewalk nearby.

Part of Route 66 in Illinois was laid out along what was known as the Pontiac trail, named after the great Ottawa Indian Chief famous for his leadership of Indian resistance to British invasion. In St. Louis you will find a claim to Chief Pontiac’s burial site on a plaque on the side of a parking garage at the corner of Walnut and Broadway, across the street from Busch Memorial Stadium and just a few blocks off of old Route 66.

Yes, all of this you can discover without traveling more than two tenths of a mile! It only takes getting out there.

Quote Of The Day samples

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tsu

“When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.” – George Washington Carver

MotorCoach Blog 11 Route 66 Edition

Posted on March 3, 2016March 6, 2017 by russellirwin@russellirwin.com

I am a motorcoach…

. . . I exist to serve travelers. To put it another way, if it weren’t for travelers, my services would not be needed. Even off-road time in the garage keeping my engine and all moving parts well maintained is all for my dependable service of travelers. Without travelers I would be empty – literally! I would have no reason to go anywhere, no need of an engine, or tires, or steering system, or mirrors. If I were a servant of the stationary only my door, seats, walls, roof, windows, interior lights, lavatory, and stereo system would be needed. I would not be a motorcoach; I would be a house or an apartment.

You may be catching on to my simple and exciting worldview – the reason for my deep pride in service. My existence and identity are bound to travelers! Goers! Get-out-and-doers! Pardon my gushing, but before a single drop of gas is put into my tank, love is what fuels my devotion. I love being a servant of travelers because I love what travelers do. Travelers live out loud and “out there.” Boarding a motorcoach is about intentional movement, fulfillment of a mission, satisfying an innate call to proceed. And I have this response: “At your service . . . welcome aboard!”

OK, enough about me and my motorcoach mantra: Seek – Meet – Honor – Serve. Next week, more on travelers . . .

Selfies

(which by definition means I’m in them . . . though you might have to look for me)

Time for another round of “Logo-Rubbing” – my version of “rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous.” But these logo selfies have an added element of story: each has a significant part in the ongoing story of Route 66.

Early on automobiles were rare and in the category of hand crafted luxury for the upper middle class and above. Henry Ford’s assembly line product, the Model T, changed all that. The common man had a car and a place on an assembly line somewhere to help pay for it. Factories adorned with names of auto innovators were three to a city block in the early 1900s: Cadillac, Ford, Buick, Chevrolet, Moon, Chrysler, Durant, Nash, Rickenbacker, Dodge, Olds, Packard, Dorris, Gardner, to name just a few. But it was Ford that launched the revolution that demanded road development programs to accommodate the new world of motorized transportation. In 1926, the most extensive of these was given the name Route 66.

It wasn’t just quality roads that were needed for the booming age of automobiles. Regardless of the factory they came from, all cars were thirsty for gasoline. In 1925 Philips Petroleum Company was the largest producer of natural gas liquids in the US. A test of the company’s gasoline took place on Route 66 and the speed of the car in which the test was conducted topped out at a very fast 66 miles per hour. The new fuel was given the name Phillips 66. Adoption of the Route 66 shield for branding was a bit of marketing brilliance linking the gasoline product to the new interstate roadway system. Shared branding was aided by friendship between the Phillips brothers and another man with a nose for marketing, Cyrus Avery, “father” of Route 66.

Many roadside motels along Route 66 became thriving businesses as travel boomed during the years following World War II. Ironically, their success was their demise, signaling patronage worthy of a new industry: national hotel chains.

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

NEWS OF CHRISTENINGS: On various occasions and depending on who was lauding the achievement of the cross country paved roadway system, Route 66 was officially heralded by several names: “The Main Street of America,” “The Mother Road,” “The Way West,” and “Will Rogers Highway.”

NEWS OF PROPOSITIONS: It wasn’t just automobiles that moved along The Main Street of America, but tourism and commerce. Across the eight states and three time zones it spanned, state and national roadway developers met to plan (or later to reassess) the route. The meetings would inspire an all-time high in civic unity for towns vying for inclusion along the route. Business representatives, local developers, politicians, and celebrities showed up at the meetings accompanied by high school marching bands in an effort to persuade officials to direct Route 66 their way.

PHILOSOPHICAL NEWS: In the 1960s Route 66 had its own coveted place in a different kind of network: it became a TV show. The show, which primarily took place on the East Coast, demonstrated that the name of the famous Chicago to LA highway had taken on broader meaning, symbolically representing all who were going somewhere. Long after being bypassed by larger highway systems, it retains that symbolism.

(Unlike selfies, these are not about me, but about places you’ll want to visit.)

West of St. Louis Route 66 traveled through the town of Fenton. Today, a little north of the route’s original path, Fenton is home to a classic cars dealer (2340 Cassens Drive) that will send Route 66 fans on a trip down memory lane: MotoExotica.

Marilyn Monroe, who continues to have a celebrated association with Route 66, was once the owner of this 1959 Cadillac. It was originally pink, but the star had George Barris (of Batmobile fame) paint the car gold to match one of her outfits. Later, after her marriage to Joe DiMaggio, Monroe sold the car to DiMaggio’s brother, Dorn. On occasion in a storied past, the famous gold paint job reflected neon signage along America’s most famous highway. Its current home is MotoeXotica.

Steiny’s Inn was once a diner’s and traveler’s hot spot along Route 66. Today, a museum and gift shop full of unique Route 66 items and artifacts make this Route 66 State Park Visitor’s Center a worthy destination for travelers from throughout the US and abroad. (97 N Outer Road E #1, Eureka, MO)

Quote Of The Day samples

“First think, second believe, third dream, and finally dare.” — Walt Disney

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” — Albert Einstein

MotorCoach Blog 10 Route 66 Edition

Posted on February 25, 2016March 6, 2017 by russellirwin@russellirwin.com

I am a motorcoach:

and Honor is my natural response to being honored — honored with the privilege of being a motorcoach, purchased and cared for at great expense, chosen to be a logo-bearer among travelers, trusted with today’s particular assignment and trusted by every passenger to whom I’ve been assigned . . . commissioned to serve, which is the purpose of being a motorcoach.

Fittingly, next week we will conclude our look at the motorcoach mantra (Seek – Meet – Honor – Serve) with the word Serve.

Selfies

(which by definition means I’m in them . . . though you might have to look for me)

Destination Tulsa, Oklahoma, the temperature was in the single digits when we left St. Louis at 7:00AM heading out into a winter storm that made visibility challenging and progress slow. When we got to Joplin a few hours later it was still chilly, but sky and highway were clear. Two hours later we arrived in Tulsa to a sunny day near sixty degrees.

Outside the Best Western Route 66 Hotel in downtown Tulsa.

When you’re in Tulsa it’s hard to miss the fact that this is the birthplace of Route 66, the hometown of its architect, Cyrus Avery.

Other heritage reminders are also prominent in Tulsa, those of the Native American Indians.

Here are some hard working high school seniors who have earned opportunities and options, one of them being the University of Tulsa, which they visited for a closer look.

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

NEWS OF KANSAS PASSAGE: The historic Santa Fe and Oregon Trails issued west from Kansas. As if paying tribute to the trail era, Route 66 seemingly went out of its way to bring the rest of the nation through a fifteen mile section of Kansas, passing through Galena, Riverton, and Baxter Springs, before winding its way across Oklahoma.

NEWS OF MIGRATION: In his novel, The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck depicted Route 66 as the path of a gathering movement of people in flight, coming to it “from the tributary side roads, from the wagon tracks and the rutted country roads.” Oklahoma enjoyed statehood for less than two decades prior to the opening of Route 66; and the monument, East Meets West, at the symbolic Tulsa mid-point conveys sculptural agreement with Steinbeck.

NOSTALGIA NEWS: By the1950s the popularity of Route 66 coincided with a burgeoning American music scene. The bond of road and tunes would only grow. It was a bond lyrically celebrated by rock and roller Chuck Berry in his first big hit, “Maybellene” (1955), about a guy in a V8 Ford and a girl in a Cadillac.

(Unlike selfies, these are not about me, but about places you’ll want to visit.)

At the southern end of the University of Tulsa campus runs 11th Street, part of a definitive section of historic route 66.

Gilcrease Museum (located in Tulsa at Gilcrease Museum Road and Newton Street) contains one of our nation’s best collections of American art and history, housing the world’s largest display of art and artifacts on the American West and Native American nations. The museum’s exterior gardens are themselves worthy of inclusion in travel planning.

Quote Of The Day samples

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” — Plato

“Every man must leave a track and it might as well be a good one.” — Thomas Gilcrease

MotorCoach Blog 9 – Route 66 Edition

Posted on February 17, 2016March 6, 2017 by russellirwin@russellirwin.com

I am a motorcoach:

Continuing with the motorcoach mantra, Seek – Meet – Honor – Serve. We’re on the second word: Meet.

Imagine it is race day at the Indy 500. The crew has the million-dollar machine ready, polished, clean. The mechanics have everything fine-tuned. There’s a plan in place, scheduled “pit stops,” a time and mile measured course strategy, goals, expectations, and so on.

Call me grandiose, but that’s what it’s like to be me, Two Six Seven, ready to meet the day, eager to meet my passengers . . . no, not spectators seated in the grandstand . . . PASSENGERS, on-board participants in the journey. While my big moment is not actually the start of a race, it is no less a big event. And though I am the logo clad face of our team, make no mistake, meeting passengers is a moment of team preparation and pride.

Selfies

Here I am at the Route 66 Museum in Lebanon, Missouri – nostalgia at its best. They call Route 66 “The Mother Road” for a reason. Not only was it the first paved interstate highway system, it also birthed my industry. Creation of this Chicago-to-LA connector was concomitantly creation of need for the motorcoach.

Blinking bulbs, neon – graphics and names coloring the night . . . those were the days! Route 66 was the traveler’s route. It was the way “home” – wherever folks intended home to become, or wherever it turned out to be due to circumstances along the way. It was the vacationer’s route. It was the trucker’s route (another industry with origin ties to Route 66). The Mother Road birthed demand for countless roadside diners, service stations, and motels like Munger Moss, which is celebrating its 70th birthday the weekend of April 22-23 of 2016. Put the party on your calendar. They haven’t kept their fabulous sign in tact for nothing. Cool autos, music, hotdogs and hamburgers . . . it’ll be a celebration of longevity and remembrance of the glory days of Route 66.

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

NEWS OF SPEED: According to a 1930 series Missouri map, a general speed limit was, uh . . . suggested? “The speed limit is 25 miles per hour. Anything over is presumptive but not conclusive of careless and imprudent driving.”

NEWS OF NUMBERS: November 11, 1926 is the birthday of Route 66. Its number name, 66, represents a hard fought and last minute victory by Cyrus Avery, the “Father of Route 66.” Most public road planners preferred the numbers 60 and 62 for the route because they fit the national highway naming template. Avery wanted the number 66 because he believed it was catchier, which would aid businesses along the route in their marketing. The original Route 66 was over 2,000 miles of motoring adventure from Chicago to Los Angeles. In the 1940’s, Route 66 was of vital logistical importance to the US war effort. A set of tires at the time was around $45. With a couple of dimes you could buy a gallon of gas.

NEWS OF FAME: In 1946 Bobby Troupe gave the paved pop culture phenomenon a radio voice: “If you ever plan to motor west, travel my way, take the highway that’s the best. Get your kicks on Route Sixty-Six!”

NEWS OF FOREIGN FOLLOWING: Historic Route 66 has become a top US attraction for foreign tourists, second only to New York City. Like many business owners along the route, Bob and Ramona Lehman have seen the foreign interest become the core support of their business, Munger Moss Motel. People from Europe, South America, Australia, Canada, and other nations come to the US during the summer months to rent cars and motorcycles and travel the most famous US highway.

Next time you’re in Chicago, you’ll want to make your way to Adams and Michigan Avenue, the beginning of Route 66.

And while you’re there, you might as well venture a little further on to the town of Wheaton (a western suburb of Chicago), where you’ll find the Wade Center at the corner of N Washington Street and Lincoln Avenue. Among other treasures, you will see in this museum the desk at which J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit in its entirety. What does that have to do with Route 66? Sitting right next to Tolkien’s desk in the Wade Center is that of C.S. Lewis. The two met for the first time in 1926, the year Route 66 officially opened. The beginnings of roads and friendships have much in common. Trust me on this one; I’m a motorcoach, an expert on this kind of thing.

Quote Of The Day samples

“It’s a dangerous business going out of your door. You step out onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no telling where you might be swept off to.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

“Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another: What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” – C.S. Lewis

MotorCoach Blog 8

Posted on February 10, 2016March 6, 2017 by russellirwin@russellirwin.com

I am a motorcoach:

Two Seven Two, with a few words on being a motorcoach . . . four words to be exact: Seek, Meet, Honor, Serve. For this post our focus is Seek.

The word Seek is fundamental to appreciation of the nature of a motorcoach. I have no accidental or happenstance passengers. I do not wander streets like a taxi, watching for someone to flag me down (which is more like rummaging than Seeking). I do not open my door for roadside strangers with their thumbs out and a suitcase at their feet. In fact, any form of unplanned or unauthorized boarding is strictly forbidden. Before I welcome a passenger aboard, that passenger has been thoughtfully pursued. It’s a team effort. Details of a tour or charter were fashioned and painstakingly perfected with each passenger in mind. Promotions, phone calls, scheduling, routing, accounting, special needs evaluations, and all manner of fitting the journey to persons on the journey precedes my leaving the garage. Yes, my appearance is mechanical, but all moving parts only matter because of this: I am relationally intentional.

Selfies

Outside the Missouri state capitol in Jefferson City. Inside, lawmakers are at work and important matters are on the table. Here, decisions are reflective of the multi-faceted will of society. My passengers, Missouri Right to Life ambassadors, are here for relational engagement, dialog, due diligence on behalf of the voiceless and most vulnerable.

A visit to The National Churchill Museum. On March 5, 1946, here in the carefully chosen quiet of the Westminster College campus in Fulton, Missouri, Winston Churchill delivered his most famous speech. It was titled The Sinews of Peace. It opened with the statement: “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent . . .” And Churchill made clear his motivation for traveling so far to make the speech: “I feel the duty to speak out now.”

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

News of ham and Bread: A member of the Missouri Right to Life group on the Jefferson City trip had also been on the recent trip to Washington DC and was among those stuck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. He told of being grateful for provisions that arrived on day two: “one piece of bread and one piece of ham for everyone on the motorcoach.”

News of virtual steak: The report of another of the recent turnpike hostages was of hunger that was taunted for 20 hours while snowbound beside a billboard advertising a steakhouse and featuring a giant picture of a succulent steak.

News of Doritos: A subject of passenger muse was a Doritos Super Bowl ad featuring an ultrasound with an animated fetus. Media sources reported a tweeted complaint by NARAL (a pro-choice group) that the commercial humanized fetuses. The ad was actually fan-chosen, the winner of the Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” contest, a contest awarding $1 million to the winning producer and the privilege of national exposure during the Super Bowl. The contest has been running for ten years and this was its final year. What a note to end on.

Remember the Union Pacific Big Boy, the largest steam engine ever built in the United States? Last week I showed you a wooden scale replica of the 1,250,000 lbs and 132 feet long locomotive. Well, here is the actual Big Boy, on display at the Museum of Transportation in west St. Louis County. The Museum of transportation is a definite must see if you are ever in the area and have some time to hunt it down.

If you are ever in the vicinity of Fulton, MO, you’ll be glad you prioritized a trip to the National Churchill Museum, where you will find (among many other great finds) a section of the Berlin Wall, symbol and physical reality of the “iron curtain” Churchill spoke of in his 1946 speech – torn down in 1989.

Quote Of The Day samples

“If you’re going through hell, whatever you do, don’t stop.” ―Winston Churchill

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” ―Martin Luther King Jr.

MotorCoach Blog 7

Posted on February 3, 2016March 6, 2017 by russellirwin@russellirwin.com

I am a motorcoach:

And here is my final contribution to our January 2016 topic of slowing the world down (delayed a week due to the rude interruption of Jonas by way of mayhem he instigated on the Pennsylvania Turnpike).

We opened our topic with the indispensable practice of “living early.” But we all know even excellent planning can go awry. Case in point: I arrived twenty minutes early to pick up passengers in front of a hotel on a busy street in downtown St. Louis. On that occasion, “in front” turned out to be impossible. I was forced to pass the hotel and look for a way to make my way back. It seemed like an opportunity to use the extra time to familiarize myself with the neighborhood. A moment later, a street that looked inviting for circling back toward the hotel turned out to be commitment to a street that became an entry ramp onto a highway heading over the Mississippi River and into Illinois. My leisurely sightseeing trip around the block was suddenly converted into management of rush-hour traffic amid a lengthy succession of highway interchanges. A thought was loud: “I am no longer early!”

Two things slowed everything down in those moments. The first was ownership of skills. For this I have you-know-who to thank. Yes, Henry. His insistence on relentless due diligence in skills development insured the needed skills were in place to handle a rush of unexpected complexities. The second was prayer. It may be a challenge to imagine a motorcoach praying, but let me assure you, this one does. When it comes to slowing down the world, there’s no substitute for excellent planning, there’s no replacement for skills, and there’s no help more effective than prayers answered by the ultimate you-know-who. To my amazement I pulled up beside the hotel only a minute or two late. And to my relief I learned my passengers had been delayed by about fifteen minutes.

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

sports News: Congratulations to the Francis Howell Lady Vikings, CHAMPIONS of the Central Bank I-44 Missouri Showcase Basketball Tournament! And if I can borrow a little identity here . . . this was my first championship delivery! (See Selfies section below.)

News of trains: Have you ever wondered where all the cabooses went? Well, a brakeman used to occupy the caboose. He had several jobs, including helping with switching and watching ahead for emergencies – in particular hotboxes, the overheating of wheel bearings that could start a fire. With changes in technology, the need for the brakeman lessened to the extent that the position no longer justified its cost, or that of maintenance of the caboose.

And while we’re on the subject of trains, surely you are also eager to know the identity of the largest steam engine ever built in the United States. It was the Union Pacific Big Boy. It was 1,250,000 lbs and 132 feet long. UP had been employing the costly utilization of multiple engines to move coal out of Ogden Utah, over Sherman Hill in Wyoming (elev. 8,000 ft ), 700 miles to North Plat, Nebraska, and on to steel mills in the east. They hired Alco in New York to build an engine that could do it on its own. The result was the Big Boy. Alco made twenty-five of them between 1941 and 1944. (Another example of the
American back-roads education . . . getting out and discovering the news! Check out Must Sees below.)

Selfies

Here I am with the members of the Francis Howell Vikings, who a few hours later secured their tournament championship.

How’s this for contrast? Accompanied by freezing temperatures, snow on the Pennsylvania Turnpike a week ago was two feet deep. But at Hidden Valley, the playground for skiers and snowboarders in Eureka, MO, the only snow to be found was on the slopes – the artificial variety. Unseasonably mild temperatures made for a brown landscape everywhere else.

When your travels take you anywhere near Cambridge, Ohio, there are two places you’ll be glad you went out of your way to visit:

Mosser Glass Company is an old-world artisan shop that visitors rave about and patrons from all over the world turn to for elegant art-glass products.

Cambridge Wooden Toy Co. is home of The Great American Steam Locomotive Museum.

A wooden scale replica of Union Pacific’s Big Boy, hand crafted by Brian Gray, owner/operator of the toy company and museum, and a treasury of facts and stories about steam locomotives and the era in which they thrived.

Quote Of The Day samples

“Offense sells tickets, defense wins games, rebounding wins championships.” – Pat Summit

“Leadership is about having others look at you and gain confidence. If you’re in control, they’re in control.” – Tom Landry

MotorCoach Blog 6

Posted on January 27, 2016March 6, 2017 by russellirwin@russellirwin.com

I am a motorcoach:

Two Seven Four here, with a story from eastern edges of adventure. But first, a word of clarification is necessary about this business of being a motorcoach. You probably are aware that there are regulatory measures related to hours of control of a motorcoach. Well, in the case of this particular story, motorcoach Two Seven Four is a shared identity. The journey began in Belleville, IL, where I picked up 53 passengers headed for Washington DC and the 2016 Right to Life march. Remember Henry? (Yes, that Henry, none other than the instructor who trained me on what it is to be a motorcoach.) From Cambridge, Ohio (roughly 12 hrs from Belleville including meal stops) Henry took over and Two Seven Four continued on to DC. That’s how it works.

Now, on with our story: Our 53 defenders of the pre-born were delivered to their destination in uneventful fashion. But even as they disembarked in our nation’s capital, things were getting interesting . . .

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

News of Jonas: No one wants to hear that a storm with a name is headed their way. Heavy rain showers are not given names. Freezing temperatures do not inspire a name other than “winter.” A storm with a name is prediction of weather with broad destructive impact. A week before the Right to Life march on DC the forecast was for rain. Talk of snow began three or four days before the event (much preferable for marchers). Two days out there was concern about a pretty tough looking winter storm experts expected to grow in severity while moving south to north along the Eastern Seaboard. Jonas was coming.

News of an accelerated timetable: On January 21st, the day before the Right to Life rally, snowfall was anticipated to begin in the evening hours of the 22nd, soon after the conclusion of the march. But the morning of the march brought reports of earlier than expected arrival – 2:00, maybe even 1:00 in the afternoon – starting with light snow fall. Plans were made to move the Belleville group’s departure time from 7:00 to 4:00 to get out of the area ahead of the heavier precipitation.

News of gridlock: Not only did Jonas arrive early, but the blizzard also had a more inland reach than initially expected. Two Seven Four made it out of Washington DC in good time and was on the Western edge of the storm. Snowfall was heavy, but the highway was in drivable condition when progress stopped on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. A tractor-trailer rig had jackknifed on a hill up ahead. The accident shut down a 35 mile stretch of highway. While waiting, snow continued to accumulate, ultimately by the foot. Below freezing temperatures were accompanied by winds up to 40 miles per hour. It would be 26 hours before motorcoach Two Seven Four resumed movement.

News of heroes: Along with the many other buses, cars, and trucks, stranded on the highway, there were four other motorcoaches from our Mid-American family in that situation: 249, 259, 271, and 272. People from nearby cars were allowed on the motorcoaches to get warm, use the lavatories, and share some of the meager food supplies. Many of our passengers joined others in shoveling vehicles free so they could move out of the way of emergency help trying to get through. The local fire department delivered light snacks and water. The National Guard helped dig out snow-bound vehicles, delivered military MREs (Meals Ready to Eat), and removed concrete barriers so vehicles could get off the highway and be routed back eastward to the town of Bedford. The Red Cross in coordination with the city of Bedford secured meals and cots, and housing for all the stranded travelers at the Bedford middle and high schools and the Bedford United Methodist Church. Passengers aboard Two Seven Four cheerily endured the ordeal, glad for an opportunity to direct attention to defense of the unborn, whatever the cost or inconvenience.

News via the news Media:

WTAE News in Pittsburgh with a harrowing story about the accident that shut down the Turnpike.
http://m.wtae.com/news/strangers-band-together-form-human-chain-to-save-truck-driver-teetering-over-pa-turnpike-hillside/37657076

The Belleville News Democrat ran a report on the situation on the turnpike as it unfolded:
http://www.bnd.com/news/local/article56257995.html

KMOV was part of the welcoming crowd at our group’s arrival back home in Belleville:
http://www.kmov.com/story/31040217/53-metro-east-students-stuck-on-pennsylvania-turnpike-due-to-blizzard#.VqRRFSguIaw.facebook

Selfies

Day two on the turnpike

Comfortable shelter in challenging circumstances.

Being dug out by the National Guard

Back on the road home

Back home, post-saga: time for a bath!

Quote Of The Day samples

“A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.” – G K Chesterton

“Art, like morality, consists in drawing the line somewhere.” – G K Chesterton

And here’s a first: I received a quote from the Belleville group at the end of the trip.
“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered.” – G K Chesterton

MotorCoach Blog 5

Posted on January 21, 2016March 6, 2017 by russellirwin@russellirwin.com

I am a motorcoach:

Continuing our January 2016 theme: Slowing the world down. The work of a motorcoach is to serve travelers, to enhance the passenger experience by provision of safe, sheltered, comfortable, timely accomplishment of specific destination goals. Done well, the work of the motorcoach on behalf of the traveler is not mere movement from here to there, but advancement of meaning and discovery.

Naturally, there are some things that are not part of the work of a motorcoach. A few examples are: expectation, speculation, offense, and consternation. A motorcoach intentionally heads out into a world characterized by things others might prefer to avoid, like, “traffic.” Traffic by nature is random and busy, which means there is potential for it to be chaotic. Expectation that things go a certain way in traffic is not among the disciplines of my profession; being prepared to handle whatever actually does happen is. Speculation as to why the little red vehicle swooped around me to fill in the measured space I was keeping between me and the vehicle ahead is not in my job description (see above); being aware of all facts related to the situation and responding with safe, appropriate actions is. Offense is irrelevant to my work because what was going on in the mind-center of the little red vehicle when passing me with its horn blaring is a little red personal matter, thus none of my business. Insulated from the influence of those three devils of agitation, consternation is banished from my experience – no agitation, no panic, no alarm.

Expectation, speculation, offense, and consternation belong to a particular category of the road experience: clutter. Elimination of the functions of clutter is one of the keys to slowing the world down.

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

News of Saturation: Weather patterns in recent years have followed a particular, measurable, and predictable trend, causing spring-like activities to encroach upon the beginning and end of winter. Temperature changes have a direct impact upon precipitation. As regional temperatures have increased, shortening the freezing effects of the winter months, wet onset has begun in late winter instead of spring and pushed past fall well into winter at the other end. This has resulted in greater precipitation and higher ground saturation levels, producing record regional flooding. How does this impact the work of a motorcoach? Several days of sectional closings of Interstate 44 and highways 47, 100, 50, and numerous others make navigation an adventure. (Much of the above was learned while hanging out with Two Four Nine, an especially well-read motorcoach who spends off hours perusing studies related to population dynamics by the Army Corps of Engineers, the St. Louis University Center for Atmospheric Sciences, and others. And you thought we were just gear-heads . . .)

News of Coffee: Did you know St. Louis was once the coffee roasting capital of the United States? I discovered this second hand, via discoveries made by passengers on a tour of coffee roasting establishments that included a stop at the Missouri Historical Museum for a coffee exhibit.

News of “Modern”: Spanning a period between World War I and the 1970s, Modernism is challenging to define. The broader discussion is one of varied aesthetics and sensibilities, much of which many creative giants of the movement resisted association. Stylistically, modernism was an intentional break from the classical and traditional forms of the past, conforming to modern ideas, like, “Less is more” and rejection of ornament in preference of the dictates of function over form (or purpose dictating design). Architecturally it was expressed in the creative embrace of concrete, glass and steel, and the harnessing and direction of rapid technological advancements reshaping society. (Part of an education received along a modern architecture tour.)

Selfies

Postmodernism – Voila! My sleek functional-form design sharing reflection with the ornamentation and classical forms of the St. Louis Courthouse in a quintessential “less is more” glass building.

At the St. Louis Abbey, designed by Gyo Obata of the global architectural giant, HOK; part of a modern architecture tour sponsored by the St. Louis Art Museum.

St. Louis University Cathedral – Five minutes west of the Gateway Arch, a few blocks south of Powel Symphony Hall (home of the world renowned St. Louis Symphony orchestra), and nearly next door to the famous and “Fabulous” Fox Theater, St. Louis University Cathedral is fittingly historic and majestic. My passengers are visiting a coffee house in the center of the St. Louis University campus.

Quote Of The Day samples

“The purpose of architecture is to shelter and enhance man’s life on earth and to fulfill his belief in the nobility of his existence. – Finnish Architect, designer of the Gateway Arch, Eero Saarinen

“If you’re not making mistakes you’re not doing anything . . . a doer makes mistakes.” – Legendary UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden

I am a motorcoach…

Selfies

Quote Of The Day samples

I am a motorcoach…

Selfies

Quote Of The Day samples

I am a motorcoach…

Selfies

Quote Of The Day samples

I am a motorcoach…

Selfies

Quote Of The Day samples

I am a motorcoach:

Selfies

Quote Of The Day samples

I am a motorcoach:

Selfies

Quote Of The Day samples

I am a motorcoach:

Selfies

Quote Of The Day samples

I am a motorcoach:

Selfies

Quote Of The Day samples

I am a motorcoach:

Selfies

Quote Of The Day samples

I am a motorcoach:

Selfies

Quote Of The Day samples

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