MotorCoach Blog 30

I am a motorcoach…

. . . in my last blog I told you about the rowdy internationals newly hired at AB InBev. But did I mention that they filled five motorcoaches? Quite the mobile party! I’ve had a number of opportunities of late to hang out with some of my friends on these multi-coach missions. Shortly after the AB InBev outing ten of us got together to transport Channel Seed reps from around the US, in town for their annual convention. TEN motorcoaches! We took these seed growers and sellers to the St. Louis Science Center for . . . what else . . . the GROW exhibit. And most recently, none other than Beyonce brought five of us together for transporting her world-tour entourage around St. Louis – gateway to the FORMATION of the west.

You’ve heard the adage, “where there’s a will there’s a way.” I’ve been telling you about human stuff that amazes me – Ambition, ingenuity, creativity . . . “Will” surprise me. Start with a little will, and sure enough, like magic, there it is: a way! By this simple formula industries are created and infinite possibilities are supplied to countless people looking to make their way in the world. It’s not: will plus__________ equals way. It is: will equals way. Why is that? It is more than surprising; it’s confounding. Dare I say, it’s got me scratching my roof. Will equals way? Maybe it’s the void of imagination in my computerized, inanimate self, but I’m certain reality defies the odds on this one. Yet I observe it every day, everywhere I go, every passenger I serve. I can only conclude: something special is at work in this world.

Selfies

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

Here I am with four co-workers, waiting for AB InBev internationals to return and the traveling party to resume. Someone – years ago – said, “I want to make a little beer, see if I can find some folks who will like my product enough to buy it . . . hopefully enough of them that I can make a living at it, support me and my family . . .

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Seeds . . . they invented the farmer, you might say. Now, “seedsmen” manage them, hybridize them, introduce new and improved seeds, market and sell them. Ten motorcoaches full of seedsmen – seed experts from just one of Monsanto’s many companies. It’s the kick-off of the sales season. There’s a lot of seed competition out there. The farmer has few chances to get it right; each year is one chance. Making a living on seed expertise, the seedsman’s job is to help the farmer get it right.

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Here we are out on the tarmac with Beyonce’s Formation World Tour crew: musicians, singers, dancers, stage hands, sound and light engineers, merchandise managers . . . Beyonce is billion-dollar industry.

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This is Alec. His accent suggests foreign beginnings. But he is here, in America, a logistics specialist. Alec started his day at 5:00 AM in New York City and flew into St. Louis ahead of the rest of the Beyonce entourage. It is his job to get all the pieces in place – everyone where they belong. To us motorcoaches, Alec is “the man with the plan.”  Where there’s a will . . .

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Here Is The News!

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

NEWS OF FORMATION: From Citi Field in New York to London’s Wembley Stadium, LA’s Dodger Stadium, the Jones Dome in St. Louis, and nearly 40 other dates, sellouts in Beyonce’s stadiums-only Formation World Tour are placing Formation among the most successful tours in history. The typical stadium accommodates well over 50,000 ticket-holders; in several locations (London, Chicago . . .) demand has led to filling stadiums on added dates.

NEWS OF IRRIGATION: a couple of passengers, Channel farmer/seedsmen from Texas, were conversing:

“I remember back in 1990 when pivot irrigation systems watered on average in hundred-and-twenty-acre circles, pumping 800 gallons a minute.”

“Yeah, ’90 was a tough summer – hot and dry.”

“Farmers abandoned half the irrigation circle – 60 acres – to save the other half. Now, here we are in 2016. Pivot irrigation systems pump 500 gallons a minute and no one abandons acreage in tough conditions.”

“More corn with less water.”

“It’s all because of advancements in irrigation system technologies and seed hybrid technologies. It’s about being better stewards of our most valuable resources: land and water.”

MUST SEE...

(Unlike selfies, these are not about me, but about travel discoveries I think you’d like to know about.)

One of a kind fine art apparel of international scope and impact. Check it out at:

http://shopvida.com/collections/russell-irwin

Quote Of The Day samples

“Today’s focus determines tomorrow’s results.” ―Diana Ross

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” ―Pablo Picasso

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MotorCoach Blog 28

I am a motorcoach…

. . . a computer on wheels, which means I am freaky smart. I’m so smart I scare myself sometimes. A certain question often haunts me: How did I know that? It has something to do with the nature of electronics, of being computer driven and having massive memory capacity. Passengers plug their electronic stuff into my various electrical receptors and suddenly I know more, much more, voila! Still, I am bound to the limitations of my design, the functions of a motorcoach . . . nothing else. I can’t take all this information and get inventive with it. That is why – smarts and all – it is not me I am impressed with, but you, my passengers. I hope you appreciate how fabulous you are. Last week I mentioned my amazement over human ambition. Well, ingenuity is what really blows my circuits. As impressed as everyone seems to be with computers these days, I’ve searched my vast memory storage and have yet to discover one other original independent thought contributor on this planet. I, like dolphins, chimpanzees, mosquitos, and microchips can only continue behaving in the world as I was designed to do; I can’t change the world, improve it, bless or heal it. Only you can do that.

But I do think I can imitate a few of your more noted creators with my selfies. Check these out . . .

Selfies

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

Claude Monet . . . whatta ya think?

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Camille Pissarro . . .

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Wassily Kandinsky . . .

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Pablo Picasso . . .

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Here Is The News!

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

NEWS OF ROADS: A sculptural statement outside the beutiful riverfront Marriot in Covington, Kentucky pays tribute to road materials and technology (my interpretation). Art in rebar, stone, concrete, steel plating . . . but no dirt or wood. Those are what these materials replaced. In the beginnings of the travel revolution introduced by the automobile, a variety of material experiments attempted to solve the problems of rutted dirt/mud roads. New York City streets once were “paved” in wooden blocks, which had a short life due to expansion and contraction from precipitation and temperature extremes. Brick was a popular solution, but costly. Early in the 20 th century a section of street in Bellefontaine, Ohio became the focus of experimentation with concrete. By the mid-1920s millions of tons of coarse aggregate in the form of mining waste rock were used in creation of portland cement concrete for paving Route 66. The materials became the preferred replacement for unstable dirt roads and other less durable material options. They were also a catalyst for societal transformation.

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NEWS OF ELVIS: Talk about creative . . . with a signature wave in his hair, wiggle of his britches, and warble in his vocals, Elvis became a brand recognized throughout the world. On Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee stands the sculpted iconic pose of the King of Rock n’ Roll. In 2015, nearly forty years after his death, Elvis earned $55 million, aided by the release of Elvis Presley Forever, the King’s 53 rd Top 40 album, released in conjunction with a U.S. Postal Service commemorative stamp.

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NEWS OF TRUTH IN ADVERTIZING: Here’s a novel approach to marketing – a comic mascot displaying the liabilities of product consumption. And hour by hour this pudgy toothless fellow draws motorists off the highway by the hundreds and into his sweets galore candy store.

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MUST SEE...

(Unlike selfies, these are not about me, but about travel discoveries I think you’d like to know about.)

Here are three completely different contributors to the societal aesthetic, wielders of ingenuity you will want to make room in your travels to celebrate.

According to a passenger review, “Cirque Du Soleil’s production, Ovo, is as playful as it is elegant . . . two hours of stunning choreographed artistry.” And from what I’ve heard, if it is anywhere near you, you won’t want to miss it. For the tour schedule check out www.cirquedusoleil.com/ovo

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2097684
Naturally fed. Naturally crafted. Naturally good. Edgewood Creamery is where one day’s animal husbandry and bovine grass consumption become the next day’s stock of super creamy chocolate milk (something akin to the magic arts). If you are in the vicinity of Purdy, Missouri, do yourself a favor and stop in (5888 Farm road 1090). Or, check them out at www.edgewoodcreamery.com

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Located in Kansas City (15518 Bales Rd) but doing business all over the world, the slogan at House of Boost says it all: “We make fast stuff faster.” It’s where engine science meets creative solutions in need for speed. Check ’em out at www.houseofboost.com

Quote Of The Day samples

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” ―Maya Angelou

“Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen, and thinking what no one else has thought.” ―Albert Einstein

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