For parents, please stay with your child while they are trick or treating. Be sure when they cross the street, they do it in a well-lit area. Dress them in costumes that are easy to see and don’t obstruct their vision. In our small town, I don’t believe we’ve ever had a problem with tainted treats, but it anything is suspected of being tampered with, throw it away. Our part of town doesn’t get many trick or treaters, but Jan usually makes pre-packaged items and puts our name in it so parents know where it came from.
It is still awfully early, but it looks like winter will be here before we want it to be. With the weather comes people driving in an environment that they need to take some time to get acclimated to.
The first thing we usually see is frosted over windshields in the morning. This brings out what I call the “peephole” drivers. You know what I’m talking about - you’ve all seen them and we’ve all been guilty of being one. Take a few extra minutes to scrape ALL the frost off your windshield, windows and rear glass before you move the car. If it’s still dark and you meet another vehicle with it’s headlights on, you won’t be able to see anything!
Be careful of “black ice,” which you won’t be able to see until it’s too late. If you should get into it, don’t panic and gently let off the gas. Don’t jump on the brakes - as you slow down, tap them gently. When there’s actually snow and ice on the streets and highways, be sure to give yourself plenty of extra stopping room between yourself and the vehicle ahead of you, as well as coming to a stop sign or stop light.
I once stopped a guy who was driving in a heavy snow. He had only a “peephole” cleared on his windshield and about 4” to 6” of snow on the rest of his car, including the side windows. He went through a stop sign about a half block ahead of me without even slowing down. When I stopped him, he protested the ticket for running the stop sign because “there wasn’t anything coming.” Never mind that he couldn’t SEE if there was anything coming. I guess he ended up paying his fine for the stop sign violation and obstructed vision because I didn’t have to testify against him in court. Whether he believed it or not, he was a hazard on the road. I made him clean all his windows before I let him go.
Be sure to stock your food pantry BEFORE a storm hits so you don’t have to go out in it to get groceries or other supplies. When the snow is blowing and you can’t see a block away, you should be staying safe and sound in your house.
Like I’ve mentioned in the past, with the weather getting cooler, most of my motorcycle riding will be restricted to short day rides, and planning for trips in 2010. We’re looking forward to making the Blue Knights International Convention in Billings, Montana in July 2010. I’m also looking into hosting the Spring 2011 Spring Conference in Beatrice. That will be taking up a good amount of my time. Hotel needs to be finalized as well as rates, banquet lined up and activities as well as food and drink for the hospitality room. I guess it’s time to get busy!
In addition to that, we’re trying to get one of our race cars as well as a trailer sold. I have some engines to freshen up. I did a quick check on the engine that Jeremy ran and maybe we didn’t hurt it too bad. Looks like a valve train problem. I won’t know until I start to get it apart. I hope to get the engine out and on the engine stand in the next week or so.
Thanks for checking me out, and be sure to leave comments.
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