It's 9AM
Today is going to be cool.
I hope.
If one has zero expectations of the day, one is never disappointed.
But it’s hard to be one.
There are several Great American Road Races, and around noon, one rolls through downtown Argenta.
I’m not a car guy but…
A classic collection of pre-70’s roadsters in a timed race from coast to coast sounds like it might be something to see.
Like the eclipse that’s rolling across the state next April 8, this feels like a “shouldn’t be missed.”
So I’m off today on a shift switch, and headed downtown with camera in hand.
I’ve got the route memorized and hopefully smooth hands to get some great video.
I’ve even got a small idea in the back of my mind on how to turn it into something else, because when opportunity knocks, one should expect to open the door.
Unless you’re supposed to have zero expectations, then what do you do?
Just listen?
We were in LA a few weeks ago and walking down Rodeo Drive when #10 saw a gold Lambo.
It was hard to miss.
Pre-noon rush, and a loud screaming rumble as he revved and raced up the short one two blocks from one major intersection to the next.
Again, I’m not a car guy.
I was not impressed.
Never have been by loud mufflers or big engines or shiny accessories.
And I wish part of me was.
At least it would give me something to talk about with some people.
I know just enough about engines to do light work on them, thanks to Papaw.
Maybe I’ve picked up a little more than that along the way, but to me, a car is a conveyance.
I like it clean, I like it to roll, and most of the time, I like the windows down and the radio up.
Still, a Lambo is a thing of beauty, even if it looks like it would be a chore to climb out of or down into.
And this custom gold job was no exception.
Pretty.
I expect the same today.
They’ll roll in before noon along a two lane Boulevard and park downtown for a tour and meet and greet while the drivers and navigators grab lunch.
Then it’s back on the road for a timed trip to Russellville for an overnight, then into historic Van Buren for lunch the next day.
It is a timed race, which means drivers leave during a slot, have to pass certain secret checkpoints at timed intervals, and must arrive within a window of time at the designated places.
It is a race with speed limits, and rules and regulations.
Not at all like a Cannonball Run where it’s first one over the finish line wins.
A neat idea, and I wondered why Pine Bluff didn’t make the cut.
Too far south, I’m sure, but then I wondered if they even bothered to ask.
There is a four block stretch of downtown that would be perfect for car shows and festivals that goes underused 50 weeks out of the year.
The other two weeks, they hold festivals and people show up.
Right now, they’re pitching the Bluff as a future culinary luxury destination, though we’ve only got two really good local spots.
Maybe three, but the Country Club doesn’t feel like a spot for culinary destination travel.
The idea of it is good.
There is a town called Wilson in the Northeast Delta where a couple moved from Nashville and bought land and a building to create a farm to table concept.
Brought in an award winning chef and over the past five years have built the tiny dead Delta town into a tourist hot spot, with a five star luxury hotel, a Michelin rated restaurant, coffee shop and things for both visitors and locals to do.
All it took was someone caring enough and brave enough or dumb enough to make it happen.
Which is what I was thinking about the cross country car race.
Someone had an idea, or there was history for it, and started putting it together.
A great big “What if we…”
Car races, and lunch, and luxury boutique hotels.
Destination tourism and the dollars it brings.
All the things that might work in places you wouldn’t expect.
Kind of like a non-car guy headed out on his day off to watch a bunch of cars.
A day for defying expectation.
What could you defy today?
Plus
The Delphi Technique: A Rex Dalton Thriller (free)
ENMITY: An enthralling Scottish murder mystery (free)
CLEAN KILL: A Trask Brothers Murder Mystery (free)
The Peter Brandvold Introductory Library: Classic Action and Adventure Westerns (free)
AND
WITCH BLUES - The Marshal of Magic (free)
