This Year's Buick Open...The Year of the Urinator

Well we survived another Buick Open. As you may know by now, Buick and GM have pulled their sponsorship from this tournament. The purse for 'The Open' is over 5 million which is 5 million that GM desperately needs to run the company.

What is sad is that Buick has sponsored this tournament for 51 years. Also what is sad is that the winner takes home over 900k. I really don't understand why the winner should get 900k. What overhead does the individual golfer have? Clubs...probably free, travel and lodging, caddy, and what else???? There also is very little danger involved. Pulled hamstring? Runaway golf carts? Hearing loss from wearing loud colored pants?

Now compare that to a NASCAR driver. Most races pay the winner between 200 and 300K except for Daytona and The Brickyard. What overhead does a NASCAR driver incur? Race team, multiple race cars, lodging and travel. Danger involved....death resulting from crashes, permanent injury resulting from crashes, and hearing loss from loud race cars. Seems like NASCAR drivers should win more than pro golfers, especially when the driver usually has to split 60/40 with the owner.

I know the local economy will suffer from the loss revenue. The local paper says that the high school athletic program will lose $40,000 that was annually earned from charging for parking in the high school parking lot.

Grand Blanc township could do their job better when it comes to making the week of the golf tournament bearable for the residents that don't make $$$$ from the event.

First off....the noise. We have to listen to loud music, car horns beeping continuously (car alarms being turned on and off), car alarms going off and beeping for long periods of time, air horns, hollering, and squealing tires. The township could also monitor the dB's and issue citations. The most frequent noise makers are car stereos, loud motorcycles, and loud 4 wheel drives trucks.

Second....trespassing. The township is right on the job posting signs that say 'do not park by order of police'. See the township sells permits to homeowners to allow them to charge for parking. The township is only interested in making sure they get their cut and could care less about non parking home owners dealing with trespassing. They could just as easily post signs that say 'no parking and no trespassing by order of police'. They could also put out signs reminding spectators to stay off lawns and walk in designated areas. They could also assign each home owner a lot designation like Lot Z. They do this for the country club but not for individual home owners. Some of the trespassing comes from spectators not knowing where they parked and how to get there. Signs posted at exits indicating which parking lots can be accessed from that exit and an arrow pointing in the direction of the lot would help with trespassers that get lost. Spectator could be given a piece of paper with their parking lot designation letter on it for future reference. Oh wait, that might be a bad idea because all the slips of paper would probably end up in my yard.

Here is a photo of some lost spectators.Here is a photo of the politest trespassers we had all week. They said, "Sorry...where do we need to go to get over there?" R told them and they left.....no arguing, no flipping of the bird, and no name calling. I love the excuse...."I paid to park over there and that is where I am going." "Well buddy, I didn't receive a dime of it, so go around." Which is usually where they start calling me a name. And they wonder why I don't like this time of year.

Third....the traffic. We have to modify our driving routes because of traffic. I can't tell you how many times in the last week I have been flipped off or had people honk their horns because I had the audacity of slowing down to pull into my driveway. The township could place an officer at the south end of the golf course on Saginaw Road. Instead all the police presence is around the club house or when the groundskeepers make their daily trek down South Saginaw Road once play has ended for the day on the front nine. When this parade starts it requires a police car or police motorcycle at the front and in the rear. The township could also lower the speed limit from 55 to 35mph from Wednesday through Sunday. And most important...the township should require homeowners to direct traffic leaving their yards. You say...."that is dangerous".....and I say "you had no problem standing there directing people into your yard for 10 bucks." I swear we had several near misses with people turning left out of driveways and almost hitting another car pulling out and turning left across the street. Of course they both horned their horns and flipped the other guy off.

Last but not least.......Signs need to be posted to remind people "No Public Urinating Allowed". Yes people that is right......every time we turned around people were peeing. There were so many people peeing that I felt like I was in a urology office. On Sunday morning, I was taking photos of some flowers in my back yard when I heard a guy holler at his buddy. I looked up just in time to catch this guy peeing along the fence row. R later saw another guy peeing in the same place. Come on guys......you got the better plumbing configuration but please could you remember to go before you leave the house!!!! How about cutting back on the Big Gulps from 7-11.

But on Saturday the winner of the day was this guy.R pulled into our driveway just in time to catch this guy in our bushes relieving himself. Here's a photo of R asking 'The Urinator'...."what in the #$%^ do you think you're doing in my bushes? You can't p$%s out in public." To which 'The Urinator' replied "God bless America." Check out all the people walking around.
To thwart anymore public displays of urinating, R spent Sunday watering the hostas out by the road. Here's the Met Life blimp leaving after the end of the tournament. Bye bye and God Bless America.

Gates, Treasures, & Buick Pro Am

Work progressed on the gates today. The north side is 95% complete. R wants to give some areas a second coat so the paper he used to protect the bricks is still taped to the pillar in the photo.
The south side gate has received one coat on both sides but has yet to be installed. We didn't even attempt to hang the gate because by the time the paint had dried it was after 7PM and neither one of us wanted to start what could be a long and strenuous ordeal.

While I was out by the gate this evening picking things up, I had someone stop and comment on how hard I was working on removing the brush along the fence. He said he had been watching me all week while he was installing the electronic scoreboards. He said every day he would go by and more and more was gone every day. He gave me a hug and said I was a hard worker. LOL

Yesterday I hinted at a curbside treasure that I had painted. Here's the back story. R was driving along when he saw a guy walking back to his house after putting out the trash. R said he had put out a lot of things. As he drove by he saw WROUGHT IRON FURNITURE. He slammed on his brakes and started backing up. At the same time someone else saw the furniture and slowed down but R was already there so they left. If he would have been 30 seconds later...the furniture would have been gone.

R brought home 4 wrought iron chairs and the matching table. The furniture had it's original white paint but it was starting to show some small rust spots and someone had started to spray paint the table red. The table is metal mesh like the seats. I normally don't like that type of table but this is a very heavy table and the base is reminiscent of the old glass table bases in that it has a place to sit a pot of flowers.

I currently needed two of the chairs to go with a small side table I purchased for 10 bucks. So I got out the spray paint and now I have two chairs and a small table to use for taking a quick break while working in the yard.Ahhhhh.....the Buick Open madness has started. Normally we don't get the rude people until Sunday or Saturday at the earliest, but not this year. Today we had 3 young ladies and let me just say up front.....I use the term 'ladies' loosely. It was approximately 3 in the afternoon so if you were located anywhere from tee 10 to 13 there was a very good chance that the last foursome had already gone through. Since Tiger and Bob Seger teed off at 7am they might have been out there for some time. I can appreciate the fact that they might have been hot and tired but that still does not give you the right to trespass. I caught the threesome as soon as they entered the yard on the south side. They were parked in the yard of my neighbor on the north side. I asked them to turned around and go back to the street. I said please...they said no. Now these girls were probably no older than 20. I think they thought 3 out numbered 1 but unbeknown to them I had been in a sorority and lived with 40 girls at one time so three young girls were hardly going to intimidate me. I so wish I had my hose close by.....they looked so warm. R saw what was happening and he started yelling. They didn't turn around until R got close. They were mumbling as they walked away. R went back to working on the gates. But like a lot of young ladies that age....they just couldn't walk by without running their mouths. But they weren't done. When they were driving their cars by us, they laid on the horns and gave us the one finger salute. Classy young ladies. Maybe they were upset because they didn't get 'The Nuge's' autograph. I doubt if these girls knew who Bob Seger is, or the original 'Bad Boy' himself Bill Laimbeer.I can't imagine what it will be like on Saturday and Sunday. Oh and I almost forgot. I had two guys in a pick up truck stop and ask me why I wasn't allowing cars to park in my yard this year. I told them 'I never let people park in my yard.' He said 'Yes you do.' I said 'No' but that wasn't good enough for him. He continued to argue with me and insisting that he indeed usually parks in my yard. I finally convinced them that it was my neighbor who's yard they park in. The driver looked at my neighbor's driveway and said 'They don't have a sign.' I said 'they are done for the day and took the sign down.' That's when Einstein finally realized he usually parks next door.

FYI........Even though Ted Nugent is nothing more than a rock and roll Dick Cheney, Stranglehold is in my top 5 favorite songs of all time. Maybe it's because the original version had someone other than Uncle Ted on vocals.

Top 5 songs in any order on any given day.
Stranglehold...Nugent
Moon Dance...Van Morrison
Gear Jammer.....Thorogood
Any song by Led Zeppelin
Hotel California.....Eagles I'm embarassed by that one but I like it.

FYI......Bob Seger early stuff is my fav.

FYI.....Detroit Pistons just are not the same without 'The Bad Boys' and Laimbeer deserves a head coaching job in the NBA. Dumars missed the boat when he didn't sign Laimbeer after giving Curry his walking papers.

Iron Driveway Gate Update

The work on the iron driveway gates has been going slow due to rain. It seems like it does not go more than 3 days without raining.

One side is completely primed while the other side is about 3/4 scraped and de rusted. R still need to straighten several bars but he'll do that just prior to priming. The final black satin coat will not be applied until everything is primed and the south gate is reinstalled.

Primed and ready for paint and the primed gate to be reinstalled.The other gate before R started the prep work.

Several roadblocks could cause the final coat to not be applied until after NEXT Sunday, not this Sunday but NEXT Sunday.

1. R has a race on Saturday night at a track approximately three hours from here. Best case scenario is we return home very very late Saturday night (3am Sunday). Sunday will be spent sleeping and cleaning the race car so I see very little getting done on the gate Sunday.

2. Starting next week is the Buick Open. Whatever is going to get done must be done by Thursday at the latest. Too many people and golf carts to be able to spray paint and use the grinder or welder.

3. R wants to race next Saturday at Eldora Speedway, Tony Stewart's race track in Ohio. If we decide to go we will leave very early Friday morning to make Friday afternoon practice and the Friday night dance at the Eldora Ballroom, and will not return until Sunday evening. R and I do not dance but the Eldora Ballroom is legendary and as gear heads and race junkies we feel it is our duty to attend.

4. Tiger Woods will be at the Buick Open so we must prepare to be bombarded by hoards of rude people trying to get a glimpse of Woods in what will probably be the last Buick Open. For the life of me I can't understand why people feel that the buying of a ticket to a sporting event give them the right to trespass on my property or litter my property with paper, bottles, and empty beer cups.

I feel bad for the charities that receive monies from the Buick Open but I also feel that the Buick Open and township officials have taken advantage of the citizens who choose NOT to allow parking (for a price). They allow people to over drink on the course and when these people leave they become obnoxious and dangerous to everyone else. They also do absolutely nothing to try and keep the unnecessary noise to a minimum. We've had to listen to rap music, honking horns, air horns, yelling and shouting at cars trying to lure them into their yards, and loud trucks and cars driving back and forth for no apparent reason other than to see what is going on.

On to a lighter note. Our neighbor, Gary, came over and spoke with R and I about how great the yard looks. It's great to hear that our work is being appreciated by someone else. Our neighbors probably had to watch our home decline for more than a decade. I know it would make me not even want to go outside. So we will be very happy when we can paint the sides of the house that face their home. Unfortunately that is the north and east side of our home and we planned that to be the last.

The Buick Open as an Economic Indicator

We made it without a single incident. Everyone must have read about about the hose and didn't want to chance it. There were 2 ladies who trespassed but they were both carrying small children and also each had one in tow. I can't for the life of me understand why someone would take such small children to a golf tournament.

Several of our friends parked at 'The Gear' and they all said that attendance was down....a lot. I also noticed that our neighbors, who allow people to park in their yards for a fee, charged less than half of what they have charged in the past. Normally they charge $3.00 Monday through Wednesday, $5.00 on Thursday, $10.00 on Friday, $15.00 on Saturday, and $20.00 on Sunday. This year they charged $3.00 all week except Friday when they raised the price to $5.00, and Saturday and Sunday was $7.00.

Normally I pick up at least 3 or more Buick Open plastic beer cups each day. I also usually pick up at least 10 used tickets and numerous scraps of paper such as programs, cigarette packs, etc. This year the litter consisted of 1 used ticket.

My husband and I usually laugh at the number of extremely drunk people we see every year. Some people stumble by the house several times in their search for their vehicle. This year....not one drunk or even slightly intoxicated individual. We also did not hear any clapping or yelling from the 17th hole, which is notorious for it's rowdiness. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/2008-06-27-3120458807_x.htm

So lets recap...lower attendance, less beer drinking, cheaper parking prices, and less enthusiasm. Next weekend I will be in Ohio for the King's Royal Sprint car race, at that time I will observe the beer drinkage and t shirt buying. If those two actions are also down......I will then know we are in trouble economically.

One thing that hasn't changed is the need for everyone in a sport car to squeal their tires when they leave their parking spot and pull out onto the road. Seems there is not a male alive that cannot hold back.....including my son. My son and daughter in law came over for a visit in their 1986 Buick Grand National. They rarely take it out of the garage but in honor of the Buick Open they felt the need to tool through GB and show off their ride. So when they left he not only burned rubber on our driveway...grrrrr.....but when he pulled out onto the street, he launched it a good one. He does that because he knows I hate it. LOL I told him I don't do that with the Tracker when I leave his house in Fenton. That reminds me....I forgot to tell him his turbo spooled up nicely but sounded terrible when he lifted.

Today all the semi trucks were leaving with all the sky boxes, porta potties, golf carts, bleachers, and hospitality tents. It normally takes a month to set up and about two weeks to tear down and get back to normal. Yea for normal.

Without Tiger...it's still a Zoo

It's that time of year again.....Buick Open time.

I understand the positive aspects of having a PGA nationally televised tournament played here. The economical impact for the area is worth the additional costs incurred for the city and township. All the television air time and print press give the area needed exposure. But for us here at Gear Acres it's a big hassle.

The tournament lasts basically a week. It's a total frenzy from Wednesday through Sunday. On Monday I was unable to make the right hand turn into my driveway because of people on golf carts. Anywhere else this would be no big deal. I could wait and let them pass but because I HAD to let them play through, so to speak, I was forced to sit on a road with a 50 MPH speed limit just over the crest of a hill in a blind spot. I've been hit before while waiting to make a left hand turn into my driveway and now have bulging discs in my neck. So I was unhappy having to wait. I then pulled into my driveway, stopped, and went to the mailbox where I was nearly run over by a bright blue Rolls Royce. They obviously had spent some time in the clubhouse. They won't be the last intoxicated person I see this week either.

I was probably the only person excited that Tiger Woods was not going to be making an appearance at the Buick Open. I feel bad he is hurt and needed surgery but the crowds are much lighter when he isn't playing.

So this weekend if you are so inclined to watch golf on TV, look for me. I'll be the crazy lady spraying the garden hose on trespassers. I'll wave at the blimp so you know it's me.

**If you haven't guessed by now, I'm not a big golf fan. Watching golf is like watching paint dry or grass growing, the only difference is that you have to whisper when you are watching golf. But then some people like to watch fast cars go in circles or fast cars go in a straight line so why wouldn't some like to watch men in plaid chase a little white ball????? To each his own.....just stay off my grass!!!!

Solar paint stripper

The casement windows in the sun room have hinges on the exterior. Over the years so many layers of paint have accumulated that the hinges now keep the windows from easily opening and fully closing.

I removed the bottom hinges on the windows that face the front of the house. Last year on one of the home improvement shows on TV they demostrated using a crock pot filled with water and a little dish soap to soak your hardware overnight to remove any paint. Like I have a crock pot!!!!! That would come awfully close to actually cooking....something I try to stay away from. But I do love a bargain. So for the last 6 months I have been scouting all my favorite consignment shops, resale shops, and eBay for a good deal on a crock pot to use specifically for paint stripping. Well....I hate to say this....because at work they tell me I should be a professional shopper...that I can find anything...from an old Clock (German) key to car parts. But could I find a cheap crock pot??? Noooooo. So I had to come up with something that met all my criteria. Well by "all"...I mean cheap and easy.........the method of paint removal.....not me!!!! Geees.

So this is what I came up with. I took a glass jar (Jif peanut butter, creamy not crunchy) and filled it with citrus stripper. I placed the paint encrusted hinges into the jar and put the lid on. I then tipped the jar so that the hinges were completely coated with stripper. Now for the tricky part. I placed it in the sun to steep. Think sun tea.

The rays of the sun warms the stripper which seems to enhance it's performance. I let it sit approximately 6 hours. I then used needle nose pliers to remove the hinges, allowing for the excess to drip off (waste not want not). I then wiped off the paint slime with a paper towel and rinsed with warm water. I used a toothbrush to remove any remaining paint left in the crevices.

I think this method would qualify as being "green". Recycled glass jar, organic stripper, no electricity was involved, and solar heat was used (Ed Begley Jr. would be proud of me!!). Does that mean I didn't leave a "Carbon footprint"? The hinges are solid brass and in fairly good shape. So that is "green" also, because I reused and didn't add anything to a landfill. I could have scrapped the hinges and bought new. But that would have left a "carbon footprint" plus it would have cost $$$$ to drive to 3 different stores to get hinges. There is absolutely no way that I would find hinges at the first store. After store number two, I would be so frustrated that I would need to stop at McDonald's and buy a Reese's McFlurry to ease my suffering. So not only did I save the environment with this project, I also saved myself 500, no wait...I would need a large size..... 650 calories.

So I give this project 2 thumbs up!

The "PLAN" is to have all prep work done before June 2nd in anticipation of completing the painting of the front of the house by July 15th. We are keeping our fingers crossed that we do not get any long stretches of rain.

This next week is the Buick Open. Living as close as we do to the golf course , really puts us in the middle of the...........traffic, intoxicated spectators, golf carts, traffic, empty beer cups, empty beer cans, empty beer bottles, used condoms (no really.....geees get a room), slightly buzzed spectators, vehicles who's intoxicated drivers feel the need to take a short cut through your yard, and people who use your winding driveway as a short cut (I'm sure they think that plaque on the gate pillar that says "PRIVATE" is just a suggestion and doesn't refer to them). But I'm ready for them this year, I'm going to let them get halfway across our property and then make them go back. I think they need the exercise...looks like they have been eating too many Reese's McFlurries.......large ones at that.