10 Most White Trash Towns in Missouri

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My hometown doesn’t make a lot of Top 10 lists so I was pleased to see it near the top (#3) of this list. What did it take to make the cut? Using publicly available government data, as well as Google Maps, data was collected on the following white trash metrics:

  • Cities where there are lots of white people
  • Cities where residents are poorer than average
  • Cities where a high number of residents are high school dropouts
  • Cities with a high number of single parents
  • High drug use
  • Higher than average Payday Loan Outlets
  • Violent cities (measured in aggravated assaults)
  • Cities with a high number of residents on welfare

Alas, Kennett has fallen on hard times since I left in 1984, not to mention when I grew up there in the 50s and 60s.

Land Rover Repair Operation Manual

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I purchased a Repair Operation Manual for my Land Rover. This is different from the owner’s manual. “The purpose of this manual is to assist skilled mechanics in the efficient repair and maintenance of the range of vehicles given on the title-page.” (Series III)

Land Rover owners insist these trucks are so simple, so basic, that any good auto mechanic can service and repair them. But the truck is 38 years old and having the factory manual can’t hurt. It was pricey but a good investment.

Chrome and Duct Tape

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Had the bonnet up on the MINI yesterday and noticed a piece of trim had come loose. Tiny screw broke free from a plastic mount. Guessing the dealer would replace the strip and it would cost me a couple of hundred bucks. Plan B was a piece of duct tape, just to keep it from rattling. (A time-honored tradition in southern Missouri where I grew up)

Once upon a time this would have been a piece of chrome, not a bit of plastic. As I thought about this I realized chrome has been gone (for the most part) for a long time. Everything molded plastic, the same color as the vehicle. Is there ANY chrome on cars/trucks these days? Our Ford Fairlane and our Chevy Impala had so much chrome on it you could hardly look at it on a bright summer day. Americans loved their shiny automobiles.

Thinking back on the countless photos and videos of Land Rovers I’ve looked at in recent months, I don’t recall seeing any chrome. Which makes sense. Why put chrome on a farm vehicle?

Going topless

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When my truck arrives it will have a hardtop. But I haven’t given up my dream of going topless in the warmer months. Lots of advice on this topic in the forum I’ve started haunting. This young man lives in Scotland:

“Unfortunately, living in Scotland, it’s rarely dry enough or warm enough to take the top off. I would love to get a soft top for my truck. The hardtop doesn’t really make it a great deal warmer or less draughty than the canvas. In the winter, even with the hardtop on it is bone chillingly cold. In the summer, with the hardtop on, it is like sitting in in oven. I reckon with the canvas, the summer would be much more comfortable, with the easy option of rolling the sides up and the winter would be just as equally horrendous. The funny thing is, even with the hardship and discomfort, driving the land rover in any season is always a joy and a choice.”

Yes! I hear that over and over. He shared a few photos of his Land Rover. I suppose there are perfectly restored Land Rovers sitting in climate controlled garages but I just haven’t come across those. Most owners seem to drive them, and drive them hard. I love the scruffy look of this truck.

55 mph

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If you drive 70 mph on one of our nation’s interstate highways you will see plenty of cars zipping past you. If you drive 60 mph you might feel like you’re standing still. I’ve been experimenting with driving slower in preparation for switching from my MINI Cooper (which rides nicely at 100 mph) to a restored Land Rover truck which has a top-end of 50 mph. Or 55 mph, depending on who you ask.

The National Maximum Speed Law prohibited speed limits higher than 55 miles per hour. It was drafted in response to oil price spikes and supply disruptions during the 1973 oil crisis. The law was widely disregarded by motorists and it was modified in 1987 and 1988 to allow up to 65 mph limits on certain limited access, rural roads. Congress repealed the law in 1995, fully returning speed limit setting authority to the states.

I set my cruise control on 60 last week and cringed a bit watching approaching cars in my rear-view mirror. At 55 I might turn on my flashers. I’ll make some short runs on the highway but no long trips. Fun for around town but no good for getting somewhere in a hurry. And everybody is in a hurry. I didn’t really see that until I stopped.

Swapping my MINI for the Land Rover will be an adjustment. But I’m at the adjustments point of life so that’s okay. I’ve been hanging out on some Land Rover forums and old hands there tell me driving one of these old trucks demands a level of awareness. Braking, turning, simply starting the truck… Everything demands more thought. Mare attention. I find this appealing. (Ask me again in six months)

Awaken

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“Awaken is a new feature documentary by Tom Lowe (YouTube) detailing humans’ relationship with technology and the natural world. The project was shot in over 30 countries during a five-year period, all while making use of next-level cinematography techniques such as time-dilation and underwater photography, ultimately providing viewers with a look at the universe like never before. No post-production effects have been used for the picture, as everything has been captured and thus showcased ‘in-camera.'” (Release in 2018)

Door panels? No door panels?

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I feel like a bride-to-be, picking out curtain material. Work has started on the interior of my truck. That has to be a good sign. Mr. Wolf and I both think no door panels looks sexier but the restoration guys are worried about knees getting banged by the hinge. When complete the truck will be a big old aluminum can and noisy as hell, with or without panels. I keep saying I don’t care whether it’s a boy or a girl as long as it’s healthy.

Things I’m Older Than

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I don’t recall when I first had the experience of looking around and realizing I was the oldest person in the room. It’s been long enough that I no longer notice but I had a bit of a flashback while hanging out on Mastodon.Technology. Am I — I wonder — the older person posting there? I then began ruminating on just how much technology is younger than I (3/8/48). A few examples:

  • Commercial Jets – “The British Overseas Aircraft Corporation (BOAC), the national British carrier, first introduced a commercial jet airliner into service. The 36-seat Comet 1, built by De Havilland, flew for the first time on July 27, 1949. BOAC inaugurated the world’s first commercial jet service on May 2, 1952.”
  • Color TV – “Color television had its beginnings in the late 1940s alongside black and white television. It was not a commercially viable until the early 1950s. At that time, two competing color mechanisms were being championed separately by CBS and RCA (which at the time was affiliated with NBC).”
  • The Honda motorcycle – “The first complete motorcycle, with both the frame and engine made by Honda, was the 1949 D-Type, the first Honda to go by the name Dream.”
  • TV Remote – “The first remote intended to control a television was developed by Zenith Radio Corporation in 1950. The remote, called “Lazy Bones”, was connected to the television by a wire. A wireless remote control, the “Flashmatic”, was developed in 1955 by Eugene Polley.” Before remotes, one walked up to the TV and turned a knob to change channels. As more and more became available, this knob was used more and more (a child was ordered to get up and change to channel x). These plastic knobs quickly stripped from constant turning and a pair of wire pliers had to be used. It was common to see pliers sitting on top of the living room TV in the ’50s.
  • Power Steering – “Chrysler Corporation introduced the first commercially available passenger car power steering system on the 1951 Chrysler Imperial under the name “Hydraguide”.”
  • Cable TV – “Cable television originated in the United States almost simultaneously in Arkansas, Oregon and Pennsylvania in 1948”
  • ATM – “It is widely accepted that the first cash machine was put into use by Barclays Bank in its Enfield Town branch in North London, United Kingdom, on 27 June 1967.” (Wikipedia)