Monday, May 23, 2005
Motorcycle Update
Austin rode the PW50 again on Sunday. As an experiment, I took him much farther back into the construction site where I knew the bike could not be heard. My suspicion that the anonymous neighbor was far more bothered by the noise of the bike rather than the treachorous act of trespassing was confirmed. There were no complaints to the police.
Mr. Clark comes to Washington
Chuck came to visit us for the weekend and a good time was had by all. The guys went out to see the latest episode of the Star Wars series; please see Chuck for an in-depth review. Chuck also took all the girls (Tracy, Kellie & Kara) to the National Theater to see 'Mama Mia'. All seemed to have enjoyed the show. Once again, please see Chuck for an in-depth review.
Regrettably, I was unable to make the show due to a schedule conflict with the airing of the 2005 Nextel All-Star Challenge. Mark Martin collected the win and $1.1M prize, with Elliot Sadler finishing second. Note: Hendrick Motorsports filled out the remaining top five with Brian Vickers, Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson respectively. Something to watch for in next weekend's 600.
Regrettably, I was unable to make the show due to a schedule conflict with the airing of the 2005 Nextel All-Star Challenge. Mark Martin collected the win and $1.1M prize, with Elliot Sadler finishing second. Note: Hendrick Motorsports filled out the remaining top five with Brian Vickers, Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson respectively. Something to watch for in next weekend's 600.
New Varsity Cheerleader
This past Saturday, Kellie found out that she made the Varsity cheerleading squad at Marstellar Middle School. She also found out that she made both of the RAH! teams that she tried out for (Lightning Storm and Cyclones). The carpenter arrives next week to alter the doors to the house so that Kellie can fit her head through them.
Friday, May 20, 2005
Star Wars Mania & Nosy Neighbors
Uncle Chuck is visiting us this weekend so that he can take Austin to see the latest installment of the 'Star Wars' saga. This exciting episode is entitled "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith". I am still not sure what a 'Sith' is but if you want to know, by all means look here: http://www.thesith.com/sith101.htm.
Austin is still enjoying the PW50 despite the apparent objections of one of our neighbors. Last Sunday I took him over to the construction site at the end of Sapphire Ridge Rd for about an hour's ride. Thirty minutes after we had put the bike away, 2 Prince William County cruisers pulled up to the construction site, got out and walked into the construction area. Some minuites later they returned to their car and stood around for a while talking. Tracy walked to the end of the street to see what was going on, and when she introduced herself as Tracy Clark, one of the cops said, "So you're the mother of Austin Clark?" We then found out that a neighbor had placed an anonymous call the police to report that Austin Clark, Austin Gallant, and an unidentified youngster on a 4-wheeler were "disturbing the Sunday peace" with their bikes. The cops waited for a while longer in hopes that the anonymous caller would identify themselves and when no one else approached them, they left.
An hour later, in a conversation with neighbors about the whole affair, Tracy said that she had already talked to someone on the construction site and had received permission for Austin to ride there, providing he stayed out of the worker's way. Armed with this new knowledge, I placed a call the County police, asking for the Officers to return for a second discussion. They opted to call instead and the story had changed in the interim. They indicated that they were called out on a trespassing charge from an anonymous tip. The reason that they walked into the construction site was an attempt to find someone who worked there, but the workers were done for the day. When I told them that I had received permission from the site to ride there, they said that if it was OK with the landowner, it was OK with them. Interestingly, they said this time around that a 'disturbing the peace' call had not been made. They also pointed out that whoever called said that Austin had been riding on the road. This is true, and to avoid any trouble, he is now walking the bike when on a street.
Somewhere in my neighborood I have a person so upset by the bikes that they will place a call to the police, but not so upset as to identify themselves. Their identity remains a secret.
I sat Austin down and let him know what had happened. I also had a long discussion with him about the fact that there are a lot of people in this country who simply don't like motorcycles and can't accept the fact that not everyone agrees with them. There are narrow-minded people everywhere and unfortunately one of them lives near us.
Austin is still enjoying the PW50 despite the apparent objections of one of our neighbors. Last Sunday I took him over to the construction site at the end of Sapphire Ridge Rd for about an hour's ride. Thirty minutes after we had put the bike away, 2 Prince William County cruisers pulled up to the construction site, got out and walked into the construction area. Some minuites later they returned to their car and stood around for a while talking. Tracy walked to the end of the street to see what was going on, and when she introduced herself as Tracy Clark, one of the cops said, "So you're the mother of Austin Clark?" We then found out that a neighbor had placed an anonymous call the police to report that Austin Clark, Austin Gallant, and an unidentified youngster on a 4-wheeler were "disturbing the Sunday peace" with their bikes. The cops waited for a while longer in hopes that the anonymous caller would identify themselves and when no one else approached them, they left.
An hour later, in a conversation with neighbors about the whole affair, Tracy said that she had already talked to someone on the construction site and had received permission for Austin to ride there, providing he stayed out of the worker's way. Armed with this new knowledge, I placed a call the County police, asking for the Officers to return for a second discussion. They opted to call instead and the story had changed in the interim. They indicated that they were called out on a trespassing charge from an anonymous tip. The reason that they walked into the construction site was an attempt to find someone who worked there, but the workers were done for the day. When I told them that I had received permission from the site to ride there, they said that if it was OK with the landowner, it was OK with them. Interestingly, they said this time around that a 'disturbing the peace' call had not been made. They also pointed out that whoever called said that Austin had been riding on the road. This is true, and to avoid any trouble, he is now walking the bike when on a street.
Somewhere in my neighborood I have a person so upset by the bikes that they will place a call to the police, but not so upset as to identify themselves. Their identity remains a secret.
I sat Austin down and let him know what had happened. I also had a long discussion with him about the fact that there are a lot of people in this country who simply don't like motorcycles and can't accept the fact that not everyone agrees with them. There are narrow-minded people everywhere and unfortunately one of them lives near us.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Initial Entry
Family News
Kellie is changing schools next year. She is transferring from the Philip Michael Pennington school to Marstellar Middle School. Not sure how this is going to work out, but she is very excited about the whole affair. She just attended cheerleader tryouts yesterday. Her regular RAH! cheerleading squad season is just ending so Tracy can bid another's seasons farewell to Team Mom duties. She did receive a plaque from the team for being the team mom this year, but I don't know if she will do it again.
Austin is borrowing his cousin Victor's 50cc dirtbike for awhile and it is proving to be a chore just keeping him off of it. He is riding very well for a first-timer and he will be ready to move up to a bigger bike soon.
Kellie is changing schools next year. She is transferring from the Philip Michael Pennington school to Marstellar Middle School. Not sure how this is going to work out, but she is very excited about the whole affair. She just attended cheerleader tryouts yesterday. Her regular RAH! cheerleading squad season is just ending so Tracy can bid another's seasons farewell to Team Mom duties. She did receive a plaque from the team for being the team mom this year, but I don't know if she will do it again.
Austin is borrowing his cousin Victor's 50cc dirtbike for awhile and it is proving to be a chore just keeping him off of it. He is riding very well for a first-timer and he will be ready to move up to a bigger bike soon.
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