LIFE: observed: American Cultural Observation 172 : Mud Bogging!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

American Cultural Observation 172 : Mud Bogging!

My American education continued today as I spent a glorious Saturday afternoon at the local I-20 Mud Bog. Oh my... elbow deep in Rednecks! It was like a local exhibition of redneck lore and it was awesome! At one stage I got to stand next to a family (mom, teen son, teen daughter and the teen daughters 30 something year old boyfriend) They must have had 67 teeth combined! Oh, and the wisdom that kept flowing from Mama's mouth. Taught me a few things about the human anatomy to say the least...

So I scooted a few trucks over only to witness a (now, I am sure he is a nice person...) middle aged, shirtless, beer gutted, tattoo'd man boogie his heart out to Dolly Parton's 'Jolene'.

No, really, think carefully about this one... and let me remind you of the lyrics

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
I'm begging of you please don't take my man
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
Please don't take him just because you can

You could have your choice of men
But I could never love again
Hes the only one for me, Jolene

So, HE was singing it to himself... Now there is a back story I would love to know...

PRICELESS, my friend, priceless.

So, back to mud bogging, also known as mud racing, mud running, mud drags, or simply muddin'; is a form of off-road motorsport popular here in the United States in which the goal is to drive a vehicle through a pit of mud of a set length. Winners are determined by the distance traveled through the pit or, if several vehicles are able to travel the entire length, the time taken to traverse the pit. Typically, vehicles competing in mud bogs are four-wheel drives. The ones that don't make it and get stuck, is unceremoniously pulled out by tractor.

There are many types of mud bogs. From Hill and Hole, Flat or Progressive Track, and Open Bog. They come in many shapes and sizes from 150 feet (46 m) to over 300 feet (91 m). Hill and Hole is just as it sounds, usually is 60 feet (18 m) wide 200 feet (61 m) long and is a series of hills and holes, and make challenging to each truck. These tracks have little organization.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Caution:

My ramblings might not inspire you.

You might not be emboldened to attempt anything more than making a fresh pot of coffee. There are plenty of blogs out there written by very courageous souls who have poetically broken away from main stream society to achieve their goals.

I am a South African serving with Mercy Ships currently stationed in the United States. Mercy Ships, a global charity who has operated hospital ships in developing nations since 1978, is following the example of Jesus, by bringing hope and healing to the forgotten poor, mobilizing people and resources worldwide, and serving all people without regard to race, gender or religion.

This blog is simply the ramblings of a middle aged man viewing life from the sidelines and might not always be about my work with Mercy Ships.

Disclaimer: I serve with Mercy Ships. Everything here, however, is my personal opinion and is not read or approved before it is posted. Opinions, conclusions and other information expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of Mercy Ships.

Frequency

I will put some things "up," so to speak, on some days, and on other days, I will not put things up. Whether or not I put things up will depend largely on whether, on a particular day, I have anything to put up. For example, let's say that on Monday I have something which I want to put up. On that day, I will put that thing up. On Tuesday, though, I might not have anything to put up. I will worry for a moment about not having anything to put up. "Oh no," I might say, "another day has come, and I have nothing to put up. What will happen if someone visits this site and there is nothing new to look at? Will people be angry?" But then I will realize that, chances are, people will not be angry -- that, chances are, people will understand. Most people are pretty understanding. Then again....