For most, our GMC travels got shortened. Lost dear friends, and family=
members due to Covid. Now above 340,000 have died. To top things =
off for us. The Midwest got hit with an extreme Derecho on August 9th. And =
what's that you might ask? It's a storm of very high straight-line winds fo=
r an extended period of time. 50 minutes for us. That's not hurricane rela=
ted. This one was around 50 miles wide and went for 717 miles, Nebraska to =
Indiana with Cedar Rapids Iowa getting hit with the highest sustained winds=
of the entire storm, 147mph. GMCMI members Dave and Karen Roberts and our=
house being in the highest wind gust area of around 160 mph. A nuclear pow=
er plant near both our homes had both of their cooling towers come down. Tr=
ain cars were tipped off the tracks about 5 miles away. Large heating/cool=
ing units came flying off of large/tall buildings. And blocked most of the =
streets downtown. Just the trees that got destroyed in the Cedar Rapids are=
a would fill the Rose Bowl 16 times. FEMA had 1324 self-loading trucks here=
(still here) that can hold 100 cubic yards of material each. (9 got loaded=
at our house alone.) I was extremely impressed with the work that they do=
. We ended up with about $90,000 in damages. Dave, Karen, Linda, and myself=
got extremely lucky. As both of our GMCs were inside each of their respect=
ive garages - untouched. And we could stay in our homes. I've got a Bobcat =
loader and my dump truck. Spent almost 3 months helping other home owners t=
hat just didn't have the funds for their cleanup. I got paid well with seei=
ng the stress of it all leaving their faces. That was my pay along with som=
e great food. ( Will work for food? ) Then there were the fires =
out West. We had our first 78 Royale burn 5 years ago. We were devastated. =
But to have your home of many year plus the deaths that were fire related -=
ALL your belongings lost. I just can't imagine that. Never. For us closur=
e was simple. Got dealt lemons - made lemonade. Why? Because I could. And=
we ended up with the GMC that Linda had dreamed of. The hurricanes=
along the coast. Again - The personal loss. Then the anger in the=
streets, and in relationships during the last 3 years. All these things b=
ring stress to the entire country. If you were lucky enough to have missed =
these types of tragedies, be thankful. Oprah Winfrey came up with her "Do =
random acts of kindness to people that you don't know - or do know. Love t=
hat. The Aldi stores have flowers for $3.99 a bunch. I bring some home for=
Linda at times. Helps to make up for all my bad deeds. Any acts of kindne=
ss will bring a little joy to your day and others. If you're at a stop ligh=
t and someone needs to exit a parking lot - let them out. We need more kind=
ness nationwide. If someone wants to argue and continues after your attempt=
s to smooth things out remember that we all have the right to our opinions.=
We must be respectful of those that disagree. But, when all attempts to m=
ake peace fail. Tell them "Have a great day=E2=80=9D and walk away. As argu=
ing solves ZERO. Clubs in real time or on line, of any type, are dependent =
on good PR among its leadership and its members. Clubs must have people. Pe=
ople don't need clubs. I'm an optimistic person by nature. I can't co=
mprehend the point of being a pessimist. Because if you look for the down s=
ide of life. You'll just put yourself there along with others around you.=
May the winds be at your back. Tires stay round, and your tank be f=
ull. Make the best of the hand that you get dealt this coming year and make=
it the best year that you can. Bob Dunahugh 78 Royale since 2003.=
4 COPO Yenkos that I enjoy road racing a lot. My true passion.
members due to Covid. Now above 340,000 have died. To top things =
off for us. The Midwest got hit with an extreme Derecho on August 9th. And =
what's that you might ask? It's a storm of very high straight-line winds fo=
r an extended period of time. 50 minutes for us. That's not hurricane rela=
ted. This one was around 50 miles wide and went for 717 miles, Nebraska to =
Indiana with Cedar Rapids Iowa getting hit with the highest sustained winds=
of the entire storm, 147mph. GMCMI members Dave and Karen Roberts and our=
house being in the highest wind gust area of around 160 mph. A nuclear pow=
er plant near both our homes had both of their cooling towers come down. Tr=
ain cars were tipped off the tracks about 5 miles away. Large heating/cool=
ing units came flying off of large/tall buildings. And blocked most of the =
streets downtown. Just the trees that got destroyed in the Cedar Rapids are=
a would fill the Rose Bowl 16 times. FEMA had 1324 self-loading trucks here=
(still here) that can hold 100 cubic yards of material each. (9 got loaded=
at our house alone.) I was extremely impressed with the work that they do=
. We ended up with about $90,000 in damages. Dave, Karen, Linda, and myself=
got extremely lucky. As both of our GMCs were inside each of their respect=
ive garages - untouched. And we could stay in our homes. I've got a Bobcat =
loader and my dump truck. Spent almost 3 months helping other home owners t=
hat just didn't have the funds for their cleanup. I got paid well with seei=
ng the stress of it all leaving their faces. That was my pay along with som=
e great food. ( Will work for food? ) Then there were the fires =
out West. We had our first 78 Royale burn 5 years ago. We were devastated. =
But to have your home of many year plus the deaths that were fire related -=
ALL your belongings lost. I just can't imagine that. Never. For us closur=
e was simple. Got dealt lemons - made lemonade. Why? Because I could. And=
we ended up with the GMC that Linda had dreamed of. The hurricanes=
along the coast. Again - The personal loss. Then the anger in the=
streets, and in relationships during the last 3 years. All these things b=
ring stress to the entire country. If you were lucky enough to have missed =
these types of tragedies, be thankful. Oprah Winfrey came up with her "Do =
random acts of kindness to people that you don't know - or do know. Love t=
hat. The Aldi stores have flowers for $3.99 a bunch. I bring some home for=
Linda at times. Helps to make up for all my bad deeds. Any acts of kindne=
ss will bring a little joy to your day and others. If you're at a stop ligh=
t and someone needs to exit a parking lot - let them out. We need more kind=
ness nationwide. If someone wants to argue and continues after your attempt=
s to smooth things out remember that we all have the right to our opinions.=
We must be respectful of those that disagree. But, when all attempts to m=
ake peace fail. Tell them "Have a great day=E2=80=9D and walk away. As argu=
ing solves ZERO. Clubs in real time or on line, of any type, are dependent =
on good PR among its leadership and its members. Clubs must have people. Pe=
ople don't need clubs. I'm an optimistic person by nature. I can't co=
mprehend the point of being a pessimist. Because if you look for the down s=
ide of life. You'll just put yourself there along with others around you.=
May the winds be at your back. Tires stay round, and your tank be f=
ull. Make the best of the hand that you get dealt this coming year and make=
it the best year that you can. Bob Dunahugh 78 Royale since 2003.=
4 COPO Yenkos that I enjoy road racing a lot. My true passion.
