Vanning


Vanning is a compulsion, an obsession, an occupation, an affliction, a fascination, a fate. It is not a hobby. Those who do it, must. Those who don't, think it's a waste of time. For me it is a calling.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Heading west.........again

Every year for as long as I care to remember, I have gone west a couple weeks after the Turkey Rod Run to go to the Mooneyes show/ Christmas party, what was once the Rat Fink Reunion. But before I could go I had a couple things to finish. Last summer ,Jim Bags truck got rear ended. He needed the stripes and the Pepe replaced on the rear


Stripes are finished



And now Pepe... It was beautiful and warm. Too bad I have to leave

I left to head west on Friday. It was raining. It continued to rain till I got to Louisiana. Then it started to snow. I expect that in Ohio, but New Orleans?? Spent the night there. It got down to 28 above. Next morning , got back on the road and headed into Texas. My route took me through Dallas. So there were 2 places I wanted to stop. First was Kincaids Hamburgers. When my bud Kenny was working the movie studio in Dallas his favorite burger place was Kincaids, so I couldn't resist calling him...

Payback for all those calls I get , when he goes to the In-N-Out burger....OOO! It was good too! They make a fantastic burger!! The other place, was one I had been to once before.

Anyone of my generation will recognise the school book depository in Dealey Plaza. The murder of president Kennedy was an event that scarred us all. The debate around the who, and why has never gone away. Even tho nearly all the principals involved are all gone. My first exposure to the doubts about the events of that day were from my Grandmother. She never believed the excepted explanations from the Warren commission. After many books and documentaries and a few experiences ,I don't believe it either. This is the column where Mr. Zapruter took the famous movie of the assassination. It was creepy to stand there. What strikes me about the plaza is how small it is. I've seen pictures of this area for years and it looks like this big open space.But in reality it is dinky. To stand behind the fence at the so called "Grassy Knoll" is chilling. If I wanted to shoot someone coming down the street, This is the place I would pick . Even though its hard to tell from a picture, from this fence to the x on the street is maybe 30-40 yards..Any marksman could hit this shot with ease. It is also a good place to hide. There is and was a parking lot right behind the fence and would allow for an easy getaway. Many witnesses said a shot came from there. There have been many theories through the years.Even though the warren report claims Oswald was the lone gunman. The Senate assassination investigation of the late 70s concluded there was a probability that there was a conspiracy. I've heard many theories including the CIA or powerful industrial interests were behind it. To me that is a stretch. These use the motive of something that Kennedy was GOING to do (get out of Vietnam) as to why they wanted to get rid of him. It's more likely it was something he did. I have always been bothered by somethings that don't add up. Oswald was suppose to have shot 3 times from the 6th floor window. There were 3 shells found there by the police. The gun was found on the complete opposite side of the 6th floor. It had a live round in the chamber, ready to be fired. The rifle had a telescopic scope on it. Now put yourself in the shooters place. The Kennedy car has passed the front of the building. your lining up for your first shot. You shoot and miss. Then manually load another shell into the chamber. Remember it is a bolt action rifle. Your second shot hits Kennedy in the throat. You then reload another shell, and shoot again, hitting Kennedy in the head. You are looking through a scope. You have to see that you hit him in the head. WHY THEN DO YOU LOAD ANOTHER SHELL INTO THE GUN, THEN GET UP AND RUN ??? Also, it doesn't make sense that your first shot is the worst and the last the best.The first shot gives you the most time to line it up. Very suspicious. This past month I saw a documentary on the history channel about the assassination. I haven't seen this one before. It was all the original newscasts from that weekend all put together. It was quiet enlightening. At the police headquarters, there were no efforts to control who came and went in the hallways. It was crammed with news reporters as well as anyone else who wanted to wander in. When police wanted to move Oswald, they had to fight their way through a sea of bodies. They were shouting questions at Oswald and trying to get to him. Oswald seemed to be self assured, defiant, even arrogant. But there was one thing that I have never noticed before. There was an effort to have a news conference where they would make Oswald available to the press. Oswald came in and several reporters started asking questions. At one point a reporter asked"Did you shoot the president?" Oswald answered "No, I've not been charged with that". Then the reported said, " You have now", and Oswald reacted as if he had been hit with a ball bat. He was visibly shaken. His whole demeanor changed at that point. He was escorted out, and he shouted that he was "a Patsy". I believe he knew he was being set up. There is a lot of evidence that has come about in the last 30 years. Including acoustic evidence that suggests there was 2 even 3 shooters that day. But the one thing that convinces me that Oswald wasn't the lone shooter is an experience that happened to me. In the early 80's. My club rented a stable / party grounds for our annual event. The place was owned by Dr. Donald Plotnick, a local podiatrist. Doc wasn't exactly a model citizen. After one of our events several of us and doc were sitting around talking. He told us a story that sent chills down my spine. Doc had done time in the 60,s. He didn't tell us why but he told us that when he was in prison, his cell mate for a time was Jimmy Hoffa. He told us that the FBI had come to his farm shortly after Hoffa's disappearance and drained his lake ,because there was a rumor Hoffa's body was there. He also told us that Hoffa had told him that he knew who killed Kennedy. He never said who. I have no proof that any of this is true. I suppose that some of it can be confirmed but I don't have the resources to do it. My belief has always been that the mob had Kennedy killed. They would have had the resources to pull it off. They also would have had the guts to do it. The Kennedy brothers had been going after organized crime ever sine Kennedy had been elected and the mob didn't like it. Hoffa was mobbed up. He hated the Kennedy's. If the mob did do it, he would know about it. About the same time as Hoffa's disappearance, the senate was about to reopen the Kennedy investigation. I believe Hoffa's disappearance was to keep him from testifying in that investigation. Sorry to have run on about this, but it all came back having visited this place. 50 years hasn't dimished the emotional affect. Well its time to get back on the road. Man, that burger was good. More later.





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