Choo Choo! I think I’ve already told the story of Gromit, the cabrio that got into an accident during the first MINI Takes The States, and I think I also said we have figuratively run into him many times at events. Unfortunately, (like I keep saying) I wasn’t able to see them in 2014… Thanks again for the recommendation of Station Burger when we did our little junket to Metropolis, looking forward to a return trip sometime, when that happens perhaps you can join us. The technical challenge with this one was the pattern for the hat and overalls.  Kind of like MINIon #0330’s Hawaiian shirt. Nothing too taxing just a little challenge. MINIon #3985 picked this number in honor of Union Pacific’s Railroad’s Challenger steam locomotive.

So the Matt Smith Doctor finally makes an appearance…  with his fez and bow tie- because bow ties are cool, even if Matt Smith isn’t the Doctor anymore. See when I was in high school my grandfather came to visit.  He lived in Connecticut and came out every once in while (since we rarely would visit the east coast or the midwest or…).  I was around sixteen and my grandfather was kind of a rogue when it came to my family, you see he was a liberal (and he baked really great bread).  In those days it was more about nuclear disarmament although he also was an environmentalist, he wanted to try to make sure the world he left was in one piece.  This was the opposite of how I was raised, you see I was raised that the one with the most toys wins (don’t even ask about what Christmas was like).  Being in high school we talked and did a lot of listening- which shaped a little bit of who I am now.  One of the fondest memories I have about that trip was when he taught me how to tie a bow tie.  When he flew home, he left me one of his ties, I wore that tie every chance I could get- I basically wore out the tie.  After college and Sue and I got married, I drove out to see him, it had been a while and I knew his health wasn’t that great, but he was still chipper, still worried about the world I was going to live in, and still one of the wisest men I have ever know.  Years later, when he passed away, my grandmother took me into his bedroom and let me pick and choose from all his bow ties.  So that’s how I ended up with so many, and how I was wearing them long before Matt Smith.  I’m actually working on only having bow ties for my wardrobe, Sue has helped by finding a pattern and making me unique bow ties.  I even wore one of hers when my niece was baptized.  I hope some day I may be able to inspire Mackenzie the way Arnie inspired and supported me. As for Matt Smith and the Doctor- I’ve always liked his portrayal as the madman in a blue box.

I apologize for this late post, but as a public school teacher we have started “Testing Season” (Yes, it is an actual thing in the education world- it makes me very sad) so I’m sorry that the usual 5:00 Eastern post was skipped. I should also be sorry since I’ve had a glass (or more) of wine before posting this… please excuse any typos. So MINIon 2600- what should I say?  (Yes, MINIon #2600 should cringe a bit about this post).  After a bumpy first meeting MINIon #2600 became a close friend- to the point that I was Best Man in his wedding.  So yes, while I din’t have a lot of long term friends- MINIon #2600 is one of them.  He is  a true geek, knowing more about gaming than I will ever know.  Am I jealous?  not really, after years I know that every geek has their passion.  It has been nice to see MINIon #2600 at GenCon each year, or at least knowing he was in town.  the hardest part about this MINIon was dealing with a MINIon who has known me longer than anyone else and therefore, pushed me to the point where I finally had to say- “enough” I’m not going to create the MINIon badge you want, or I want want. At least his wife liked hers. MINIon #2600 had the most changes to it- starting to try to the MINIon to look like an 8-bit video character and ending up with a MINIon playing the same game system I played – the Atari 2600.  Yes, I played the games, but my brother was much better that I ever was- hence I stopped playing video games.

When I was growing up I spent a lot of time in front of the TV or reading comics. While I read a variety of comic strips and comic books I tend to mention that Alex Raymond’s “Flash Gordon” was what I consider my first real push into comics.  There are photos of me reading Marvel & DC, and I remember reading “Peanuts” and “Hagar the Horrible” but “Flash Gordon” was the one that sticks in my mind.  This is not Flash Gordon, this is Buck Rogers.  Funny that Buster Crabbe played both characters in the serials something I would watch whenever they would come on.  I love the style of those old Science Fiction serials.  Hence the MINIon being in black & white (You may also notice a bit of graininess to the image). This was another one of my “give-a-way” MINIon badges, and I have sadly forgotten who I gave it to!  I blame MINIUSA, so much was going on that I could barely remember my own name at the end of the day.  The number comes from “Armageddon 2419 A.D.” the novella by Philip Nowlan that introduced the world to Buck Rogers.

After going on (and on) about the significance of numbers- to every rule there is an exception.  Some MINIons don’t care about the number but actually just want a specific image.  This one was one of those pieces.  The request was a zombie MINIon.  So where’d the number come from?  I could have picked 1968 – the year that “Night of the Living Dead” came out.  So I went with the modern zombie story- “The Walking Dead”… huh?  “The Walking Dead” didn’t start until 2010.  Ummm.. not really, The comic book came out in 2003 and for me, this modern take on the zombie story was really my first foray into this genre.  I especially liked the way Robert Kirkman initially made the “walkers” set dressing, it was a character driven story.  The TV show has been interesting, but I’ve drifted away from it while staying with the comic.

I would have taken #2005 for my own since that was year of my first MINI, but others deserved that honor.  I ordered and adopted Penfold (wasn’t allowed to take delivery on Sue’s birthday) and then headed to NECC (National Educational Computer Conference- now the ISTE Conference) in San Diego where I was introduced to a couple other things that over the years have eaten away at my time- geocaching and podcasting.  Patience – it will all come together when I’m done. While at NECC I sat in on a session about using GPS units to find things people had hidden (geocaching) they even had set up some dummy caches around the conventions center and loaned out GPS units for people to use.  I tried it out and when I saw the presenter in passing I called out to him- that he had ruined my convention- I was supposed to sit in a dark room watching powerpoints, and instead I was running around have a great time.  I told Sue about it and the rest in history… Without geocaching, there would be no Cecil. The presenter had a podcast called Podcacher.  I hadn’t heard of podcasts so I started searching out what topics and stumbled upon White Roof Radio– the MINI Cooper Podcast.  I also tried Decoder Ring Theatre, and a few others, but those are the three that have stuck with me since. So there are two MINIons on 2005, the original hosts of White Roof Radio.  I met them in person a year later in St. Louis, and just like the hosts of Podcacher, we are now close friends.  When I saw that the anniversary of White Roof Radio’s first broadcast was over MTTS I knew they needed a MINIon badge for the trip.

Throughout this year I hope you gain an appreciation for the significance of numbers.  Each digit in the correct place can mean something to someone- like 1959, or 37, or 177, 2002 marks the year the first “new MINI” or “BMW MINI” returned to US shores.  I remember when the first dealership opened within driving distance, I was in the market for a new car for Sue… I was concerned that her Honda DelSol would soon have something major happen to it so I happened upon an add for MINI.  Her reaction was “Cute, but it won’t fit a set of golf clubs.”  I wasn’t sure so when we headed south on vacation I planned our route to stop at every single MINI dealership (open or not) from Indianapolis to Savannah, Georgia.  Cincinnati, was the closest, and we looked at the 2002 MINI Cooper… it would three more years before I bought my first MINI. MINIon #2002 is one of the nicest people I know- although she did try to get Cecil encumbered in a paternity suit, but enough of that.  I look forward to the next time we can all get together, Cecil will bring his attorney.

Don’t ask… it’s better that way.   Actually, this MINIon is for a member of the MINI corporate crew, who is now enjoying life in Germany.  The red wig showed up at MINIs on the Mack in 2013 and somehow ended up in the possession of MINIon #0666 or was it MINIon #0069? After a awhile they all look the same to me.  1992 is the year that this MINIon started working for BMW.  Hopefully we will have the chance to see him again in 2016.  

Sorry, I know you would think that MINIon #1984 would wear a black t-shirt, sport trendy glasses, and talk about thinking differently. Then again, maybe you thought MINIon#1984 would have something to do with a cage that had rats in it War is Peace, etc… nope. Would you believe that MINIon #1984 is in the Navy?  I was given these rather cryptic instructions – “Navy Dixie Cup” and a Neckerchief.  Not having served in the military, (my father wanted each of his sons to be John Wayne and therefore a true American hero- one of my brothers did fly with Brian Williams and Seal Team 6 in Afghanistan from what he says, besides that we got nothing) I decided that teaching kids in this day and age was an heroic enough effort. So I made a Mr. Salty MINIon… You know my grandmother had a massive jar of pretzels in her house- mmmm… pretzels.  

There are some MINIs that people recognize from a distance- MINIon #1942’s Clubman is one, and MINIon #1971 is another- something about the swimming lane markers. If you missed seeing their badge on the road, it was really tiny near the license plate if I recall, it was really hard to see it.  Maybe they were just embarrassed to be a part of our merry little band.