Dale Edwards, Nov. 1, 2009

October was a busy month for the Lizziers. The first weekend featured the Tustin Tiller parade, in which seven Lizzies started and six finished under their own power. Then we had the extra circular Paso Robles Pioneer Day parade in which eight Lizzies went but only seven paraded while on the same day two more Lizzies participated with the other EL Bekal units in the Placentia Parade. Finally, we also rode in the Anaheim Halloween Parade on the last day of the month.

First a few words about the Tustin Parade. Someone said it was about my turn to be towed over the finish line. Following the Big Bear parade I had my carburetor professionally cleaned and tuned up by a local lawn mower shop recommended by my gardener. After that it tested good around the neighborhood block, but during the Tustin parade it had terrible fuel problems and would run for a few minutes and then die and would need to be towed for a while before it would restart. After the parade Lt. John Edgmon volunteered to look for the problem. He took the fuel tank off and found a loose brass compression ferrule that was floating around and occasionally plugging the tank fuel exit. I have no idea how that got in there. Sabotage?

Anyway without the ferrule in the tank, my Lizzie ran great during the Paso Robles Pioneer Days Parade the following weekend. We had eight Lizzies there, but only seven paraded because a fuel line separated on Rick Meadow’s car when he went to start it in the formation area. Since the rest of the unit was already out on the parade route when he discovered the problem, it was too late get a push or tow arranged. So he stayed and watched the parade and Al Jazwiecki drove back and pushed him back to the trailers with his Lizzie after our part of the parade was over. We had a great time, and enjoyed good comradry with the Nobles from Al Malaikah in the formation area, including their Potentate, Ron Bianchi. Many of them stayed at the same motel as we did so we interacted with them at breakfast and around the grounds as well.

After the parade, some of us went exploring in the backwoods area of the local wine country, while others took a nap or watched the football and baseball games on TV. Meanwhile, back in SoCal, Bill Walls and Bill Bergman got their Lizzies out and participated in the local Placentia parade with no problems that I heard of.

As of this moment, the Anaheim Halloween Parade has not yet happened, so we’ll talk about that one next time. Anaheim is an evening parade and we will decorate our Lizzies with pumpkins and garlands appropriate for the occasion. We do have fun with our Lizzies, and we have room in the unit for you to join us and you can have a Lizzie that is your very own. So get out of your easy chair and give a call to our Captain, Ed