Last weekend saw a slurry of activities in Lake Havasu City. The “Run to the Sun” car show took center stage from Thursday to Sunday, while an anti-Trump protest, called “No Kings,” along with a counter rally by President Trump supporters, made McCulloch Boulevard come alive on Saturday morning.
Sunday morning, besides church services being held throughout the city, “Havasu CARS N Coffee” was back at Rotary Park well before some churchgoers took their pews. Even though I was camping at Cattail Cove State Park, time was taken early Saturday and Sunday morning to drive back to town and take part in all venues.
The last rally I remember going to was my high school football homecoming game some 54 years ago. If I remember correctly, the East Anchorage High School Thunderbirds lost to the West Anchorage Eagles in that contest by five points. East had never lost a homecoming game for 12 years until finally going down to defeat.
The “No Kings” rally was something I wanted to attend, mainly because I was curious as to what it was about. At the beginning, I proudly stood with my US flag on the north side of McCulloch with other President Trump supporters. There were very few of the other team, but eventually a significant group showed up all at once. They were still far outnumbered.
One participant, eyeing my political shirt, abruptly attempted to start an argument, yet I was in no mood for such. Scurrying away from his profanity-laced comments, I found a spot as close to the road as possible. A fellow named Ed quietly walked up, saying that he lived in Needles, California, before politely asking why I supported Donald Trump.
Ed and I had a most friendly conversation. After learning that he’d been an engineer on the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad for 43 years, our conversation quickly shifted from politics and religion to work, with me mentioning that my late friend, John Ballard, had also been employed by BNSF, as was his father.
We shook hands before departing, but not before seeing a few Lake Havasu Police Department officers professionally orchestrate crowd control, calmly, yet sternly telling protestors to stay off the street. That was interesting to watch, with me making sure not to cross the road at that point, as my vehicle was in the old K-Mart parking lot. Looking back at this event, Charlie Kirk would’ve been proud of me.
“Havasu CARS N Coffee” meets in the parking lot behind the Aquatic Center in Rotary Park on the first and third Sunday of each month. This event takes place from 7 – 9, and admission is free. I decided to take my wife’s seldom-driven Dodge Hellcat as my old Chevy truck battery was dead.
A good number of vehicles were on hand to gawk at while I spent several minutes talking to Phil, one of the regular attendees. I didn’t bring cash, with Phil picking up the donation for a donut and coffee. I’ll pay him back at the next get-together. Besides Phil’s orange VW bug, my two favorites were a black 1954 Porsche 356 and an unmolested 1953 MGTD.
Lake Havasu City, this time of year, has activities each and every week. I have to say, though, that returning to the peace and quiet of Cattail Cove was something I needed, especially after attending that loud political rally on Saturday.
I’m thankful to live in a country where ‘peaceful demonstrations’ are legal—although I see little good they do. I’ll continue protesting at the ballot box and not with my mouth.
Unlike the 1971 East High Thunderbirds homecoming game, I’m glad my political team won this past election. As the late and great Kansas City Chiefs football coach Marty Schottenheimer often said, “Every point counts!” The same holds true regarding votes.
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