I promised you a few blogs ago that I found something with less power and more weight than a Harley. As a guy who’s owned a couple of the potato-potato bikes and more than a few dealer-emblazoned t-shirts (and being a firm admirer of The Motor Company), I give myself license to poke fun on occasion.
What might this discovery be, you wonder?
How’s this sound? It has exactly 1 horsepower, and it weighs 1200 lbs.
Take a look…
Yep, it’s an Arabian stallion. At least I think it’s a stallion. I’m sure of this, though: It’s an Arabian, and they sure are magnificent.
It seems old Will Kellogg (yep, that Kellogg…think Corn Flakes and Special K) owned all the land currently occupied by Cal Poly Pomona. He bequeathed the land to California with two caveats (that’s Latin, of which I am discovering myself to be one): California had to create an Ag College on the Kellogg estate, and the Ag College had to care for Kellog’s Arabians in perpetuity.
What a deal! The People’s Republik couldn’t say yes fast enough. That was, I think, back in the ’20s or so, and the Arabians have been running free on the Cal Poly campus ever since. Along the way, they’ve starred in a bunch of western movies and a few Disney features (the Magic Kingdom is just a few miles down the 57 from the Cal Poly campus, and Hollywood is just a few miles west on the 10). The best part, though, is that the Arabians are accessible to us, the public. And they are beautiful. Magnificent. Stunning. You really need to see these wonderful creatures.
Cal Poly has a show every month, and Susie and I went this past weekend. It was awesome. Cal Poly students take care of the herd, and it is a sight to see. The show is open to the public, it’s only an hour long, and it’s grand and inexpensive entertainment. I get to go free because I’m an Emeritus (I didn’t even know I was a Roman, let alone one with a Latin title). I told one of the students I was an Emeritus (I guess I was trying to impress her), and she asked if that meant I was an old professor. It’s something like that, I told her. Anyway, that title got me in the door for free. For the rest of you Plebeians, it’s only $3. Trust me on this: It’s well worth it.
Good times, folks.
