R.I.P. bling
It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Orange County, and after a successful, yet completely exhausting Eibach event the previous weekend, I'm relishing in the fact that I have a day off, all to myself. Taking a full day to do absolutely nothing is everything I dreamed it would be, and more. Unshaven, sporting comfortable basketball shorts and an old t-shirt, I can actually feel my internal batteries recharging as I set up my BBQ grill for the perfect bison burger lunch feast. The television is on in the background as I'm walking through the living room and I hear a guy describing a car show competition that takes place in Las Vegas. The serious, yet somewhat dull narrator continually uses the term "bling" over, and over, and over again. I believe one of his statements, in the ultra-serious voice went something like, "nobody blings it harder than the blingtastic bling lovers of the Las Vegas strip." Essentially stopped in my tracks, it took my whole body to hate this man. You see, once a term is used by your parents, and their parents, it's time to move on. Hearing him use this worn out term was almost as painful as watching the local 11:00 news, where every night the awkward weatherman attempts to dance in, what he feels, is a Hip Hop fashion. Unfortunately he convulses for a few minutes, and always ends up raising the roof. Yeah, about ten years late on that one my friend. Terms and catchphrases come and go almost as quickly as kid's trendy dances. But there are those few that describe something so well they rightfully stick around for years.
Genesis
The term "grassroots" is one that is age-defying, and lately, has been thrown around quite a bit. Interpreted in many different ways, by many different people, it's a staple in an industry that's constantly searching for something new to motivate and stimulate that constant progression. From what I've read, the term was originally coined by Albert Jeremiah Beveridge, an Indiana Senator, way back in the early 1900s. His bold statement, "this party has come from the grass roots. It has grown from the soil of people's hard necessities," certainly reflects the attitude and efforts of the Honda community. Homegrown builds and clever work-arounds have always assisted Honda owners in overcoming the impossible, and we've done so on our own. As track events and even car shows have became somewhat saturated over the past 10 to 15 years, the village has become restless, and the infusion of grassroots uprisings have never been more necessary.