Lost amidst the avalanche of statewide partisan bickering and COVID-19 blame tossing, Missouri lost out on a part of one of my favorite potential projects. Missouri was and is a potential site for the first “Hyperloop” project. The Hyperloop is an Elon Musk idea that is being carried forward by Virgin Airlines. Basically, it is a high-speed transportation system that would send pod-like capsules that levitate inside a low-pressure tube. Those pods would theoretically carry people like you and me and I assume less important people and things.
Anyway, one of the proposed routes was to connect Kansas City and St. Louis. While I agree that no one from Kansas City wants to go to St. Louis, how much fun would it be to ride a 600-mph pod to Columbia for a little football and Harpo’s and then home again? Heck, you could even jump over to Concordia for some truck stop food, if that’s your thing.
Apparently, they chose to build the “Virgin Hyperloop Certification Center” in Tucker County, West Virginia. This is the place that all the smart people are going to gather to actually figure out how this works, lots of engineers and people with pocket protectors and high-end calculators, I assume. Missouri is still in the running for the actual first route, despite the location of the certification center in West Virginia. I assume if they crash a bunch of test pods in West Virginia, they’ll hope we don’t hear about it back here and our state will still offer up a lot of cash to build a route. All aboard.
Apparently, it will be 2030 or so before they get to that point, until then, drive yourself to Columbia or Concordia.
I told you guys to sign up for Tik Tok. It was epic the last two weeks. Country singer Morgan Wallen dominated the Chinese spying app with his hard partying during and after the Alabama football game. Nearly everyone in Tuscaloosa was Tik Tok’ing a “Morgan” session in local bars, house parties and a few bedrooms with about 50 people crammed in them. If Morgan did not catch the COVID, I’d nominate him to replace Dr. Fauci, cause he did straight on “research” for about 18 hours on a Saturday afternoon and night.
The follow up to that is that “all good things must end” came into play on Sunday. Wallen got uninvited to be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live for not following “COVID protocols” and he had to issue the standard, “I’m sorry and going to work on being a better person” apology. I was disappointed in the apology. He’s 27-years old, single and reasonably rich with an awesome mullet. If you can’t take that act to Tuscaloosa for a day of fun, is there a reason for living?
The answer is NO. Carry on.
Is anyone else old enough to remember when Hank Williams, Jr. was too drunk to perform in Kansas City? Sadly, I looked it up. It was 1992 if any of you were alive then? Hank also issued an apology. Said he “messed up” after he got together with friends and had “dinner and drinks” before his concert at then Sandstone Amphitheater. I’m assuming more drinks than dinner. In my friends’ group (I prefer to call them acquaintances), we call that an “acute case of food poisoning,” but you can call it whatever you like.
Hank did not post any apologies on Tik Tok.
I had no idea that Sandstone was now called Providence Medical Center amphitheater. Did you guys know this? Seems like a weird name. Does naming an amphitheater after a hospital garner a hospital more business? I don’t understand our world.
(Guy Speckman can be reached at gspeckman@me.com <mailto:gspeckman@me.com> or having dinner and drinks with friends)
