Muscles were in during the nineties with Arnold and others cashing in on those who are better at watching than doing. Of course none of the exploits of Arnold have ever had a dose of reality attached to them. The Arnold movies are just fantasies of manly behavior displayed on the big screen for those who like to dream of having that kind of power. Especially for those who want the image without having to work out daily for years to get it. Arnold, like many others of his manly type, is addicted to the image but has at least worked hard to keep his muscles in line with his pretensions.

I rather like the manliness and womanliness, the real humanity of those I have known in real life who were working in real jobs and raising real families during my life. The guys and girls who coach baseball and soccer teams, even "girls" soccer teams, without compensation are worth mentioning. The guys and girls who lounge around the firehouse and drive to scary events every day of their working life are also worthy of honorable mention. The guys and girls who fight real crime in jobs where they are at risk every day also impress me a lot more than any actor or image created by the phonies of the advertising world. The folks who slip into uniform every day or every weekend at the risk of losing their lives to a war started by someone who should know better also qualify for respect. I don't care what they drive; I care about their real commitment to making this world a better place to live in for the rest of us.

I actually used to think that owning a Humvee would be cool before desert storm made them the greatest instant hit ever in the muscle car world. Back in the early nineties I thought they were cool because they could go anywhere and climb most mountains straight to the top. Of course they can't, but they looked like they could. Then came the onslaught of hummers into the market and finally the massive presence of the H2. The H2 is really just a hummer look-alike without any real "nads in the differential where they belong. That's right, the H2 doesn't have the real Humvee transmission and differential, it is a castrato singing soprano in high gear. But it looks just as impressive as the original and it costs less. Now I watch the Humvees gathering at the local watering holes without even a twinge of envy. Gas is still near two dollars a gallon and I hate the oil companies too much to give them all of that money.

I drove a tractor as the first driving experience that I ever had, it was really cool, a John Deer green puppy that would just qualify as slightly above a lawn tractor these days. We had to fix wooden blocks on the pedals so I could reach them but I drove it up and down the hayfield. I did that while the bigger kids lifted bales into the trailer that was towed behind without drifting off course too much. I have loved vehicles ever since that time; but the muscle vehicle syndrome of today leaves me cold. We are at war today and our dependence on foreign oil is one of the reasons that this war will go on and on. A stable oil industry is the one absolute necessity of cars like the Humvee and SUV's and pickup trucks. Half of our vehicle investment in this nation is in that type of vehicle. We are not showing our gonads so much as we are showing our ignorance of economics and international trade realities by buying such vehicles in droves. Fantasies are the right of free people everywhere. Life would sometimes be too boring to bear without them. But wouldn't it serve our nation and the world better if we moved around less and lived more inside our skin and not our vehicles? Suburban warriors unite! Sell your Humvees to the Iraqi's, they have the oil, and buy Harley's. They use less gas and they look just as ballsy. God bless and keep you all safe in these gassy humming times.