SPRING SWAMP BUGY CHAMPIONSHIP

Skwoosh makes a “big splash” in the Everglades

Eclipsed by the Oscars and spring training, the ‘DUNKING” of Megan Hoolihan, an 18 year old senior at Golden Gate High School and the 2009 - 2010 Swamp Buggy Queen, almost went unnoticed. Megan was officially dunked on Sunday, March 7, at the Swamp Buggy Spring Championship which was held at the Florida Sports Park in East Naples Florida. Never heard of a Swamp Buggy let alone the Swamp Buggy Races? I wonder why.
Here’s a little history:
It all started with farming, fishing, hunting, and hunting buggies. During the development of Collier County (encompassing a major part of the Everglades in S.W. Florida) strange looking vehicles featuring huge balloon tires, gun racks, and sporting catchy names like “Dirt Dobber” or Tumblebug” began to emerge. There were no developed roads so the only way to penetrate the vast boggy mire of the Everglades was the “Swamp Buggy”. Back then, before Skwoosh gel cushions, kayak seats or waterproof kayak fishing seat backs, the Everglades was a perfect place for kayak fishing, camping and hiking. Swamp Buggies were built primarily as vehicles for hunting but soon they were being used for everything from Sunday afternoon outings to hunting expeditions in the Everglades. Prior to the opening of the hunting season many of the “Crackers” would gather and spend a week preparing their Buggies for the “season” by camouflaging, stocking up with fuel, food and ammunition. They waterproofed their Buggies and layed in at least a one week supply of their favorite home brewed beverage. After all, they were going into the murky Florida swamps for a week or two of gators, snakes and panthers. Now just imagine the comfort these harty South West Floridians could have experienced if they had a waterproof gel Therapy cushion to help support their backs and improve their swamp driving posture. They wouldn't have needed their home brewed buverage to kill their pain.
The first races started around 1943, featuring a dozen or so local hunters racing only for the pride of finishing ahead of their neighbors. By the late forties, 30 to 40 would-be racers would gather the week before hunting season to race for valued prizes, usually a new shotgun donated by local merchants.
On November 12, 1949, with a field of almost 50 competitors, these awkward, determined vehicles motored their way into history.
As the popularity of the sport grew, so did the rewards. Cash prizes began to replace the turkeys and shotguns of the past. With purses of several thousand dollars, the incentives to go faster grew. Buggies were now being constructed for racing only. The newer designs were too fast and too loud to be used for hunting and an engraved trophy replaced the at-a-boys and the trophy deer. It was during this era that several important traditions were born. The most popular and colorful, is the legendary "Swamp Buggy Queen's Annual Mud bath!" The Swamp Buggy Queen Pageant is held every April, and a Queen is chosen. The "Dunking" tradition began in 1957 when race winner H.W. McCurry, in a state of exuberant celebration, grabbed the Queen, gown, fancy hair-do and all and dunked her in the deepest and muckiest part of the "Mile 'O Mud" oval race track. This grimy, slimy, hilarious tradition lives on today and is the final act of every race weekend. Let’s say the weekend closes with a great big “mud splash”.
Now you ask “how could the Oscar’s and Spring training eclipse a major activity like the Spring Championship Swamp Buggy Races”? We don’t know the answer to that question but we are pondering the strategy Skwoosh will use to promote our swamp kayak paddling gel seat. How does “travel to the Swamp Buggy Races on a Skwoosh gel travel cushion” sound? Do you think we might be able to offer the 2010 Swamp Buggy Office gel Cushion? If Skwoosh is successful in winning a grant for the construction of bleacher and stadium seats for the Swamp Buggy Races we could see sales of Bleacher gel seats and Stadium gel seats skyrocket. Come to think of it, Skwoosh can be dunked all day long. Each and every Skwoosh gel cushion is WATERPROOF and unaffected by “mud dunking”, you know.

WINTER OLYMPICS 2010 - VANACOUVER

Self promotion in Figure Skating

What a great Olympics this has been. The Canadian management has had the horrible Luge disaster, no snow, opening ceremony malfunctions and not enough Canadian Gold. We have had a Japanese figure skater on the Russian team and a group of angry Korean speed skating judges trying to get even for the 2006 Olympics. Here at Skwoosh we are at wits end trying to find a way to self promote our light weight performance gel cushions in a witty, tactful, but not too obvious way, for use in the sport of figure skating. We have gone inside and outside the men’s costumes with no success. How do you fit a gel travel cushion to the bottom of a male figure skaters costume? For sure the compact size of the travel cushion looks like it will fit many of the Olympic skaters. In fact we theorize that placing the gel travel cushion or even our gel stadium bleacher seat cushion inside the costume may serve to “gel cushion” a skater's fall. But would the damage done to the aesthetics of that skin tight costume be worth it? We won’t even try to get into the thinking process that went with the discussion of “ what if” the woman skater from China tucked a Skwoosh……… In every case, the propriety of using a gel travel cushion or gel stadium bleacher seat to cushion a skaters costume won and Skwoosh will be sticking to Travel, Gel Therapy, Swivel and Stadium Bleacher Seating for the foreseeable future.

DIRECTOR TAKES ON AIRLINE OVER SEATING

Could a Skwoosh Gel Travel cushion have helped?

Film director Kevin Smith (“Clerks,” “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back”) was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight on Saturday because he was too overweight to fit in one seat. In its statement Southwest said that Mr. Smith originally bought two seats for a flight from Oakland, Calif., to Burbank — “as he’s been known to do when traveling on Southwest” — but went standby on an earlier flight, where only a single seat was available. The pilots decided that Mr. Smith needed more than one seat. Mr. Smith said he was “ejected” and put on a later flight. Mr. Smith denied the airline’s statement that he regularly purchases two seats. Mr. Smith said, “I’m way fat, but I’m not there just yet.” Southwest said that its policy had existed for more than 25 years, and that the pilots were simply adhering to it. The airline apologized to Mr. Smith and gave him a $100 voucher.
“Making airline seats more comfortable is our business” shouted Skwoosh. We’re in the gel cushion business to provide travel comfort on airlines, trains, buses and automobiles. Single seats on an airplane are uncomfortable enough, can you imagine how double the discomfort must feel when air travel rules (and the laws of physics) require that you occupy two seats. From our biased selfish perspective Skwoosh loves it. Mr. Smith should take the Southwest Airlines $100.00 voucher and trade it for two (2) Skwoosh Travel Gel Cushions ($60.00) and two (2) Gel Stadium Seats ($40.00) and double his travel comfort, enjoy his double airline seats and as a bonus, get to choose his own colors. Heck a travel cushion for each side and a double wide seat belt sounds better than a Big Mack Happy Meal, large fries, a chocolate shake and a crispy apple pie.