For those of you who’ve not had the pleasure of listening to the show, one of the regular features on the Minnesota-based PHC variety show is updating the news from Lake Wobegon, a place that Keillor colorfully describes as "the little town that time forgot and the decades can not improve…" and where "all the women are strong, the men are good looking, and the children are all above average." In other words, it’s just the sort of place that most of us have fantasized about living.

Lake Wobegon is a place that’s mostly untouched by the harsh realities of the world, where upper middle class families with Father-Knows-Best lives are seemingly insulated from the normal tragedies that real-world communities endure—yet its always a place PHC devotees look forward to hearing about, every week probably because we unconsciously think that if everything is still OK in Lake Wobegon, then the realities of the coming week won’t be so hard to face.

What got me thinking about Lake Wobegon was an article in the newspaper recently about the upcoming downtown Phoenix road race that organizers are now advertising as being a "green" event— a race that will couple racing activities to "green" products vendors in a sort of "eco-earth-friendly-fair" environment.

Talk on the street is that Phoenix city council members and downtown business interests remember the loss of revenues that accompanied the race the last time they tried them through downtown so this time, promoters are spinning the hype that they will have "green" businesses committed to displaying their products in downtown as a backdrop before and during the race "events."

The organizers obviously think this must be a metropolis full of folks recently relocated here from Lake Wobegon—they evidently think that the citizens of our fair community will somehow be convinced that the race will be a sustainability event just because, instead of 110 octane gasoline, the fuel of choice will be methanol—that will bring together (in their words) the "tree huggers to join hands with the tragically hip…" which will see 150,000 green-seeking (?) race fans flock to the "largest green festival in the country…" to see eco-conscious exhibits featuring solar cars (on display; not running the race), environment-friendly vendors (whatever that means), and organic food vendors who will change the eating habits of race fans from red meat and beer to tofu and yogurt shakes, just because it’s the "tragically hip" thing to do (their words; not mine).

Its clear that they need a PR person to teach these guys the art of being Politically Correct before they insult everyone they are trying to bring into the low octane mix!

As both a "car person" and sustainability advocate, I am the last to criticize trying to "brand" sustainability to make it more mainstream but, somehow, the effort to bring in the "treehuggers" (their word; not mine) to create a sustainable "impression" about race cars that measure mileage in gallons per mile rather than mpg’s (even if it IS methanol), reeks of a disingenuous attempt to camouflage the real reason for gathering such disparate groups together—to sell tickets and make money!

Race organizers claim they are buying carbon credits for the emissions saved by running methanol instead of gasoline (can they even do that???) and putting the profits (profits—what profits?) toward "earth-friendly technologies" (whatever those might be). My take is, they are using all the right-sounding words to convince the Phoenix business community and all those snowbirds who’ve fled the Chatterbox Cafe in Lake Wobegon for winter sun in the valley, that somehow, this will benefit our children’s, children’s, children.