[mob] "This hot dog posed no threat to us"

[Robbie Honerkamp <robbie@shorty.com>]

----- Forwarded message from glen mccready <gkm@petting-zoo.net> -----

From: gkm@petting-zoo.net (glen mccready)
To: 0xdeadbeef@petting-zoo.net
Cc: bostic@bostic.com
Subject: Wienermobile gets boot near Pentagon
Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2002 12:06:45 -0700

Forwarded-by: William Knowles <wk@c4i.org>

http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/0620wiener20-ON.html

Meg Jones
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
June 20, 2002 18:00:00

MILWAUKEE - It's the most famous motorized sausage in the nation, but 
even the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile can't drive on a restricted road 
next to the Pentagon.

The crew of the 27-foot-long hot dog on wheels got grilled by police 
when it mistakenly traveled on a road closed to commercial traffic.

Ever since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, Route 110 has been off 
limits to vehicles with six wheels or more because of concerns that 
someone could drive a truck bomb close to the home of the nation's 
defense department.

So when the Wienermobile that departed from Madison, Wis., lumbered 
down Route 110 Tuesday evening, a Virginia state trooper's eyes 
widened. Perhaps expecting the wurst, he flipped on his flashing 
lights and pulled over the lost dog.

Traffic on the busy road that runs along the Potomac River backed up 
for a short time as people craned their heads and gawked, obviously 
relishing the sight of the Wienermobile getting busted.

A passing motorist gave a frank appraisal of the sausage pilot's 
gaffe.

"Everyone around here knows you don't bring trucks on that road, and 
it wasn't just any truck, it was the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile," said 
Carrie Witt, who was driving to her home in Alexandria, Va., after 
visiting a friend.

That stretch of Route 110 is lighted with large spotlights and staffed 
around the clock by armed officers in squad cars and Humvees at 
checkpoints, said Witt, who travels on the road several times a week.

"So here was this very serious (security) detail and they're pulling 
over a cartoon truck," said Witt. "It's probably the most benign truck 
on the road - that's why it's so funny."

At the Wienermobile wheel were Will Keller and Paula Pendleton, both 
22 and recent college graduates from Illinois and California, who had 
just finished the two-week-long Hot Dog High at Oscar Mayer 
headquarters in Madison.

Packed in the back of the Wienermobile, which will travel throughout 
the East for a year, were boxes of Wienermobile whistles, Wienermobile 
Hot Wheels, Wienermobile-shaped Beanie Babies and a karaoke machine 
featuring the Oscar Mayer wiener and bologna jingles.

After learning how to parallel park as well as boning up on the 
history of the company and Oscar Mayer jingles, Keller and Pendleton, 
who are called hot-doggers - like the drivers of the six other 
Wienermobiles - drove from Madison to Washington, D.C., for visits to 
a barbecue cook-off and charity events.

They didn't know Route 110 is verboten to Wienermobiles.

"They were very apologetic," said Sarah Delea, Oscar Mayer 
spokeswoman. "They just did not realize. They were sorry for any sort 
of traffic delay."

Trooper Robert Stacy knew the Wienermobile drivers probably weren't 
casing the Pentagon. He knew it was also highly unlikely a terrorist 
would choose a 27-foot-long bright orange vehicle shaped like a hot 
dog to pack with explosives and commit mayhem.

So after checking them out, Stacy directed Keller and Pendleton to the 
nearest exit. He didn't give them a ticket either.

"Obviously, this was a mistake," said Virginia State Police 
spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell. "This hot dog posed no threat to us."


----- End forwarded message -----