Mudd Bogg: A local man’s brilliant idea

After the April get-together at the Mudd Bogg forced the closure of a state highway, the landowner was in jeopardy of losing his business license. The Eclectic town council went with its knee-jerk reaction: get rid of whatever causes citizens to call and complain.

What town leaders failed to see, though, until Thursday night’s public hearing, is that Jarrad (the owner) had simply created a business out of something folks were doing already. Namely, driving country dirt roads on rainy days and slinging every ounce of mud their knobby tires could grab hold of.

Sure, the Bogg had its share of problems; anytime you gather a few hundred or more rednecks with full coolers, there will be problems. But at least they were largely contained. A guy who spoke at the meeting mentioned that when he was in high school, guys did that anyway. But they did it on other people’s roads, on other people’s property, and most important, with no one’s permission.

Jarrad, on the other hand, hires off-duty sheriff’s deputies and establishes some semblance of order to the mud-riding festivities. And at 10 buck a head, he’s making a bundle. Four percent of that goes back to Eclectic in the form of sales tax.

No vote was taken on the move to revoke The Mudd Bogg’s business license. That’ll wait until the next council meeting on May 5. But the next Mudd Bogg is May 3. So, after hearing complaints and suggestions from everyone who’s taken issue with the Bogg, Jarrad has a chance to prove he can maintain enough order to satisfy his neighbors.

We wish him the best, and hope someone’s prepared to haul our little VW out of whatever muddy hole it gets stuck in next weekend.

~ by mrbitterness on April 25, 2008.