Peter Graves and his anti-leaf blower agenda

Graves was a radical civic reformer.

In 1996, while Mission: Impossible was #1 at the box office, the former star of the TV version was in Los Angeles City Hall taking care of what really mattered. Far away from the glitz and glamour of the movie screen, Graves wasn't afraid to roll up his sleeves to duke it out with the bureaucrats and lawmakers making our lives more difficult. And if you're impressed by Tom Cruise doing his own stunts, just wait until you get a load of what Graves was up to.

That summer, the box office wasn't the only battleground, as LA was home to one of the fiercest fights in local government history. Decades-old tensions came to a head in the gladiatorial arena of the council chambers. They were there to settle a score. Only one controversy could cause such calamity as to rouse an aging Peter Graves from his slumber: the Los Angeles City Council was meeting to discuss a possible ban on leaf blowers.

The world can rest peacefully every night, knowing that retired actor Peter Graves — he of not only Mission: Impossible, but also Airplane! fame — was on site to speak on the matter.

"Leaf blowers are bad," said Graves, succinctly, in a manner fans had grown to love. Although any further words would have been redundant, Graves continued, elaborating as it pertained to gas-powered gardening tools in residential areas.

"They call them leafblowers, because, indeed, they do blow leaves around and around and around," said Graves, still sharp at 70 years old. "But, they also blow other things around."

Peter Graves represented the people, and he was there to ask the questions we were all thinking about.

"Are we going to put masks on our kids?" 

"In some areas of the world," said Graves, at the podium, "Plants, flowers and trees, and their arrangements together, have deep religious and philosophical meanings."

The Los Angeles City Council upheld those very same values in a 9-4 vote that banned leaf blowers.

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21 Comments

tootsieg 16 months ago
Leaf-Blowers are a menace to society. What ever happened to raking leaves? Being outside during the fall, getting exercise.
Bapa1 16 months ago
.....your mission , should you chose to accept it. Phelps: "Damnit, I can't hear the message because of that stupid leaf blower!"
MrsPhilHarris 16 months ago
I’m not a fan of them either.
KJExpress MrsPhilHarris 16 months ago
I have a low tolerance for loud noises, so I hate all of those types of things. One of my neighbors is always getting some new loud toy. 🙄
Bapa1 KJExpress 16 months ago
Some idiot (not me) gave my 5-year-old grandson an actual working leaf blower. It was soon taken away.
MrsPhilHarris KJExpress 16 months ago
I don’t understand the point. I think I could rake leaves faster. 😄
MrsPhilHarris Bapa1 16 months ago
Good grief! Who would give a kid a leaf blower?
KJExpress Bapa1 16 months ago
That's crazy! 😵
KJExpress MrsPhilHarris 16 months ago
I dunno. Boys and their toys, I guess. 🤷‍♀️
Runeshaper 16 months ago
Wow! That is pretty interesting!
Runeshaper BenSobeleone 16 months ago
Love your username! GREAT movie!
justjeff 16 months ago
STILL SHARP AT 70???? I RESENT THAT!!!! I'm turning 71 this week and I know more than any of those MeTV Millenial, GenX and GenZ-ers pretending to be writers put together.

I fact check, spell-check, use appropriate grammar AND can do basic math without the use of a calculator... plus I run my own (type design) business, am a music and trivia buff and *seem* to have an acceptable sense of humor for a person "of my advanced age"... Without your cel phones and Google, most of you youngsters would be lost in the fog! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!! 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡
justjeff 16 months ago
This comment has been removed.
cperrynaples 16 months ago
This leaves me to think: how would he had reacted to COVID? My guess is he would have been an anti-vaxer!
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