Baptism by Fire

Baptism by Fire

Friends:

Frankie has one eye and drives a race car...some say that he's "hell on wheels." And on Saturday night he passed through that prophetic fiery furnace and lived to tell about it.

Jerry (with grandsons J.R. and Drew), George, Billy and myself headed out Saturday night to the Golden Isles Speedway for some diversion from the boredom of island cocktail parties and Halyards. We needed a change of pace, and we got it. Guests of the owner, we enjoyed the VIP Suite with burgers, BBQ, snacks and dessert and, of course, beer. I knew it would be an evening of laughs when we pulled into the Pit area, and the first race car I saw had emblazoned on its rear bumper, "Kiss This!!!" And it escalated from there!

Most of you have probably never been to a one-half mile oval red-clay dirt track. You should. It's a world apart in many ways: the spectators, the drivers and the perspectives on life. Drivers race with 500 h.p. souped-up rebuilts with 112 Octane juice, and run in packs akin to a herd of demon-possessed swine in circles to where a checkered flag announces they’ve arrived; and never far from the edge of the Abyss. As for perspectives on life, the "here and now" is all they see. Don't start me on the spectators...only to make this comment: I said, "Hey, Jerry, check out that very large lady with the tattoos...". His reply was, "Boy, they used a lot of ink on her!" It was a carnival.

The car exploded in a fireball on the first turn, just before the Herd reached speeds of up to 145 miles per hour on the back straightaway...Lee's car erupted in flames, and Frankie was "Kissing his bumper", which meant the fireball engulfed both cars. The crowd came instantly alive and leapt to their feet in excitement (about the most of the evening), pumping their fists in the air and screaming wildly. The drivers dodged death (again, I'm sure !), and I hurried to the Pit area to examine the carnage...both were OK and already recanting this death-defying experience to an awed crowd, embellishment already occurring. Which goes to prove there's nothing like a fire to excite a crowd, which is why it's illegal to scream it out in a crowd, "Fire!" But not here...anything goes, as we later learned, but not printable!

I guess there's a moral in this story somewhere, and it seems like if you're a fellow with one eye you might want to find a more sedate hobby. But not Frankie...he pointed out to me that "the race" was everything, and nothing else mattered but that moment. And to emphasize that perspective, he showed me that in these race cars, there are no rear-view mirrors. These boys come to win, and there's no looking back. So, I guess there might be some advantage for a fellow with one eye and no rear-view...and we might learn something from this philosophy.

Well, the spectacle droned on, but about midnight we finally had our fill of noise and beer and called it quits. Yet I do have to say that it surely was a good way to break the island monotony...try it sometime, and call me when you do...I'm ready to go!

Bud
June 14, 2007