All In The Dysfunctional Family 9/02/2014 |
Welcome back to the track, Tony
"Smoke" Stewart!
Rest in peace, Jerry Connally, my dear
friend and gentle reader for so many years. You will be missed more than you could ever know.
"WOOF" "ARF"
I bid
you welcome gentle readers, and a warm welcome as well to our assigned reader
of NASCAR fun and facts, believed to be somewhere within the Fan and Media
Espionage Center in Charlotte, North Carolina... but maybe not.
Allow me
to preface our visit today by saying that the past week was not one of the best
I recall, as I learned of one friend, whose name I promised not to divulge at
this time, that has been diagnosed with one of those
nasty things from which one does not recover. Two days later
word came of the passing of my friend Jerry, who has been with me as both a
reader and a friend from my humble Internet beginnings until just a week or two
ago. Then, about the time many will be reading this on Tuesday, September 2, it
will be 20 years ago this date that my little Irish Mom, of whom I speak so
often, was called home to be with our Lord.
Indeed,
it's been sadness all around, and today I find that we must now discuss another
death, not in the family, but of a family. Something has happened gentle readers, that this aged scribe has never seen or dealt with
in all my years of "fandom." (Jim assures me that is
a viable word) It is Saturday morning as I pull up to the keyboard, and like
most of you, I watched the press conferences with Tony Stewart and Mike Helton
yesterday. As I did, two thoughts came to the fore... I'm glad Mike's moustache
is finally all grey and no longer skunk striped; that was so very
distracting... and... Tony Stewart is a broken man. I wept as I watched and listened
to what Tony had to say, and I know others did as well. His words were
threatened by tears of his own; his voice broke a couple of times and he was
visibly shaken beyond a point that a man can control.
Gentle
readers, as one of, if not the oldest scribe around these parts, I have seen
many racing deaths in my time, in many racing venues, from NASCAR to USAC, to
AAA, to Le Mans, to F1 and all points in-between. I've written about some of
them... Alan Kulwicki, Davey Allison, J.D. McDuffie, Glenn "Fireball"
Roberts and others, and there are many whose parting still evokes a tear...
Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald, Rich Vogler, Jason Leffler, Billy and Bobby Myers, Little Joe Weatherly... and
the list is almost endless. It's fair, I believe, to
say I've seen my share and more of racing deaths, but with all of them, there
was something very evident that is missing as I type.
It has
always been an accepted thing that when a racer dies, it is viewed by all as a
death in the racing family. It's never made a difference if the death were a
popular star on the circuit... Dale Earnhardt, Dan Wheldon,
Ayrton Senna... or a
15-year old girl (Name withheld in kindness) at a track called "Bubba
Raceway" in Florida, attempting to qualify for her first race; a racer was
dead and the entire racing community mourned as one.
For as
long as I've been racing, it's been referred to as the "Racing
family" and it includes everyone involved in racing, from drivers, to
owners, to crews, to sponsors, to track owners, to fans and media members as
well, and just as happens in a blood-related family, what saddens one, saddens
all. We turn to each other for understanding and comfort in a time of need,
just as sisters and brothers turn to each other in the loss of a parent or one
of their own number. I've long felt that the song,
"We are family" was written about racing, and it's always been the
case... a death within the racing family would draw that family together to
mourn and grieve as one. If you're past the age of 30, you know exactly what
I'm saying because you've been there and felt it.
Now, I
have a question for you, my gentle readers, as your scribe is at a loss to
define whatever is happening that makes this single death, the death of Kevin
Ward Jr., so different from the rest. Why? Why the hate? Why the name-calling?
Why the disparaging remarks? And here's a biggie... why the investigation? Does
anyone reading here recall another time when an on-track death was investigated
as either a civil or criminal case? Has it happened before and I've just not
been aware of it? And now, the good Sheriff of Ontario County New York informs
us that an investigation that would take "about two weeks" and has already
gone three, will last "at least two weeks more" before releasing
findings. At this point, I find myself struggling to hold back my feelings and
comments as this precedent-setting probe drones on seemingly without end.
But hold
back I will, in deference to the Ward family and in recognition of their loss.
Still, I am feeling a decided loss of my own, as I watch my racing family split
down the middle by a rift so deep that perhaps it will never heal. What is it
all about? Why such blind, abject hatred?... and it's
not even one-sided... there is hatred of both Tony Stewart and the Ward family.
Is it merely that we have the Internet and some fools believe they are
anonymous and so become mighty behind a keyboard? I'd love to settle for that,
but look at some members of our so-called mainstream media. Ignorance abounds
there as well, and it has the power of the press behind it. That is scary!
One
person that agrees with my definition of scary is Brad Keselowski, driver of
the Team Penske #2 in NASCAR's elite series. "The only real feeling I have
is that there should be more information than there is," he said. "I
think everyone is getting the shaft. I think everyone is trying to have an
opinion without having all the information, and that's a scary place to
be."
It is
scary indeed, in so many ways. From my seat behind a keyboard, far away from
the action, I should at least feel safe, yet I hesitate to speak my mind
openly, and tell you that it's because I don't want to hurt or injure feelings.
Or is it because I don't want to add one spark of flame to a fire already
burning out of control? Come on Sheriff Povero; if
you can't or won't release your findings on what in any other case ever, has
been seen as a "racing death" and viewed as a terrible accident, at
least tell us why or what is causing the delay.
And so
gentle readers, your scribe awaits your answers, as you are by far the most
reasonable bunch I've ever seen gather on the Internet for conversation. Thank
you for not being those other folks we've all seen posting on this subject.
Here, your opinions are read and valued, not only by fans of like mind, but by
the good folks at NASCAR that do care what you think and feel and are
appreciative of the way you express it here. Please keep your answers
respectful and leave the hate to other sites, where it seems to be the norm.
Time now
for our Classic Country Closeout, and for the first time, I've chosen an artist
that is not really considered Country, but her rendition of the song offered as
a good-bye to Jerry is so far above the Country version that the choice was
necessary. Here then is the beautiful voice of Doris Day performing as only she
can, the perfect friendship song, "My Buddy." Please watch the video as the song plays.
Those of my generation will meet many old friends there that haven't been seen
in a long, long time.
Next is
a song from my childhood that will rip at least a few siblings' hearts when they hear it again. This
is Hank Williams Sr., and this song was the back side of his #2 hit of a
lifetime, "Wedding Bells." (#1
was "Lovesick Blues") Here
then is Hank's heartbreaking rendition of "I
Just Told Mama Goodbye."
And in
conclusion, just to brighten up the day a bit, let's hear some great advice
from Red Foley, who tells us "A
Smile Will Chase Away a Tear." (And of course, it will always look
good on you)
Be well
gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling. It looks so good on you!
~
PattyKay