Making Believe... 8/08/2014 |
In loving memory of John Delphus
"J.D." McDuffie
Born
December 5, 1938 ~ Sanford, NC
Died
August 11, 1991 ~ Watkins Glen, NY
May
you rest in eternal peace.
I
bid you welcome gentle readers, and a cordial "G'day"
as well to our assigned reader (or computer, as the case may be) presumably
ensconced within the glass confines of the Fan and Media Espionage Center in
beautiful Charlotte, North Carolina. ("We kid because we care." ~ Chris
Myers)
When
last we met, three days ago, we were discussing The Chase and The Chase Points,
and the lack of logic portrayed in either. Your scribe decreed... as only a
76-year old lady of Irish descent can decree, that the Chase is dead and no
longer matters in the scheme of things in my world. Alright then... enter one
of my gentle readers with a reference to an old TV panel show I'd long
forgotten... and BOOM! Bells rang; horns blew; cymbals clashed and I couldn't
get to this keyboard fast enough... and with a brass band accompaniment to
boot!
Does
anyone remember "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" (The show where everything
is make-believe and the points don't matter) It's dang seldom that I'll admit
being one-upped by Drew Cary, but by Jingo, he got me this time... by several
years too! Everything is make-believe and the points don't matter!
If
you missed my last column, first of all, shame on you, but the underlying
thread was about the Chase Points and how they have little or nothing to do
with reality, but could easily foster a supposed Champion that has no valid
claim to that title using any known method of logic. As a result, Mama laid
down a new law of her own, declaring my viewing of each race to be completely
points free and judged... by me... on its own merit. Any or all of my gentle
readers are invited to join me in what I guess amounts to a mental points
boycott for the rest of 2014.
There
are no dues and there'll be no meetings to attend. Reading here is optional,
but definitely encouraged. We'll leave the Emperor to float about on his little
cloud, just a short way above the ground so when he falls off he won't be badly
hurt, merely dazed. Oh, wait! (Insert your own humor here)
Seriously
gentle readers, try as I might, I can conjure up no logical justification for a
system that could... and I almost hope does, just to prove the point... crown a
Champion that finished the "regular" season as far back as 30th in
points. One of you opined last time out that the Champion should actually be
whoever leads the "Drivers' points" or as I like to call them, actual
points, at the end of the 26th race. After Richmond, all bets are off because
all scoring is screwed up. Whatever crumbles your cookie.
This is being done on a strictly individual basis. Your scribe will simply
watch each race and enjoy it as such... a race. Nothing else will get between
me and my racing. Points don't count because as Drew Cary so eloquently pointed
out in the beginning, points don't matter.
It's
just that simple gentle readers. Things only matter in
our lives if we let them, and nowhere is it written that Brian France has the
right or ability to dictate to any one of us what makes a Champion in a sport
that folks my age have followed for probably 50 years longer than has he. We,
you and I, get to make that sort of decision all by ourselves and each for him
or herself. We are in no way obligated to feel the same way about anyone, nor
do we even have to acknowledge the same person as being the best over a given
period of time. In short, if we each come up with a different
"Champion", it's OK. It's all personal, and as such, cannot be
decided for us by anyone... even each other.
So
my fellow race fans, don't we all feel a bit better for having cleared the air
of that less than pleasant aroma? I thought you would. It's like opening all
the windows on the first warm day of spring and letting the fresh air sweep the
winter mustiness from every corner of the house. Winter is dead because Spring has said it's so... just as the Chase is dead because
we have said it's so.
Mr.
France, like the rest of us, you are certainly entitled to your method of
picking a Champion. "Whatever floats your boat", as
the children say. What you are not entitled to do is impose your thought
processes upon our minds. Most of us chose many years ago to leave behind the
fairy tale world and dwell in the real one. Make-believe is a game we no longer
play, and your attempts at inducing the willing suspension of disbelief upon
those you somehow view as "subjects" has not and will not succeed.
Cognitive estrangement will conquer that ploy every time, and I Sir, am a
master at such craft. Enjoy life on that little cloud, but don't get too close
to the edge. The ground below is real, and there are rocks to be found there.
And
so, gentle readers, it is on to beautiful (In the summertime) Watkins Glen for
a race that easily might prove to be the best of the entire year. Let's hope
so, as we could all use a few good races about now. Do enjoy The Glen, but
don't forget to return to these pages come Monday afternoon. Your scribe has
something very special to present to you at that time, so please mark it on
your calendar, note it in your cell phone or scratch it on your cave wall, but
don't miss it!
Time
now for our Classic Country Closeout, and oh dear, this week presents so many
thoughts and ideas it's really difficult to limit them to only two or three.
The first one I've chosen today is appropriately entitled "Making Believe" and was originally recorded by Miss
Kitty Wells back in the mid-1950s. The version here is done by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, and is much softer and more pleasing
to the ear than the rather wailing style of Kitty Wells... in my humble
opinion.
Next
up is one by that master storyteller and balladeer extraordinaire, Burl Ives.
The song is one I recall listening to my cousin sing many times to the children
of the family as they sat around her, completely enrapt in the totally nonsensical
but almost magical words of "Froggie Went a' Courtin'."
Finally,
I guess one might say this is one that can be filed under, "The Devil made
me do it." Here are Peter, Paul and Mary telling a tall tale about "Puff the Magic Dragon." Significance... optional.
Don't
forget to come back on Monday! Be well gentle readers, and remember to keep
smiling. It looks so good on you!
~
PattyKay