Colliding Memories in the Sand

Johnny Mallonee
@johnny-mallonee
8 years ago
3,259 posts

Two older fellows were setting on the porch one afternoon talking over important things when a boy of maybe ten or twelve went running by as fast as he could considering he was carrying a bent up wagon axle and wheels. One gentleman turned to the other and said one day them wild kids gonna get hurt up bad playing with them dang wagons they keep repairing to go sailing off that hill into the sand pit,the other said don't think so because they having problems about halfway down with the turns they got in that there track they carved out.well night time came and about five kids came up the road a laughing and betting who was gonna beat who tomorrow on the track,about that time one kid that was black said he was gonna skunk all them next time they raced. A tall bushy headed said only if you pass me will you be champ.
Both guys on the porch laughed at the comments the kids were making going home for the night. this is in the fifty's after the war and America is brimming with opportunity's and there is talk of sending a man to the moon,imagine that!
Well the Diamond Hill Boys drifted off as their parents moved to better jobs in other parts of the south,and the hill was taken over by mother nature.
Fast forward to the sixty's when every guy almost had a car and everybody's was faster than someday.Well only place to prove that was on the track and in the south we had an abundance of them,long,short,or in between.
Almost every service station had an old hotrod setting around advertising their wares and a lot of back yards were lite up with late night tedious work being performed for the weekends race.
Remember the Diamond Hill boys? Well they got into auto racing too,some had a little shop out back and some worked in a real garage down town or up on some chicken farm. Even the black kid was out there every weekend slugging away with his old clunker. As time travels on each carves a nitch out in the sport that suits him and his finances,and they progress on running on faster and bigger tracks.
As luck would have it they kept meeting up at different tracks where some won some lost, they even helped each other because all were not equal in equipt,but if one needed it someone supplied it,even the black guy was in their circle.
Bump time on up the hill a little and most are older now and a little wiser too.Finances have become satisfactory for most and their paths start crossing again.
One day they are out on a boat fishing,they are down to four players now ,and fish aren't biting but the radio is playing and the race is advertised. The talk turns to the old gig,cars and racing. So that night at the motel restaurant a new deal is drawn out on a napkin.They gonna go racing again,sounds good but you know they haven't been behind the wheel of a car in a few years.One jumps up and said we did it when we were young lets do it again,lets build us a race track that older cars can race on.The black guy jumps up and says heck we can call it the vintage racing group.You know that has a ring to it and all agree.
They form a group, name it appropriately,and start hunting land. As luck has it they buy an old race track from out of the fifty s and there you go,the Diamond Boys are back playing in the dirt,but they stir up interest from the general public and others want to come play. Well now this calls for some thinking . Well today this bunch of play boys have a group that has grown to unthought of size,and the way it looks it is not through with its growth but the initial group is holding on to the original dream of vintage racing and to preserve the memories of what is slowly drifting away each and every time one of our senior members and drivers move on to the great track in the sky.
Now lady's and gentlemen this a yarn I have spun out of my memories of the past and what will happen in the future if we don't capture and preserve the knowledge that is leaving us every day. This is why I try to put all I can remember about the good ole days into writing because at the moment because the hereafter doesnt send to many memories back to us,unless its memories thats broken loose in our minds..God bless us all and always remember you can always relive your--" Memories"-- every day.
See you in turn Four and as Red Skeleton would always say at the end of every show "God Bless"


updated by @johnny-mallonee: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
Tim Leeming
@tim-leeming
8 years ago
3,119 posts

Another good one Johnny. One thing I remember clearly almost every day of my life is ole Red signing off with "God Bless" and you had no doubt he was sincere. Just as sincere as you are present the memories you share with all of us. You know, in these days and times memories of what we had and who we were back in those days of the 50s and 60s, make it easier for me to put up with the state of the current world.

Interesting thing happened to me yesterday. I'm remodeling The Lair and in the many boxes of things I had stored here I found my blue binder note book, you know, the three ring binder, I used during my Senior year in high school. I can't believe I drew that '63 Plymouth on the back because it is a really good drawing by the world's worst artist. It has a record of Richard's finishes listed on the front cover. The number 43 and the name Richard Petty are all over the binder. How simple it was to get good grades (with the exception of math) and the only real worries I had was the next race Richard Petty would win.

What you are doing with your writing is sharing a part of special memories of the Johnny Mallonee kind. You have an excellent memory and put into words a picture I can see happening before me. Thank you, Johnny, for you indeed bring back the good things.

God bless. Oh, and with that, I am a huge fan of Charles Dickens and, of course, "A Christmas Carol" is one of my favorites. As my name is Tim, I found it easy to include "God bless us, everyone". Take care and keep 'em coming.




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What a change! It's been awhile since I've checked in and I'm quite surprised. It may take me awhile to figure it our but first look it's really great.