This post is about a magazine article that doesn't mention racing, but really hits the nail on the head with its premise that memory is a time machine - something with which many of us here on this site will agree.
The article I reference is by Rick Bragg and is on page 140 of my Southern Living Magazine April 2013 issue. It arrived in my mailbox this afternoon. I always look forward to Rick's articles.
I am posting the entire article below. It begins, as you will see, with a statement that "They say we southerners live in the past." I think Rick could have equally substituted the phrase "stock car racing fans" for southerners. If you read the article, you'll certainluy see the parallels.
He talks of a time when every man welded and could run a wire. He talks of a time when folks worked hard all day, then built things at night.
What is particularly interesting is that the story references the Army base in Anniston, Alabama as the employer of two central characters - his aunt and uncle. That's the same Army base where one of my racing heroes - Al Grinnan - was stationed in the early 50s when he began his racing career.
We often stayed in Anniston when racing at Talladega. Our motels were always near I-20 in Anniston, across town from the base. But we found a favorite Chinese restaurant right across from the main gate of the Anniston Army base.
I hope you enjoy the brief article and find yourself thinking about floating back in time like I did.
I also hope you can appreciate why I thought of this RacersReunion site and our many members who enjoy cranking up our personal time machines and listening to tales told by other members who crank up their time machines. Click on the article to enlarge it - I hope.
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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 01/21/22 04:47:19PM