My good friend, Johnny Mallonee, uses "memories" often. Elvis sang of memories (don't fuss Jeff, I'm not singing) and even Barbra sang about memories painting the corners of her mind. Several things today stir memories in my mind. Nope, I'm not the Statler Brothers, but do you remember these things?
1. "No street shoes on the gym floor". I thought of this when I took my 7 year old grandson to his basketball practice this morning and walked across the floor. Doesn't seem to matter any more but I remember when I was in high school in the 60s and walked across the gym floor in penny loafers, Art Baker, the gym coach, made the Sgt. Carter-Gomer Pyle confrontations seem tame.Come to think of it, Art Baker look a lot like Sgt. Carter and I did have about the same attitude as Gomer.
2. The baseball card bubble gum that was the size of the baseball card and always was so much fun to chew and blow bubbles.
3. Remember in the winter when those little puffs of ice crystals would poke up from the ground and they were so much fun to crunch under your feet while waiting for the school bus?
4. Remember summers when you played outside all the time, even if it was raining, and the only time you really wore shoes was to church.
5.Remember when the races were real cars?
6. Remember when NASCAR was the epitome of the sport?
7. Remember when you went to the dirt track near you on Thursday night, Friday night or maybe Saturday night.
8. Remember when Dink Widenhouse, Peanut Turman, Ralph Earnhardt, Sam Ard, Butch Lindley
Joe Penland, Lil' Bud Moore and so many others were our weekly heroes?
9. Remember when it was cool to go home after a race with the red dirt dust covering you?
10. Remember what it felt like to live and breathe stock car racing 24/7?
However much of that you remember, think you remember, wish you remembered, it's something to think about. What is it, 3 weeks til the Daytona 500? During the 60s, 70s. 80s and even the 90s, I could tell you from the day AFTER Christmas, how many hours and mimutes til the green flag at Daytona. Honestly, until I just watched the Michele Rahal report of Richard Petty Motorsports for 2011 on the web site PattyKay is hawking, I wasn't that aware of the days til The Great American Race is subjected to the television broadcast disgusting inso many boogity ways. However, from the report of Mr. Rahal, big things are expected from Petty Motorsports. The sponsors are in place and they have two pretty good drivers in Allmendinger and Ambrose. Just need to get some Petty Blue on those Fords. You can bet on this: If a Petty car wins Daytona, I will remember being there in 1964 standing on that hill of dirt by Lake Lloyd just big enough for one person but which allowed you to see almost the entire track. I'll remember '67 when we camped under a plastic paint tarp strung between our car and the fence in turn four. I'll remember 1979, when we saw Donnie and Cale sliding and realized that the 43 was next in line to win. There were fourteen of us going wild on top of the motorhome jumping up and down as Richard took that flag. An Orlando televisiion station filmed it all from the ground beneathe our motorhome. Never got to see the video but that doesn't matter. I lived it and I remember it. Thank God that, at least for now, I can still remember things. Some things. I don't remember what I had for lunch two hours ago but I remember watching that all Petty Blue number 43 take the lead from that Red Paul Goldsmith number 25 about the fifth lap of that 1964 Daytona 500.
Tim
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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.
updated by @tim-leeming: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
