Yes indeed my friends. I'm living a dream. Not sure whose it is but a dream none the less.
LFG stood me up this weekend so I barely left the house. My little one has strep and naturally, she wanted to be with her mom. When I was an illin' child, the last person I wanted was my daddy.
NASCAR is a rancid slice of Americana and I don't follow it but Daytona deserved a few minutes of my time today. I had about fifteen minutes to burn while my Hungry Man dinner TV dinner was warming. But I must admit that I loved Cale Yarborough when I was a child and I sat in the Wood Brothers Cale Yarborough Mercury Cyclone one time. Shut up. I've got Daumier and Sickert reference books and they are heavy. Any more guff out of you and I'll pick both of them up and commence a syncopated slapping so hard that when you wake up that little ensemble you had on today will be back in style.
And who'd a thunk that in the day of big money corporate redneck racing, the Wood Brothers would win Daytona. Glenn Wood used to drive the family ride but neither of the brothers really wanted to drive 'em.
So here's to the humble boys...the Wood brothers.
And here's to my little redneck and her speedy recovery from that bad ole strep infection.
LFG...budding NASCAR historian and model car builder.
Onward. In purple flat fronts and Alden cigars. Y'all don't tell nobody about my NASCAR thang. Matter a fackly, I'd appreciate y'all not mentioning my thang at all.
ADG II
25 comments:
Motown (my town) made cars men designed and built (my father, uncles, and grandfathers) and those same men drove, that boys like me, in the late 60s, and early 70s, seriously lusted after.
Men built and raced real hand-built track cars then. I remember going to mud track races as a boy on cold fall evenings... What true full on fun!
Thanks for the memory trip, and I am sorry for your lost looked forward to weekend.
I hope for your girl's speediest painless recovery!
I must admit, very few people could pull off Gucci suede bit loafers with lug soles and a terry bath robe...quite the ensemble for the Daytona 500...well done sir, well done indeed.
I knew a man in Chapel Hill, Doug Yates, who raced Daytona when part of the track was the beach, and "factory backed" meant you got a discount on parts.
Never much got into it myself, either, but growing up in SwampHomeCarolina, then moving to Charlotte, you gotta follow it some. When I vacation out West, and say "I'm from Charlotte", about 40% say "Panthers" or "Bobcats", the majority say "NASCAR"...strange.
"commence a syncopated slapping so hard that when you wake up that little ensemble you had on today will be back in style."
That is the funniest thing I've read in a long time!
And, you're right. Sick little girls always want their mommies. Mine wanted me last weekend. This weekend she wanted her cable-tv having, no bed-time having, not-a-lot of veggie having dad. It all evens out :)
Feel better, LFG.
I may or may not have grown up 30 minutes from the Bristol Speedway and may or may not have attended the grand opening of that place, complete with Brenda Lee singing "I'm Sorry" and firecrackers popping. Yes, Fireball Roberts was there, too. Thanks for reviving a memory. ;-) xoxo
Go fast...turn left....
Daytona is a great American event....enjoy with no guilt!
I think if one is from anywhere in the Carolinas then loving cars and racing is in your blood -- Hope LFG recovers quickly.
I was in Augusta Ga when Tiny Lund won Daytona for Glenn Wood. I was only in grade school, but it was as if Stonewall himself had returned. I like how Glenn's care was sponsored by a drive-in. A different time for sure. Get well soon LFG.
Thanks for the excellent tribute to the Wood Brothers Racing, the oldest stock car team running. It was great to see octogenarians Glen and Leonard Wood in victory lane yesterday, looking almost excited as their 20 year old driver!
Scale...my father was an investor in a local car dealership. So the "What wins in Sunday sells on Monday" was a reality when I was a little kid. I'm gonna do another NASCAR post later. Remember when there was a time where the cars were actually "stock"? Remember when they couldn't race one unless the actual model they raced was available for sale?
James...were you at Fort Gordon? I used to call on the hospital there when I was a kid. Tiny Lund was anything but Tiny...and he and Joe Weatherly were the two biggest practical jokers back then.
Silk Reggie...I could hear the drone of the cars at Darlington while standing in my front lawn. Riveting for a seven year old.
MainLiner...that's FOUR left turns...bumper to bumper at one-eighty!
Preppy101...I grew up ten miles from Darlington. Ditto you re the "events"...Darlington 500 Parade was a huge think when I was a kid. I met "Matt Dillon" and "Goober" and Clint Eastwood.
NCJack...That's amazing re the Beach course guy. I watched an interview with Bill France Sr. who said that because he was tall and lanky, he could reach out the side window and wipe the beach spray off his windshield after his wipers inevitably failed.
YogaTeach...I've dodged the respiratory/strep bullet this year so far but I ain't braggin'.
AnonTerryRobe...If I'd worn the silk robe from Bobby From Boston amidst NASCAR being on my television, I'd have to have beaten my own a_s.
The beating you described above is probably what you'd get if you wore those purple cords to a Neckcar event. Regardless, purple is perfect in my book. My new suit just arrived with a purple lining...feeling fuzzy!
Britt
At least you spent the wkend doing something productive...regenerating and relaxing is VERY important! Back when I was young (during the Middle Ages) I wanted to be a sports journalist, so I watched everything and anything, including racecar events and boxing. Never got into either of them, and lo and behold, also never got into sports journalism for myriad reasons. I posit it's rather weird that so many Nascar events are in places like Las Vegas, but hey, what do I know. I DO know that I love the violet cords...just try finding something equally rich in tone these days. It seems impossible, even with more menswear designers trying out the "avant garde." Pfft. Perhaps that's a new consulting role for you?
Is that your phone you are watching? What a life.
AnonPhoneWatching...I'm no intellectual snob. Hell, I just posted a story about NASCAR. But if it wasn't for LFG, I would not own a television. So yes, the one you see in the picture is an old fashioned small screen relic and when it goes, you can bet your sweet ass I won't be replacing it with a big screen whatever.
GretchtheWretch...stop the self deprecating crap. You aren't yet fiddy so shut up. And no, that ain't another consulting gig...they don't pay crap compared to the healthcare/pharma minions!
Britt...Purple lining. Damn.
Rene....Ms. Finberg....thanks!
I'm so sorry your adorable sidelined daughter must waste a 3-day weekend in the darn sick bed.
I may have to break down and send you a photo from my days working for Sun Oil Company as "the Sunoco girl" SE District. As such, there I am in the pit at Sebring standing next to the Sunoco/RogerPenske/MarkDonohue car. The Sunoco "girls" drove flashy Penske-styled Camaros and Javelins all around their respective districts trying to inspire dealers to clean up, take pride. Imagine how welcome a perky girl in a soupy Camaro, taking notes, would be in late 60s deep south trying to tell a salty ole guy he needed to clean up his service bays.
You could pass for a Ravens fan with those purple cords.
My mother was the one to treat me with castor oil and prune juice but my father's treatment included gingerale and orange sherbet. Guess whose treatment I preferred?
ah, but ADG, when you've got teens, it gets drilled into you that you've got one foot in the grave and anything that happened to you pre-them must have occurred when the world was still considered flat. Oy.
Flo.... " Imagine how welcome a perky girl in a soupy Camaro, taking notes, would be in late 60s deep south trying to tell a salty ole guy he needed to clean up his service bays."... The 60's? Shit, I'm waiting for some perky thang to roll in to my place right now and give me a big ole talkin' to about the condition of my service bay.
I am not a fan of the former Cleveland Browns now known as the Ravens.
Gretchen...I'm not going to have teens. Thanks though. AD(enial)G
I gueeess those are 2 inchers. Cuffs, not thangs...XXOO
AllieVonCaliperDodger...YES they are two inchers. You are just begging for a visit from the BPD ain't cha?
DeathBredonMon...thanks. I didn't see you up there.
Nor am I a fan, ADG. And remember, denial ain't just a river in Egypt.
I'm sorry you missed a weekend with your girl. It's hard, even when you know why and how.
LimeGreen....walk right by me at the Exxon and not say hello.
LPC...had a great consolation today. She was off from school and stayed with me. I "worked" from home and we watched Secretariat...it was a lovely afternoon.
Nice to stay in sometimes, isn't it...
Now ADG, if the coat, the umbrella and the bag didn't give me away, the building from which I was leaving must have. Call me next time you are across the street from me.
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