Not too wordy...

Well, I suppose that one cannot accuse me of being too prolific with words on this blog. ;) I have not been wasting anyone's time or eyesight by updating unnecessarily.

It is also very difficult for me to believe that it's been so long since I've posted anything on here. I do believe that we've entered some space-time continuum.

We're all doing quite well. As with anything in life, there's ups, downs and in-betweens. The main thing is we are still hanging in there and doing the very best we can. I'm coming more and more into the mindset that life is what you make of it. Shit happens and if you let yourself solely focus on that, then shit is what you'll get out of it. I'm trying to stay out of the shit - it stinks, is hard to clean up and leaves a lingering smell and yuck factor.

The kids are doing great. Racing has started back and already we've been to Talladega for Rokimus to race. A wicked fast, 1/4 mile, high-banked track where, in both classes, he qualified 5th and finished 2nd. He turned a 10.95 second lap in one of the races, so that'll tell you he was going pretty fast. :) My gray hair count went up significantly this weekend. Moosie will start her racing season this weekend at our local track race night.

Speedy has had some job changes as his hospital got bought out at the beginning of the year. There's always an adjustment period, but he's hanging in there and putting feelers out for jobs in other areas. With his dad being gone, we don't feel comfortable moving too far away yet, so we'll have to see how it all pans out.

Homeschooling is still happening and I'm happy to report that I'm much more laid-back about it this year. The kids are in charge of their own time management, and while it's not the perfect scenario every week, they are doing pretty good with it. For some reason, they don't like the idea of having to complete schoolwork on the weekends at the track in between races. ;)

I've had another bone growth on my other hand come up in the past month or so, and have gotten an appointment with the rheumatology center in May. The hand doc that performed my last surgery seems to think that's the direction we need to head in. Right now, it's not terribly painful or large so it's pretty much a non-issue other than finding out why in the world my bones feel the need to produce like rabbits in places that have no need of extra growth. On the other hand, (no pun intended) I'm really not concerned with osteoporosis.

Well, that's enough babble for now. Hope all four of you that read this are doing well. I know that three of you are, but for my anonymous reader that emails once in a blue moon - I really hope life's going well for you! :) Look me up on facebook if you'd like. I'm much more (sporadically) likely to update there.

Take care - Me

Happy Birthday Mom...

I miss you.

Much has gone on in the last few months. Racing season has started and I've even tried my hand at kart racing. I'm really looking forward to trying it again. I feel if I could just stop giggling while racing, I'd do much better! I also was offered a deal with a kart racing magazine for my photos. Pretty exciting stuff.

Then the bottom dropped out - again. My father in law, Grandaddy Chief, passed away suddenly a few weeks ago. He died exactly how he'd always said he wanted - fast & in his sleep. He was such an amazing man. Patience, acceptance, knowledge and understanding inhabited his very being. He was pretty much the center of my children's world and I didn't mind one bit. He would call when we were schooling at the store and see if he could pick them up. He just happen to "need" to come to town and thought he'd get them if they were done with school work. I think I always said yes. Telling our son and daughter that he'd died was the hardest, most heartbreaking thing we've ever done. I felt my son's heart break. I felt my daughter's world crumble and there was nothing I could do about it.

We are getting better, but there are moments when I just want to rage at the higher power. Why? What are we supposed to learn from this? What possible benefit could there be in taking the two most cherished grandparents from my children? I just don't get it.

So, on this, my mother's birthday, I find that I'm between anger, tears and an almost empty, hopeless feeling. There are two less people in the world that accepted me as is, did not try to change me, and loved me unconditionally.

I miss you. I miss your voice in my ear, your hand on my shoulder, your guidance for me and my children and most of all, I miss your love.

Take care - Me

Holy Cats!

I cannot believe it's been so long! Since I've joined the Facebook world, I guess I've just forgotten about the blogland.

We've been pretty busy, but things are going pretty good.

Last month found us in South Carolina for the Maxxis National Championship kart races. Rokimus made the show both days as did Moosie. (Moosie was in the beginner class, so all those karters were allowed to race the feature.) Moosie did not race Sunday as she felt it was not worth it if they weren't going to put transponders on the karts. (Transponders keep track of speed and racing positions.) Rokimus had some rough luck on both days of racing, but he kept on driving! It amazes me that he has such drive and heart for this sport. As soon as his jacket, gloves and helmet go on, he is one focused person! We have two more races on the schedule for this year. This weekend will find us in Brandon, MS at our first attempt for indoor kart racing. Both kids will race, with Rokimus racing in at least two classes, probably three. The following weekend will be a local track make up race for points. After that, I'll be racing to get the house work done that doesn't seem to get done during racing season.

I'm also planning for a trip next month to NEW YORK CITY!! :) I'm very excited and very nervous. As one who does not care for people invading my personal space, I feel it will be a very "learning" experience. We'll be there for about a week and plan to take in the Sony Wonder Lab, the Rockettes at Radio City, Lady Liberty (including the crown), not to mention the art museums and of course, the window displays! We're staying at the Hotel Beacon for most of the trip, so I'm thinking of getting us tickets to a show at the Beacon Theatre for one of those nights. Actually, just now, linking the Theatre, I've found a Cirque du Soleil performance at the WaMu that looks great!

I did have my hand doc appointment last month. He's released me. They are thinking that it's becoming an arthritic situation. Right now, there's not enough pain for me to see a specialist. Last week, I did have to get one finger sliced open due to an infection around my nail that puffed up and looked horrendous! It felt even worse. I'm on antibiotics for a few more days and the finger is much better!

So, really, besides the homeschooling, racing, trip-planning, working and minor health issues, life is good here. :)

Take care - Me

Better, kinda...

So, homeschooling is going better. I'm trying to be more relaxed about it, not stressing over every... single... thing. :) I'm not saying that every day is a glorious, education-filled dream of living, but it's getting better for the kids and me. I can say that I'm very thankful for Schoolhouse Rocks and chemistry experiments! They're even wanting to listen to the Schoolhouse Rocks while they go to sleep now.

Last week was pretty crazy. My life kind of crazy. We traveled to Missouri for a big race where Rokimus was somewhat a guest of honor. The Saturday before the trip, I had to go work a golf tournament that was named after Mother. On the way there, I hit a rabbit with the Honda and kept on going. Just a rabbit, right? I said my usual prayer to Francis and kept on. Speedy was home working on gokarts and trying to get the video ready for upload on our racing site. He broke the camcorder trying to get a tape in/out. Great.

Fast forward to Monday. Took the Honda to work and to transport two of the dogs and one cat to the vet for boarding/spading. The kids and I smelled something on the way home, but figured it was Charlie the basset mix who is notorious for getting car sick. I washed all protective coverings when I got home.

Tuesday - day before trip. Get in the Honda after schooling to run errands in town. Smell something horrible. Go next door to my in-laws to tell kids bye. Open hood. Proceed to almost toss my cookies in near by bushes. Remember hitting rabbit. Shit. Figure I probably hit it harder than I thought and there must be pieces left in there. Go in the house, very kindly, very beggingly ask Grandaddy Chief if he would power wash the engine compartment. We go up to the shop and open the hood again. Then we notice that the front bumper where the grill is located is broken. He takes off the top part of the bumper. There's the entire, dead, putrid rabbit laying there. That rabbit broke the bumper grill, bent the AC compressor into the radiator and now I'm on my way to the body shop for $2500 worth of damage. From a rabbit. The day before our trip. Thank goodness we were taking the BAT. (big ass truck) Finally go to nearest big town to get replacement camcorder for big race weekend. Get back home and work on laundry until late in the night. The last load, which held my good shorts, some of Speedy's work clothes and some children clothing also contained a red crayon. A crayon that proceeded to melt all over my dryer and the load of clothing.

Friday. We've made it to Missouri. Rokimus is practicing in his newly won kart. Only it's not the body he can race in. They don't know where that one is. Should be in that night. I'm shooting (photographing) the practices. Life is good. Then... nothing. My beloved Nikon D80 stopped. Completely. Err flashing at me. No pictures being saved by the memory card. Shutter still working. It's dead. Luckily, my sister is there with her Coolpix and lets me use it.

Racing - The body did get there. The pit crew we were told would be in charge were great until their kart started racing. The kid (probably early 20's) supposed to be helping us didn't even show for one of the races and then didn't get enough fuel in for the qualifying of the big race. Rokimus gave 100% and I am proud of the way he kept on going even though things weren't running quite as smooth as we'd hoped. A tire came off in one of the features, so he didn't even get to finish that race. Just stuff like that. The kind of race night where you're just ready for it to be over. Don't get me wrong, I'm still humbled and thankful that Rokimus was chosen for this and that we got to meet some really neat racing people that generously donated the kart, motor, clutch, graphics, tires and time. I just wish that we would have had a clearer picture about how the pits and racing would be handled. How we run the pitting and kart set up is a bit different than how they do it and that's an adjustment, especially when mistakes and overlooks keep happening and you feel like you have no control over it.

So, right now, things are better. I'm certainly glad to be back in the land of red dirt. I have the Honda back and it looks great and smells even better! We've got a new kart sitting in the shop ready to head to the track this weekend for another big race. Schooling is going smoother and I'm really enjoying being around the kids to watch them learn. The new camcorder has a few bugs and we're undecided about returning right now. My camera has to be sent in for repairs and that will take at least two weeks and who knows how much money. I'm trying to plead my case about getting a Nikon D300, but when I look at my old refrigerator, it's hard to justify spending that kind of money. The crayon load of laundry is soaking in the washer right now, so we'll see about that. Shout and Tide Coldwater can do amazing things for crayons. I should know, I've used it before!

Take care - Me

Breathe, just breathe...

So, how are you?

Me? Oh, I'm crazy... I mean fine, really, I'm fine.

We started homeschooling this week. Monday, in fact. I still have all my hair. The kids are still alive. That's good - right? I have been researching homeschooling for about 3 years now. Do you know how good those books, articles, blogs and e-zines can make it sound? How easy? Check it out - you'll see.

There is a part of me that thinks I should be wearing a hippy-cool, hand-dyed, organic shirt over some fab linen slacks (full leg, of course) while chanting and holding hands with my children as we learn of far away places and their cultures. We'd fix fantastical meals based on the country we'd study, learn their music and art, their religions. Then, we'd fall into each others arms with a blissful, well-educated sigh.

This is not our reality. Our reality is that I just realized today that we have yet to cover any history or social studies. ANY. At all. None. We have covered the basics of Chemistry. They love it. We have started into multiplication while refreshing our addition and subtraction. We've worked on the tenses, prepositions, dual-meaning words and various other grammatical items. We've read. We've written. We've cried. We've cursed. Oh wait - that was just me. We've smoked way too many cigarettes. Again - just me.

Sitting here tonight in the silence, with all kinds of books, notebooks and learning materials surrounding me, I think I've come to a new way of thinking. Stop stressing. Stop worrying that he's meeting every Mississippi requirement. Isn't that why we're homeschooling? To learn at our paces? To learn in an interesting way? Rokimus is having a very difficult transition with his Mom becoming his teacher. I'm also having difficulties. In the back of my head are the voices of those around me who are not on board with this endeavor. The ones who doubt I can do this. Honestly, those voices may be imagined, but they are still there. Am I good enough? I feel like a horrible person when I get aggravated that he won't sit down and pay attention. That he won't think for himself - just think. Read something, think about it and implement it. Do they not teach that in the school system anymore? Is it just me? And then, when he's done complaining and whining and figures out that I'm not giving into his crap - he'll do it. ARGH. Why did it take him 20 minutes of all that just to figure out that he's still got to do it?!

So, luckily Moosie is loving this. It helps to know that. I think I may attempt to work them separately somewhat. I may even slack off on the formal educational side of things and work on their thinking/implementing skills. This mainly shows up in worksheets that I've given them. We'll still be working on the education, but I've got to find a different way to approach it with Rokimus.

Anywho. That's what's going on here. That and we're traveling to Missouri next week. You see, Rokimus has won a really large contest through a racing magazine. He's going to represent them in a really big race up there next week. Then after the race, we get to pack up that about $6000 kart and bring it home. So, cool, huh? :)

Take care - Me

A Racing We Will Go...

Rokimus is in the red kart approaching (rapidly) the black kart that had just spun out. I now need to edit the audio on the camcorder!

Moosie is in the yellow kart approaching her opponent (school friend) about to make her first racing pass. She made it successfully without spinning the other kart or herself out. I foresee many more passes in her racing career!

It's officially race season around here! Saturday night found us at the local track with both kids racing. This is Moosie's first time racing, though you'd never know it to watch her. She finished first in the heat and feature! Girl Power!! :) (Momma might be proud)

Rokimus was up against 8 other racers, aged 8-12. We're still having issues with his new set up and we couldn't get his kart to turn the RPM it needed to. He started 3rd in the heat, finishing 2nd. This position determines where you start in the feature. So, he started 2nd in the feature and finished 2nd after not being quite able to pass the 1st place racer. As this is the first race he's not won since he first started racing, I'd say he's doing just fine! :) Of course, he's already planning on how to do better next weekend at the State Series race.

For those of you who wish and are allowed - I've posted pics on the other site.


Take care - Me

And we're off...

To the gokart track. It's officially spring in the racing world. This will be Moosie's first time on the track in her own cart & Rokimus will be in his brand new cart.

The weather is beautiful and the track should be fast. God help me. :)

Oh yeah - Speedy is out of the picture due to server updates/swaps at the hospital. It's up to me and Grandaddy Chief to get the set ups and all right. Wish us luck! And please send prayers of serenity to Speedy and prayers of calmness to those who are having to work with him. :)

Take care - Me

Hands and jobs...

No, not hand jobs, hands AND jobs...

I went to the specialist today. He comes highly recommended and is actually covered by my insurance - double bonus! In his words, it's just bad luck that they all occurred at the same time. They are not connected. The one on the back of my hand is fairly common, even for my age. The one where the previous surgery occurred is less common, but not a bone spur. It's a calcified mass in my tendon. It's not very harmful at this point and the consensus is that it should be left alone for now. The spot on the back of my thumb is very unusual and is a bone spur, or osteophyte. Since I'm currently on 2400mg of ibuprofen/24 hours and still having some pain, it's felt that cortisone shots would not benefit me much. So, the current plan is for me to stick it out as long as I can and then we'll have to go in again and shave this spot off.

Since I was in a city that actually has a real yarn store, I went by there. It was open today and what beautiful yarns! Mother and I had stopped by there last year before it was open. Mother was able to sweet talk the owner into letting us drool over the stock she had gotten in even though we couldn't purchase anything. The owner remembered me and asked about Mother. I lost it. Knowing that Mother would love that store - the yarns, books, needles and atmosphere, I just missed her deep in my soul. I wanted her to be there to share that with. I wanted her input on the textures and colors of kettle dyed skeins and rolls of silken alpaca. I needed her there physically. The owner was great, she hugged me and walked around with my while handing me tissues. She had lost her mother and father within four months of each other. She knew. The other patrons helped too, patting me, mentioning this stitch or that, letting me know that I was not alone in that place. I bought a significant amount of yarn along with a new book. I was able to walk out without tearing, but once I got to the car, I lost it again. And lost it almost the entire way home. Then, I got it together again.

Amazingly, right after I got it together today I received an call from a screen printing business that is in need of a graphic artist. The pay isn't all that great, but it would be fun to be making some money doing something creative. Also, the owner seems to be a very level-headed, nice person and she comes highly recommended from the artist who has been working for her. I'm supposed to call her back tomorrow.

The kids are doing great - they love TAG and if it weren't for that day, I'd be having a lot of trouble keeping them interested in school. Rokimus had the last points race of the season this past Saturday. He got moved up to a more advanced class for that race as he had won every race this season in the other class. I was somewhat concerned as this puts him racing against kids that are around 3-4 years older. Silly me. He timed the fastest, started the heat race on pole and was able to hold off the very aggressive 2nd place feature driver. Even after that kid spun him out and ended up hurting not only his own kart, but another one as well. So, Rokimus was able to win every race this season and had only one race that he didn't start on the pole due to mechanical issues. In that one, he started the feature last, passed 6 carts and finished first. Proud mama? Yeah, I am. :)

Speedy is also doing good. He's planning on racing this Saturday, so he's been busy getting his car ready. Again, I'm very glad he races instead of hunting. At least the family can be involved in racing. I have no desire to shoot a bambi.

Take care - Me

Family Update No.128...

This is just a mish-mash of updating, so be prepared for run-on sentences and blah blah blah...

Speedy: Raced a couple of weekends ago, broke the breather, didn't finish race, has to fix breather. On the home front, he's still hanging in there with me, so you know he's a man to keep! I figure anyone that can live with me lately and not go running off into the woods screaming is a pretty good person.

Moosie: We have added another turtle to the family. We think it's a box turtle, but as I did not study herpetology, that is a guess. The new turtle's name is Pine. We now have Pine and Tuss, the red-ear slider. We also now have two cages that must be cleaned out frequently or the house will be over-come with the reptilian room scent. Amazing that Glade has not come out with that one for the plug-ins. Moosie is now able to ride in the woods on her newest horse, Sid, without a lead rope. Oh the joys of hair dye.

Rokimus: He competed in his second race ever this past Saturday. From 9am to almost 9pm our family was at the go-cart track. Have I mentioned that I love my family. Because, let me tell you, there are many things that could have been accomplished in that 12 hours that did not get done. No matter, who needs clean undies when you've got a WINNING driver son?! That's right, he won! As in 1st place. As in, did not lose. Yes, I'm somewhat proud. And best of all, he showed wonderful sportsmanship toward the other losers, oops, I mean drivers. The average speed per lap was 42 mph. Have I mentioned hair dye?

Mother: We started another round of chemo this past Friday. We had to stop the Xeloda, as it became toxic to her system. While this gives her system a few weeks to recoup on the blood counts, it also gives the cancer 3 weeks vacation from being attacked. Still attacking at a local oncology clinic near you is Gemzar. As Mother said, it does seem as though we're taking one step forward, two steps back with this whole cancer thing. Good thing that woman knows how to dance! :)

Me: Well, I did get my hair colored. A nice shade of auburn. What a shame that the stresses of life have brought out the gray in the past week. That's right, I paid $85 to have the hair cut and colored, and the gray is back in force. To minimize the stress, I have started a new knitting pattern. It actually has different stitches than just a knit stitch because I'm just crazy like that. I do believe that I was the only one at the race track knitting Saturday. I am still doing the graphics design work, and as you can tell by the length of this post, I'm procrastinating getting started on the newest job. I'm also still going to the tire store to manage the accounts and help out where/when needed. So I'm still a bit busy overall, but maybe this knitting thing is working, as I've not run screaming into the woods thing yet either. Of course, today is a new day and I might find the time for running & screaming as soon as I do some laundry, clean the kitchen, feed the dogs and turtles and start this graphics project.

Take care - me

OMG! Here's a picture of our family with the "big check" that Rokimus won Saturday night. For your viewing pleasure and my anal security issues, I've Photoshoped the faces & names.

Fabulous Friday to Torrid Tuesday

FF:
CT Scans showed no growth!! WooHoo!! Great news to say the least. She was also able to start her next round of chemo and did not even have to have the stomach injection of EPO for low RBC. (A savings of around $1800) And no, I did not mention a word to Mother about getting ticked at work the day before. Honestly, with the chemo fog she's going through right now, it's very possible she just forgot. The first "F" can have additional meaning for Friday nights as the kids stay with the in-laws! YEA!!

Speed Driven Saturday:
Mother came to pick Moosie up for a girls-night pj party after lunch. I made a mad dash into town to stock up on yogurt, dog food and to help my sister pick out her laser printer. We rushed back to LLL in time to unload shopping and reload all that was heading to the race track with us. (ice, frozen water bottles, ice, water, clothes to dip in the ice, oh and the video recorder) It was 100º at the track and I just don't see how Speedy can stand the heat when he's wearing the 3-layer fire suit. Mother, in the mean time, had called to tell me she was taking Moosie to the rodeo. Oh normal, calm life, where did you go? Will you come back now, please?

---- I will back up in time here & let you know that our son, Rokimus, had his first ever go cart race a couple of weekends ago. He did quite well, seems to be a natural, and I really didn't sprout too many new gray hairs until the announcer came over the speakers to tell us that the little Rokimus driver was OK and noone got hurt. You see, he pulled into the pits without brakes, slamming his cart into another one waiting to go out. He's fine, I'm buying stock in Clairol. He finished the feature race at 3rd place. We'll race his again on Sept. 1.----

Speedy finished third in his feature after scrubbing the wall and getting really close to another racer as he passed them. I was even home before midnight!

Slow, Sundry Sunday:
We slept in. Did you hear that?! We actually slept until around 8:30am! It's been a long time since that's happened. Even Rokimus, the 5 amer, slept until 9am. We did go to church, even me, so no, that wasn't an earthquake you felt, just me going to the Southern Baptist Facility in the backyard. We also found out that Speedy was nominated to be a deacon. ::silence... then sudden bursts of laughter:: While I do believe it to be an honor to be nominated for such a position, and that to help out a house of God is great, I mean, come on. They do know he's married to me don't they?! The one who doesn't believe in moving "letters" or that there should be "membership" for a place of worship. Anywho, we'll find out next Sunday if he's got the gig. I also got to taste the world's worst meatloaf, titled Stuffed Apple Meatloaf. Run, run fast if you are ever served this. Sunday also saw me doing little of nothing other than laundry, tidying up, helping Speedy get the race car ready for washing, etc. Found out that Moosie chased the calves and sat on a bull. Clairol, what is your stock price now? I did actually stay up late, watching the Princess Diana special on TLC until about 11:30pm when I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

Manic, Mean Monday:
We'll begin this day at midnight. With a call from Sister, who has Mother, and is on their way to the ER due to rising fever. I meet them there and we all enjoy the lovely ER facility until, around 3am they release Mother to go back home after running the blood tests, doing the X-rays and putting her on antibiotics. (this brings her to around 7 pills at breakfast & supper, including the oral chemo) I get home around 3:30am, finally go to sleep around 4:15am to be up again shortly after 7am to see the kids off to school. Speedy was wonderful & tried to let me sleep as long as possible. After getting the kids off, I got ready & headed to Mother's. I spent a good deal of the morning massaging her feet and holding her hand as pain would arch her back and make her pant. After the pain pills kicked in, things seemed to go better. I also worked the store for a couple of hours while getting her prescriptions refilled to the tune of around $175, and that's the copay amount. She was much better by evening & I finally got home around 5pm. Let me note here that I am NOT a person that deals well on little to no sleep. I also prayed for those that had to deal with me on this day.

Torrid Tuesday:
I realize that today could have been Terrific Tuesday, but I feel any day that starts with going to Walmart cannot be terrific. Also, any day that the bathtub gets scrubbed, the turtle case gets cleaned and the temp reaches over 100º in the shade is torrid. I did make the wonderful broccoli salad that Marcus sent me the recipe for. Thank goodness I made it since Granny served up the infamous leftover meatloaf from hell for supper tonight. I did know she was serving it & was able to call Speedy at work to forewarn him. He had a meeting to attend after work and was unable to make it home to eat. He owes me. BIG. Ellie did come home today with a more difficult book. Yesterday's lasted 15 minutes. These books are supposed to be read over the course of a week. I requested a more challenging book. It took her about 40 minutes to complete. We'll try again tomorrow.

Take care - me

Need for speed, need for hair dye...

So, you may be thinking that my husband's name, Speedy, came from a speeding ticket, or just his everyday driving style. You'd be wrong. Speedy's name comes from the fact that he races UMP open-wheel on dirt tracks. Now, the racing season ends late October, but since he just got into racing again after being off for a few years, I had forgotten how quickly the new season can sneak up on me.

We spent Saturday night at the local track testing the new welds, tachs, setup, etc. New welds? Yep, new welds. You see, last fall Speedy was going around the track pretty good (on three, sometimes two wheels) when suddenly the rear end dropped, tires went flat and generally added to my ever-graying hair. Come to find out, the welds broke right behind the drivers seat. The welds that held the transmission and rear-end mechanics in place.

Anywho, this past Saturday night was filled with red dirt underfoot, major engine roars that make your heart rate increase from the power, cars racing and sliding around a 1/4 mile track going somewhere near 150 mph and the excitement that fills the pits as a new racing year begins. That's right 150 miles. per. hour. More gray hair pops out of my head just thinking of that. Saturday was actually pretty fun for me as Speedy wasn't really racing anyone and noone wants to ruin their new car body work on a practice session. :) This really doesn't stop them from nudging one another every now and then, they're just more careful doing it.

So, in another few weeks, we'll be heading out to race for the money. Though anyone right in the head will realize that it's a big joke if you think you'll get rich racing dirt track. The engine Speedy & his dad built would sell for around $36,000. Did you get that? That's three zeros after the thirty-six. And don't even get me started on how much the racing fuel costs. But you know what? I'm damn proud of him. He's been through a lot in this life. He has no other hobbies, doesn't hunt, doesn't fish, doesn't go out partying with the guys and even agrees to not race in the first one of the season so that I can go to my yearly sabbatical Art Festival. If slinging himself around a 1/4 mile dirt track going 150 mph with only a bit of metal separating him from another car is what rocks his boat, then I say ROCK ON! There are worse ways to spend a Saturday night. If you have any questions about the racing life, let me know & I'll see what I can do about getting you an answer. (Like what kind of tranquilizer I take, etc.)

Here's a picture of Speedy getting ready to hit the track. I forgot my regular digital, so this one's from the cell phone camera.